Past Projects: Zimbabwe
Households and Communities Living With HIV/AIDS Taking Charge of Their Livelihoods in Zimbabwe (2006 – 2009)
Where:
Zimbabwe
Who:
CHF, the Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE) and Families AIDS Caring Trust
Funded by:
CHF and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Purpose:
The objective of the project is to assist, support, and enable poor rural households and communities affected by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe to attain sustainable livelihoods.
Situation:
Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world — almost 25% of the productive adult population is HIV positive. It is becoming common to see households comprised of elderly grandparents and young children — the result of parents having erished from the disease.
As a result, fifty per cent of families in the project areas cultivated less land during the past season, partly because of lack of labour, and partly because of a lack of money to buy necessary inputs such as seeds.
Results:
The project is providing the most vulnerable households — grandparent- and child-headed households — with diverse methods of earning money and producing food that can serve them in the short, medium and long term. For example, the project:
- Provides goats, which immediately produce rich milk for consumption and manure for vegetable gardens, as well as meat to sell later on. Goats are relatively easy to raise and there is a ready market for goat meat and milk nearby.
- Provides chickens, which quickly and easily produce eggs to eat and sell, and offers a protein-rich addition to meals. As the chickens reproduce, the chicks are distributed to other vulnerable families or sold for income.
- Encourages and assists with production of nutritious food crops, such as leafy vegetables and potatoes, as well as sunflower seeds to feed the chickens.
Community Water Security Project
Who:
CHF and the Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE)
Funded by:
CHF, SAFIRE, CIDA and generous donors
Purpose:
To increase the number of safe and healthy water sources for communities in drought-prone regions of Zimbabwe.
Situation:
In the drought-prone regions of Zimbabwe, finding enough water for growing food is difficult. With little or no rain, drought also affects sources of safe and healthy drinking water. Many end up dying of water-borne disease, as well as hunger.
CHF, in partnership with SAFIRE, is:
- Improving food availability and quality through supporting small-scale irrigation schemes that provide water for community gardens.
- Increasing the availability of clean drinking water to families and schools
- Introducing environment rehabilitation and protection activities
Results:
- Communities are investing in their own water supply by making contributions to water maintenance funds. Over 20,000 individuals will be affected.
- Wells are being built at primary schools as central points for village access.
- Protection and rehabilitation of water sources is complete at 41 sites.
- A total of 39 pump minders have been trained in repair, operation and maintenance of bush pumps.
- With input from the communities, 11 watershed environmental rehabilitation plans have been produced.
Southern Africa Drought Technology Network (Sadnet)
Where:
Southern Africa: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique
Who:
CHF
Zimbabwe: Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE)
Zambia: CARE Zambia
Malawi: Civil Society Network on Agriculture (CISANET)
Mozambique: CARE Zambia
Funded by:
CHF, SAFIRE, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Purpose:
Improve livelihoods for farmers in drought-prone areas of Southern Africa through the use of information and communication technologies.
Situation:
Many of these farmers — women and men — face extremely difficult growing conditions, and work and live in very remote areas. Since many communities have limited ways of communicating with each other, it’s difficult for them to share their expertise about crop production under drought conditions. Isolated from markets, they are virtually unaware of the fair price for their produce.
Results:
Farmers are now documenting and sharing their own best practices with other farmers. Farmers are also communicating with specialists – university researchers and development practitioners — about their most pressing problems, so that these specialists can come up with appropriate solutions. As well, by having access to market information, farmers can now negotiate better prices for their crop.:
- SADNET was recently awarded the Yeoman’s Award for Local Content for Africa.
- In Maunganidze, Zimbabwe, techniques documented through SADNET helped improve tomato yields, resulting in 40% more income for farmers.
- After accessing market information on prices of groundnuts made available through SADNET, farmers in Nyamazura were able to negotiate a much better price than they were originally offered.
- SADNET supported seed fairs in two communities in Zimbabwe — Galaupole and Siganda. As a result of the fairs, farmers were able to increase the type and amount of crops produced.
- In Zambia, videos, manuals, a web site and radio broadcasts were made available in the local languages
Food And Incomes For Families Surviving HIV/AIDS
Where:
Zimbabwe
Who:
CHF and Families AIDS Caring Trust (FACT), Mutare
Funded by:
CHF, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and generous donors.
Purpose:
To integrate food production and enterprise support as complements to HIV/AIDS education, and information and awareness programs.
Situation:
In Southern Africa, HIV/AIDS infection is concentrated among the most productive age group — more often than not, parents and caregivers. It is increasingly common to see households headed by elderly grandparents, young grandchildren and other orphans. Zimbabwe is one of the hardest hit countries, with infection rates as high as 40%. The resulting loss of labour is having a devastating effect on families’ ability to produce foodcrops, care for livestock and generate income.
Results:
Programs designed to address HIV/AIDS remain dominated by medical solutions, awareness education, counseling and prevention. Although these are essential, they do not help rural families cope with the loss of income and food that occurs as AIDS afflicts parents and caregivers. CHF is doing something different.
CHF, in partnership with FACT (Mutare), is helping HIV/AIDS-affected households and communities to increase their income and grow more food. The target population includes people affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, with special emphasis on women and children, who are considered most vulnerable.
By taking a holistic approach to HIV/AIDS, this project is:
- Enhancing foodcrop, gardencrop and other farm production activities
- Providing families raising AIDS orphans with chicken and guinea fowl — a new source of food and income.
- Supporting women farmers to set up and manage small livestock enterprises.