Rozaria Memorial Trust Annual Report

RESPONDING TO HIV & AIDS AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

Late Mbuya Rozaria Dizha and RMT Board Chair N. Gumbonzvanda, 1999

ANNUAL REPORT, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: MESSAGE FROM THE COORDINATOR & BOARD CHAIR SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION SECTION 3: STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES RESPONSE TO HIV AND AIDS AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Annual Report, 2008

SECTION 4: BUILDING INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY IN ADRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST RURAL WOMEN AND PEOPLE AFFECTED BY HIV AND AIDS SECTION 5: PLANNING AND GOVERNANCE

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CONTACT DETAILS ROZARIA MEMORIAL TRUST P.O BOX II4 MUREWA ZIMBABWE PH: 263-O78 22835 FAX: 263-078 22835 EMAIL: [email protected]

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Annual Report, 2008

A MESSAGE FROM RMT MANAGEMENT AND BOARD Rozaria Memorial Trust comes to the end of its first anniversary at a time when there is now a greater acceptance in the rural communities that both HIV & AIDS and Gender Based Violence are a reality. During the first year of operating, RMT has done much to contribute to these positive developments by establishing support groups for People Living With HIV and AIDS [PLWHA] and being involved in campaigns against gender based violence in Murewa District. Our achievements in 2008 have helped us advance our goal of creating knowledgeable rural communities on issues of HIV and AIDS and violence against women and girls. In the coming year, we will provide the much-needed support and care for People Living with HIV and AIDS. In addition, we will promote effective programmes that reduces Gender Based Violence especially violence against women and girls as they are the most vulnerable groups within the community. We will continue to do these by building and strengthening on existing partnerships and possibly creating new ones. As with most, if not all, of the organizations in Zimbabwe we have to acknowledge that there are areas where we found the going tough and at other times even stuck. Most of the challenges evolve around lack of funding to be able to effectively undertake the planned activities. In addition, challenges remain on how to manage more effectively and to operate within the framework of sound governance principles. These remain as on- going challenges and both the Board of Trustees and coordinating staff have begun efforts to address them. In broad, most of our challenges remain in ensuring sustainability in terms of both financial, human resources, and effective partnerships. Generally, these challenges are not for RMT only but for most of the Community Based Organizations. To the staff of Rozaria Memorial Trust; the real work has just begun. Let us put our efforts towards a common goal of creating violence free rural communities and builds hope in HIV positive people; there is life in HIV and AIDS. Lastly, we would like to thank our funders, partners, and coordinating group members for providing their insightful inputs and involvement with RMT activities. Big thanks to you all. Mr.Kudakwashe Dizha Gumbonzvanda National Coordinator

Mrs. Nyaradzai Board of Trustees Chair

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION RMT was established in 2007 to advance the rights of women and young people in poor communities in Zimbabwe. RMT was founded in memory of the late Mbuya Rozaria Dizha, who passed away in 2006 and embodied the principles of hard work, caring, sharing and innovation. RMT focuses on promoting youth and women’s leadership, fostering entrepreneurial development and advocating for women's access to education and health care services.

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Rozaria Memorial Trust undertakes various programmes on HIV and AIDS and Gender Based Violence. Currently we are strengthening our support to people living with HIV and AIDS and as a member of the National Gender Forum and Gender Based Violence Prevention Network. We continue to invest in addressing many dimensions of Gender Based Violence especially in the rural communities. Our main aim is to reduce both HIV & AIDS and Gender Based Violence in the marginalized communities. The main objectives of the Trust will be to continue performing the following activities; 1. HIV and AIDS •

• •

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Public awareness on HIV and AIDS. Support to people living with HIV and AIDS through provision of such things like agricultural inputs Facilitate the hosting of information forums by community support groups so that they share information and address challenges faced by members. Advocacy and information on access to treatment

2. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS • • •

Information forums on violence prevention Advocacy campaign for protection of women and young people Social support to survivors of gender based violence.

