Habakkuk Trust held a two-day advocacy training workshop in Emakhandeni, one which saw 43 participants receiving certificates and the formation of an Action Team in the area.
The advocacy-training workshop was carried out after the Habakkuk Trust Engagement Team (E-Team, a team of field officers who do consultative work on the ground) went to the area and identified participants from various interest groups.
The participants were trained in citizenship, advocacy, local governance, lobbying and mobilization. The second day of the workshop began with a quiz session for the participants as a recap of the lessons learnt on the first day.
The participants then carried out-group work in which they identified a local level issue and explained how they would carry out the advocacy process. This they did by applying the skills that they had learnt on advocacy and steps involved. These 4 groups all identified the issue of water shortage as a major concern in their community and were quite encouraged to know that Habakkuk Trust will be holding a community Indaba on this issue.
An Emakhandeni Action Team was then elected by the participants amongst themselves in the various interest groups that they represent. These include churches, women’s group, youths, home based care, orphan care, support groups, residents association, and informal traders. The workshop was crowned by the certification ceremony in which the Local Councilor officiated. Eight of the participants also received certificates of excellence.
Emakhandeni becomes the 12th ward to benefit from the Local Level Advocacy Programme in Bulawayo, adding to the pool of citizens taking an active role in the decision making processes of their locality.
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Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
HABAKKUK TRUST LAUNCHES LOCAL LEVEL ADVOCACY PROGRAMME(LLAP) PHASE TWO
HABAKKUK TIMES!
“LLAP is therefore a programme that calls for a change of mindsets as we think development together, beyond our individual differences, conflicts and political affiliations. It is a programme that instills in us a realization that the common community good is indeed the good of all.” The Bulawayo Mayor, His Worship Clr T Moyo.
Habakkuk Trust launched the second phase of its Local Level Advocacy Programme on Friday the 29th of August 2008 at a colorful Cocktail Ceremony held at Bulawayo’s Rainbow Hotel and graced by guest speaker, the Mayor of Bulawayo, His Worship Clr Thaba Moyo.
This launch, aimed at marketing and publicizing the programme to new stakeholders was a great opportunity for building new relationships with various stakeholders as well as strengthening already existing ties. It also strategically serves as a tool that will enable easier access to new LLAP areas. These areas include wards in Gwanda, Nkayi, Tsholotsho, Silobela Zimnyama (Mangwe) and Bulawayo wards.
The Chairman of the Habakkuk Trust Board, Mr Useni Sibanda opened by giving the welcoming remarks. The Mayor, Clr T Moyo also gave his keynote speech in which he underscored the crucial role of civil society and the value of LLAP which he described as a programme that thinks beyond the challenges the country is currently facing. Councilor T Moyo then officially launched the second phase of LLAP which he sealed off with the cutting of the blue and white ribbon, blue and white being the Habakkuk Trust brand colours.
Also present at this function were 21 of the new 29 Councilors, former Councilors, Heads of Council Departments, local pastors and Conveners of Habakkuk Trust’s local community Action Teams. Habakkuk Trust strategic and supporting partners, Heads of Civil Society Organizations, service providers and media houses also graced this momentous occasion during which Habakkuk Trust also launched its brand of Habakkuk Wear and Media products.
The function has been reported on and appeared in The Chronicle, 1 September 2008 as shown in the extract below:
“Bulawayo Mayor, Clr Thaba Moyo, has urged civil society organizations to be non-partisan and work with the Government for the development of communities. Speaking during the launch of the second phase of Habakkuk Trust’s Local Level Advocacy Programme on Friday, Clr Moyo said civil society organizations should work with policy makers and service providers in spearheading development…The first phase of LLAP programme saw 11 wards in Bulawayo and two in Mangwe district being conscientised on the need to engage in resolving their immediate social problems and to actively participate in decisions made for the whole society.”
“LLAP is therefore a programme that calls for a change of mindsets as we think development together, beyond our individual differences, conflicts and political affiliations. It is a programme that instills in us a realization that the common community good is indeed the good of all.” The Bulawayo Mayor, His Worship Clr T Moyo.
Habakkuk Trust launched the second phase of its Local Level Advocacy Programme on Friday the 29th of August 2008 at a colorful Cocktail Ceremony held at Bulawayo’s Rainbow Hotel and graced by guest speaker, the Mayor of Bulawayo, His Worship Clr Thaba Moyo.
