Category: ZPHCA News

Traditional leaders have played an essential and transformative role in supporting the grassroots women’s resilience-building livelihoods projects by facilitating access to critical resources. In many rural and marginalized communities, traditional leaders hold significant influence over the management and distribution of communal resources such as land, water, and other locally available assets. Their involvement is instrumental in helping grassroots women establish and sustain livelihoods that counter the negative impacts of climate change, poverty, and economic exploitation.

Allocation of Land
Land access is fundamental for agricultural projects like market gardening and small-scale farming. In many traditional communities, land rights are often controlled or influenced by local chiefs and traditional authorities. By allocating land to grassroots women, these leaders ensure that women have the space to cultivate crops, raise livestock, and initiate other projects essential for food production and income generation. Without this land, many women would struggle to grow food for their families or to participate in market-based agriculture, further exacerbating hunger and malnutrition.

Access to Water Resources
Water access is another vital resource, especially in areas affected by climate change where droughts and unpredictable rainfall are increasingly common. Traditional leaders, who often manage local water sources such as rivers, wells, or communal water systems, play a key role in granting women access to these resources for irrigation and livestock production. This ensures the sustainability of agricultural projects and helps communities become more resilient to climate-related water shortages.

Mobilization of Local Resources
Traditional leaders not only provide land and water but also help mobilize other locally available resources such as seeds, agricultural tools, building materials for storage facilities, and even labor from the community. Their support creates an enabling environment for grassroots women to efficiently carry out their livelihood’s projects. By ensuring the community’s involvement and backing, traditional leaders strengthen the collective effort to fight climate-induced hardships, making the projects more sustainable and impactful.

Promotion of Social Cohesion and Support
Traditional leaders play a crucial role in fostering community cohesion and support for the women’s initiatives. In rural societies, these leaders hold the respect and authority needed to encourage community members to work together, offer assistance, and respect the rights of women. This support helps grassroots women overcome societal barriers, especially in male-dominated cultures where women may face discrimination or exclusion from resource access and decision-making processes.

Empowerment and Legitimization of Women’s Efforts
By backing women’s projects, traditional leaders give legitimacy and credibility to the efforts of grassroots women, elevating their status within the community. Their endorsement encourages wider community acceptance of women’s roles in agriculture and economic activities, which in turn helps challenge gender biases and empowers women to take on leadership roles. This cultural shift is vital for long-term gender equality and the sustainability of these resilience-building initiatives.

Facilitating Knowledge Exchange and Traditional Agricultural Wisdom
Traditional leaders, often seen as custodians of indigenous knowledge, also contribute to the success of resilience-building projects by sharing valuable agricultural wisdom that has been passed down through generations. This knowledge, which includes insights on sustainable land management, water conservation, and seasonal farming techniques, complements modern agricultural training and enhances the women’s ability to thrive in changing environmental conditions.

Support for Climate Change Mitigation
With climate change posing a significant threat to rural communities, traditional leaders have embraced their role in supporting climate adaptation efforts. By providing grassroots women with the necessary resources to establish climate-resilient agricultural practices, they actively participate in mitigating the effects of climate change. Their support helps ensure that communities are better prepared to handle environmental challenges like droughts, floods, and extreme weather conditions, which disproportionately affect women and vulnerable populations.

Enhancing Economic Opportunities
The backing of traditional leaders also opens up economic opportunities for women. By granting access to land and water, grassroots women are able to produce goods for both subsistence and commercial purposes. The economic security gained from these livelihood projects allows women to sell their produce in local markets, thereby improving their financial independence and reducing vulnerability to economic exploitation.

Cultural Endorsement of Women’s Participation in Development
In many traditional communities, the endorsement of women’s initiatives by local leaders is seen as a cultural approval of women’s growing involvement in economic and social development. This endorsement shifts cultural perceptions, making it acceptable and even encouraged for women to actively participate in, and lead, community development initiatives, including those focused on climate resilience and sustainability.

In summary, the role of traditional leaders in allocating land, water, and other resources is not merely logistical; it is pivotal to the overall success and sustainability of grassroots women’s resilience-building projects. Their support helps dismantle barriers to resource access, fosters community unity, and empowers women to tackle climate change, hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and exploitation. By enabling women to take charge of their livelihoods, traditional leaders are helping build more resilient and self-sufficient communities capable of thriving in the face of adversity.

