Following a Social Accountability training conducted by Heal Zimbabwe in 2018, a Social Accountability Team (SAT) established by communities working with Heal Zimbabwe in Makoni has registered key milestones in championing development initiatives in Makoni. The training on Social Accountability among other things equipped communities with advocacy skills that allow them to hold their local leadership accountable and also create platforms for engagement.
During a Social Accountability Dialogue meeting conducted on 10 April 2021, the SAT reported that between 2018 and 2019 there has been a marked improvement on the community’s ability to hold their duty bearers to account for their actions and to represent their needs at various decision making levels. Added to this, because of citizen agency, the local community rallied stakeholders together who assisted in the construction of a Waiting Mother’s Shelter while Makoni West Constituency Legislator,Jenfan Muswere assisted with resources to drill a borehole at Chinyadza Clinic after engagement by the community.
Such developments have seen the local community appreciating value in creating platforms for engagement with duty bearers and also demanding accountability and transparency in resource use.”Before the training by Heal Zimbabwe, we never appreciated the value of demanding accountability and creating platforms to engage with duty bearers. Today we now have a Waiting Mothers’ shelter for expecting women in our community. This will go a long way given that most women travel long distances to access health services”, said one participant.
Participants also commended the SAT for its engagements efforts that saw the drilling of a borehole at Chinyadza clinic.”We are very grateful that we now have safe and clean water at the clinic. It now means that patients and health staff at the clinic can have access to clean water and quality health services”, said another participant. As part of way forwad the dialogue meeting resolved that there was need for the community to have another meeting and engage the Councillor on the need to speed up electrification of the clinic. There is also a need for the community the need to fundraise for the Waiting Mother’s Shelter roofing material and furnishing.
The meetings by Heal Zimbabwe are part of efforts to empower local communities to help safeguard against human rights abuse and also help build peaceful communities. Heal Zimbabwe utilizes various strategies to address conflicts in local communities. One of these ways is the use of community dialogues, an initiative for communities to discuss and collectively identify ways through which they can proffer solutions to problems in their communities. The platforms also equip communities with relevant information on Covid 19, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and human rights. Such platforms also facilitate local level conversations on pertinent issues affecting communities as well as create socially cohesive communities.
Source: Heal Zimbabwe
