By Cephas Shava
Mwenezi – Score Against Poverty, a locally based community organization, has several fruitful programmes in some of Mwenezi District’s wards that are evidently transforming the lives of women in the drought-prone, remote district.
The organization, which has footprints in the district’s six wards and is steering a successful Indigenous Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation in Zimbabwe (LINCZ), hosted a colorful event on October 29 in Mwenezi’s Sagwari area of Ward 6.
The event, hosted under the theme, “Rural women confronting the Global cost of living,” saw several Score Against Poverty beneficiaries showcase their diverse works and share their success stories with attendees.
One of Score Against Poverty’s beneficiaries, Rosemary Tambo, who hails from Chigota village in Ward 6 under Chief Chitanga, was on cloud nine as she narrated how the organization’s projects transformed their lives.
“Score Against Poverty has transformed the lives of many struggling villagers. The organization is spearheading a number of projects, including conservation farming, chicken rearing projects, and the savings and lending Scheme (Mukando), among several others here.
So far, as a group of 21 women, we organize ourselves and come up with broiler chicken rearing projects, owing to some loans we received from the organization. Right now, we are in the process of acquiring roadrunner chickens to expand our project. The community’s savings and lending scheme is proving to be a game-changer in the lives of villagers who are now able to cater for their family needs with ease,” said Tambo.
Ward 6 councillor Marvelous Chifumuro acknowledged that the organization was doing wonders in his ward and had significantly transformed the lives of struggling villagers.
“In my ward, Score Against Poverty is one of the organizations that has come at the most perfect time. Villagers had been struggling, and their livestock was dying due to drought. Villagers were equipped with skills in feed-making using available resources. The organization has also given each group US$250 to initiate projects like Mukando. Such programs are going a long way in making a difference in villagers’ lives who are being ravaged by the current drought,” said Chifumuro.
On her part, Score Against Poverty project officer Cynthia Mutsindikwa said such events were meant to create platforms for beneficiaries to showcase their potential in the face of the negative effects of climate change.
“The community-led event, which was attended by many people and other concerned stakeholders, was meant to create a platform for men and women to celebrate their achievements in addressing food insecurity challenges as well as showcase their works in the face of the global economic crisis and the negative effects of climate change,” said Mutsindikwa.
Score Against Poverty’s projects, which are being initiated in Mwenezi district’s six wards, are a consortium partnership also fronted by the Mennonite Central Committee and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