The Zimbabwe Parents for Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA) Grassroots Women, who are mothers of children with disabilities, have united in a collective effort to address climate change through resilience-building initiatives. These dedicated women have embraced this journey as a way to not only safeguard their communities against the effects of climate change but also to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their families.

Through ZPHCA, these grassroots women have made significant strides by initiating various innovative livelihoods projects aimed at fostering both food and income security. Some of the key projects they have spearheaded include kitchen gardening, group gardening, poultry production, peanut butter making, and waste management. These efforts are not just individual pursuits but community-based activities that are transforming the lives of many families. The successful implementation of these projects is enabling the women to achieve food security, ensuring that their families have consistent access to nutritious food. Additionally, they are generating income, improving their economic standing, and enhancing overall well-being at both family and community levels.

The resilience-building efforts of these grassroots women have not gone unnoticed. Agricultural Extension Officers have stepped in to support their projects by providing training on market gardening and small livestock production. This technical assistance has equipped the women with the skills necessary to manage their projects more effectively and increase their yields. Furthermore, traditional leaders have also played a crucial role in the success of these initiatives. They have helped by allocating essential resources such as land and water, which are vital for the women’s agricultural projects. The support from these leaders ensures that the women have access to the tools and resources they need to combat the challenges posed by climate change, such as hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and economic exploitation.

Through their collective efforts and the support from agricultural experts and traditional leaders, the ZPHCA Grassroots Women are not only building resilience against climate change but also empowering themselves and their communities. Their projects are a testament to the power of unity, innovation, and local resourcefulness in overcoming adversity and creating sustainable, thriving communities.

The Grassroots Women Resilience Building Livelihoods Projects offer numerous benefits that extend across individuals, families, and communities. These include:

1. Food Security
By engaging in kitchen and group gardening, poultry farming, and other agricultural activities, grassroots women ensure a stable supply of food for their families. This reduces dependence on external food sources and helps prevent hunger and malnutrition, especially during climate-related disruptions.

2. Income Generation
Projects such as peanut butter making, poultry production, and market gardening allow women to generate additional income. This financial security helps them meet their household needs, invest in their children’s education, healthcare, and improve their standard of living.

3. Empowerment and Independence
Participating in these projects empowers women by increasing their economic independence. Through skill development and access to resources, they are less reliant on external aid or male-dominated structures, enhancing their decision-making power within the family and community.

4. Climate Resilience
These livelihood projects are designed to mitigate the impacts of climate change. By learning sustainable agricultural practices, waste management, and water conservation techniques, grassroots women can adapt to changing environmental conditions, thereby building resilience to climate-induced challenges like droughts and floods.

5. Capacity Building and Skill Development
Through training provided by Agricultural Extension Officers and other experts, grassroots women acquire valuable skills in market gardening, small livestock production, and sustainable farming practices. These new competencies enable them to manage projects more efficiently, improving productivity and sustainability.

6. Community Collaboration and Solidarity
These initiatives foster a sense of community and collaboration among women. Group gardening, shared resources, and collective problem-solving build strong networks of support, where women help each other overcome challenges, share knowledge, and pool resources for the benefit of all involved.

7. Improved Health and Nutrition
By growing their own food, grassroots women ensure access to fresh and diverse produce, improving the overall nutrition of their families. This leads to better health outcomes, reducing the risk of malnutrition and diet-related illnesses.

8. Resource Utilization and Environmental Conservation
Projects like waste management promote efficient use of local resources and reduce environmental degradation. The use of available land, water, and waste products in a sustainable manner contributes to the long-term health of local ecosystems while also addressing climate change.

9. Reduced Vulnerability to Economic Exploitation
By having alternative income streams and food sources, grassroots women are less susceptible to economic exploitation and price fluctuations in the market. This resilience enables them to maintain their livelihoods even in times of economic hardship or crisis.

10. Cultural and Leadership Integration
With the involvement of traditional leaders, these projects are supported by the broader community, ensuring access to critical resources such as land and water. This collaboration between grassroots women and local leadership strengthens the social fabric and ensures that these projects receive the necessary backing to succeed.

11. Sustainable Development
By focusing on long-term livelihood projects, these initiatives contribute to the sustainable development of rural and marginalized communities. Women are actively engaged in building economies that are more self-reliant, reducing poverty, and enhancing the overall well-being of future generations.

Overall, these resilience-building projects have a profound and far-reaching impact on the economic, social, and environmental resilience of grassroots women and their communities.

