While meeting its members, NANGO was intrigued by cases of civil litigation that Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZHLR) has embarked on under its Public Litigation Project.
Through this project, ZLHR aims to increase accountability of state and non-state actors for human rights violations against citizens. It also helps bring civil claims for damages against named perpetrators violating human rights in their personal and official capacities.
For instance, Chingwizi villagers sued the Minister of Home Affairs and the Zimbabwe Republic Police and have been duly compensated for the torture they endured after they were forced to relocate to an area with worse living conditions than their transit camp. While at Naunetsi Ranch villagers had no access to schools, clinics, food or water.
ZLHR intervened to assist villagers that were forcibly removed from their homes three years ago in Tokwe Mukosi area, Masvingo and resettled haphazardly.
Similarly to Chingwizi villagers, ZLHR has also assisted villagers in Mazoe, Chisumbanje and Marange to name a few. In urban areas there are also efforts to stop councils from degrading wetlands.
Hospitals, local authorities such as town councils, schools, traditional leaders and state agencies have also been forced to account for human rights violations through ZLHR’s Public Litigation Project.
ZLHR is also availing mobile clinics in communities in order to provide human right literacy, free legal aid and legal counselling for the poor and the most marginalised populations.
ZLHR director, Rose Hanzi, asserted that the organisation is equipping communities with knowledge of their constitutional rights and obligations.
Increased rights literacy empowers communities to engage local and national leaders, demand civil, economic, social and environmental rights.
Hanzi added that ZLHR is open to working with more community based organisations as this will assist in the mapping of areas with victims that need compensation
The Young Change Makers falls under the Advocacy and Campaigns Program whose goal is to improve the living conditions of children with disabilities in Zimbabwe. The project, run by Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe, is partnering with disability service organizations in order to support 200 children with disabilities as young leaders to participate in processes where they can raise awareness of their rights and responsibilities.
As part of efforts to foster child led advocacy the project held a post budget analysis seminar whose objective was to help learners understand their role in advocating for child friendly budgets. The seminar brought together representatives of Young Change Makers clubs from two schools that the project is partnering with in Harare.
At the seminar, NANGO Senior Social Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Onias Munamati, spoke about child sensitive budgeting.
Munamati said, “The National Budget is a key instrument to ensure the progressive realisation of the social, environmental, economic and political rights of children as a disenfranchised group. Every child should have adequate standard of living and have the highest attainable standard of health and education on the basis of equality and opportunity. The fulfillment of these child rights involves costs and resources.”
Ideally elements of child friendly budgeting are child-friendly economic and social policies, transparent, accountable and participatory budget process, efficient and equitable budget allocations and expenditure as well as adequate and progressively increasing budget allocations, asserted Munamati.
He added that, to influence the 2018 National Budget, Junior Councilors developed their 2018 budget advocacy tool, the Children’s Ten Point Plan, which was used to engage the fiscal authorities. For inclusivity, a separate process comprised of Children with Disabilities was organised to gather their budget aspirations hence the development of Children’s Ten Point Plan Plus.
2018 National Budget Response to the Children’s Ten Point Plan Plus was allocation of $1 million for the provision of technical and vocational skills to Persons With Disabilities (PWD). The government allocated $5.7million towards the procurement of hearing aids and braille support services to learners with visual impairment. Commitment was also made to support sign language and braille teaching and learning resource materials.
The government also committed to support children with disabilities with psychological services and school feeding programmes. In terms of social security, $39.3 million was allocated towards funding existing social safety nets.
Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe held the seminar after appreciating the need to lobby for development of child sensitive fiscal and budget policies and expenditures, evidence based child budget advocacy, hold the government to account on the promises made to children, enhance the effectiveness of the national budgets in addressing the development needs of children and reprioritization of expenditure to the critical areas which are important in achieving sustainable development.
Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe is a non-profit organization striving for creation of equal opportunities for people with a disability. It has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1981 and envisions a society in which every person with a disability can enjoy their rights and have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. It also works with grassroots communities in all ten provinces of Zimbabwe and strives to address the issues of discrimination, exclusion, poverty and rights violation among people with disability (PWD) through various program strategies.
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that met with the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) on Friday last week at the Rainbow Towers expressed lack of confidence in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
Zimbabwe Association of Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO) director, Edson Chihota, passed a complaint over how ZEC prescribes the role that CSOs should play during elections. He said such interference erodes confidence of the electorate.
An attendant at the meeting asked the council to evaluate the efficiency of ZEC stating that 112 political parties are alleged to have registered to run in the forthcoming elections yet it is very questionable if ZEC will manage to handle the numbers and still guarantee credible elections.
