Gracsious Ncube in Netherlands pursuing a Masters in Development Studies.  "I want to ensure that the girl child understands that she is valuable and can achieve more."

September 2010: Growing up in the rural community of Chefunye, women and girls were stereotyped as less capable.  Gracsious Ncube never dreamt that she would one day be pursuing a Masters Degree.  Her chances of education were dim; however this changed with the support from Plan’s child sponsorship program and her parents’ encouragement.

Early times

Gracsious walked 8kms daily to Chefunye School; she braved chilly mornings and had lessons under trees with pupils scrambling for few textbooks.  She had to endure the cold weather until Plan moved in to support the community to build classrooms.

Gracsious was among the first children from Chefunye to be enrolled as a sponsored child  under Plan’s children education and development programme. To date, Plan Zimbabwe directly supports 50,000 children and indirectly about 250,000 in Zimbabwe.

Sponsorship programme

“Plan’s support through the school motivated us to enjoy education through providing good classrooms, school uniforms and other learning materials to shield us from the chilly mornings,” reminisces Gracsious.

Gracsious devoted her time towards academic excellence and passed her high school examinations. She went on to study for a Bachelor of Science and obtained an Honours Degree in Sociology at the University of Zimbabwe.  Her passion for education has led her to pursue a Masters in Development Studies, at the Erasmus University Rotterdam’s International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Netherlands.

Living example

“I feel honoured to have made it this far. Where I grew up, girls were under pressure to prove that they too can do well academically.

Amidst such challenges, she points out that her religious values and principles sustained her throughout the journey. 
 
Professionally, she aspires to be a holistic development practitioner working for the vulnerable. Grascious wishes to see the girl-child break all the social and cultural barriers. “I want to ensure that the girl child understands that she is valuable and can achieve more. Women and girls have what it takes and it’s a matter of exploring territories that were previously known to be for men.  I want to see them live their dream and attain their worth,” she says.

Zimbabwe has many girls with a strong will and determination as Gracsious and with a solid education; they can be agents of change in society.

Debbie Langdon-Davies visiting Plan's Harare programme unit

4 February 2010: Plan’s founder would be very proud of the millions of children the organisation has helped over the past 70 years, according to his daughter on a visit to meet her sponsored child in Zimbabwe.

Debbie Langdon-Davies, whose father founded Plan in 1937, said: “If my father was alive, he would be overwhelmed with joy at how Plan Zimbabwe has changed communities’ lives for the better. I am very impressed by the passion and enthusiasm shown by the children as well.”

Emotional meeting

When she finally met the young boy who she has been sponsoring and writing to since 2000, it was an emotional meeting. Neither could hide their excitement at holding hands for the first time.

“You have grown so big!” she exclaimed. It was a poignant moment for Debbie, whose father conceived the idea of a personal relationship between a child and sponsor.

“He loved children so much. That is why he mobilised his friends and acquaintances to write letters to the orphaned and underprivileged children while raising money for their education,” said Debbie.

Cultural welcome

Debbie meeting Plan staff

As well as visiting her sponsored child, Debbie was treated to a cultural welcome by the community and toured some of Plan’s projects in the area.

At Mazengere Village Debbie was impressed by the resilience shown by HIV and AIDS-positive men, women and children who formed a post test club named Evergreen. The club grows, among others, nutritional crops to help boost their immune system and sell the surplus.

The next stop was at Nyamutsahuni ward where Debbie was shown all types of toilets built by the community as a result of a community-led total sanitation approach, spearheaded by Plan. She also met a group of dedicated home-based care givers that Plan supports, who assist terminally ill people with household chores and counselling.

Find out more about Plan’s work in Zimbabwe 

Read about Plan’s history

Support Plan's work and sponsor a child

Community members in Mutoko district showcasing some of the toilets they built.

15th October, 2009: Plan Zimbabwe’s use of community led total sanitation approach to improve hygiene and stop people from defecating out in the open has triggered 110 villages in Mutoko district to build temporary and permanent toilets at each household, without external support.

This emerged during the National Sanitation Week celebrations held at Chimukopa Primary School on 17 September under the theme, “Community led total sanitation: key to a cholera free environment”.

