The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
WOMEN in Kezi district have been sensitized on peace, security, the status of women and other social issues that affect them on a day-to-day basis with organisations bringing together duty bearers to engage with the women.
Speaking during a District Service Indaba, Ms Patronela Tshuma from the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe said the aim of the indaba was to create a platform for women living in rural areas to engage with their duty bearers to discuss the status of women, peace and security, among other issues.
“We brought them here to receive updates on previous submissions from duty bearers who engaged with the women at the first Grassroots Advocacy meeting and to also bring together women in their communities with duty bearers. We aim to create an empowered rural women movement that speaks out and demands peace and inclusion in decision making positions,” she said.
The community also highlighted that there is a need for a police station that community members can make use of together with a clinic as they travel 17 kilomtres to get to Maphisa to access health care services.
Villagers also said teenage pregnancies were on the rise.
“There is a need for a clinic in ward 10, as there are teenage pregnancies and young women end up delivering their babies before they reach the health care facilities, exposing the new born and the mother to infections. Even sick people end up dying of diseases that can easily be cured if the hospital was accessible. There is public transport available but the challenge is that the fees are expensive and charge R500 just to take one to Maphisa,” said Ms Sethusiwe Ndlovu.
Furthermore, the community also expressed the need for a high school for Makasa and Marinoha learners as they live very far from the nearest high school and walk up to 4 hours to get there.
Falakhe Ngwenya who was a learner at St.Anna Secondary School residing in Makasa said school was too far that he dropped out.
“I would leave home at 4a.m and get to school at 8a.m. I would leave school at 4p.m and get home at 8p.m very tired and in need of sleep. I dropped out last year when I was form three because my father could not afford school fees. The alternative school is Chehondo but it is also equally far,” he lamented.
Water challenges were also raised during the meeting.
“We have a problem with boreholes as they are very far away from the homesteads. I travel 3kms to get to the borehole with 20l containers. The water does not last for long and one has to go back at least three times a day. We also have to share that water with our livestock,” said Miss Gugulethu Dube.
During the meeting the villagers also pointed out that they wanted to gain access to loans in order for them to be able to start working on small scale businesses that can generate income for them.
Mr Marko Chilamoyo a village head from Marinoha district said villagers need vegetable gardens in order to plant crops nearest to them so that they are able to create income generating projects.
At the moment, they said, the gardens that are available are for the people from Jairos Jiri who are living with disabilities.
Follow on Twitter: @NyembeziMu