In response to concerns raised over the capabilities of ZEC, SEAC chairperson, Advocate Leshele Thohlane, said “We have met ZEC and they told us their structures, processes and limitations. What we have also been made aware of how the voters’ roll is contentious.”
Advocate Thohlane added that in spite of all this, they wanted to know the role that civil society is playing towards nation building.
The Pre-election Goodwill Mission acknowledged that civil society feels a vacuum with regards to ensuring accountability of democratic processes.
He added that SEAC serves to assess the readiness of a country expected to hold elections and submits a report to SADC as it is the role of the council to ensure free and fair elections.
SEAC has the mandate of establishing whether socio-economic and political environment is conducive for holding elections. To fulfil this mandate Advocate Thohlane said they sit and listen to civil society as these are the foot soldiers documenting processes.
On 23 March 2018 Girl Child Empowerment of Zimbabwe (GCE Zim) conducted a peer to peer training at Ndarama High School in Masvingo. The peer to peer training was aimed at sharing information on issues affecting girls in high schools. These issues include gender discrimination, child abuse, rape, unequal education opportunities and intergenerational relationships.
More than 250 students attended the peer to peer training workshop.
During the workshop it was noted that a number of students are afraid to report any form of abuse to their teachers as student-teacher relations may not permit. During the workshop it was also said that intergenerational sexual relationships, commonly known as age mixing, drive the spread of sexually transmitted infections. It was also pointed out that intergenerational sexual relationships do not only leave girls prone to abuse but young girls can also contract sexually transmitted infections, have unplanned pregnancies and limit career prospects.
The issue of intergenerational sexual relationships is one of the topics that was presented and received well as most students and present stakeholders could relate. After that presentation a number of pupils came forward to suggest different issues affecting them which they felt GCE Zim should address in the near future. Some of the pupils narrated stories of how abuse is being carried out in public spaces, communities, homes and at schools.
In an attempt to improve the attendance of girls in school, GCE Zim donated sanitary pads to participants while some sanitary pads were given to the school senior teacher, Mrs Chuma, to offer students at the school.
The director GCE Zim, Tatenda Maposa vowed to work with likeminded organizations and various stakeholders in making sure that young girls are able to articulate their rights. Ndarama high school senior teacher thanked the organization and urged all pupils to work extra hard in their studies and avoid risky relationships because they can hinder their academic progress.
Body shaming is a great concern within our communities and has adverse psychological effects. It even leads to physical effects like self-harm. Body shaming, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is the action or practice of humiliating someone by mocking or passing critical comments about their body shape, size or colour. It’s expressing mockery or criticism about a person’s body.
I think we can all relate to this, you have either said it, been told about it in your face or heard someone being shamed. Rarely do people stop and think how the shamed person feels. Well, it’s not okay, it’s not right. Lately with the way social media has taken over the world, body shaming has gone to a new level. On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp, you will find an increasing trend of all forms of body shaming.
This has become a norm and what saddens me the most is that younger generations are picking this up. They hear this and they think it’s right and do that to the next person. A child who lives across my street has a tendency of passing snide comments and several times I have observed that the mother does not reprimand him or apologise on his behalf. As a result, the child will grow up seeing nothing wrong with labelling or body shaming.
Children are also victims of body shaming as parents also perpetuate this form of emotional abuse. Body shaming is not just between strangers but can also be perpetuated by family members and close friends. This has adverse psychological effects on a child. Their confidence and self-esteem can be dented for life. Remember, the environment that a child is brought up in has a toll on their day to day life.
On International Women’s Day I was seeing a lot of positive, encouraging messages and words celebrating the day. I too was sending my own messages as this day is important to me as a woman. My major concern was body shaming of women then hit me that body shaming is broader than that. It is not a concept which only affects women but men as well. There are misconceptions about how a “real man” must look.
It is sad how most people do not realise how body shaming is hurtful and rude. We think it’s fine to speak badly about someone’s physical features. We have grown up in societies that don’t understand the effects of body shaming and name calling. Body shaming and the subsequent low self-esteem often leads victims to self-harm or commit suicide.
Often, people tend to forget that the victim may have a medical or genetic condition that has caused weight gained or loss. Physical appearance is not always a choice. Others simply cannot afford correctional surgery or things like braces.
So before you comment or say a snide remark I would suggest you think twice before you become one of those rude people who think it’s ok to express their personal opinion about another person’s body. Also next time you hear someone body shaming another person tell them it’s rude and it’s a form of verbal harassment.
The author, Tadiwanashe Burukai, works with My Age Zimbabwe Trust in Masvingo. She is a development practitioner in the field of public health and has her focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights. She writes in her personal capacity.
