STAFF WRITER
YOUNG people living with albinism shouldn’t be left behind, as their situations demand that they are given appropriate attention.
So says the minister of Youth, Tino Machakaire, who adds that the government will widen access to finance and empowerment programmes for them.
Speaking during a fundraising event for youth living with albinism at the Zanu PF headquarters today, Machakaire said the government was taking deliberate measures to address barriers faced by young people with albinism.
“No conversation about inclusive youth empowerment is complete unless we speak candidly about the young people who have historically been left furthest behind, and among these, our youth with albinism occupy a place that demands our deliberate and sustained attention.
“We have directed EmpowerBank to actively prioritise and simplify loan access for youth with albinism — including through dedicated outreach at our centres, flexible application support for those with visual impairment, and partnership with organisations representing persons with albinism to identify credible beneficiaries,” Machakaire said.
Machakaire said government wanted young people with albinism to take advantage of funding opportunities available through EmpowerBank.
“We want every young person with albinism who has a viable business idea to know that the doors of EmpowerBank are open to them, and that our field officers stand ready to walk that journey with them.
“Within the National Youth Service, we are introducing accessible training materials, sun-safe training environments, and sensitisation modules for facilitators and fellow trainees, so that our youth service centres become spaces of genuine belonging rather than exclusion,” he added.
He said vocational training centres were also being encouraged to provide reasonable accommodation to make skills training accessible to young people with albinism.
“In vocational skills training, we are working with our training centres to ensure reasonable accommodation — from lighting and workstation adjustments to assistive learning materials — so that trades such as tailoring and ICT are genuinely accessible to youth with albinism — many of whom have shown remarkable talent in these very fields.
“To our young people with albinism who are here today: you are seen, you are valued, and the Ministry stands firmly behind your right to the same opportunities, dignity, and dreams as every other young Zimbabwean,” Machakaire added.
Machakaire said his ministry had over the past year expanded opportunities for young people through financial support, skills development and youth programmes.
“We recognise that empowerment cannot be a slogan; it must be measured in tangible outcomes — in loans disbursed, in skills acquired, in businesses started, and in lives transformed.
“Central to this effort has been our strengthening of the EmpowerBank — the youth-focused financial institution established specifically to address the historic challenge of access to capital for young entrepreneurs,” he added.
Machakaire also said that EmpowerBank had launched a US$1 million fund aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs across the country.
” This Fund is designed to reach young people in both urban and rural communities who have viable business ideas but have lacked access to capital.
“I urge every young person here today to visit your nearest EmpowerBank branch or Ministry of Youth office and submit your applications. This window opportunity is real, it is funded and it is waiting to for you to seize it,” he explained.