Bongani Tshuma said the socio-economic challenges faced in the village are the root causes of the problems faced by the youths.

A LUPANE State University (LSU) student who was struggling to pay fees has made waves in Khafa village under Chief Madhliwa, in Nkayi, Matabeleland North province with his project to eliminate the crippling socio-economic challenges faced by the youth.

After getting help from well-wishers, Bongani Tshuma, a second-year applied biotechnology student has formed an organisation aimed at offering free online lessons to students and mentorship programmes to the youth in Nkayi.

He formed the organisation called Zim Inclusive Leaning Trust with his colleague Melulwazi Dlamini.

“Professional life coaches and teachers volunteer to teach for free, we have managed to reach many students and also got sponsors to help a few academically gifted students. We want to expand the number of students to get sponsorship so that they attend school. As the representative of Nkayi in the organisation, I am working very hard to see our youths in Nkayi doing great,” Tshuma told Southern Eye.

This latest development comes after Tshuma observed, through his research, that people from his village were battling with early marriages, child pregnancies, school dropouts, high crime rates and other related social issues in the community.

Tshuma said the socio-economic challenges faced in the village are the root causes of the problems faced by the youths.

“Nkayi is grappling with persistent social and economic challenges, including early pregnancies and a high crime rate, which can be attributed to limited access to secondary education,” Tshuma said.

“The schools are approximately 12km away, forcing students to walk long distances, resulting in a high dropout rate. In fact, fewer than 3% of students have passed their O’ Levels in the past five years.”

He also observed that boys abandon their education to work as illegal miners, which ultimately harms the community with the police not adequately addressing the issues that arise.

“We have underprivileged learners in Nkayi who are academically gifted but they don’t get access to education,” he said.

Tshuma pleaded with the government to address these challenges by increasing the number of secondary schools in the area.

“We also seek assistance from individuals in the diaspora to invest in our community; introducing manual work programmes can help reduce youth unemployment,” he said.

“We must prioritise affordable education for every girl child in our community, many dropouts occur because parents or guardians are unable to fund school fees. We advocate a law that targets support for girls in rural areas and holds culprits accountable for their actions. We need stricter law enforcement to address the issues in our villages.”

Related Topics

The communities since November last year have been receiving US$54 where some have been able to do projects and generated more income.

VILLAGERS in ward 3 of Madabe village, Plumtree in Mangwe District, Matabeleland South, are grappling with the devastating effects of a severe drought induced by climate change, but have taken it on themselves to survive.

Despite the challenges, the villagers persevered thanks to the emergency social cash transfer (ESCT) programme introduced by  the government and Unicef, which has enabled them to sustain themselves through various home projects.

While they continue to navigate the challenging recovery process, the communities are, however, calling on the government to maintain the crucial support provided by the ESCT, emphasising its vital role in their ongoing survival and resilience.

Under the ESCT programme, vulnerable families get monthly payments to alleviate poverty.

Goal Zimbabwe are the implementing partners with financial support from the Government of Germany through their KfW Development Bank.

The communities since November last year have been receiving US$54 where some have been able to do projects and generated more income.

A beneficiary from the programme, Mkhumbulo Mpofu (66), said the project came at a time when the area had been hit by drought.

“This programme has helped the community we had nothing at all. We last received the rains the past two years and we have been hit by severe drought. But through the introduction of this programme, we have managed to start up different projects.

“I have managed to pay school fees for my grandchildren, buy uniforms and food at home. This is a good initiative and we don’t want it to end. As you can see I am an old man and now it’s difficult for me to fend for the family,” he said.

Mpofu added: “We had nothing but then with this help from Goal, it has brought a little hope otherwise we would be dead by now. I am happy and appreciate this programme.

Sipho Moyo (57) said the programme had assisted her including taking care of her grandchildren.

“This programme started in November and the funds have helped me and my family because I was in a crisis.”

“But then after, I saw a change. I am able to get something which I can give to my grandchildren. I have my grandchild who is at high school, this money has helped me pay fees.

“Even our life has changed a bit because things seem to be going on well for me. I took the other money and invested in a club. We are contributing US$10 a month and that money we are able to lend it to a member who repays inclusive of an interest of 10%. Goal really helped me with my family.”

The ESCT helps provide support to families to deal with reduced income and scarcity of access to water and food. Cash transfer positively impacts household’s ability to ensure continued education of their children and feed their children.

Related Topics

In Harare, police had to be called in after suspected ruling party youths disrupted the public hearing held at Ambassador Hotel.

ZANU PF youths yesterday disrupted public hearings on the Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill in Gweru and Harare.

In Gweru, the meeting was  abandoned after the ruling party youths turned rowdy shouting at the officials led by Senator Sisasenkosi Ndebele who had to leave the venue in a huff.

In her welcome remarks Ndebele had said the meeting was non-political and participants were “free to air their views”.

After disrupting the meeting the youths started singing in support of President Emmerson Mnangagwa asking why “people hated him”.

During the meeting, Zanu PF youths would occasionally disrupt the proceedings when they booed other participants’ contributions as well as clapping when fellow party members were making their submissions.

In their support of the Bill, the youths unanimously said it would “curb terrorism” by monitoring the activities of non-profit organisations which they accused of allegedly harbouring a “regime change agenda” through support from “hostile Western countries”.

When other participants gave different thoughts against the Bill, the youths would occasionally boo them, interrupting proceedings.

In Harare, police had to be called in after suspected ruling party youths disrupted the public hearing held at Ambassador Hotel.

The hearing ended prematurely after participants largely from Zanu PF and some religious sects started singing  party songs.

This was after a young woman had criticised the Bill as giving the responsible minister overarching powers to interfere in the work of civic groups.

The woman was booed by alleged Zanu PF youths and she bolted out of the room fearing for her life.

The commotion left the committee leading the hearings with no choice, but to abandon the proceedings

Prior to the disruptions, participants expressed concerns that the Bill gave too much power to the line minister.

Civic society groups have condemned the Bill saying it undermines freedoms of expression and association and gives the government unjustifiable control over their operations.

The Bill allows the State to interfere with civil society organisations’ governance and activities

Penalties for breaching provisions of the Bill range from heavy fines to imprisonment.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa referred the Bill back to Parliament during the 9th Parliament for reconsideration and now returns when Zanu PF now has the two-thirds majority.

Related Topics