The European Union (EU) delegation team recently met with the civil society organisations from the Western Region at Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo to discuss the EU Roadmap exercise for 2018-2020.
The delegation wanted to get first-hand information from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at grassroots level and get to understand their concerns and recommendation that can be addressed by the union.
The CSOs in the region were tasked to look at three thematic areas that covered their enabling environment, meaningful participation in policy dialogue and domestic policies, and capacity development.
CSOs highlighted the need for the government to revise their stringent laws so as to open an enabling environment for them to operate without any fear.
One of the participants in the meeting, National Youth Development Trust director, Liberty Bhebhe said, “One of the major challenges with the new dispensation is that this government is still restrictive. We are worried of what will happen after elections.”
Laws like Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) are still identified as major laws that hinder free operating environment for CSOs. These also undermine their civil liberties such as freedom of association among others.
The EU delegation members alluded to the important role that CSOs can play in national development in Zimbabwe stating that their continous support will help promote a democratic and inclusive society in the country.
CSOs added that there was minimal meaningful participation in policy dialogue and domestic policies at regional or grassroots level as they are not fully included in some decision making policies in the country.
Anglistone Sibanda, the director of Shalom Project, a community based organisation in the region said, “At grassroots level CSOs rarely meet with local authorities to engage on sectorial policies therefore they do not get a chance to influence public legislation.”
However, he argued that there was still a lot to be done in the capacity development sector because the CSOs still do not have the skills required in capacity building.
“Lack of funding is a major concern that hinders capacity development within CSOs in the region or at a national level, the skills can be attained when there is adequate funding, hence, we call EU to help us in these areas so as to improve our skills,” said Justice Zvaita, the director of Emmaus International.
The EU delegation team was requested to establish a civil society fund that will fund CSOs in strengthening their internal capacity in fundraising, research, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation.
In the meeting, it was noted that the EU was planninng to sharpen their roadmap focus and have more realistic priorities that are achievable by 2020 and also to improve participation by CSOs in other sectors such as the agriculture, health and environment.
EU was represented by eight ambassodors from France, Britain, Netherlands, Romania, Germany, Sweden, Spain and Portugal.
By Lovejoy Phiri, NANGO Western Region
Zimbabwe AIDS Network (ZAN) with support from Amplify Change hosted journalists for an engagement on pro-key populations budget, policy advocacy and analysis.
The meeting set to introduce journalists to HIV key populations programming in Zimbabwe, propose strategies for effective evidence based health reporting and discuss common approaches to advocacy for increased key populations’ access to health services.
It was commendable that reporters and editors that attended the meeting managed to identify key populations as sex workers, LGBTIQ, prisoners and artisanal miners. Some said they understood that key populations generally receive negative publicity in the media because they are stigmatized.
The ZAN Deputy Board Chairman, Walter Chikanya, said “HIV prevalence rates among certain key populations including sex workers, transgender persons and prisoners are significantly higher than those of the general population”.
Chikanya explained that key populations are more vulnerable to HIV infection for reasons such as more frequent exposure to the virus, involvement in risky behaviours, weak family and social support systems, marginalization, lack of resources and inadequate access to health care services.
“In addition stigma and discrimination are widely recognized as undermining efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and pose barriers to accessing care and treatment services,” he said.
Chikanya encouraged journalists to have open dialogue, share experiences and recommendations that strengthen collaboration of civil society and the media seeing as social exclusion and health inequalities facing key populations means they cannot benefit from health services.
Journalists were also reminded to inform the public about what really causes or contributes to public health and development issues, and educate them about the concept of a healthy community, recast public health concerns and encourage other professionals and community members to find out more about public health and development issues in general, and to get involved.
Journalists also brought to light that looking at the legal framework in Zimbabwe, it’s a challenge to advocate for LGBTIQ priorities in the media and the same legal barriers make it difficult to write positively about LGBTIQ in state controlled media houses. It was also highlighted that due to fear of being labelled journalists shun writing about LGBTIQ.
The meeting resolved that there is need for positive engagement between the media and CSOs and a need to create safe spaces where the media can interact with key populations and get to write their stories.
ZAN also noted the need to incentivise journalists through issuing awards in order to improve coverage of health by the mainstream media.
12 Tips to Build Great NGO Partnerships for Donor Funding Applications
There are many good reasons for NGOs to work together to reach a common goal. When each partner brings its own expertise and resources to a program the impact can be multiplied. The sum total of the partnership is worth more than what each NGO can achieve on its own. Donors know this and often promote or require NGO partnerships for this very reason.
