ICS Zimbabwe

Our April - June 2016 cycle of volunteers in Zimbabwe were the last cycle to work alongside partner organisation Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme (DOMCCP) after four years. The team have complied a series of case studies demonstrating the impact the ICS programme has had in Mutasa.

Gertrude Manzini is a married, 34-year-old woman with three children, who has benefitted greatly from the sessions the ICS programme has delivered in Mutasa, in particular with regards to gender issues. 

Our April - June 2016 cycle of volunteers in Zimbabwe were the last cycle to work alongside partner organisation Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme (DOMCCP) after four years. The team have complied a series of case studies demonstrating the impact the ICS programme has had in Mutasa.

Our April - June 2016 cycle of volunteers in Zimbabwe were the last cycle to work alongside partner organisation Diocese of Mutare Community Care Programme (DOMCCP) after four years. The team have complied a series of case studies demonstrating the impact the ICS programme has had in Mutasa.

They say goodbye is the saddest word but sadly it’s time for Team MASO (Midlands AIDS Service Organisation) to say goodbye! Anxious we were at the beginning of the placement but realised it was all for nothing!

Midlands AIDS Service Organisation (MASO) Sexual and Reproductive Health ICS project, Gueru, January 2016

The community in Gweru has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the Midlands Province at 23%.  There is a need to reach young people to increase awareness about prevention with the goal of creating an HIV free Generation.   There is also a major challenge in increasing community uptake of services such as STI treatment, ART and, HIV counselling and testing. 

When some large chain restaurants or even family members can’t always accommodate certain dietary requirements, I was a bit apprehensive about how I would cope in Zimbabwe. Maybe you are a vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant or maybe you’re just a fussy eater (that’s ok!).

I am volunteering in Gweru, in the centre of Zimbabwe. Where I am living is urban so things may vary if you stay in a rural setting. I am a vegetarian but I will try to provide information for vegans, gluten or dairy intolerances also. 

Team excursions are an important aspect of the ICS programme, they help us work better together to achieve our project goals, which is why every two weeks we go on a team excursion. It is also a time for the national volunteers to show the UK volunteers around their town. The stage had been set for our team bonding day and everything was rolling for our Sunday excursion. We had to meet in town at 1pm. Before the excursion Trish, our UK Team Leader, bought all the necessary ingredients that are needed for a barbecue, otherwise known as a ‘braai’ by the national volunteers.

A fundamental part of the ICS journey is Action at Home – taking the community development values we experienced overseas and applying them to projects of our own interest. For my team, cycle 3 of the Rowa Runners, there was one matter close to all our hearts and that was the ‘special project’ we had gotten involved in alongside our other development work in rural Zimbabwe.

Our experience of volunteering with Progressio has been amazing. Progressio is promoting a wonderful cross cultural exchange platform for national volunteers in Zimbabwe and the UK volunteers. The UK volunteers are now able to speak basic Shona. They are now copying us with the traditional dress, e.g. wearing a wrap over. We as national volunteers like to dance, however, the UK volunteers still haven’t got the hang of our style of dance. Though they do give it a try and give us a bit of a laugh too. 
 

“Street child” has commonly been referred to as young person working and living on the street in urban centres. Street children are widespread in underdeveloped and developing countries and Zimbabwe has experienced a rise in children living on the streets. Several reasons such as poverty, low household income, violation of child rights, sexual exploitation, HIV and AIDS, neglect and rebellion against guardians and parents have been a contributing factor.