About us
Windows of Hope Zimbabwe is a Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO/78/20), established in 2003, with the mandate to undertake interventions that reduce vulnerability to poverty, disease, hunger, capacity building to orphans and vulnerable and other famine situations that contribute to the creation of social systems that promote human welfare and bring hope to humankind. It seeks to support development projects including Vulnerable Children Interventions, Community Health Care, food provision for the families suffering from extreme malnutrition, clean water for communities that have none, housing for the homeless, Livelihood and Sustainable Development programmes and other long-term development efforts to break the cycle of poverty. Our work is based on the values of Christian motivation and obligation towards building the ability of individuals and communities to draw on a range of assets to effect change particularly in marginalised communities in the rural areas, semi-urban and urban poor.
Vision
To be an esteemed organisation that transforms, empowers and develops hopeless citizens to become self-sufficient and live productive lives.
Mission
To transform, empower and give hope to communities through a wide range of care and support rendered to hurting and suffering people in the communities.
Objectives
- To educate people about the causes, effects and prevention of HIV infection, and other non-communicable diseases and other life-threatening illnesses or epidemics
- To improve the quality of life of orphaned and other vulnerable children
- To provide physcho social support to people infected and affected by HIV and AIDs and other chronic diseases.
- To develop sustainable livelihoods and micro finance programs
- To establish capacity building programmes for sustainability
- To Increase HIV and Life skills awareness among children and youth
Organisational values
- Honesty
- Open Minded
- Love and Care
- Integrity
- Innovativeness
Statement of organization’s expertise in the relevant area
Windows of Hope has been operating since 2004 with the projects supporting people living with HIV and AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children through camps and livelihoods, supporting communities through income generating activities and community health care. Windows of Hope has been participating in bible school and tertiary institutions through the youth on campus programmes where Christian values are taught and also HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns are held. The Church has realized that the tertiary institutions students if they are not mentored they will graduate to the grave and have wasted resources and hence need to advocate for their involvement and engagement to reduce new infections. Windows of Hope set up projects in the community and were well supported by the church. Church members were trained as volunteers and reaching out to so many people in the community. A lot of people received Christ as their personal savior through the program. Stigma and discrimination of People Living with HIV minimized in the churches and HIV positive church members are now able to take leadership roles in the church and in the community. Support groups were formed and people are living long and happy. Church members in the United Baptist are willing to go for Voluntary Counselling Testing (VCT) publicly at Annual Church Conferences. Windows of Hope has partnered with PSI in reaching out to the people especially where people come and meet at the Annual Church events. This shows the impact the program has made in the church to fight stigma. The organisation also assisted many orphans, elderly, and the sick with food when the hunger situation was pathetic through the Famine Relief project. A lot of orphaned children received educational assistance in form of school fees and uniforms and quite a number have attained university qualifications. Those that were helped with formula milk after losing their mothers have grown up and life was preserved. The volunteer’s express satisfaction for the opportunity they got to minister to vulnerable people with the word of God as they executed their work in the communities. They have also learnt lots of skills pertaining community development through the trainings and experiences they went through during the past implementing period.
Current Programmes
Below listed is an overview of the programs Windows of Hope Zimbabwe:
Community Healthcare
This program started in 2006 and has now spread to 15 districts of Zimbabwe. The Community Health Care program reaches to 1 340 – cumulative. HIV positive people through 228 trained volunteers who visit them at least once a week. So far we are rendering support to 20 support groups where 3 are for the teenagers.
Vulnerable Children Interventions
This program started in 2004 and has now spread to 16 districts of Zimbabwe. The Vulnerable Children Interventions program reaches to 2 155 – cumulative. Orphans and vulnerable children through 302 trained volunteers who offer psychological support and care.
Livelihoods and Sustainable Development
The organization under the LSD department runs Income Generating Activities. These seek to empower Volunteers, People Living with HIV and out of school orphans with income generating activities for self-sustenance. The project provides revolving funds for startup loans. Beneficiaries are trained to follow business principles. Activities include; poultry, buying and selling, sewing and selling products, candle making and gardening. This department also assists those orphans who were under our various assistance and are now grown up to work but have no jobs and have business ideas that need capital, volunteers who assist us in our projects and people in our support groups who have business ideas and need capital to do their businesses. The department offers business training to entrepreneurs to equip them with skills in running of income generating activities to sustain their businesses. Commercial loans are also offered to those with unique business ideas that need extra funding. 620 small and medium scale businesses have been assisted with business loans and offered with basic business management training.
Anti-human Trafficking Project
This is a new initiative that deals with spreading awareness of human trafficking that comes in various ways. The objective is to help people avoid possible exploitation that may result when people in their desperation for greener pastures get trafficked to destinations that expose them to situations when they become vulnerable to exploitation. Anti-Human Trafficking Awareness campaigns have been carried out in Mutare, Chipinge, Chiredzi and Chimanimani.
Social Media: Facebook: Windows of Hope Zimbabwe
Website : www.windowsofhopezim.org
Source: Windows of Hope Zimbabwe
