Chipinge District Remember Cyclone Idai Victims at a Community Prayer Meeting.

On the weekend of 15 – 17 March 2019, both Chimanimani and Chipinge districts suffered multiple destruction from Cyclone Idai with survivors needing shelter, water, food, medication and blankets. There was massive death and destruction of property and infrastructure in the two districts. However, on 20 April 2019, Platform for Youth Development (PYD) held a community prayer meeting at Checheche growth point in remembrance of Cyclone Idai victims. The prayer meeting was focused on restoring and maintaining hope in the affected communities, at the same time allay the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. 

“We carry strong sentiments and beliefs about our relatives and friends who fell victims to the devastating Cyclone Idai, and as the Ndau people we were raised to love, serve, and honour our fellow people no matter what the situation. Cyclone Idai destroyed families, individual lives as well as our community fabric.” Claris Madhuku told the gathering. 

“The clean-up campaign and the prayer meeting is a symbol of hope as we recover from the Cyclone Idai disaster. As a Christian clergy, we are to play an important role in identifying individuals with challenges in facing with the reality of the Cyclone Idai disaster and we are prepared to offer support to the victims.” Added Rev Joseph Mugidheya of the United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ). 

The prayer meeting was a collaboration between PYD and religious leaders in Chipinge district as a collective effort to provide both material and emotional/spiritual support to Cyclone Idai victims. PYD strongly believed that the community prayer meeting was a strategy for reducing the victim of Cyclone Idai’s trauma. Survivors of a devastating phenomenon of the stature of the Cyclone Idai usually feel guilty about loved ones who lost their lives and property lost. Thus, a community prayer meeting helped by reducing survivors’ guilt and increasing their hope for future life.  In PTSD, the acceptance of a spiritual power normally leads to a spiritual awakening which, in turn, can assuage survivor guilt. From the speeches and prayer outline that was conducted during the meeting, it became evidently clear that the survivors of Cyclone Idai had found refugee in the community safety net and empathy. 

“For those of us who were left suffering after the disaster, the prayer meeting is the first step in giving us the strength and hope to carry on living.” Said Mrs. Irene Kaitu (56 years), one of the Cyclone Idai survivors

Cynthia Gwenzi, PYD Gender and Advocacy Officer stated that the Cyclone Idai had a gender perspective in its trail of disasters. “Women feel powerless in decision– making process. Powerlessness in decision - making increase their social and psychological vulnerabilities and women are at risk of falling into deeper poverty post Cyclone Idai.” She said.

The meeting was well attended by both the Christian community and other civic leaders within the Chipinge district. The community applauded PYD for taking the initiative to remember the victims of Cyclone Idai as well as invoking a collective effort in offering spiritual and moral support to the survivors. 

Independence Day Statement: Zimbabwe at 39, embracing devolution for vision 2030.

Chipinge: Platform for Youth Development Trust (PYD) joins the rest of the nation in celebrating 39 years of independence. As a community-based organization that is grounded and socially embedded, we are compelled to use this day to appeal to Zimbabweans and mostly the young people to put pressure on the government to open up spaces and opportunities where it becomes possible for Zimbabweans to enjoy the benefits of the freedom brought about by independence. 

Zimbabwe is celebrating majority rule after having gone through the agony of a white minority rule that was predominantly racist and brutal. The majority came through a protracted war of liberation that had so many phases of struggle. This year’s Independence Day is being celebrated under the theme; “Zimbabwe at 39, embracing devolution for vision 2030.”

PYD notes with great interest the 2019 Independence Day theme as it resonates well with section 264 of the Zimbabwean Constitution Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013. Through this section, the local authorities will have legal status that it lacked in the erstwhile centralized system due to the fact that it is now governed through a Constitutional provision as opposed to a mere statute. 

PYD is in support of devolution as it gives greater attention to rural communities’ participation in socio - economic policy formulation and implementation. At the same time, it allows the local authorities to promote transparency and accountability in governance and decision-making as well as management of local resources.

However, PYD bemoans the fact that real power is still to be transferred to local authorities, despite the fact that the aims of local authorities are to create participatory and democratically elected structures that identify need and ensure provision of services. 