This launch, aimed at marketing and publicizing the programme to new stakeholders was a great opportunity for building new relationships with various stakeholders as well as strengthening already existing ties. It also strategically serves as a tool that will enable easier access to new LLAP areas. These areas include wards in Gwanda, Nkayi, Tsholotsho, Silobela Zimnyama (Mangwe) and Bulawayo wards.
The Chairman of the Habakkuk Trust Board, Mr Useni Sibanda opened by giving the welcoming remarks. The Mayor, Clr T Moyo also gave his keynote speech in which he underscored the crucial role of civil society and the value of LLAP which he described as a programme that thinks beyond the challenges the country is currently facing. Councilor T Moyo then officially launched the second phase of LLAP which he sealed off with the cutting of the blue and white ribbon, blue and white being the Habakkuk Trust brand colours.
Also present at this function were 21 of the new 29 Councilors, former Councilors, Heads of Council Departments, local pastors and Conveners of Habakkuk Trust’s local community Action Teams. Habakkuk Trust strategic and supporting partners, Heads of Civil Society Organizations, service providers and media houses also graced this momentous occasion during which Habakkuk Trust also launched its brand of Habakkuk Wear and Media products.
The function has been reported on and appeared in The Chronicle, 1 September 2008 as shown in the extract below:
“Bulawayo Mayor, Clr Thaba Moyo, has urged civil society organizations to be non-partisan and work with the Government for the development of communities. Speaking during the launch of the second phase of Habakkuk Trust’s Local Level Advocacy Programme on Friday, Clr Moyo said civil society organizations should work with policy makers and service providers in spearheading development…The first phase of LLAP programme saw 11 wards in Bulawayo and two in Mangwe district being conscientised on the need to engage in resolving their immediate social problems and to actively participate in decisions made for the whole society.”
Thursday, June 12, 2008
CALL FOR ALL POLITICAL PARTIES YOUTH CONFERENCE TO END VIOLENCE
CALL FOR ALL POLITICAL PARTIES YOUTH CONFERENCE TO END VIOLENCE
By Sihle Nyathi
There have been numerous reports of people in Zimbabwe who have been murdered, maimed in spates of political violence, but there is the important constituency of youths who have not been factored into the equation. Youths have been used as perpetrators of political violence and in a lot of cases they have been victims of violence. Nothing has been done to promulgate strategies to deal with the role of youths in the violence and possibly curbing their role.
It is in light of this, that youths in Zimbabwe have declared that they are tired of being used as conduits of violence by political parties as this creates a bleak future for them. The youths also called for a National Conference which would be attended by youths from the different political parties. The youths during this conference would discuss their common aspirations and the conference would also be a tolerance building measure for diverse political views. This came out at a focus group meeting that was convened by the National Youth Development Trust.
Youths from the two main political parties said that there are more things that unite youths than those that separate them and there is need to cooperate.
“Youths in Zimbabwe need to be united as they share a common future. They should also be actively involved in creating a brighter future,” said Trevor Murayi.
A lecturer at the National University of Zimbabwe, Mr Gibbs Dube who presented a paper on whether youths are being adequately prepared for the Presidential runoff scheduled for June 27 called upon the youths to organize a national conference which would be used as a method of ending the conflict between youths of different political parties.
The argument that was presented by Sihle Nyathi, the Information and Advocacy Officer of Habakkuk Trust was that it is the role of non-state actors such as civic society to build peace between youths of different political parties given that they are not involved in the conflict.
This is because the different political parties might not be interested in building tolerance among the youths for fear that they would derail the constituency from their agenda. The role of the National Youth Conference would not be to create hegemony of ideas but to chart a new dispensation in the political arena where there is only a fight of ideas and not a physical battle.
In his paper, Mr Dube noted that public media such as the radio station Spot FM has presented youths as being violent or as victims of violence. He noted that there is need to end the stereotypical view of the youths.
A youth leader from Zanu-PF complained about coverage that they received from independent publications.
“The story was disheartening in that the story was completely false and I got calls from the United Kingdom where I was accused of beating someone that I was having dinner with. The other problem is that youths are able to talk to each other when they are sober but the problems comes up when politicians give youths beer and youths become unreasonable,” said the Zanu-PF youth leader.
The youths were advised to come up with their own media given that citizen journalism has become phenomenal. The danger with citizen media is that there are many falsehoods that are peddled. The youths are set to take a short course in story writing so that they can have their own media which can be as simple as one page documents.
