Save the Children partners over 50 local organisations

INTERNATIONAL humanitarian organisation, Save the Children, has partnered with nearly 50 local organisations to unlock funding to mitigate child-related challenges, such as the impact of drought on learners.

Save the Children recently announced that it was changing its focus to engage more and work closely with the Government and local development partners in implementing key projects.

It has launched the Akwande-Tuvule Business Development Hub to equip child rights organisations with skills to enable them to access international funding.

This will help local and national organisations compete for grants to develop solutions to address pressing issues facing children, including climate-induced emergencies such as droughts and diseases.

Due to the El Nino season, Zimbabwe is facing a serious drought, with thousands of children requiring urgent humanitarian support to ensure their school attendance is not affected.

“Through its Humanitarian Fund, the organisation has allocated resources to the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) to respond to the urgent cholera outbreak by conducting awareness sessions on sanitation and hygiene practices in schools and communities, training health workers and supporting community-led clean-up campaigns,” Save the Children said in a statement.

ZCC is already providing water treatment tablets to households and supplying cholera treatment centres with necessary equipment to ensure the provision of clean and safe water.

Save the Children said it has allocated more resources to Binga-based Kulima Mbobumi Training Centre (KMTC) to implement El Niño anticipatory actions with a specific focus on fortifying community and school disaster risk reduction strategies, supporting school feeding initiatives and rehabilitating water sources.

“Save the Children values the indispensable role played by grassroots organisations in their communities. They are often the first responders during crises and have a deep understanding of the unique challenges children face.

“By shifting power to local and national actors, it aims to amplify their impact and create a lasting change for children,” Save the Children said.

It also encouraged the donor community to increase funding to local development partners to enable them to reach more vulnerable children in Zimbabwe with life-saving interventions.

Save the Children country director, Mr Bhekimpilo Khanye, said his organisation recognises the impact of partnering local development agencies to amplify the promotion of children’s rights,

“If local, national actors and communities are better engaged in the planning and delivery of development and humanitarian programmes, it will result in better results for all children in Zimbabwe,” he said. – @nqotshili