My name is Gogo Manyika and I am 76 years old. I live in Tsanzaguru in Makoni district with my oldest son Andrew, his wife and children. For as long as I have been alive I have not faced something that has shaken me so much like what we have seen this year. Because our village is very far from the city we hardy hear about what is happening around the country but since the beginning of the year we have been hearing rumors about a new disease which is killing a lot of people in the cities and here in the rural areas.
Many people were saying this Corona Virus is a flu that kills while others said it is not that dangerous. Not being sure of what it is made me and my family very afraid and we didn’t know who to listen to and where to get information.
It was only after hearing more information about the disease called COVID-19 through a DAPP Zimbabwe radio program that I began to understand what it is, how it spreads and how I can protect myself and family from contracting it. The radio program explained the importance of always wearing our masks and washing our hands with soap and running water to prevent Corona virus. We also heard how to properly self-isolate when you suspect that you have been infected with the virus.
Though I don’t know when the disease will end we are happy to have some information that helps us to remain calm and protect my family. I am now sharing the information I heard through the radio to my family members and others so that we don’t catch or spread COVID-19. Thanks to DAPP we have the correct information about COVID-19
DAPP Zimbabwe with financial support from UFF HUMANA and Danish Emergency Relief Fund (DERF) implemented the Early Actions program to contribute towards containing the spread of COVID-19 in Makoni District of Manicaland province. A key part of the activities included COVID-19 information dissemination through working closely with the Ministry of health and child care to reach out to the Manicaland community via Radio and community outreach. Radio continues to play a key role in timely and factual information dissemination to remote areas around Zimbabwe.