The Zimbabwean media was said to have failed to represent the interests of the youths in that they are not giving youths a voice in their stories and they are not mobilizing the youths to take part in electoral processes. The media has reportedly become obsessed with political interests and forget the important political constituency comprising of youths. Youths constitute a sizeable number of the Zimbabwean population and they are the most vulnerable in that they are used for political violence. The media has to mainstream youths in their coverage as they represent the future of the country.
There were also calls for conflict resolution in relation to the youths and for political tolerance. Zimbabwe is facing conflict at this time and in a post conflict era, communities will need to have programmes that are specifically targeted at conflict resolution given that communities have been divided in terms of their political parties. A case in point is that of Regina Ndlovu, a resident of Robert Sinyoka just outside Bulawayo who lost her property during a spate of political violence in 2002.
The sad part is that it is some members of her community who were supporting a particular party who sold her out. After all is said and done, the community would have to live together. In a post crisis phase, the community would have to focus on development and it would be difficult given that there are a number of wounds that would have to be healed. Victims of violence also have to be healed incase they want retributive justice. Victims of Gukurahundi also come to mind because a lot of them will demand retributive justice. In the event that there is no monetary compensation victims of political violence might also take up arms.
There are communities who have managed to survive the conflict currently facing Zimbabwe and communities that come to mind include the Phakamani Community in Matabeleland South who used preemptive strategies to diffuse a potentially volatile situation. The community was able to preserve its peace because there is community cohesion. The Phakamani community is a model that other communities can draw lessons from and possibly help civic groups in coming up with methods of community cohesion as a measure of peace building.
There have been calls for panels such as the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a new Zimbabwe but there is need to have healing processes that are specifically targeted at communities and will not be agents of documenting and researching on what has happened in conflict phases but will be healing processes. The xenophobic attacks in South Africa bear testimony to a people who have not been healed of the ravages of Apartheid.
The writer of the article, Sihle Nyathi is the Habakkuk Trust Information and Advocacy Officer and she is the editor of the Habakkuk Trust Blog and the Newsletter.
End.
By Sihle Nyathi
There have been numerous reports of people in Zimbabwe who have been murdered, maimed in spates of political violence, but there is the important constituency of youths who have not been factored into the equation. Youths have been used as perpetrators of political violence and in a lot of cases they have been victims of violence. Nothing has been done to promulgate strategies to deal with the role of youths in the violence and possibly curbing their role.
It is in light of this, that youths in Zimbabwe have declared that they are tired of being used as conduits of violence by political parties as this creates a bleak future for them. The youths also called for a National Conference which would be attended by youths from the different political parties. The youths during this conference would discuss their common aspirations and the conference would also be a tolerance building measure for diverse political views. This came out at a focus group meeting that was convened by the National Youth Development Trust.
Youths from the two main political parties said that there are more things that unite youths than those that separate them and there is need to cooperate.
“Youths in Zimbabwe need to be united as they share a common future. They should also be actively involved in creating a brighter future,” said Trevor Murayi.
A lecturer at the National University of Zimbabwe, Mr Gibbs Dube who presented a paper on whether youths are being adequately prepared for the Presidential runoff scheduled for June 27 called upon the youths to organize a national conference which would be used as a method of ending the conflict between youths of different political parties.
The argument that was presented by Sihle Nyathi, the Information and Advocacy Officer of Habakkuk Trust was that it is the role of non-state actors such as civic society to build peace between youths of different political parties given that they are not involved in the conflict.
This is because the different political parties might not be interested in building tolerance among the youths for fear that they would derail the constituency from their agenda. The role of the National Youth Conference would not be to create hegemony of ideas but to chart a new dispensation in the political arena where there is only a fight of ideas and not a physical battle.
In his paper, Mr Dube noted that public media such as the radio station Spot FM has presented youths as being violent or as victims of violence. He noted that there is need to end the stereotypical view of the youths.
A youth leader from Zanu-PF complained about coverage that they received from independent publications.
“The story was disheartening in that the story was completely false and I got calls from the United Kingdom where I was accused of beating someone that I was having dinner with. The other problem is that youths are able to talk to each other when they are sober but the problems comes up when politicians give youths beer and youths become unreasonable,” said the Zanu-PF youth leader.
The youths were advised to come up with their own media given that citizen journalism has become phenomenal. The danger with citizen media is that there are many falsehoods that are peddled. The youths are set to take a short course in story writing so that they can have their own media which can be as simple as one page documents.