Joint donor applications by a group of NGOs, also called a consortium, are becoming more common. In a consortium, one NGO typically takes on the lead role (also known as the lead applicant or prime) with the other NGOs acting as supporting partners. Typically the lead partner signs the contract with the donor, receives the grant into its bank account, and takes responsibility for managing the partnership. It gives the lead partner significant control for which clear agreements are needed. NGO supporting partners can also benefit from this arrangement by accessing funds they may otherwise have been out of their reach, and minimize their own managerial and overhead costs.
While there are many benefits to partnering, there are many challenges as well to maintaining successful partnerships. Fortunately, here are twelve tried and tested principles that will help all partners work in an atmosphere of trust and avoid conflict.
Before the project starts
Start early
Do not wait for the donor to publish a funding announcement on FundsforNGOs before you ask potential NGO partners to joins forces. If you make a habit of planning programs with partners you can actively fundraise from potential donors. Working together with partners should be an organizational priority to maximize impact, even if it does not lead to funding in the short term.
Use each partners’ strengths
Partners should take on those activities that they are best suited for in the project. By focusing on program success, and not on who will gain the most from the partnership, you ensure that each partner’s role complements to other and all partners win. Program success will in turn generate additional donor interest in the program and sometimes more funding. Success attracts success.
Choose a lead
One partner often needs to play the lead role and partners need to decide early on which NGO will play that role. As the lead partner will have a large amount of control over the budget it should act in good faith and earn the trust of all others. Even if all partners are equals, organizing projects typically works best with a clear leader.
Agree on activities and budget
Develop a set of activities and assign each set of activities to each partner. Once the activities have been agreed upon, the budget linked to those activities should be earmarked to the NGO implementing the activities. The relevant partner should also receive the indirect and overhead costs associated with those activities. While the lead partner normally receives a larger part of the budget, they should not shortchange the other partners. Partners should negotiate the budget in an atmosphere of trust and honesty. When agreements are made they should be honored once funding is received.
Develop a system to resolve disputes
When working in a partnership it is inevitable that some disagreement and conflict will arise. Make sure there is a process to air issues and find a mutually acceptable solution. Make sure you agree on this before you apply for funding. Some common dispute resolution techniques include using an outside mediator, raising a vote among partners, or allowing the lead partner to have the final say.
Sign an MoU
While the donor grant agreement outlines the responsibilities of the partners, often details regarding the partnership among NGOs is left out. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will make clear which partner will do what and how much budget they will have. A good MoU signed by all partners outlines the basic agreements between them, which will avoid confusion and conflict.
Once the project starts
Meet partners often
Organize regular meetings in person or by phone to discuss issues and progress. Why not schedule a weekly short partnership call so everyone is fully informed and up to speed? This will help resolve issues before they become big as well as strengthen the bond between partners.
Be willing to make changes
When implementing a program, changes often have to be made to project activities and the budget. Don’t be afraid to discuss these changes amongst partners and to allocate extra budget to a partner for these activities if needed. Most donors will allow modest changes without prior approval, although large changes often need to be approved.
Report jointly to the donor
All partners should be involved in reporting to the donor. This allows for a comprehensive report that showcases each NGO’s contribution. Donors love to see the impact from effective partnerships, and by reporting on success you can boost the reputation of all partners.
Engage with donors as a group
If the donor wants to meet or visit the program site make sure all partners are involved. This will deepen the relationships between partners and the donor which may result in continued funding.
At the end of the project
Thank the donor and each other
Once the program has been completed the lead partner should thank the donor on behalf of all the partners. Consider organizing a final meeting to celebrate success and strengthen the bond between partners. Invite the donor to that meeting if possible. This will allow partners to propose continued funding.
Don’t stop collaborating
The end of donor funding does not mean the end of collaboration and partnership. There will be many other opportunities to work together. Maintain the relationship between partners and set the stage for future success.
The author Erik Detiger is the Managing Director of FundsforNGOs. Erik brings his two decades of experience working in the field of international philanthropy and fundraising to FundsforNGOs. He has worked with the United Nations, INGOs and grass-roots organizations in Europe, Thailand, Nepal, Tanzania, India, and the United States. Well versed in project management and fundraising, Erik has led development projects in health, education, humanitarian relief and human rights, raising well over $150 million from a wide variety of government agencies, foundations, and institutions
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has requested involvement of CSOs in the development of the full Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP) which will be developed for the period 2017 – 2018.