Training women on market gardening and small livestock production is crucial for several reasons, as it empowers them to enhance their livelihoods and contribute to their communities’ development. Here’s why such training is important:

Food Security
Market gardening equips women with the skills to grow a variety of crops, ensuring a consistent supply of nutritious food for their families and communities. Training in small livestock production, such as poultry, goats, or rabbits, adds an additional layer of food security, providing a source of protein and other vital nutrients.

Income Generation
With proper training, ZPHCA believes women can produce surplus crops and livestock, which they can sell in local markets. This income allows them to improve their financial independence, invest in their children’s education, healthcare, and household needs, and contribute to local economies.

Sustainable Agriculture Practices
Training emphasizes sustainable farming techniques such as crop rotation, organic farming, and efficient water use. These practices help women maximize yield while preserving the environment, which is especially important in combating the negative effects of climate change.

Economic Empowerment
When women are trained in market gardening and livestock production, they become economically empowered. Through the training from ZPHCA, they can start small businesses, participate more actively in the economy and gain greater control over financial decisions in their households, reducing dependence on male-dominated income streams.

Climate Change Adaptation
Climate change is a growing threat to food production. Training women in adaptable and climate-resilient gardening and livestock techniques prepares them to handle climate-related disruptions, such as droughts or floods, by growing drought-resistant crops or raising livestock suited to changing environmental conditions.

Community Development
As women improve their skills and start producing more, they often share their knowledge and resources with others in the community. This creates a ripple effect, where the entire community benefits from increased food production, better nutrition, and more robust local economies.

Skill Development and Knowledge Transfer
Training enhances women’s knowledge of both traditional and modern farming practices. This skill development builds confidence and encourages innovation in agricultural production, enabling women to experiment with new crops or livestock breeds, increasing both their yields and resilience to economic fluctuations.

Health and Nutrition Improvement
Training in market gardening encourages the cultivation of a wide variety of vegetables, improving the dietary diversity of households. Small livestock production further enhances nutrition by providing a source of animal products like eggs, milk, and meat, contributing to a balanced diet.

Sustainability and Resilience
Proper training helps women adopt practices that ensure the long-term sustainability of their agricultural ventures. They learn about pest control, soil management, and animal husbandry, which improves the productivity and longevity of their crops and livestock.
Reduction of Gender Inequality

Historically, women have had less access to agricultural training and resources than men. Providing women with targeted training helps bridge this gender gap, giving them equal opportunities to thrive in agricultural activities, thereby promoting gender equality and empowerment in rural areas.

In summary, training women in market gardening and small livestock production fosters food security, economic empowerment, sustainable practices, and community development. Furthermore, ZPHCA acknowledges that it is a key factor in building resilient communities, reducing poverty and empowering women to lead more independent and fulfilling lives.

For the benefit of boys and girls living with disabilities, ZPCHA is implementing the Disability Inclusive Parenting Model in five districts of Zimbabwe as part of its official collaborative efforts to support actors in the fields of health, education, social development, and social protection services.

At the Domboramwari Centre in Epworth, the Zimbabwe Parents for Handicapped Children Association conducted a training course for leaders of support groups in advocacy. The workshop took place over two days, on November 29 and 30. Participants were chosen from Domboramwari, Overspill, Solani, and Chinamano, the four Epworth support groups. The ZPHCA field officer, M&E officer, volunteers, and representatives from UNICEF Zimbabwe and the Department of Social Development were among the facilitators.

The M&E officer from ZPHCA gave opening remarks to kick off the class, and each participant had a chance to identify themselves. Providing advocacy abilities and advocacy messaging skills to help group leaders were the goals of the advocacy training.
Promoting official cooperation between actors in the fields of health, education, social development, and social protection services to implement the Disability Inclusive Parenting Model in five districts of Zimbabwe for the benefit of disabled boys and girls is the project’s focus. The workshop was attended by forty-two people, all of them were female. Key advocacy issues were covered in their training. The training covered topics such as the definition of advocacy, its significance, essential advocacy techniques and strategies, and more.

The attendees were excited to learn about important advocacy issues that directly impact their children who have disabilities. The first meeting with the department of social development, which provided a wealth of information on the rights of disabled children, brought up a number of important concerns that parents of disabled children are facing, including those related to education, housing, the establishment of daycare centres, and access to reasonably priced transportation. The purpose of the project is to empower parents to advocate for their children, so the skills they acquired in the session were crucial.

