By Beaven Dhliwayo
SHAMWARI Yemwanasikana – a community based, NGO that seeks to promote the rights and empowerment of the girl child recently received a solar dryer for their Mhoro Shamwari Girls Economic Empowerment and Demonstration Centre in Murewa from the UNDP through the Spotlight Initiative, a development meant to empower girls and young women in the community.
Mhoro Shamwari centre was established to economically empower young women and girls through skills and entrepreneurship training.
The official handover ceremony was attended by stakeholders from Murewa district, including the assistant District Development Coordinator, officials from the Ministry of Women Affairs, local traditional leaders, and representatives from the AGRITEX office.
Girls from Zhombwe Primary School were also part of the delegation, representing all the girls in Murewa
The centre aims to build capacity of girls who are socially and economically disadvantaged, by assisting these girls to improve their livelihoods through offering tailor-made vocational training opportunities and enhancement of local opportunities for holistic economic development.
This is in line with one of the organization’s four strategic pillars, which speaks on the sustainable livelihoods through supporting and promoting sustainable development initiatives in communities that it works in so as to alleviate poverty.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Murewa Assistant District Development Coordinator, Judah Mhlanga expressed his gratitude for the development projects.
“We are pleased as we see more projects being channeled and aimed at empowering women. Girls and young women should take lead on this solar dryer initiative, as this is a great step towards their sustainable development,” he said.
The Ministry of Women Affairs District Officer, Abigail Dovi highlighted her wish to see Murewa girls taking their produce to large platforms like The Next She Exporter.
Village head, Tagwegura encouraged women to take part in agriculture initiatives and take ownership of this project as a community.
“We applaud the work being done by Shamwari Yemwanasikana through their flagships (community development committees, Dandaro Revasikana, Men and Boys’ forums). This has impacted positively on the community as evidenced by a significant decrease in cases of teen pregnancies and child marriages,” he said.
Director, Shamwari Yemwanasikana, Ekenia Chifamba, expressed her appreciation for the support that Murewa community gives to the women and girls.
“For a long time, girls are falling prey to forced and early child marriages, commercial sexual exploitation, early and unintended pregnancies, and sex trafficking due to economic hardships,” she said.
“We urge parents to protect their children. We encourage families to work together to build their nation, as it is everyone’s responsibility.
“The solar dryer will be utilized for drying fruits, vegetables, meat and other fresh produce for preservation. This dryer is a game changer, as it allows the girls to preserve their produce from the centre (lately tomatoes) and sell in the commercial market.
The dryer will also generate income on its own, as community businesses who need its services can use it for a fee. This initiative will be completely run by girls and women from the community development committees for Shamwari Yemwanasikana in Murewa,” she added.