It’s been two years since NANGO together with seven other organisations formed a united non-state actor body called Non State Actors Apex Alliance (NSAA). This alliance is fundamental in lobbying and engaging with one voice in order to achieve positive development outcomes for the citizenry. NSAA comprises of National Association of Youth Organisations (NAYO), Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ), Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC), Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) and National Association of Societies for the Care of Handicapped (NASCOH).
NSAA influenced national processes through mobilisation and facilitating non-state actors to effectively participate and engage in the processes. This saw an increase in the number of non-state actors participating in national policies that reflect and address the needs of the people. Through this the government has provided further a window for participation and involvement of NSAA in the development of the full PRSP, which is going to be developed over the two-year period 2017-2018. The IPRSP mainstreamed a number of issues from the non-state actors including input from women, youth, children, people with disability and business sectors. Non-state actors are now oriented to influence national development processes in a collaborative and harmonised manner.
NSAA was accorded an opportunity to influence the development of the IPRSP which was being developed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The government put in place an IPRSP inter-ministerial committee to develop the IPRSP and NSAA was co-opted into this committee which facilitated the development of the poverty reduction strategy for the period April to July 2016. The government recognised the role that CSOs should play in development of national policy by coopting NSAA in the committee. Government reflected its appreciation of CSOs through inclusion in this rigorous process. In total there were 592 participants representing the CSOs who took part in the consultative process of the IPRSP at the national, provincial and district levels. These translate to a 51.2% representation of CSOs. At provincial level CSO participation was high. In Harare 187 organisations participated, 132 in Manicaland, 117 in Bulawayo, 69 in Midlands and Masvingo had the least organisations at 18. At district level 20 CSOs from Nkayi participated, 19 from Umzingwane, 16 from Centenary and Mudzi had 14. The participation of CSOs at district levels was low and this can be explained by the low representation of CSOs at that level. As such, development of the full IPRSP is in the works.
The Non State Actors Coordination and Capacity Strengthening Programme developed capabilities of non-state actors to participate in policy dialogue and contributed immensely to the development of national policies in Zimbabwe. The Non State Actors Coordination and Capacity Strengthening Programme has resulted in strengthening coordination of non-state actors to influence national development processes. The capacity of Non State Actors to effectively influence national processes was strengthened through national, provincial and district level capacity enhancing programmes in areas such as results based management, monitoring and evaluation, corporate governance, policy advocacy, lobby and research and understanding government. This enhanced knowledge and understanding of non-state actors to participate and engage government, in a more effective manner. The project initiated policy dialogue platforms, which allowed non-state actors to engage various policy makers and push for their agenda informed by research, which the project had carried out during the course of the year. Some of the policies the project influenced, include the IPRSP, National Peace Reconciliation Bill, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Aligning the Disabled Persons Act [Ch.17:01] to the New Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare said Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) are not obligated to pay for Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with any local authority. This was said by the Director for Social Welfare, Retired Major Thuso Maphala, at a meeting held with National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations to discuss the state of NGOs in Zimbabwe.
NANGO Director, Leonard Mandishara, expressed how the work of NGOs in Zimbabwe is being curbed by shrinking operating space, constrictive regulations, restrictive legislation and delays in PVO registration processes.
Mandishara also informed Rtd. Major Maphala that members have different annual financial cycles and internal processes that may make it impossible to submit 2017 audited statements and annual reports by the deadline, 31 March 2018. He further requested the ministry to waiver this for those members who may not be able to meet the cut-off date.
He further indicated that there is a growing number of NGOs that want to register as PVOs but past experiences show that the process is lengthy and leads many to register as trusts. Lastly Mandishara encouraged the ministry to engage NGOs.
Rtd. Major Maphala appreciated the initiative by NANGO to engage and seek to find common ground and agreed that there is need to strengthen relations between NGOs and the parent ministry. On constrictive regulations of NGOs around the country, Rtd. Major Maphala stressed that PVOs are not obligated to sign or pay for MOUs with any local authority. He added that the ministry was in the process of investigating cases that were reported at the December 2017 PVO board meeting.
Rtd. Major Maphala indicated that as the parent ministry of PVOs, they would like to continue engaging and gathering evidence on where and when PVOs were barred from executing their mandates. With regards to delays in PVO registration, the minister asserted that the PVO board will be sitting four times a year to review the applications that would have been received. He added that, social welfare officers right up to district level have been trained on how to assist stakeholders and ensuring that applications sent to the PVO board have all the required information. This is anticipated to ease the backlog and expedite the registration of PVOs.
To the relief of many, Rtd. Major Maphala appreciated the initiative by NANGO to engage before the lapse of the deadline and agreed to waiver the regulation on condition that NANGO submits a list of its members and the different challenges they may be facing in terms of meeting the 31 March deadline.