Parents were attentive and mastered the advocacy discourse well and are now ready to create advocacy messages and give feedback to ZPHCA as they prepare to face duty bearers and stakeholders who they will target in their advocacy efforts.
The activity played a vital role in moulding the conversation surrounding parent advocacy among support group facilitators. They were given more authority regarding strategy, message development, and effective message delivery. A variety of strategies were employed, such as writing letters, having conversations with those in positions of responsibility, and speaking up at community and local authority gatherings and workshops.

Parents welcomed the advocacy training which strengthened their strive towards improving the welfare and livelihood of children with disabilities through capacity building for advocacy. In order to prepare for the advocacy with duty bearers, going forward, support group leaders should create advocacy messaging within their own groups and provide ZPHCA with input. To encourage coalition formation and cooperation for efficient lobbying among the support groups, a WhatsApp platform group will be established.

According to most psychologists, individual trauma results from an event, series of events or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual either physically or emotionally and that can have lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional well-being.

In low-income nations, there is a general dearth of awareness about disability and particularly the variables that are linked to it. The general inclusion of persons with disabilities is still very low and this causes a lot of obstacles for persons living with disabilities. Access to basic services such as education, health and other needs are actually a challenge to most. This alone continuously causes stress, tension and eventually trauma. A traumatized child may experience a variety of feelings both right away and years later. They could struggle to digest their sensations or feel overpowered, helpless, stunned or overwhelmed. Physical symptoms can also be a result of trauma.

Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA) facilitated retreat camps for traumatized children with disabilities and caregivers of children with disabilities. The objectives of the retreat camps were to provide a safe space where they can engage in play and recreational activities. Parents and caregivers engaged in singing competitions, modelling, dancing. In addition, there were group counselling sessions where they share experiences and offered each other advice (peer to peer counselling).
The program managed to offer a safe place where children could share anything they want. There are non-judgmental hence participants were opening up. Peer to peer counseling interactive discussions where children opened themselves to get comfort from other children.

Any adult who regularly looks after a child with impairments qualifies as the child’s caregiver. The child’s parents usually look after them by default, but a caregiver can also be a hired professional who is compensated. A special needs child may also receive regular or sporadic care from other family members and reliable friends. Generally, the value of a caregiver to a child with disabilities is enormous.
ZPHCA together with the department of Social Development hosted retreat camps for caregivers and adolescents. 138 caregivers and adolescents attended the retreat camp with the objective of improving their psychosocial wellbeing and to share experiences of caring children with different disabilities.

Through the project, the ZPHCA team managed to note that most of the adolescents with disabilities were aware of the abuses and not familiar with the policies that protect them. Hence a request for simplified versions of the policies in local languages were put forth. The UNCRC Article 31 states that every child has a right to leisure and play, as it is mandated to promote leisure participation for all children including those with disabilities. Caregivers were encouraging to create safe places for play, that are safe and free to play. It was made clear to parents that play has benefits including developing the following: cognitive development, physical development, communication skills, social and emotional development.

The day was later spent with caregivers playing with the children, singing and dancing to the music. “Thank you ZPHCA we now know each other and we have destressed from the caring of children with disabilities. We need more trainings like these and we express our utmost gratitude to the partners that made this event a reality” sentiments from one of the participants.

Parenting education has numerous advantages for parents, kids and families of persons living with disabilities. Such programs can assist parents in discovering practical solutions for enhancing their child’s abilities, controlling difficult habits and fostering their development. It is also of great importance that parents and other stakeholders are educated on sexual exploitation and abuse preventative measures that can be taken to safeguard children and adolescents with disabilities.

For most families, parenting provides an ongoing source of happiness and joy as well as increased responsibility, anxiety and stress. Clearly, raising any child can be a difficult and emotional task for any parent, unfortunately, information pertaining to typical child development and childrearing strategies specific for parents with children with disabilities is very limited.

Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA) conducted a disability inclusive Parenting and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) training. The project was done through the program ” Building Capacity and Culture of Protection from all Forms of Violence, Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents with Disabilities (CAWDs).

The objective of the training was to impart knowledge regarding disability inclusive parenting and to capacitate traditional leaders, DPOs, Faith-Based Organizations and Community based Organizations to facilitate case reporting, referral services and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of Children and adolescents with disabilities.

In attendance were representatives from Department of Social Development, Zvataida-UMP Rural District Council, Ministry of Youth, Traditional leaders, Faith based Organizations, Zvatinoda Special Needs and Care Club and other Community-Based Organizations. The training was a great success and our team managed to establish significant positive impact through the interactive and inclusive training.