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Melissa Chekwa
Sixty Blair toilets have been built and at least 15 boreholes drilled for the Hwange West people under the Chidobe Community-Led Sanitation Project to combat open defecation in villages.
The project was undertaken by Ocean Bird Foundation, which also works with Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council, Afro Edge Volunteers, Shockwave Adventures, New Zambezi Crocodile Farm, Children of the Wilderness, Wild Horizon and many other organisations.
Jafuta Foundation, as part of the supporting organisations, drilled three boreholes and donated 103 bags of cement for toilet construction.
Ocean Bird Foundation is a Zimbabwe registered organisation that focuses on uplifting the lives of women and youths towards sustainable socio-economic regeneration through empowerment using various projects.
“We have trained some youths in St Peter’s for poultry projects and training nurse aiders in different provinces,” said regional director Ganizani Phiri.
Phiri added the project was targeting to construct at least 1000 toilets by 2020 in villages where there was a shortage of toilets.
St Peter’s is yet to be presented with poultry to kick-start their project.
The foundation which is already a year old, has its interests based on reproductive health, community health programmes/clubs, awareness of HIV/AIDS, community-based nursing, cancer awareness, water sanitation and research on drug trafficking.
Maintaining relations with the youth, the foundation holds seminars that empower the youth by inviting different stakeholders to be speakers.
Phiri said: “Two weeks back we invited the Empower bank, Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation and the Ministry of Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender & Community Development and women to talk about entrepreneurship ideas, sporting and gender issues respectively in a bid to empower the youths.
“We are doing the same in Hwange in a few weeks.”
On 2 August the foundation embarked on a clean-up campaign in Bulawayo, Hwange, Gwanda and Victoria Falls.
Ocean Bird Foundation is conducting trainings that include programmes of water, sanitation and hygiene, training of community home-based care, community health and co-operative formation in Gwanda.
Online Reporter