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SECTION 2: RESPONSE

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES

The Trust continues to undertake various activities on HIV and AIDS and Violence against women. With a good number of HIV positive people disclosing their status and current economic problems Zimbabwe as a country is going through, Rozaria Memorial Trust therefore has spread its wings from awareness only to the provision of various support to PLWHA. The following are some of the notable activities and achievements for 2008

1. Community sensitization workshops on Gender-Based Violence and HIV and AIDS.

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Promoting HIV and AIDS prevention and care in different churches.

Over 100 people converged at Magaya Primary School on January 25, 2008 for a Christianity dialogue entitled ‘Working together with churches to reduce stigma on HIV and AIDS’. The event brought together leaders of different churches that include Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, and the Methodist Church. Also in attendance were the general populace attached to these church denominations. The dialogue was held as part of efforts to involve churches in the fight against HIV and AIDS epidemic. The dialogue noted that whilst churches continue to grow in Zimbabwe, it is of importance to note that HIV and AIDS issues are not fully given the attention they deserve. The lack of sensitization programmes in churches encourages stigmatization of HIV positive people in the holy institutions and in the community in general. Leaders of churches were encouraged to initiate different programmes on HIV and AIDS within their structures and to be in the forefront of preaching such issues like the use of condoms for HIV prevention that are perceived to be taboos in churches. Their words always have a strong impact on how most of their followers behave. The dialogue provided a chance for different churches to co-exist in the fight against HIV and AIDS and express their views on how HIV and AIDS be tackled in churches. At the end of it, it was so touching as the deliberations of the workshop made it possible for more than (20) twenty people who are living with HIV and AIDS to disclose their positive status to the gathering.

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HIV and AIDS counselling: Living A Positive Life With HIV and AIDS.

Rozaria Memorial Trust organized a workshop on psychosocial counselling for people living with HIV and AIDS. On March 1, 2008 a counselling session was contacted and was facilitated by trained counsellors; Mrs Cynthia Chipwere - Dizha a counselor with Kwekwe General Hospital and

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Ms Chipo Chitongo of Zimbabwe Community Health Interventions Research Project (ZICHIRE), who is also positively living with HIV and AIDS. From their presentations, they all concurred on the fact that HIV positive people should move from the self-denial stage and accept their status; a peaceful mind is an important health aspect for HIV positive people. In addition, they emphasized the need to share problems and experiences with colleagues and family members. The participating HIV positive people said that disclosure of their status mean that they have accepted what they are but echoed that the problem remains with the community where the general understanding of HIV and AIDS is still limited thereby promoting stigma that makes disclosure very difficult. In response, the counselors emphasized the need for the formation of support groups of people living with HIV and AIDS. These groups provides a platform where HIV positive people provide social support to each other and various programmes done within the groups helps in creating a knowledgeable community on HIV and AIDS related issues.

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Our Strength Is The Solution: Communities Can Prevent Sexual Violence.

In general, the global understanding of the prevalence and nature of gender-based violence has increased substantially but most of the rural communities are not part of this positive development. Most of the programmes target the urban population where accessibility to information is better whilst leaving the most vulnerable rural women and girls where various negative cultural beliefs are still deeply entrenched there. As part of commemorating 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, Rozaria Memorial Trust held a community sensitization workshop on gender based violence looking at a regional theme entitled ‘our strength is the solution; Communities can prevent sexual violence’. Over 50 young people aged between 15—30 years converged at Muhume Business Centre to share on how sexual violence be eliminated within the rural communities where some cultural beliefs that exacerbate sexual violence whether coerced or forced are still much in existence. Most of the participants had a believe that sexual violence is only about physical rape so the workshop enlightened them on different forms of sexual violence emphasizing much on coerced, which is a type of sexual violence often happening in rural communities but with the perpetrators going unpunished as the victims have a limited knowledge on the subject. Young women argued that even if they maybe aware of some legal routes that should be taken after incidence of sexual violence, they strongly believed that the community does not take their concerns seriously and even at other times the victim is ended up being labelled a prostitution. Among the types of sexual violence discussed, those found within marriages were common like forced sex and the women said they had no

