Zimbabwe Youth Initiative
Motivating youth to set up community projects and increase awareness of the opportunities for financial aid.
| Project Title | Zimbabwe Youth Initiative |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
| Location | Harare |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Genre | Youth leadership |
| Lead Name(s) | Dumisile Mtambo & Rutendo Chabikwa |
| Other Organisations | Project 55, Zim National Committee |
| Value | $600 |
Project details:
The Zimbabwe Youth Initiative is a GoMakeADifference project that was led by Dumisile Mtambo & Rutendo Chabikwa. With an aim to connect with youth in disadvantaged areas of Harare, the campaign encouraged students to take on leadership roles in the community.
Dumisile and Rutendo visited Budiriro High 1, where they formed the Zimbabwe Youth Initiative Club which operated on the BUILD model:
- Believe
- Understand
- Invent
- Listen
- Deliver
Serving as the basis for the whole club, the BUILD process encouraged participants to become agile thinkers who develop innovative approaches to solving problems within the local community. Ultimately, it served to help make them better overall leaders and entrepreneurs.
The club met three times during the month of August, during which participants discussed various problems that affect the youth in the community. The main issue identified was the lack of education among youth in Budiriro.
Together, members of the Zimbabwe Youth Initiative Club were able to produce an action plan. They created an awareness campaigns targeted at students who had dropped out of school due to lack of funding. The campaign helped these students discover financing opportunities, while promoting small income-generating projects.
The club also traveled to the Kufunda Learning Village in Harare, which promotes youth and personal leadership in underprivileged communities. The connection helped the club establish an ongoing presence in the community, and the Youth Initiative Club has been held a second time since its commencement in 2013.
Post-project comments:
Community projects centered around issues of lack of education faced by many of youths, and the subsequent problems that this can cause. Solutions were campaigns that targeted those who had dropped out of education due to lack of funding, that increased awareness of financing availabilities.
What they said:
Some of the members of the club will be attending university in the fall.
— Dumisile Mtambo & Rutendo Chabikwa