The Zimbabwean media was said to have failed to represent the interests of the youths in that they are not giving youths a voice in their stories and they are not mobilizing the youths to take part in electoral processes. The media has reportedly become obsessed with political interests and forget the important political constituency comprising of youths. Youths constitute a sizeable number of the Zimbabwean population and they are the most vulnerable in that they are used for political violence. The media has to mainstream youths in their coverage as they represent the future of the country.
There were also calls for conflict resolution in relation to the youths and for political tolerance. Zimbabwe is facing conflict at this time and in a post conflict era, communities will need to have programmes that are specifically targeted at conflict resolution given that communities have been divided in terms of their political parties. A case in point is that of Regina Ndlovu, a resident of Robert Sinyoka just outside Bulawayo who lost her property during a spate of political violence in 2002.
The sad part is that it is some members of her community who were supporting a particular party who sold her out. After all is said and done, the community would have to live together. In a post crisis phase, the community would have to focus on development and it would be difficult given that there are a number of wounds that would have to be healed. Victims of violence also have to be healed incase they want retributive justice. Victims of Gukurahundi also come to mind because a lot of them will demand retributive justice. In the event that there is no monetary compensation victims of political violence might also take up arms.
There are communities who have managed to survive the conflict currently facing Zimbabwe and communities that come to mind include the Phakamani Community in Matabeleland South who used preemptive strategies to diffuse a potentially volatile situation. The community was able to preserve its peace because there is community cohesion. The Phakamani community is a model that other communities can draw lessons from and possibly help civic groups in coming up with methods of community cohesion as a measure of peace building.
There have been calls for panels such as the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a new Zimbabwe but there is need to have healing processes that are specifically targeted at communities and will not be agents of documenting and researching on what has happened in conflict phases but will be healing processes. The xenophobic attacks in South Africa bear testimony to a people who have not been healed of the ravages of Apartheid.
The writer of the article, Sihle Nyathi is the Habakkuk Trust Information and Advocacy Officer and she is the editor of the Habakkuk Trust Blog and the Newsletter.
End.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
HABAKKUK TRUST ACTION TEAM LOBBIES FOR VOTING RIGHTS
By Fortune Dlamini
THE community in Robert Sinyoka, an area about 20km out of Bulawayo city centre has come up with a committee that will lobby for the voting rights of people in the area who do not have Zimbabwean citizenship.
Most of these people come from places such as Zambia and Mozambique, but they have been living in Zimbabwe for the past 20 or more years. Some of them are born in Zimbabwe, but are still denied citizenship, hence they cannot take part in any electoral process.
A team from Habakkuk Trust visited the area as part of its programmes, in a bid to engage the community to take maximum participation in the June 27 elections.
The Headmaster of Robert Sinyoka Primary School, Mr Giyani Moyo, who is also the Secretary for the Habakkuk Trust Robert Sinyoka Area Action Team (A-Team), said the issue was a cause for concern as these people were being denied their rights.
“There are quite a number of these people in our area, which constitutes of Robert Sinyoka, St Peters, Methodist and Pumula North who are not able to vote as they do not have citizenship. Most of these have been in Zimbabwe for all their lives, but they have been denied the right to register in the current elections,” he said.
“These people are part of us and they also have the right to take part in electoral processes,” added Mr Moyo.
However, of interest is that most of these people voted in the 1980 elections. The community is concerned that this is a Human Rights abuse.
“It may be too late for us to lobby for these people for them to vote in the current elections, but we should begin lobbying for them now for future purposes. We will make sure that we capture and compile the statistics of these people so that we know how many people we are dealing with,” he said.
He said they will come up with a committee that will be solely responsible for lobbying and consulting relevant authorities.
This decision comes after Local Level Advocacy Programmes that were carried out in the area by Habakkuk Trust. These programmes enlightened the communities of their basic rights and how they can fully participate in national issues. These programmes also saw one of the Action Team members contesting as a Member of Parliament in the Pumula North constituency.
THE community in Robert Sinyoka, an area about 20km out of Bulawayo city centre has come up with a committee that will lobby for the voting rights of people in the area who do not have Zimbabwean citizenship.
Most of these people come from places such as Zambia and Mozambique, but they have been living in Zimbabwe for the past 20 or more years. Some of them are born in Zimbabwe, but are still denied citizenship, hence they cannot take part in any electoral process.