Thus, local authorities were never an independent sphere of community development as they constantly face administrative, political controls and oversight by central government. Again, they were being used as a way to entrench Zanu PF’s hegemony and enhanced politicians’ stranglehold over the local communities. This rendered local authorities ineffective since their operations were not supported by the constitution for them to operate independently. This made Zimbabweans to experience nominal decentralization and token participatory exercises by ordinary people in which their contribution was overplayed by the partisan interests of the ruling party.

PYD believes that it will be progressive if this anomaly is addressed as the nation embraces devolution.

As a community – based organization, PYD welcomes the statements spoken by President Mnangagwa with a pinch of salt where he has promised to defend Zimbabwe as a constitutional democracy that will respect the provisions on devolution. We are hoping that the current government will walk the talk and see it feasible to have the real transfer of administrative, political and fiscal powers to the local authorities for devolution to have a transformational effect on our rural communities. 

PYD urges President E. D Mnangwagwa and his administration to come up with clear timeframes in the implementation of section 264, as the lack of timeframes heavily undermines the provision on devolution.

As an acknowledgement on the importance of the Independence Day, the Platform for Youth Development will partner the church fraternity for a cleanup campaign and prayer meeting in Checheche.The cleanup campaign and prayer meeting will help to express our solidarity with the victims of Cyclone Idai that ravaged villagers in Zimbabwe mostly in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts. This will be our opportunity to remind our young people the values and ethos of independence as well as the importance of decentralization of administrative and economic power.

Politics of Patronage and Relief Aid Frustrates PYD

Platform for Youth Development Trust is shocked and traumatized by the levels of mistrust, hate and gross partisanship taking place in Manicaland at a time that unity and compassion is needed the most to insulate the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai.

The social and mainstream media has been inundated and awash with pictures and videos of distressed calls from Cyclone Idai victims requesting for help and relief, especially in the ravaged areas of Chimanimani and Chipinge districts .Zimbabwe experienced torrential rainfall caused by Cyclone Idai from the 15th to 17th of March 2019 which caused high winds and heavy precipitation in Chimanimani and Chipinge.  The majorities of the affected families in these districts survive on subsistence farming and have little or no alternative source of income. The cyclone Idai has worsened the dire food situation. 

PYD has been part of the various civic society organizations and local community stakeholders who have been sharing information for the public and well-wishers to understand the gravity of the damage so as to provide basic relief and intervention. Whilst the humanitarian response from the local, national and international level has been overwhelming and touching, this is being soiled by heartless political vultures that are bending on wanting to score political value and mileage over a natural disaster such as Cyclone Idai.

PYD Director, Mr Claris Madhuku expressed dismay at some of the events that are already taking place in Chimanimani and Chipinge

“I have witnessed political jostling of men and women, some in their political party regalia wanting to control the food relief by using their partisan emotions and discretion. This is inhumane and must be condemned for shaming the morality of the nation” Madhuku fumed

Although the Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services who is also Senator for Chimanimani Monica Mutsvangwa has refuted the allegations that there were Zanu PF structures, including former trainees of the Border Gezi who have denied food aid to victims purported to be supporting the opposition, evidence is overwhelming. 

PYD has observed that the issue of food aid and relief in rural communities has been at the Centre of local politics in rural Zimbabwe. Food aid has always been used as a weapon of influence and patronage rather than broader social justice and empowerment objectives. As community-based organization, PYD is fully aware that this practice will have negative effects on community development which is likely to result in increased vulnerability and the deepening of social insecurity to the victims of Cyclone Idai. Divisive politics during this disaster period must be discouraged because it makes communities vulnerable and deprived from genuine livelihood support by government.

