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Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
A CABINET Minister has commended the Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau (ZWB) for empowering rural women through various projects meant to transform their livelihoods.
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa made the comments soon after touring a 5-hectare-community garden in Kabasa Village, Ward 6 in Mutoko that was established by ZWB.
The project is benefiting 100 women from five villages who use drip irrigation from two solar-powered boreholes.
“These women are blessed to have this garden. As a ministry, we work with a lot of development partners, and ZWB has seen it proper to empower women in this area. We applaud them for this initiative. They have realised the importance of empowering women in this area.
“As you can see, this area is in a dry region and the water crisis has been further exacerbated by the current El Nino-induced drought. ZWB has, however, drilled two cboreholes to irrigate this garden. I am already impressed by their crops. This is impressive. This is in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision of empowering women and also developing rural communities,” she added.
Minister Mutsvangwa observed that women benefiting under the project would not fail to send their children to school or feed their families.
“I also saw young women working here. They have children to take care of and I am impressed that ZWB built a play centre and an early child development block for these children so that while their parents are busy in the garden, they will be learning,” Min Mutsvangwa said.
Women empowerment is also key in the fight against gender-based violence, she further explained.
“Empowerment projects like these play a pivotal role in the fight against gender-based violence, child marriages as well as school drop-outs. Once a woman is empowered, the community is empowered, and ultimately the nation is developed and we can easily achieve Vision 2030.”
ZWB board chairperson, Mrs Sithabile Mangwengwende, said they wanted to empower women in the wake of climate change and ensure food security for families and communities.
“Today we are excited because we commissioned a community garden, the Baobab-Muwuyu Garden, where we are making rural women realise an income from agriculture. This enhances food security at the household level.
“We also train these women on financial literacy and adding value to the produce. We have some solar-powered driers at the garden, so that whenever fresh vegetables are not sold, they can dry them and package them for selling later. We are not only doing these empowerment projects in Mutoko, but in other districts across the country.”
She went on to thank Minister Mutsvangwa for taking time to visit the project.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Norest Chiutsi, said she always dreamt of being financially independent and ZWB had made that dream possible.
“We work hard in this garden and of course, we received assistance from various people and organisations to clear the land for use. We do not do farming only. We also have what we call ‘Ngoda Ovens’ where we bake bread for sale.
“These projects are aimed at empowering us. As women, being financially independent is crucial and this is exactly what we are becoming. We are excited. This will ensure our families are secure financially and in terms of food. This is all thanks to ZWB.”
Another beneficiary, Mrs Hazvinei Chibanda, said the garden had brought a relief to the community.
“We did not get anything from our fields due to the El Nino-induced drought. We were starving and a lot of families had no food. But look here, this intervention will go a long way in ensuring food security for people in the community.
“I call upon other women to work hard. We must make money and transform our livelihoods. Thank you ZWB for this gesture.”
Online Reporter