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Shamva North legislator Bramwell Bushu has hailed the Forum for African Women Educationalists Zimbabwe (FAWEZ) for its role in the fight against gender based violence (GBV) in his constituency.
This follows the organisation’s donation of 24 bicycles that were handed over to GBV community champions in Shamva last Thursday to ease their movements across the district where they attend to cases, and raise awareness on GBV.
Bushu urged other non-state funded organisations to copy FAWEZ’s initiative which will go a long way in solving GBV issues in the district and surrounding areas.
Of late Shamva district has become a gender based violence hotspot with cases being mainly attributed to the unfair distribution of wealth between spouses and in many cases men having better financial muscles due to mining.
He also appealed to FAWEZ to involve men in their fight against GBV saying “leaving them out will not be the right thing.”
“Even boys in and out of school should be roped in and be nurtured at young age so that they grow up knowing that no sex is inferior or superior,” he said.
Though statistics could not be obtained by the time of going for publication, the district’s development coordinator Mr. White Nkoma testified that offices dealing with rights issues in the district were heavily overwhelmed.
He appealed to the community champions to put the bicycles into good use as he was expecting to see their impact on the ground.
Wonder Bhari Kanyemba one of the bicycle beneficiaries and a champion in ward 24 said the bicycles had come in handy as the long distances they walked hindered maximum performance.
“Before getting the bicycle i walked a distance of about 4km to reach out to some people under my sphere of influence and the cycles have alleviated this challenge.
Another beneficiary, Precious Mushayabasa said: “There were some places l could not access due to distance but, with these bicycles l am now certain that l will be able to reach each corner of my sphere of influence. I am certain l will contribute significantly towards the reduction or even elimination of gender based violence in my community.”
Working in collaboration with Action Aid, Léonard Cheshire and FACT, FAWEZ targets uplifting women and young girls currently in and around Madziwa, Wadzanayi primary and secondary schools as well as at Ming Ching Primary school in Shamva.
Besides helping with the bicycles to fight GBV, it also sank a borehole in Shamva South ward 6 that will serve Madziwa Mine Secondary, the Teachers College and nearby villagers.
According to residents in the ward, the area had a perennial water crisis and FAWEZ greatly alleviated them.
Ward councilor, Cllr Cosywell Kagogoda the institutions faced water shortages due to obsolete pipes
“This area faced dire water problems because the pipes that supply the school and college are now obsolete. They are rarely serviced resulting in these institutions going for weeks without water”
“We would want to thank FAWEZ and partners for remembering our girl child and the community at large.” Nhau/Indaba