Platform for Youth Development has also observed that the politicization of food relief is negatively affecting women and children in Chimanimani and Chipinge. Cynthia Gwenzi who is the Gender and Wellness Officer for PYD noted that 

 “When partisanship is used on food relief, it is the women and children who are disadvantaged the most because they will have no one to represent them without being exposed to the vulnerabilities of patronage and abuse. In most cases, partisanship leads to physical force which then discriminates women and children” Cynthia Gwenzi suggested

Cyclone Idai has affected Chimanimani and Chipinge districts the most by disrupting water and sanitation facilities, damaging road networks, cutting power supply and displacing people including loss of life. According to the Inter-Agency Rapid Assessment/Appraisal Update on Cyclone Idai disaster, 29 000 households were affected in Chimanimani and 21 000 households in Chipinge. At the same time, 8000 people were displaced in Chimanimani whereas 3000 were also displaced in Chipinge. The Cyclone Idai has inflicted damage to 37% (121 000) of the Chipinge rural population which are now in urgent need of food assistance with a total of 77% (114 000) also requiring food assistance in Chimanimani. The statistics from the inter agency rapid assessment update pose a grim picture as the source of livelihoods were wiped out as indicated by 24000 hectares of dry land that have been destroyed in Chipinge and 300 hectares in Chimanimani also facing the same fate. The death toll for Manicaland Province stands at 259 with over 300 people still missing. 

PYD has always raised this issue of partisan food distribution due to the fact that the victims are in dire need of emergency relief to the counter debilitating effects of cyclone Idai. To curb against this embarrassing situation, all political party structures must be removed from the food distribution process in favor of professional persons who are linked to those donating the aid.

Youth group advocates for progressive Ndau culture in Chipinge

Platform for Youth Development (PYD) is commemorating the 2019 International Women’s Day through showcasing cultural dances peculiar to Ndau culture at Matsuro Primary School in Musikavanhu Constituency. The commemoration which is expected to be attended by over 300 people will feature the popular Muchongoyo and Chokoto traditional dances from the hot pots of Ndau culture likeMuumbe, Zamchiya and Mariya villages.

The 2019 theme for the International women’s day is “Better the balance, betterthe world” and identifiable with the campaign #BalanceforBetter.This theme provides an opportune moment for PYD to join other like-minded organisations to celebrate and reflect on  the achievements made by governments and civic society in strengthening  the roles of women in societies. PYD is implementing a project for the past 28 months that seeks to empower young women and girls to confront harmful cultural practices in Chipinge district.

Platform for Youth Development would be taking advantage of this year’s theme to push for co- existence between men and women in the world but more specifically in Chipinge district where greater focus will be on social inclusion of women in community development.

‘We have adequately prepared for this event by involving key local stakeholders inclusive of traditional leadership and educationists from the district who will help to endear the positive values of the Ndau culture’ Cynthia Gwenzi who is the PYD Gender Wellness and Advocacy Officer said.

Cynthia Gwenzi further reiterated that the cultural event will confirm that the organisation has been closely working with the Chipinge community for the past 28 months when the project to raise consciousness on the emancipation of women was launched.

“We have a pool of 25 Gender Activists who are working in different wards of Chipinge to assist enlighten the community on the need to outlaw early marriages and domestic violence by re-emphasising on the sanctity of the family as the fountain of morality and self restraint” Gwenzi reiterated

Richard Mtetwa who is one of the Gender Activists from Muumbe village mobilising for the cultural event, expressed confidence that the commemoration will be an eye opener for the community in Matsuro.

PYD is of the opinion that culture can be a tool to fostering an environment that is permissive to tolerance and mutual understanding and where there is mutual trust, diversity and respect for minority so as to achieve#BalanceforBetter for our local communities.

The PYD Director Mr Claris Madhuku pronounced the commemoration of the International Women’s day as that opportunity for PYD to publicly show the outer world that Ndau culture is still rich and an embodiment of the values of peace, progress and unity that promotes community development.

“It is our responsibility as a community based organisation to advocate for an inclusive Ndau culture and heritage in promoting cohesion and gender equity among the natives of Chipinge district”  Claris Madhuku said

PYD endeavours to advocate fora community in which every individual has an active role to play based on fundamentalvalues of equity, equality, social justice, diversity,tolerance,freedoms and respect of human rights .

