by dapp | Mar 1, 2021 | Blog, News
Small holder women farmers have struggled to access markets for their produce , a situation that have left them with stunted growth in the sector.
DAPP Zimbabwe with support from Canada Funds for local initiatives conducted a 2 day digital marketing training exercise for women farmers at Siyalima Farm in Guruve.
The training was centered around how they can effectively use their mobile devices to increase their market reach, strengthen linkages and earn more from their crops.
Beneficiaries says the training at the opportune time when online trading is the only option due to the nationwide Covid -19 lockdown
“Due to the current prevailing Covid-19 lockdown its been very difficult to go to the market as usual so this training on sell using phones from the comfort of our homes will open new markets to us and we can do it from home” Stella Chatambudzika
The project officer at Siyalima Paul Majongwe said though most of the beneficiaries face several challenges from cultural, social factor , time this type of training has made a significant impact and has broken down barriers and is allowing both women and men to engage and unlock the benefits of online platforms. “Our goal is to encourage these small scale farmers to look beyond their community to seek out better markets and pricing for their produce through the use of these technologies”
” It is critical that our focus remains on gender mainstreaming and inclusivity hence we ensured that the training encouraged full participation from both men and women in an effort to fight poverty and increase agricultural production, access to markets, raise family income for the development.” said Majongwe
by dapp | Feb 16, 2021 | Blog, News
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.
by dapp | Feb 10, 2021 | Blog, News
The recycling for development initiative continued in 202O where vulnerable groups, schools and communities from Bindura ,Shamva, Rusape, Guruve and Mt Darwin in Zimbabwe received donations from UFF HUMANA.
The goods included hospital equipment, bicycles, computers, printers, school desks, blankets among other essentials were officially handed over to the respective beneficiaries, who expressed gratitude for the gesture.
UFF-Humana supports the people in global south by working closely with DAPP Zimbabwe and ADPP Guinea Bissau. The recent donation of school education materials came at a crucial time for people in Zimbabwe. At a time when the world is struggling to see the end of COVID-19 pandemic, UFF-Humana is strengthening solidarity of the people in Denmark and the less developed communities in the sub-Saharan countries.
UFF-Humana extended the much needed help in supporting schools in rural Zimbabwe as part of its contribution to achieving the United Nations SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Youths at the HOPE Youth Communication Center said the donation of laptops has allowed them to learn new skills that are sought after on the job market.
“The world is becoming a global village and it is important for us young people to be able to find employment opportunities through becoming literate in digital skills. We appreciate UFF-Humana that has given us this chance through DAPP Zimbabwe’s Hope Youth Communication Center.
Chiveso primary school head Mr Tangisai said the donation of school furniture has allowed the school to function efficiently after receiving critical education supporting infrastructure in school desks and chairs.
“This gesture allows our students to learn in a better environment than before. Our students are also practicing social distancing during this Covid-19 era because the desks and chairs are spaced out in the class rooms.”
UFF-Humana has also played a major part in supporting sports activities in Zimbabwe through the donation of second hand sports equipment. The sports equipment allows children and young people in rural areas to engage in sports and this helps keep them out of trouble with early sex indulgence, drugs or alcohol abuse.
Young children at Ponesai Vanhu Children’s home were not left behind. They received sportswear, school materials, footballs, toys and lots of stuffed animals. The children were happy to receive the toys.
DAPP Zimbabwe and UFF-Humana have forged a strong relationship in development cooperation over the years. Some of the previous notable social development efforts includefunding TCE efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe in the districts of Mt. Darwin, Mazowe, Guruve, Zvimba as well as the on-going funding support being extended to HOPE Bindura an HIV/AIDS targeted community initiative in Bindura. An excess of 500,000 people were impacted through the generous support of UFF-Humana through its financial support for development activities in Zimbabwe.
For more : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fisnMqip0HQ
by dapp | Jan 7, 2021 | Blog, News
Women and girls often engage in unpaid agriculture work as they lack have no say in the distribution of the agriculture income. Women and girls have limited opportunities of attending trainings and other information sessions which leave them behind in adopting improved farming practices and access to productive resources. DAPP Zimbabwe through financial support from Canada funds for local initiatives (CFLI) is implementing a project seeks to address strongly embedded agricultural gender inequalities with women and girls bearing the brunt of this state of affairs at Siyalima farm.
The project is expected to improve gender equality among smallholder farmer families through transformational capacity building, and advocacy. Capacity strengthening and access to the productive resources will help 29 women farmers maximize economic opportunities, increase productivity, and improve food security, education and healthcare, since women tend to reinvest more in their households.
DAPP Zimbabwe acting Country Director Luckson Soda said “ Despite women’s crucial roles in household food security, they face discrimination and limited bargaining power at both household and community level.” This project is meant to address these patriarchal norms that have created disadvantages for women farmers specifically with regards to accessing productive resources such as credit, extension services, inputs, information and access to markets.
The project is expected to institutes gender sensitive actions that promote positive gender outcomes towards the economic empowerment of women farmers at Siyalima farm in Guruve Zimbabwe. The equal participation of women and men in agriculture processes will ensure adequate use of a mix of indigenous knowledge that are critical in environmental conservation. Health education and promotion will be integrated in the project with a key focus on HIV, TB and COVID-19 pandemic to promote the health and wellbeing of target.
by dapp | Dec 16, 2020 | Blog, News
DAPP Zimbabwe has handed over the fully equipped state of the art Ambulance to Rusape General Hospital at an event held at Rusape General Hospital. Speaking at the event DAPP Acting country Director, Luckson Soda said the ambulance donation is just one of the many initiatives under the Danish Emergency Relief Fund (DERF) funded Early Actions program being implemented to contribute towards containing the spread of COVID-19 in Makoni District of Manicaland province.
“When COVID-19 reached Zimbabwe we came together with the Ministry of health and child care to reach out to our friends, DERF through UFF HUMANA who quickly assisted us with funds to start actions to fight COVID-19 in Makoni District. The funding has allowed us to integrate COVID-19 action into our existing TC-TB programs. We managed to reach over 10 000 people with COVID 19 information through mass media dissemination channels, outreach activities, screening and support for those affected. We also provided food assistance to 500 vulnerable families who were negatively affected by lockdowns.”
He added that, “We worked closely with District COVID -19 Response Team and Ministry of Health and Child Care to intensify key areas to ensure effectiveness of the program. We therefore began actions to equip Rusape General Hospital’s Isolation unit with a fully functional oxygen unit, a water tank as well Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for hospital frontline workers.”
Tour of the Rusape General Hospital Isolation Unit
Speaking at the same occasion the District Medical Officer Dr. Nyafesa appreciated the support DAPP was giving the District saying the only way to defeat COVID-19 is when everyone comes together and fights shoulder to shoulder. “DAPP Zimbabwe is our all-weather friend who stepped in to assist the District hospital with this state of the art ambulance which will assist in quality health service delivery to the people of Rusape” .He commended DAPP, DERF and UFF HUMANA for the community outreach component of their program saying “the roadshows, short message service (sms) and radio programs are very informative and educative and are being received by those in hard to reach areas”
A nurse checks a pregnant woman’s blood pressure on the recently donated Ambulance
Project beneficiary, Councilor Chingwende of Tsanzaguru echoed the same sentiments saying the DAPP interventions have positively impacted the lives of people in the areas. “The lockdowns meant that we could not go out to work and this meant no food on our tables. But DAPP’s food assistance hampers gave us a lifeline and we managed to feed our families during the difficult period. As we speak right now we are back in our fields planting the seeds we received from DAPP. We expect a bumper harvest come next year”
