ZIMBABWE AIDS ORPHANS SOCIETY - Zimbabwen Aids-Orvot ry

SOCIAL IMPACTDzikwa is well known and trusted in Dzivarasekwa. Theprogramme has been able to accept all poor orphansfrom the township whose school report average is atleast 60% and who can thus be expected to completetheir education successfully. The children’s guardians,schools, officials in the education sector and other playersare all familiar with Dzikwa and its work with orphans.In 2011, UNICEF Zimbabwe has become more closelyinvolved with Dzikwa’s activities. Dzikwa participated inHarare’s district level Stakeholders’ Meeting organisedby the Provincial Education Director, Mr C. E. Mazula;Dzikwa’s stakeholder reporting was considered exemplary.The Activity Centre with its events and activities is Dzikwa’svisible presence in the township. The opening of thewell-equipped ICT Centre has increased the orphans’ accessto information technology. The project has receivedmuch favourable publicity, e.g. a half-page article in Zimbabwe’sleading daily newspaper. The same newspaperpublished the remarkable story of a Dzikwa youngsterwho for many years served as head of his family whilealso going to school. Local residents are invited to join inclean-up days in the surroundings. During prolonged water-cutsthey can also fetch water from the Activity Centreborehole. One particularly busy week-end, as many as400 people were queuing up for water.Thanks to the reforestation project, our cooperation withHarare City Council has further intensified. Dzikwa isnow setting up partnerships with locally well establishedand respected environmental bodies. The sustainabledevelopment of an extensive stretch of degraded landrequires the involvement of local residents throughoutplanning and actual implementation. The impact of theproject is underlined by the close cooperation with bothBindura University of Science Education and the Universityof Helsinki’s Viikki Tropical Resources Institute(VITRI). Dzikwa is becoming increasingly popular withZimbabwean and Finnish students keen to do volunteerwork and study-related attachments.Dzikwa’s own cultural group performed on a number ofoccasions in Harare, which works wonders for the orphans’ability and self-esteem.In 2012 Dzikwa will be commissioning an external evaluationof its performance and of the sustainability of thesupport programme.25