A team from Habakkuk Trust visited the area as part of its programmes, in a bid to engage the community to take maximum participation in the June 27 elections.
The Headmaster of Robert Sinyoka Primary School, Mr Giyani Moyo, who is also the Secretary for the Habakkuk Trust Robert Sinyoka Area Action Team (A-Team), said the issue was a cause for concern as these people were being denied their rights.
“There are quite a number of these people in our area, which constitutes of Robert Sinyoka, St Peters, Methodist and Pumula North who are not able to vote as they do not have citizenship. Most of these have been in Zimbabwe for all their lives, but they have been denied the right to register in the current elections,” he said.
“These people are part of us and they also have the right to take part in electoral processes,” added Mr Moyo.
However, of interest is that most of these people voted in the 1980 elections. The community is concerned that this is a Human Rights abuse.
“It may be too late for us to lobby for these people for them to vote in the current elections, but we should begin lobbying for them now for future purposes. We will make sure that we capture and compile the statistics of these people so that we know how many people we are dealing with,” he said.
He said they will come up with a committee that will be solely responsible for lobbying and consulting relevant authorities.
This decision comes after Local Level Advocacy Programmes that were carried out in the area by Habakkuk Trust. These programmes enlightened the communities of their basic rights and how they can fully participate in national issues. These programmes also saw one of the Action Team members contesting as a Member of Parliament in the Pumula North constituency.
BULAWAYO CIVIC ORGANISATIONS HOLD CONSULTATIVE MEETINGS
By Fortune Dlamini
Civic organizations, churches and other stakeholders should identify ways in which they can take part in mapping the way forward and have clear objectives and agendas if they are to ensure maximum participation of the electorate in the June 27 elections and its aftermath, said Pastor Useni Sibanda.
Pastor Sibanda said this at a Civic Organizations Consultative Meeting that was held in Bulawayo on Saturday 31 May 2008, which was attended by various civic groups, representatives of churches and the media.
Mr Gorden Moyo, Executive Director of Bulawayo Agenda said civic society should know various international dynamics that are diverting the people’s attention from achieving its objectives.
“There are international obstacles that are affecting the country, which we need to be aware of. China, for example has been pampering Zanu-PF with money and campaign material such as agriculture equipment and computers. We need to expose the hypocrisy of China and play the name and shame game,” he said.
Mr Moyo said there were also some regional obstacles such as the SADC, which was failing to take a solid position on the Zimbabwe situation. He pointed out that SADC has a clause that prohibits its member states from interfering in the internal affairs African states. He stated that the clause is being used by SADC to stop help from coming to Zimbabwe.
There was also a recommendation that elections should not be ward based as there are thousands of Zimbabweans who have been displaced. There was a recommendation that Zimbabwe Electoral Commission compose a list of all the displaced people and set up centers where these people can vote from. This is important as most of the people who were displaced during the political are afraid to go back to their wards to vote.
Voter education was one of the most important issues that was raised and it was resolved that all stakeholders should be in the fore-front of encouraging the electorate to go and vote in the 27 June Presidential elections. All stakeholders were encouraged to go into their respective constituencies and areas and tell people to go and vote.
The stakeholders also recommended and resolved that they come up with a position paper for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce the results after a stipulated time frame. This position paper will be compiled and sent to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission as a stance, which has been taken by all the stakeholders who were present at the consultative meeting.
Civic organizations, churches and other stakeholders should identify ways in which they can take part in mapping the way forward and have clear objectives and agendas if they are to ensure maximum participation of the electorate in the June 27 elections and its aftermath, said Pastor Useni Sibanda.
Pastor Sibanda said this at a Civic Organizations Consultative Meeting that was held in Bulawayo on Saturday 31 May 2008, which was attended by various civic groups, representatives of churches and the media.
Mr Gorden Moyo, Executive Director of Bulawayo Agenda said civic society should know various international dynamics that are diverting the people’s attention from achieving its objectives.
“There are international obstacles that are affecting the country, which we need to be aware of. China, for example has been pampering Zanu-PF with money and campaign material such as agriculture equipment and computers. We need to expose the hypocrisy of China and play the name and shame game,” he said.
Mr Moyo said there were also some regional obstacles such as the SADC, which was failing to take a solid position on the Zimbabwe situation. He pointed out that SADC has a clause that prohibits its member states from interfering in the internal affairs African states. He stated that the clause is being used by SADC to stop help from coming to Zimbabwe.
