To celebrate the Best Practice winners 2010 – 2011, we we have been running a special series of Best Practice blogs all week and now it is the final day!
These articles are written by the clubs themselves, and in many cases
will appear in English and the language of the club. We hope you have enjoyed
learning about the 2010 – 2011 Best Practice projects and take away
ideas and inspiration for the future!

 

Programme Focus Objective: Assure women’s advancement in management, politics and decision making. 

This
is a project that focuses on the girl child in Zimbabwe from different
environments. It highlights the challenges the girls face regarding their every
day lives and education. The girls used their own words with the help of
cameras, drawings and diary keeping to document their lives. A
total of 60 girls were identified for the projects from different places and
environments in Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVES

§       
To understand the environment under which the girl child is
raised in Zimbabwe.

§       
To identify challenges that hinder social and economic
development of the girls.

§       
Increase awareness of the plight of the girl child

§       
To give a voice to the girl child to make their issues
known

§       
To raise self awareness among the girls

SI
Zimbabwe in partnership with the Institute of Rural Technology took it upon themselves
to engage in the project so as to help the girls tell their different stories
in their own words. This in turn would help SI Zimbabwe identify issues that
need intervention so as to assist the girls.

Education
came out as a major challenge. Culture treats the girl child as a second class
citizen. It is not vital to educate the girl child as she will eventually leave
home once married and enrich another household. Child labour is also rife
especially in the rural areas. At times the girl child is the head of the home
while parents are either dead or working outside the country. Most families
depend on farm produce and it usually falls on the girl child to work for long
hours in the fields in order to help grow and nurture crops. It is the girl
child who gathers firewood, fetches water, cooks for the family and do all the
menial jobs necessary in the home. At times she does all this while her brothers
are at school.

Health
also came out as a big challenge among the girls. Some of the girls are
sexually abused at an early age and some then contract H.I.V and Aids. At times
they get pregnant and have babies at an early age thus interfering with education.

Finance
is another big challenge. Most girls come from very poor households. Our
economy has taken its toll on most families. Most parents work outside the
country and some can not manage to send enough money to support families left
behind as they would also be doing menial jobs there. HIV and Aids had also
taken its toll on the nation. Most children live with relatives or elderly
grandparents who may not be in a position to cater for them fully.

The project has really
helped us to appreciate the challenges the girl faces in a profound manner.

SI Bulawayo, Zimbabwe