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Mthabisi Tshuma, Business Correspondent
YOUTHS entrepreneurs drawn from around the country have been empowered through chipping in of funds for their projects by the 4-H Zimbabwe Foundation competition.
The competition saw the company identifying youth led initiatives that the organisation will be working with in Matabeleland South province (Insiza district), Bulawayo Metropolitan, Manicaland (Rusape), Midlands Province (Gweru) and Mashonaland East (Bindura).
The winners of the competition include Sihlesenkosi Dube, Takudzwanashe Samhembere, Douglas Dhliwayo, Denver Munyaradzi and Davidzo Chizhengeni who all walked away with ZWL$1 500 and are set to continue engaging with the human development organisation for facilitating their projects in the future.
In an interview, 4-H Zimbabwe Foundation programmes officer Ms Ruth Chomola said, “We will engage with the youth leaders periodically for capacity building trainings and assist them develop their projects. Two of the winners will have the opportunity to represent Zimbabwe in International Agricultural Conversations programme organised by University of Minnesota 4-H.
“The conversations will allow for peer learning on different approaches to agriculture world over and serve as an innovation opportunity for our youth in agriculture.
The knowledge gained through this will be deciminated to other youth in Agriculture through the Apex Council for Youth in Agriculture Zimbabwe in conjunction with the relevant line ministries,” said Ms Chomola.
She said the event to be held virtually on August 31 through online platforms that include Zoom will act as an interaction and training way of how projects can continue to be facilitated in order to bring value to societies amid the pandemic.
“The conference will be a peer learning platform where 4- H club members all over the world share their agricultural findings and experiences with fellow members,” she said.
One of the winners Ms Sihlesenkosi Dube who is a community development practitioner and gender equality advocate said her current project is focused on the girl child.
“I am running a Girls First campaign dubbed Period with no worries where I am mobilising donations that include soap, towels, tissue paper and pads meant for 100 girls drawn from Insiza rural district council in Ward 7.
“This is in response of the ongoing pandemic and a step towards achieving gender equality as a select of young leaders for Women Deliver Class of 2020,” said Ms Dube.
Another winner Mr Takudzwanashe Samhembere who is a youth and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate said he is currently involved in food relief programmes, community gardens initiatives and youth community engagement.
Mr Davidzo Chizhengeni who is an environmental advocacy mainly for animals said he is currently focused on urban farming integration system into farming training and projects that include fish farming, Vermiculture, rabbit, roadrunners and maggots rearing.
Mr Douglas Dhliwayo who is into poultry production and crystal hatch said through the initiatives he is creating employment within the community that he operates in.
The youngest winner with 17-years of age and founder of Life Care 263 Denver Munyaradzi said, “Our idea is unique in that it is a youth-led initiative focused on bridging the gap between the young and the old in as far as the delivery of psychosocial support is concerned. Unlike most mental health initiatives that are led by the elderly, ours is for the youths by the youth, ensuring that the minds of both the old and the young meet in “perfect” harmony.
As young people, we are better placed in the understanding of what young people go through and therefore would better facilitate topics to discuss on and the elderly to call for wisdom.
“We work as mediators between the young and old as well as professionals in various areas of concern. We’re trying to get youths to open up about their feelings and create a non judgmental safe space for them. We will work on covering the generational gap by engaging the young and the old in different facets.
The effects of the COVID 19 pandemic can be stressful on young people; from fear, worry about possible infections and vulnerable loved ones, anxiety about what the future holds, hiking drug abuse as a form of escapism, changes in eating and sleeping patterns to even gender based violence trauma.
“I have seen it all in my community. Everyone responds differently to stressful situations. There is a real and urgent need to help society with coping mechanisms. This makes you, the people you care about and the community at large come out of this stronger,” he said.
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Sidumisile Mabena