Agroforestry for women empowerment

Agroforestry for women empowerment

My name is Sylvia Chikwamba I’m a 57 year old small scale farmer from Mvere village in ward 19 of Mutasa District. I am the sole bread winner for my family of 4. Working in my small field for years I noticed a significant decline in my harvest resulting in us not having enough food for the household.
 
DAPP through the Sign of Hope Project came to my rescue. I was enrolled in the project where we were introduced us to Agroforestry as a means of making an income and environmental protection. I, like many other villagers used to cut trees for firewood and for domestic use as well as for selling to generate income but now I am in the forefront of educating others of the benefits of adopting Agroforestry
 
Through lessons conducted by DAPP we established tree nurseries and we are sell seedlings as well as conducting budding and grafting. I am proud to say that each month I generate between USD 20.00 to USD30.00 from selling trees from my nursery. I have also established a woodlot with 100 fruit trees which I expect to generate income from selling fruits as well as improve nutrition for my children in the near future.
 
Armed with the  skills and knowledge of growing trees to replace those that are cut down we are playing our part in fighting climate change.
Furthermore, I’m now a proud empowered woman who is now capacitated in conservative smart agriculture and also in leadership skills. I look forward in educating my fellow community members with the skills I now have thanks to DAPP and Sign of Hope
We demand a People’s Vaccine to protect humanity

We demand a People’s Vaccine to protect humanity

The right to health belongs to every person, regardless of who they are, where they live, or how much money they have. Now that COVID-19 vaccines have been found, it must be available to all people. In all countries. Free of charge. It must be a People’s Vaccine.
Inequality and poverty are depriving people in the race to roll out COVID-19 vaccination mostly in the middle and low income countries. It cannot be a business as usual, with a for-profit approach, there needs to be a change. One that saves lives and helps the battle against the coronavirus.
‘A COVID-19 vaccine must be seen as a global public good, a people’s vaccine,’ said the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 4 June 2020, Global Vaccine Summit. The key message shared by the UN Secretary General is at the center of the growing concern for making the COVID-19 vaccine free for all and not a profit venture.
Humana People to People have joined The People’s Vaccine Alliance, a growing movement calling for COVID-19 vaccine to be treated as a public good and not for profit. The People’s Vaccine Alliance is a coalition of organisations including Amnesty International, Free the Vaccine, Frontline AIDS, Global Justice Now, Oxfam, Public Citizen, SumOfUs, Tearfund, UNAIDS and the Yunus Centre.
The solidarity shared among these progressive health and humanitarian organisations, past and present world leaders, health experts, faith leaders and economists is centered on urging for safe and effective vaccines development, rapid production at scale and made available for all people, in all countries, free of charge.
Our best chance of staying safe is to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine is available for all as a global common good. This will only be possible with a transformation in how vaccines are produced and distributed — pharmaceutical corporations must allow the COVID-19 vaccines to be produced as widely as possible by sharing their knowledge free from patents.
Instead they are protecting their monopolies and putting up barriers to restrict production and drive up prices, leaving the majority of humanity in less endowed countries in danger. No one company can produce enough for the whole world. As long as vaccine solutions are kept under lock and key, there would not be enough to go around. We need a People’s Vaccine, not a profit vaccine.
Emerging economic powerhouses such as China and India are starting to donate some of their COVID-19 vaccines to the Less Developed Countries of Asia, Africa, South and Central America. The good gesture is worth applauding, especially coming from two countries which have their own challenges to overcome.
Humana People to People support the People’s Vaccine Alliance in calling on the first world countries’ governments and the big pharmaceutical companies holding the COVID-19 power dynamics to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines are provided free of charge to everyone

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Rural women farmers learn digital marketing

Rural women farmers learn digital marketing

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

 

 

Radio plays key role in COVID-19 information dissemination

Radio plays key role in COVID-19 information dissemination

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.

 

UFF-Humana’s Re-cycling for Development changes lives

UFF-Humana’s Re-cycling for Development changes lives

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

Capacity building to improve gender equality at Siyalima farm

Capacity building to improve gender equality at Siyalima farm

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.