There was also a recommendation that elections should not be ward based as there are thousands of Zimbabweans who have been displaced. There was a recommendation that Zimbabwe Electoral Commission compose a list of all the displaced people and set up centers where these people can vote from. This is important as most of the people who were displaced during the political are afraid to go back to their wards to vote.
Voter education was one of the most important issues that was raised and it was resolved that all stakeholders should be in the fore-front of encouraging the electorate to go and vote in the 27 June Presidential elections. All stakeholders were encouraged to go into their respective constituencies and areas and tell people to go and vote.
The stakeholders also recommended and resolved that they come up with a position paper for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce the results after a stipulated time frame. This position paper will be compiled and sent to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission as a stance, which has been taken by all the stakeholders who were present at the consultative meeting.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
BULAWAYO YOUTHS ATTEND PRAYER MEETING
Youth Prayer Meeting
“Youths should desist from having a departure mentality of leaving Zimbabwe, but they should contribute to the future of the country,” said Pastor Muchina.
These were some of the words of wisdom that were said at the Youth Prayer Meeting that was held on Saturday 17 May at Baptist Church in Bulawayo.
The theme of the prayer meeting was extracted from Nehemiah 3 vs. 7, which speaks about rebuilding Israel. Habakkuk Trust and youths in Bulawayo, from the community and from the churches came together to teach each other about the importance of taking part in national and development issues.
The background of the meeting was based on the evident lack of participation of youths in issues such as nation building and developmental issues. Youths are supposed to be at the fore front of everything that happens in the country and it is unfortunate that they are not participating given that they are young, energetic and have fresh ideas that can help build our nation.
The prayer meeting began on a high note with Pastor Vusa Moyo giving a motivational speech on praying for peace during the run-off. Pastor Moyo said youths should not be apologetic when they come before God. They should take a stand and tell God what exactly they want Him to do for them, because God is a God of specifics. His motivational came from the book of Daniel chapter 9.He said youths should pray with their heats and not with their minds. Youths should pray for peace during the run-off, pray for the fight against the spirit of violence.
The second motivational speech was given by Mr Dembedza, who spoke about the restoration of hope among youths in the current situation. He said youths should realise that they are very important people and that they can make a lot of difference in the nation by their participation.
Mr Dembedza encouraged youths by citing some youths in the Bible that made a difference, such as David, Mark, Joseph. He therefore said youths should not be afraid but they should stand for what they believe in.
The third motivational speech about a brighter future for young people was given by Pastor Muchina. He quoted the scriptures from Esther4:13-14. Pastor Muchina said youths had developed a departure mentality, whereby they tell themselves that when they complete school they will go to neighboring countries. He said that was not good and youths should have the courage to contribute to their future and said they should be masters of their own destiny. He encouraged youths to desist from relying on handouts and they should get up and begin doing things on their own.
The Chief Executive Officer of Habakkuk Trust, Mr Dumisani Nkomo said in his closing remarks that Zimbabwe was barren, but youths needed to come together to break that barrenness.
He said as the youths prayed, something was birthed and urged youths to continuously push and pray until something happens.
The prayer meeting had entertainment from Patience, who gave a poem about hope, Sindiso, who sang a worship song, a duet was also given by Mickey and Lovejoy and a group called Family Voices gave a stunning performance. The prayer meeting was attended by youths from different churches, communities as well as youths from schools such as Gifford, Eveline and BES.
“Youths should desist from having a departure mentality of leaving Zimbabwe, but they should contribute to the future of the country,” said Pastor Muchina.
These were some of the words of wisdom that were said at the Youth Prayer Meeting that was held on Saturday 17 May at Baptist Church in Bulawayo.
The theme of the prayer meeting was extracted from Nehemiah 3 vs. 7, which speaks about rebuilding Israel. Habakkuk Trust and youths in Bulawayo, from the community and from the churches came together to teach each other about the importance of taking part in national and development issues.
The background of the meeting was based on the evident lack of participation of youths in issues such as nation building and developmental issues. Youths are supposed to be at the fore front of everything that happens in the country and it is unfortunate that they are not participating given that they are young, energetic and have fresh ideas that can help build our nation.