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option but to follow to the instincts of their husbands even against their will as they have to protect their marriages. Culturally women should bow down to whatever the demands maybe to their husbands when it comes to sexual issues. They said that to be able to tackle critically these issues, men should be a target in the future for education on the subject of sexual violence. Nevertheless, the member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Victim Friendly Unit present stressed that any form of sexual violence should be reported to their offices so that cases of sexual violence are stamped out in the community. In addition, he pointed out that if we do not join hands in dealing with sexual violence, the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS will be a mammoth task. 2. Strengthening Community Support Groups For People Living With HIV and AIDS. Globally, great strides have been made in increasing awareness and prevention of HIV and AIDS but little is being done to incorporate progammes specifically for HIV positive people. Recognizing the increasing number of HIV positive people in the rural communities and numerous challenges they face, Rozaria Memorial Trust consolidated support groups for people living with HIV and AIDS in Murewa District ward 8 and established five support groups with each group having an average of 10 people comprising men, women and children. The establishment of the support has seen an increase in the number of people disclosing their HIV positive status, an average of two to three people are joining the various groups every month. The support groups proved to be an effective platform for HIV positive people to share various issues to do with their well-being that include accessibility to treatment, nutrition and the provision of social support to each other. Each support group has a well-coordinated secretariat comprising the chairperson, secretary and treasurer. Networking of the Trust activities targeting HIV positive people has become easy to implement after the establishment of the support groups. Most of the individuals in the support groups lives in poverty surviving on less than US$I per day. Subsistence farming is their main source of living; with poor soils and lack of agricultural inputs; the yields they obtain do not sustain their demanding health, above all, their big families. RMT has chipped in by providing basic agricultural inputs, concentrating much on the nutritional crops such as sugar beans, which is reach in proteins. In addition, the Trust held various information forums along the course of the year in order to provide social support to the HIV positive people in areas of nutritional guide, basic mental counseling and education of family members to enable them to provide positive support to the infected family members. Collapsed health system in the country has made it difficult for the accessibility of Antiretroviral Drugs. Check-ups for CD4 count are being done after a longer period and others do not even receive this vital service. Infected children find it difficult to obtain the specified medication

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that suite them as most of the government hospitals are dry, the cost of getting the medication in private hospitals is beyond the reach of many. The drugs need to be produced in different size doses than adults; and in syrup form for babies and infants. Current statistics show that more women are disclosing their HIV positive status as compared to men. Out of the fifty (50) members in the established groups, men are only thirteen (13) and the rest are women and children. The following names are the profiles of people living with HIV and AIDS who are in the support groups. The tables below provide the statistics related to this project:

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PROFILES OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN MUREWA DISTRICT’S WARD 8. Ward 8 has a total of 29 villages. In 2008, RMT intensified activities in six (6) villages, namely Magaya, Dizha, Madyamhuru, Jakopo, Dzotizei, Chimusoro and Gumira. Village

Wome n

Men

Childre n

Total

On Treatment

No of child ren affect ed*

Madyamhuru Dizha Jakopo Magaya Dzotizei Gumira Chimusoro Totals

3 2 6 5 4 4 1 25

0 1 1 2 1 6 1 12

3 0 4 3 0 1 0 12

6 3 11 10 5 11 2 49

100% 100% 90% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

11 10 24 27 14 56 6 147

* includes the total number of children infected and children dependant on infected parent/care-giver.

From the above data, we observe that: • 50% of the people living with HIV are women • Almost 25 % the total are children living with HIV • Number of vulnerable children affected is 3 times the number of positive persons. • 100% of the PLWHA are on treatment, but this does not mean they have regular access to medicine • 100% of the community covered in programme are rural and rely on subsistence farming. In 2009, RMT will be expanding to other villages especially for the Care and support programme.

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SECTION 3:

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

As strength is derived from working in conjunction with other like-minded organizations, Rozaria Memorial Trust is continuing to build partnerships both locally, nationally and internationally especially with organizations which work towards the advancement of women and young people’s rights.

