Give education & training to Zimbabwean girls

It has been another busy quarter at the Rafiki Girls Centre, with the end of the course drawing near from the July 2016 intake and the January 2017 intake progressing onto educational and vocational courses. The July 2016 intake have begun their technical and vocational training, whilst the January 2017 intake have just completed the first stage of the course in personal and life skills.

Your support has enabled us to guide 60 young women into further education or vocational training, providing support and counselling to raise awareness of HIV and build the life skills which allow the girls to go onto live independently and successfully. Besides this training, Rafiki has held a number of events this quarter!

Rafiki held an Open Day, which successfully showcased the centre and allowed staff to interact with parents and families. After parents were informed that at the end of 3 months girls will be encouraged to volunteer for HIV counselling and testing, there had many questions. Some feared others wondered how they would react or proceed on with life if the girl told them that she was HIV positive. Parents and guardians also want to be equipped so that they can know how they handle the news in the case that the girls’ results are positive. Rafiki is well-placed to support the girls and their families through this by tackling stigma, promoting living with and treating the virus effectively, and providing counselling and support.

Rafiki held a Careers Day to educate the students on the various industries and educational opportunities available to them, encouraging each student to be aspirational and not let not any perceptions they or others may hold about them to define their future.

Rafiki held its annual HIV/AIDS workshop on tackling spread and stigma, and living with HIV. 144 ladies attended the workshop under the theme 90, 90, 90. 24 married women from the host church were among those who attended the workshop. This is a national wide theme that is being implemented right now in the country. It aims at having 90% of people being tested for HIV, 90% of those tested should being on treatment, 90% who get on treatment should adhere to treatment and the fourth 90 which was introduced during the workshop is about prevention of new infections by 2030.

All students in the January intake completed voluntary HIV testing and counselling, and some disclosed that they felt comfortable sharing this with the staff at Rafiki Girls Centre as they would be more supportive and understanding of a positive status than other support networks in their lives. Fortunately, the testing revealed no new cases of HIV.

Rafiki is indeed a centre for transformation. Girls have been transformed starting with their mindsets, especially those who thought that it was impossible for them to be self-reliant and independent. Many are so grateful for the programme that has given them hope so that they are able to start income generating projects and others have found jobs and earn money to sustain not only themselves but their family members also.

We are very grateful to ZET for funding that has already come through for us to continue with our activities and fulfill the Rafiki vision to equip disadvantaged girls with skills, so that they will be able to transform their lives through earning an income.

Please consider donating to this wonderful centre, to support young women to lift themselves out of poverty through education and training.

Rafiki has had a very successful few months as the courses for the January and July 2016 progressed, with students excelling in their personal and vocational training, and enjoying the benefits of a number of extra curricular activities.

28 trainees successfully completed their course in September. There were 10 graduates in Hotel and Catering, 5 graduates in Cutting and Design, 5 graduates in Interior Design, 4 graduates in Nursery School Teaching, 4 graduates in Nurse Aide Training and 3 graduates in Cosmetology. 13 of these graduates have gone onto further employment, with 4 currently on a work placement.

A further 31 students have completed their first three months of the course, developing their confidence and personal skills and have elected their vocational course for the final six months. 9 students chose Cutting and Design, 9 chose Hotel and Catering, 4 chose Nursery School Teaching, 4 chose Nurse Aide Training, 3 chose Interior Design, 2 chose Cosmetology.

Beyond their studies, the girls went for an educational trip to Pasichigare cultural resort, visiting sites of immense environmental or cultural value and having the opportunity to not only learn, but enjoy good food, games and activities to relax. The owner of the resort offered to employ a Rafiki graduate due to the Centre’s continued support for this resort and the high calibre of the students whenever they visit. A week later, former Rafiki graduate Lydia Jaricha was employed and moved to the resort.

Rafiki organized another HIV awareness workshop in September, on the theme “ZERO TO 90% which 92 people attended. The aim is to reduce the prevalence of the HIV pandemic, by working towards the target of 90% of people knowing their status, and 90% of people living with HIV taking medication or seeking treatment. Peter Kamusiya from the Aids Counselling Trust was the key speaker for this event, discussing HIV, the importance of knowing your HIV status, other STIs and the importance of not having unprotected sex.

Other speakers included young women living with HIV, who spoke on the importance of accepting your HIV status, taking your medication, and how being HIV positive does not have to stop you from living life to the full.

The January 2017 intake recruitment took place in October and overwhelmed Rafiki staff. A total of 450 young women applied in person, with many more applications calling the Centre to express their interest. Of these, 150 were interviewed, but due to budget constraints, only 32 girls could be selected for training.

Rafiki Girls Centre went accidentally viral last Autumn, through word of mouth and and on social media. Hundreds of people from all over the country came to visit the centre, many of whom unfortunately had to be turned away due to staff and budget limitations. With so many applicants wanting to change their lives, Rafiki is considering how it can expand the programme in order to accommodate more less-privileged girls into the programme especially considering the need that was shown by the coming of many girls to seek for training, but the Centre will need more funds to achieve this.

Of the new intake, all volunteered for an HIV test after a long counselling session working through their anxieties about this. Two of the new trainees are HIV positive, and are receiving help and support from local medical professionals and Rafiki staff to manage their status whilst excelling at the course.

Rafiki has also been working to expand its network with other organisations to build sustainable social change, including other civil society organisations providing opportunities for the disadvantaged, and organisations and companies who may be able to provide training or opportunities to their students. These include Reformed Youth Alive, CrossOver, and Soroptimist.

It is ZET and Rafiki’s wish and desire to train many girls and give hope to the helpless and hopeless. We hope that readers will continue to support our vision and enable us to increase our intakes and the number of girls trained per year.