The prayer meeting began on a high note with Pastor Vusa Moyo giving a motivational speech on praying for peace during the run-off. Pastor Moyo said youths should not be apologetic when they come before God. They should take a stand and tell God what exactly they want Him to do for them, because God is a God of specifics. His motivational came from the book of Daniel chapter 9.He said youths should pray with their heats and not with their minds. Youths should pray for peace during the run-off, pray for the fight against the spirit of violence.
The second motivational speech was given by Mr Dembedza, who spoke about the restoration of hope among youths in the current situation. He said youths should realise that they are very important people and that they can make a lot of difference in the nation by their participation.
Mr Dembedza encouraged youths by citing some youths in the Bible that made a difference, such as David, Mark, Joseph. He therefore said youths should not be afraid but they should stand for what they believe in.
The third motivational speech about a brighter future for young people was given by Pastor Muchina. He quoted the scriptures from Esther4:13-14. Pastor Muchina said youths had developed a departure mentality, whereby they tell themselves that when they complete school they will go to neighboring countries. He said that was not good and youths should have the courage to contribute to their future and said they should be masters of their own destiny. He encouraged youths to desist from relying on handouts and they should get up and begin doing things on their own.
The Chief Executive Officer of Habakkuk Trust, Mr Dumisani Nkomo said in his closing remarks that Zimbabwe was barren, but youths needed to come together to break that barrenness.
He said as the youths prayed, something was birthed and urged youths to continuously push and pray until something happens.
The prayer meeting had entertainment from Patience, who gave a poem about hope, Sindiso, who sang a worship song, a duet was also given by Mickey and Lovejoy and a group called Family Voices gave a stunning performance. The prayer meeting was attended by youths from different churches, communities as well as youths from schools such as Gifford, Eveline and BES.
COMMUNITIES DEFENDING PEACE
COMMUNITIES DEFENDING PEACE
By Sihle Nyathi
The community of Phakamani is located in Matabeleland South in ward 1 in Zimbabwe and like most of the rural areas in Zimbabwe has seen the setting up of military bases. Some rural areas in Zimbabwe have been hit by a wave of violence but Phakamani has been spared the violence as they promulgated strategies to ensure that peace prevailed in the community.
The Phakamani community shows that communities have adequate resources to deal with conflict in their communities as long as they are organized and they are conversant with their rights.
“The community of Phakamani feels that the Habakkuk Trust Action Team has been empowered by the local level advocacy training as we have been equipped with knowledge on advocacy. The training has enabled us to diffuse a potentially volatile situation, said James Nhlabano, Phakamani Action Team Treasurer.
The Habakkuk Trust Action Team convener for Phakamani, Mr Prince Mpala said that a military base was set up and they had had an input in its set up as they wanted to make sure that there was no violence in the area.
“When the base was set up, we insisted that it be set up near the police station so as to make sure that there is no violence”, said Mr Mpala. He also said that there is no violence in the area and they are only hearing about the violence in other areas.
The Habakkuk Trust Phakamani Action Team approached the police and war veterans in the area to state their view that they do not want violence in the area. The Action Team also stated in the meeting that genuine war veterans are those who are above the age of 35 and will not accept anyone who claims to be one and is below the age of 35. This was done so as to ensure that no unruly elements would be allowed to hide under the guise of being a war veteran in order to destabilize the area.
The community has also taken peace building initiatives such as holding a meeting with parents and telling them that they should caution their children against being violent and that they should make sure that adults are not attacked.
The Phakamani community has been proactive in determining the destiny of their community in that they have gone on to hold peace prayer rallies a fortnight ago and they are scheduled to hold another one at a date to be confirmed. The peace rallies have been very effective in that they have brought different community stakeholders together and they pre-empty any violence that is at stake.
“The peace prayer rally that was held was attended by everyone in the community including the police, those manning the military base and the war veterans. Religion helps to establish community cohesion and is also are an effective method of information dissemination and in this instance it was to stamp the fact that peace should be established in the community. At the end of the prayer, the tension that was there at the beginning of the meeting had been diffused, said Mr Nhlabano, the Action Team Treasurer.
The Phakamani community has also had useful insight in determining the cause of conflict and in line with their findings they have banned the use of the door to door campaign strategy as they say that it exposes people’ political orientation. This would be undoubtedly a breeding ground for strife.
“We have informed all parties that we will prepare a schedule were they will be able to address the electorate in the forthcoming runoff”, said Six Boys Ndebele, information secretary for the Phakamani Action team.