⇒ Local level, within Murewa District: RMT created a strong bond with

the District AIDS Coordinating Committee (DACC). The DACC office is the referral point for the various programmes the organization undertakes in the field of HIV and AIDS. DACC is an important organ of the local government. It provides different statistics on HIV and AIDS issues at district level. In addition, RMT work in hand with other non-governmental in the district which include Zimbabwe Community Health Interventions Research Project (ZICHIRE), Zimbabwe Women Against HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Violence (ZWAAPV) and the organization takes the comfort of operating in the same complex with (CRS) Catholic Relief Service, it’s experience in humanitarian aid always inspires the Trust.

⇒ National Level-Zimbabwe: The Trust is part of the National Gender

Forum facilitated by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). The Forum provides a platform to meet other organizations, sharing information and help in identification of operational entry points. RMT ensures that staff members attend the National Gender Forum as this presence the stage for the staff members to meet gender advocates who provide information critical for both personnel and organizational development. In addition, Rozaria Memorial Trust always sends representatives for various national civil society meetings. RMT continue to engage other key organizations to its operations that include Girl Child Network, Zimbabwe Women’s Coalition and Musasa Project.

⇒ Regional Level—Africa: Rozaria Memorial Trust is a member of the

Gender Based Violence Prevention Network of the Horn of East and Southern Africa. The Trust receives campaigning material and guidance for the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence. Also as a direct result of this positive development, a good number of the organization’s members managed to attend different international forums well to do with issues of violence against women and HIV and AIDS. Raising Voices of Uganda a member of the GBV Prevention Network facilitated the attendance of one of the members of the trust for a training workshop on capacity building in developing effective communication materials for GBV prevention. Rozaria Memorial Trust also had representatives during the GBV prevention network satellite meeting at AWID, Cape Town in November 2008. The operations of the Trust have benefited immensely from the partnership with African Women and Child Feature Service, Isis WICCE and Urgent Action Fund.

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⇒ International Level: The Trust continues to strengthen its global

partnerships. These include the funders; American Jewish Word Service and the Global Fund for Women. Some of the key partners include UN-Habitat, Groots International, Realizing Rights and Peace Building Caucus of the Commission on the Status of Women. As a result, RMT managed to participate in the International Women Summit on Leadership on HIV and AIDS.

SECTION 4: GORVENANCE AND PLANNING. The coordinating staff that comprises the Programmes Coordinator, HIV and Violence Coordinator and Programmes Assistant manages the day-today activities of Rozaria Memorial Trust. A network of volunteers compliments the work of the office staff whenever the need arises. The Board of Trustees comprising seven (7) members led by the Chairperson Mrs Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda guide the work of the office staff. They provide overall guidance and oversee the functioning of the office staff. They meet quarterly to receive reports on the progress of the penciled activities and to review progress on the work of RMT. List of Board Members Mr. Emmanuel Dizha Mrs. Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda Mr. Patrick Mugaragumbo Mrs. Gladys Yona Mrs. Hilda Chitsanzara Mrs. Modester Chengahomwe Mrs. Elizabeth Taonezvi Representative of Elizabeth Muzambi Representative of Johanes Matuku Representative of Alphonse Dizha Representative of Margaret Berejena Mr. Thomas Dheka Representative of St Martins Magaya List of Staff Member Mr. Kudakwashe Muzhanje – Dizha Ms. Colleta Zinyama VAW Ms. Hilda Mugaragumbo Mr. Madzivadondo

Patron Chairperson Vice Chairperson Secretary Vice-Secretary Treasurer Vice Treasurer Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member

National Coordinator Programme Officer, HIV and Programme Assistant /Admin Emergency Officer

Partners and Supporters American Jewish World Service Urgent Action Fund – Africa Global Fund for Women United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) UN- Habitat

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African Women and Child features Isis-WICCE Women’s Intercultural Leadership Forum (WILF) Watershed Motors P/L ZICHIRE – Murewa Zimbabwe Women Against AIDS, Poverty and Violence (ZWAAPV) St Martins Magaya Catholic Community SAFAIDS

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