Looming Food Crisis hits Chipinge District – State Capacity heavily compromised

In a period still shaken by austerity economic policies and a highly contestable political space coupled with social anxiety, the el Niño induced drought is beginning to manifest its fangs in Chipinge District. The district has land for the production of maize and other drought-tolerant small grains such as millet and sorghum, which are all important food sources, as well as economic opportunities for the locals. However, maize and other small grain harvest is likely to be lower than the basic household requirement enough to feed more than 100 000 households in the district. Thus, the district is facing imminent food shortages that will culminate in hunger, rising levels of poverty and infant mortality rate.

It is evident in Chipinge district that the burden of food crisis falls unequally upon classes with the poorer populations and to some extent political outcasts bearing the greater burden. 

“The food crisis has brought into play issues of openness and accountability. As an elected Ward 22 Councillor, I have witnessed a subversion of local structures by people linked to Zanu PF. There is serious politicization of the whole food distribution process and as the elected I am being sidelined just because I ran on an MDC A ticket." Councilor Evelyn Mhuru of Ward 22 said.

This is exacerbated by the low level of state capacity to mitigate against food crisis, hunger and starvation in the district. The low level of state capacity is attributed to an empirical index of variables of the government’s ability to deliver on its central functions due to the scourge of corruption in our governance structures and the partisan management of food mitigation measures. The government’s strategies to counter the effects of the drought on local communities are limited by endogenous state capacity to combat food insecurity. The magnitude of the looming hunger and starvation is likely to progressively deplete state capacity as we have a non – functional economy coupled with an eroded governance structures. 

The early warning system for drought in Zimbabwe at the national level is not very effective if not non - existent. This is due to the fact that if there were effective monitoring and drought forecasting, then adaptive capacity can be enhanced hence the management program becomes proactive rather than reactive. 

Food crisis destabilizes social cohesion as it generates a number of demand and supply side shocks to homesteads including the loss of income. In Chipinge district biofuel development activities have acquired communal land, despite the fact that such land is integrated into rural communities’ livelihood practices, which depend on agriculture. The Greenfuel project resulted in the dispossession of local people from their farming land and other land-based livelihood activities, and is surely going to increase the burden from hunger and starvation. Differences in poverty rates are attributed to variations in household access to public services and limited infrastructure like road network in the district. This scenario is likely to leave a large percentage of the population in the district in dire need of food aid. The cumulative occurrence of these droughts in Chipinge district since 2002 has culminated in the stagnation of rural livelihoods and entrenched rural poverty. 

Clemence Dube of Manzvire village said that, “the crops are in a sorry state and the people have lost any hope of salvaging anything from their fields. Villagers are now looking up to the government for assistance, otherwise the situation will degenerate into serious famine in the district.” 

PYD is of the strong view that local institutions are a critical success factor for adaptation and mitigation of drought and food insecurity in rural communities. However, in Chipinge district, PYD notes with grave concern the ill – preparedness of local institutions in addressing the adverse effects of the looming hunger and starvation. These challenges require well-resourced institutions that can as well operate as channels for a drought early warning system at local level.

PYD Press Statement on the Occasion of the World Day of Social Justice

20 February 2019
 

Machona Village, Chipinge - Platform for Youth Development (PYD) has been in existence since 2008. The main thrust of their work has promoted and advanced community development and carried out efforts aimedat reducing poverty amongst the most disadvantaged in Chipinge District. The organization is of the opinion that justice is closely interlinked with human rights, hence the recognition of the World Day of Social Justice.

Today marks the observation of the World Day of Social Justice and it is relevant to the situation currently unfolding in Chipinge District. Social justice enables communities to identify structural disadvantages, discrimination and inequality that act as barriers to social inclusion and poverty eradication efforts. PYD will commemorate World Day of Social Justice in Machona village byinvolving four netball and four soccer teams from Machona (the host),Chisumbanje, Mukukuzi and Vheneka. Sport assist in defining community character and values, and offers individuals in the community a process and a route they can use to lead and facilitate collective visioning and action against poverty.

The World Day of Social Justice was set aside by the United Nations in 2009 to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication and promote social integration. It is a day annually observed on 20 February. 

PYD believes that the day provides an opportunity to look at pertinent issues of equity, fairness and justice in Chipinge District. Social integration and poverty eradication are fundamental in achieving social justice in the district. It is clear that the district is suffering from multiple and complex cause-effect relationships between economic and social constraintswith their combined effects on life in the community.