The Habakkuk Trust Phakamani Action team has said the environment is peaceful and they are saying that development is critical for the area rather than political squabbles. Whilst they acknowledge the importance of the offices of the councillor and members of parliament, they feel that they are the critical people for development. They have since resaved to work with traditional leaders to deal with issues such as the lack of serviced boreholes which has seen school children carrying water to school and women walking for more than 4 kilometers fetch water.
Mr Dube of Mahlabazihlangene also acknowledged the need for communities to take charge of their developmental goals and acknowledges that development starts with the individual and hence it is not the preserve of politicians.
The community of Phakamani is an interesting case study and bears testimony to the fact that a community which is aware of their rights is able to deal with situations which threaten their livehood. The communities realize the importance of peace in development and they are taking active steps in defending it. The community is very organized and this enables them to speak with one voice. The community has managed to ensure peace in their surroundings at a time when rural communities are under siege.
By Sihle Nyathi
The community of Phakamani is located in Matabeleland South in ward 1 in Zimbabwe and like most of the rural areas in Zimbabwe has seen the setting up of military bases. Some rural areas in Zimbabwe have been hit by a wave of violence but Phakamani has been spared the violence as they promulgated strategies to ensure that peace prevailed in the community.
The Phakamani community shows that communities have adequate resources to deal with conflict in their communities as long as they are organized and they are conversant with their rights.
“The community of Phakamani feels that the Habakkuk Trust Action Team has been empowered by the local level advocacy training as we have been equipped with knowledge on advocacy. The training has enabled us to diffuse a potentially volatile situation, said James Nhlabano, Phakamani Action Team Treasurer.
The Habakkuk Trust Action Team convener for Phakamani, Mr Prince Mpala said that a military base was set up and they had had an input in its set up as they wanted to make sure that there was no violence in the area.
“When the base was set up, we insisted that it be set up near the police station so as to make sure that there is no violence”, said Mr Mpala. He also said that there is no violence in the area and they are only hearing about the violence in other areas.
The Habakkuk Trust Phakamani Action Team approached the police and war veterans in the area to state their view that they do not want violence in the area. The Action Team also stated in the meeting that genuine war veterans are those who are above the age of 35 and will not accept anyone who claims to be one and is below the age of 35. This was done so as to ensure that no unruly elements would be allowed to hide under the guise of being a war veteran in order to destabilize the area.
The community has also taken peace building initiatives such as holding a meeting with parents and telling them that they should caution their children against being violent and that they should make sure that adults are not attacked.
The Phakamani community has been proactive in determining the destiny of their community in that they have gone on to hold peace prayer rallies a fortnight ago and they are scheduled to hold another one at a date to be confirmed. The peace rallies have been very effective in that they have brought different community stakeholders together and they pre-empty any violence that is at stake.
“The peace prayer rally that was held was attended by everyone in the community including the police, those manning the military base and the war veterans. Religion helps to establish community cohesion and is also are an effective method of information dissemination and in this instance it was to stamp the fact that peace should be established in the community. At the end of the prayer, the tension that was there at the beginning of the meeting had been diffused, said Mr Nhlabano, the Action Team Treasurer.
The Phakamani community has also had useful insight in determining the cause of conflict and in line with their findings they have banned the use of the door to door campaign strategy as they say that it exposes people’ political orientation. This would be undoubtedly a breeding ground for strife.
“We have informed all parties that we will prepare a schedule were they will be able to address the electorate in the forthcoming runoff”, said Six Boys Ndebele, information secretary for the Phakamani Action team.
The Habakkuk Trust Phakamani Action team has said the environment is peaceful and they are saying that development is critical for the area rather than political squabbles. Whilst they acknowledge the importance of the offices of the councillor and members of parliament, they feel that they are the critical people for development. They have since resaved to work with traditional leaders to deal with issues such as the lack of serviced boreholes which has seen school children carrying water to school and women walking for more than 4 kilometers fetch water.
Mr Dube of Mahlabazihlangene also acknowledged the need for communities to take charge of their developmental goals and acknowledges that development starts with the individual and hence it is not the preserve of politicians.
The community of Phakamani is an interesting case study and bears testimony to the fact that a community which is aware of their rights is able to deal with situations which threaten their livehood. The communities realize the importance of peace in development and they are taking active steps in defending it. The community is very organized and this enables them to speak with one voice. The community has managed to ensure peace in their surroundings at a time when rural communities are under siege.
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