Gender and socially-inclusive climate-compatible development in Zimbabwe: Obert Gonzo, founder of Family Visions Child Trust, writes about the aims, challenges and outcomes of their gender-transformative approach.
Family Visions Child Trust
Family Visions Child Trust is a rural development community–based organisation operating in Makoni District, in Manicaland province, Zimbabwe.
Manicaland province; Makoni District, Zimbabwe. Credit: Google Maps.
Our Vision is to become a leading development partner in Makoni District that ensures sustainable access to food, health and education, and ensures that water & sanitation, climate change and other developmental needs are met.
Our mission is to achieve poverty alleviation and sustainable development of Makoni District by building citizen’s capacity to become self-reliant and agents for social change.
Family Visions is founded on participatory development interventions and people–centredness
We achieve these goals by pursuing five programming areas: namely, Local Governance & Civic Participation, Water & Sanitation, Education, Climate Change and Poverty Reduction. Family Visions is founded on participatory development interventions and people–centredness. We are a rigorous district-level problem-solving and humanitarian solutions-based establishment. We pride ourselves in saving lives through meeting integrated development goals.
Family Visions is implementing a gender transformative approach in all community projects in Makoni District.
Adaptation and Gender Resilience Approaches
Family Visions Child Trust (FVCT) has been working with local authorities and relevant government ministries of Zimbabwe implementing all community projects focusing on capacity-building and knowledge management. In Zimbabwe, Makoni District, FVCT is working to ensure equal participation and representation by women in community-based initiatives - such as community gardens, women as village heads, local authority representatives, or having any community projects being led by a woman. As a result, we have an increasing number of projects focusing on creating resources used by women (such as vegetable gardens) and improving conditions within their traditional sectors of activity. By engaging women in leadership planning positions and mobilising resources into their hands, FVCT is empowering women and men to improve livelihoods, strengthen their roles in the public sphere, increase their decision–making power to promote their own rights. Women’s participation is a precondition, but not a guarantee, of all women’s empowerment - that’s why Family Visions is working together with women rural communities.
engaging women in leadership planning positions ... mobilising resources into their hands
Mainstreaming gender into climate action has been a focus for Family Visions’ implementing and executing entities. Even through progress has been made, it is slow, not uniform and fragmented. Some implementing agencies have advanced well while others remain at the initial stages. Lessons, experiences, opportunities and challenges still remain within the confines of each of these actors.
Project Objectives
Contribute to a better understanding and improved coordination of the institutional governance on the gender and climate nexus in Makoni District, Zimbabwe.
Compile compressive and structured knowledge products and resources/training pack, which can be used by Zimbabwean Stakeholders, including in government departments in the post-Covid period.
Project Activities
As part of this engagement, Family Visions is providing a gender transformative approach to rural communities. It needs to actively examine challenges and transform the underlying causes of gender inequality rooted in inequitable social structures and institutions.
Gender–responsive policy and program activity addresses gender-based barriers, respects gendered differences; enables structures, systems and methodologies to be sensitive to gender, and ensures gender parity is a wider evolving strategy to close gaps and eradicate gender-based violence.
Project Case Study: The Community Garden
Family Visions sourced funding for this project. We provided the materials and constructed the garden and installation of water pipes together with community members. Project members can now have a good supper with the fruits from the garden and, through selling veggies and tomatoes and onions, are able to pay school fees for their children.
Project Case Study: Women Peace Clubs
Women Peace clubs are places for people to come together and promote peaceful social relations, tolerance and non-violent activities in their communities. My role is to train the women in communities to promote peaceful living and building social relations within communities. This includes:
Training in how to mobilise communities that have in the past been divided by violence and conflict to engage in social activities for their own benefit.
Providing a platform for information-gathering and dissemination on conflict trends in the community.
The membership of peace-clubs is open to all local community members including traditional leaders, church leaders, women, youth, men, business people, people with disabilities, representatives of local Community-Based Organisations, village health workers and neighbourhood watch committees. The Village and ward development committee members are most likely to be part of this group. However, membership is attained upon filling in the membership form provided by a committee elected by peace club members. Each peace club has a constitution that is agreed by two thirds majority of members.
Duties of Peace clubs:
To identify, convene and discuss important conflict issues affecting communities and to develop possible solutions where possible.
To carry out mapping and stakeholder analysis exercises and document conflict issues in the community.
To mobilise local residents to participate in community activities.
To organise cost free activities that promote peaceful relations.
To undertake income generating projects to sustain the Peace clubs as well as contributing to the development of the community.
Some of the activities identified will be guided by rural district and local government strategic plans.
Obert Gonzo: Founder and Executive Director for Family Visions Child Trust in Makoni District, Zimbabwe. ITECH scholar, holds International Diploma in Decentralized Planning for Rural Development. (India) Diploma in Counselling skills, and other certificates. I sit different platform or boards like Environmental committee, Health Centre Committee, and former ward Councillor, ITEC scholar. Also spearheading the Family Visions Child Trust, a registered community based or society organization (CSO) through sourcing funding to support marginalised, or economically exploited women in rural communities of Makoni District with 39 rural wards, people living with HIV/AIDS.
Family Visions: Family Visions Child Trust advocates for Children and Women’s rights and Community Development. A Development Practitioner who has done several activities and projects funded with European Union, United Nations Development Programme, (GEF), GIZ, Trace IDAI and Heal Zimbabwe to mention a few, supporting vulnerable children and disadvantaged women, marginalized and economically exploited families, girl child, through income generating projects, e.g. nutrition gardens, fish farming, construction of weir dams, school blocks, waiting mother’s shelters in rural health centres supporting pregnant mothers, school library text books and computers to rural schools in promoting ICT programs and education.