Ndirimwanasikana Trust Profile

Introduction and background

A girl child is considered to be vulnerable as compared to the boy child because of many circumstances. Girls face the threat of sexual violence, gender discrimination, inequalities and child marriages that prevent them from accessing school and receiving quality education. Gender inequality, lack of basic needs and no access to resources damages the physical and mental health of millions of girls across the globe. Child poverty is a global phenomenon. Child poverty: “Children living in poverty [are those who] experience deprivation of the material, spiritual and emotional resources needed to survive, develop and thrive, leaving them unable to enjoy their rights, achieve their full potential or participate as full and equal members of society” (UNICEF 2004).An important distinguishing feature of child poverty according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) and UNICEF (2019) In the Zimbabwe Child Poverty Report 2019 is that children in rural Zimbabwe are far more likely to be poor than are those in urban areas. This report further gives evidence by stating that in virtually all provinces rural child poverty exceeds 70 per cent, while urban child poverty is below 30 per cent. Mashonaland Central was identified as the province which suffers from the worst rural child poverty of all Zimbabwean provinces: nearly 86 per cent of children in rural Mashonaland Central province live in a poor household, and more than 60 per cent are in a household where monthly consumption expenditure is lower than the food poverty line. (ZIMSTAT, & UNICEF, 2019).

NdiriMwanasikana is a registered non-governmental organisation founded in 2020 with the aim of eradicating child poverty and assisting under privileged girls in the rural areas starting with Mashonaland central province which has high rates of child poverty. Approval to operate in this province was granted recently and work will commence starting in Shamva as it was an area of need identified by the Provincial District Office. NdiriMwanasikana tackles these problems by improving health, providing quality education, life skills and implementing sustainable projects which utilise on the young girl’s strengths. These young girls are between the ages of 10 to 21 years who come from poor backgrounds, are orphans, young girls living with disabilities, girls who have serious health conditions or have fallen victim of natural disasters. The organisation is mainly centred on the girl child hence, the term “Ndiri Mwanasikana” which means I am a girl child. NdiriMwanasikana aims to save the girl child’s dream.

Organisation goal and objectives:

Goal

Eradicating child poverty through empowering young girls with the necessary knowledge, skills and support in order for them to address the barriers that hinder them from living a self-sustained successful life.

Objectives

  • To provide young girls with access to education by giving them links and resources to government educational programs e.g. BEAM, scholarships and trainings on ways to do better in school so that they are able to apply knowledge in everyday life.
  • To improve the health of the young girls by providing them with reusable sanitary wear, cotton underwear and access to medical facilities and teaching them about the importance of mental health and sexual reproduction.
  • To incorporate sustainable projects and life training skills which will focus on the strengths of the young girl which will enable them to discover ways in which they can generate food/ income
  • To ensure that all the young girls are aware of their rights through holding various awareness campaigns and holding seminars which cover a range of topics that affect the girl child the most e.g. GBV/Abuse, young marriages and Social cohesion etc.
  • To liaise with other organizations and government departments in order to gain support in achieving the same goal.
  • To raise and invest funds for the purpose of achieving the goal of the trust.

Activity areas of focus

Ndirimwanasikana focuses on 4 pillars

Pillar 1: Providing quality education

School fees and adopt a child drive

We aim to pay fees for primary and high school kids in rural areas of each province. We hope through sponsorship, partnerships with other organization’s and from fundraising activities we will be able to raise the necessary amount to be able to ensure that the young girls are able to attend school until they are finished and have all the necessary tools they need to ensure that they are doing well.

Scholarship drive

We realize that there are many organizations and opportunities for education locally and even internationally through scholarships and grants and we would want to be able to help our beneficiaries who may qualify. We will help them with their applications and preparations as well as actually identifying any scholarships that they may be eligible for. We want to help prepare students for as far as tertiary level scholarship applications and part of our job is to identify scholarships that any of our beneficiaries would be eligible for.

Access to tools and quality education

Another aspect of our education pillar is to provide any tools that may be able to help assist our students to improve on their education. We realize some may already be in school and may have someone able to pay the school fees for them. However we ensure that they have all the tools including text books, help with homework from their older ‘siblings’, access to trainings, internet, any gadgets that could improve their school life and even access to uniforms and clothing that they need for a better and more efficient school life

Pillar 2: Improving health

Reusable sanitary wear and masks distribution

Provision of reusable sanity wear, cotton underwear and masks from Pad-up Zimbabwe

Medical consultations

Provision of medical services from doctors from Belgravia Medical Centre

Pillar 3: Sustainable projects that generate income

Reusable masks and reusable sanitary wear making

In African countries learning to make reusable sanitary pads often features in the education of the young women.Our partnership with pad up Zimbabwe goes beyond just provision of reusable sanitary wear and cotton underwear but also offers educational programs on reproductive health and teen pregnancy and training in making reusable sanitary pads. With this vital education and training in making reusable sanitary pads, as well as other aspects of reproductive health, girls in each province targeted will be able to pursue their education without compromising their wellbeing.

Pillar 4: Advocacy: Raising awareness on the young girls rights

Read the full profile here (255KB PDF)

Source: Ndirimwanasikana Trust

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