“VERY great change starts from very small conversations, held among people who care.” – Margaret Wheatley.
This aptly captures the story for five ladies and a gentleman in a small mining village of Alaska, in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West province.
The six, are members of a community that was living in abject poverty, surviving on picking menial jobs around the mining area.
“We survived through doing part-time laundry for people, cleaning houses and other menial jobs. Still, this was not enough to cover family needs,” Tracy Maponga, told Maricho Magazine recently.
Maponga said the conversation that changed, not only her life, but that of the whole community’s fortunes, was started off by the World Food Programme (WFP) representatives who visited Alaska on a fact-finding mission in 2022.
The small conversations, as Margaret Wheatley noted, culminated in great change – for the community.
A borehole was constructed, a piped water system installed and a greenhouse constructed.
Also, a fowl run for layers was constructed.
That was the beginning of the transformation of the Alaska community.
“Since this project was handed over to us in 2022, we’ve realised many benefits which include agricultural knowledge, income, among other benefits.
“We share profits on a quarterly basis. From those proceeds we’ve each started other side projects such as poultry. The greenhouse project has changed our lives and we would like to thank the WFP and its partners for improving our livelihoods,” said Maponga.
“Before the greenhouse project, we were struggling but we’re now gainfully employed through this project. We adhere to a duty roaster just like any other formal business.”
The greenhouse project and the poultry projects, both constructed at Alaska school, are part of the WFP’s resilience-building programme, supporting urban communities through sustainable resilience, livelihood creation and socio-economic empowerment activities.
The programmes are implemented through community-led approaches focusing on capacity building, livelihood promotion and socio-economic empowerment.
Activities around the programmes include income-generating projects, such as mushroom production, poultry, peanut butter processing and detergent making at the household level, among others.
Beneficiaries receive various community assets such as the greenhouse and the fowl run for layers.
Bianca Dzvairo, head of WFP Harare Field Office said the WFP is working with multiple donors who are supporting their initiatives.
For example, under Resilience Initiatives, WFP is being supported by USAID.
“Our target group includes women; we’re looking at empowering women and the youth.
“We are also looking at ensuring that these people are skilfully trained, financial literacy trainings are provided, different types of technical assistance trainings are also provided, to ensure that they are able to better manage their businesses and have a sustainable end,” said Dzvairo.
The group at Alaska is being assisted by extension officers to ensure improved yields.
“Some have graduated from cake-making, some carpentry, some welding, some dressmaking, some small livestock support in the form of broilers, and some layers, to name a few. We also have agricultural-based value chains that we are implementing. There’s include hydroponics and vegetable gardens, where the local authorities have been able to provide spaces for people to do projects on a larger scale in small groups,” said Dzvairo.
Bernard Chambo, the only male member of the six-member group, said the project had changed his life for the better.
“We treat this project as our formal employment, that means we’re very committed,” said Chambo, while tendering to a healthy green pepper crop ready for the market.
“We work with extension officers who are helping us with knowledge. My life has changed and I’m grateful to WFP and its partners,” he said.
They told Maricho Magazine that they feed the layers twice a day, work on a strict roaster ,with two-members per shift.
“We pick about six crates per day. We are actually failing to meet demand for eggs because the market is huge,” one of the ladies said.
They supply some grocery shops, teachers and other community members.
Every beneficiary receives a monthly allowance which has become a life changer.
The school receives 20% of the profits, according to the Headmaster, Philemon Chimanga.
“These projects are helping our community in Alaska in terms of nutrition. As a school, we’re also deriving income from the greenhouse and poultry projects,” said Chimanga.
The two projects have come as a total package with huge benefits also to students.
“The project is helping some of our colleagues who are carrying out practical lessons in the greenhouse. We grow crops such as tomatoes, green pepper and other vegetables,” according to Alaska High Head Boy, Kupakwashe Jiri.
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