PYD has been very prominent in fighting for social justice as evidenced by the work around the land dispute involving Greenfuelproject, Land dispute involving Mahachi village and the Chipinge Rural District Council ,Contractual dispute involving Mutema Banana farmers with Matanuska Pvt Ltd,Gender disparity around harmful cultural practices in Chipinge district. In all these projects, PYD has been on the side of the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.

Girl child pledging and appeasement of the avenging spirits together with politicization of government food aid expose mostly young women to domestic violence in Chipinge District, a practice that has socially excluded vulnerable members of our community.

Community standing of a member that is rooted in the difference between gender, political affiliation, religious persuasion and even economic status is based on the long established and often accepted social, economic, cultural and political inequalities within our district. These glaring inequalities are not only the product of unequal power relations but they perpetuate the inequality in our district. Poverty and social exclusion is an expression of such unequal power. 

PYD is cognizant of the fact that social justice in our local community is an attribute of institutions that are in the district. We call upon the DA’s office, the Chipinge Rural District council, the local traditional leadership, elected Members of Parliament and Councilors to seriously look into the way in which they promote opportunities for people to engage with the normal activities of their community.  Social inclusion in the district and in Zimbabwe will go a long way in enhancing the participation of people in all forms of community development and in the process ensure gender equity. 

We vociferously urge all stakeholders to reclaim our right to social justice and inclusion

END///

World Radio Day - Give community voice a seat at the dialogue, tolerance and peace table

“While technology shapes the future, it is people who shape technology and decide what it can be used for.” The late UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Dialogue, tolerance and peace as espoused by the people will shape the transformational nature of radio.

Manzvire Community hall in Chipinge District will host Vemuganga Community Radio as it celebrate World Radio Day under the theme; DIALOGUE, TOLERANCE AND PEACE.  Radio provides an opportunity for communities to engage in dialogue on various developmental issues that affect their lives, thereby shaping the developmental discourse towards their needs. It is a conduit through which community members engage in debate on certain cultural practices and identify ways of improving areas they feel could be retrogressive or a violation of the rights of some sections of the community. 

However, intolerance and suppression of community voice has become a problem of great community concern because of its socio - economic and political consequences. Intolerance in local communities is being played out as part of a deliberate strategy to demoralize communities and destroy their social structures and identity, whilst radio enhances their social identity.

Radio is a key factor for opening up dialogue and promotes tolerance and peace in communities like Manzvire. Dialogue that is premised on promoting tolerance and peace will enhance Chipinge district’s desire to have its concerns and context being captured through a mechanized institution. Genuine dialogue through radio not only applies to a community’s right to express an opinion but it also gives the individual a right to access to information. Thus, radio should not be seen violating the public’s right to receive and impart information and the constitutional right of freedom of expression. Local communities need a space for dialoguing and in turn promote tolerance and peace.

Radio is a very important social institution that operates within and is informed by the broader social agenda. It becomes critical that people are given an opportunity through dialogue to allow communities to contribute on “how the production of knowledge constructs social identities.” Radio is medium that involve the people in decision-making and participation processes, stimulate public debate, promote civic rights and help held authorities accountable towards the citizens. It then becomes imperative that the use of radio to amplify community voices result in dialogue and tolerance being linked with respect, equality and liberty. 

With this year’s theme it is clear that radio is a prerequisite for social change as it allows communities to engage with and own the processes that will make their voices heard and establish horizontal dialogues with decision makers and community leaders

Vemuganga Community Radio is a local initiative that seeks to promote socio - economic development and to help the priorities and information needs of Chipinge district. It endeavor to give the community opportunities that are unavailable in other media to be directly involved in decision making and address their contribution to issues of accountability, equity and civil rights; ensure the full and effective participation of women. Vemuganga Community Radio is a natural fit in participatory models of development that stress the importance of including all stakeholders in determining both “the question” and “the answer.” 

Vemuganga Community Radio is celebrating this year’s World Radio Day with a view to achieve social change in our communities.