The guest of honour, Provincial Environmental Health Officer for Mashonaland East Mr. Clever Matiringe said, government acknowledges the role played by temporary toilets in curbing diarrheal diseases outbreaks, though ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines remain the benchmark.
“These temporary toilets are the first step on the sanitation ladder and are part of public health and hygiene education. Non existence of human excreta in the open in this area signals a healthy environment,” said Mr Matiringe.

Mutoko district had in the recent past recorded 378 cholera cases and 80 deaths during the cholera outbreak which stretched from September 2008-March 2009.

Working with the community

Plan is promoting the community led total sanitation (CLTS) approach in Mutoko and other seven districts it operates in as part of mobilising communities to take a lead in improving their own environment without external support.

CLTS approach is an entry point in the sanitation continuum for families who find it difficult to build VIP toilets, due to the high construction costs involved. The approach was developed in Bangladesh in 2000 by Kamal Kar.

Under CLTS, the focus is on the behavioural change needed to ensure real and sustainable improvements of the environment instead of the type of toilet structures.
“We congratulate Mutoko for being the first district to record a significant coverage of sanitation in the country after adoption of the community led sanitation process,” said Mr. Matiringe.

Over 5,500 temporary and permanent toilets have been built in Charehwa communities, since the introduction of CLTS in November 2008.

Celebrating achievements

Plan Zimbabwe’s Country Director, Else Kragholm, congratulated the community for embracing the CLTS approach, which she described as key in creating a healthy environment conducive for child development.

A child speaker, Aleta Marufu, from Mutoko Government High School, said poor sanitation affects childrens’ education.
“As children, we should spend more time in school, learning and not in hospital being treated for preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.  Our health is our right,” said Aleta.

Other partners who supported the successful hosting of the National Sanitation Week include Practical Action, CRS, World Vision, Pump Aid Zimbabwe and various government ministries and departments.

Plan Zimbabwe is putting a smile on the faces of these and other children by helping them access a basic education.

25 September, 2009: Plan Zimbabwe is supporting more than 100 primary schools in Zimbabwe to conduct weekend revision lessons to help thousands of pupils who lost learning time after most schools in the southern African nation were closed early this year as teachers embarked on nationwide strikes to press for better pay.

Mr. Manager Mhangami, Plan Zimbabwe Learning Advisor, said although classes resumed after government awarded teachers an average of $150 salaries per month each, many children especially those sitting for Ordinary Level examinations had not been able to recover the lost learning time.

Plan’s intervention is expected to benefit more than 5,000 school children in 8 districts.

“Plan’s intervention is coming at the right time, especially for us girls, as we hardly have enough time to study due to our multiple roles at home,” said Melinda, of Nevada Primary School in Kwekwe.

“We will utilise this opportunity to study hard and prove that given an equal opportunity, girls can also do it,” she said.

Plan’s support package includes teaching and learning materials, stationery for children as well as incentives for teachers and supervisory staff, worth US$21,000, Mr. Mhangami said.

Reaching more children

He said the programme was well received by the community with some calling for its expansion to secondary school level.

"We rolled out this intervention with few resources and on a trial basis, but the results from local assessments and responses from children, their families and teachers’, are amazing. We will certainly consider their request to expand, if resources permit,” he said.

Teachers also threw their weight behind the holiday revision initiative.

“We sincerely appreciate Plan’s efforts and wish that this could be extended to lower grade children, who equally missed out in learning time last year” said Dambudzo Mandangu, a teacher from Kadzere Primary School in Mutasa Programme Unit said.

Plan’s support to holiday and weekend revision lessons for classes who will be sitting for their national examination is a first and is in line with its goal of “fulfilling the right to quality education for all children”.

Plan Programme Unit Manager Justin Kufakweimba (left) collecting the award from MInister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Gordon Moyo

2 June 2009: Plan Zimbabwe has won a prestigious award for its important contribution to the healthy development of children in the country, despite difficult working conditions.

The National Chamber of Commerce unanimously voted Plan the winner of Manicaland Province’s Social Responsibility award for being “innovative and creative in a challenging economy”.

Honourable Gordon Moyo, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, represented the Prime Minister, Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai, as the guest of honour to present the award in Mutare on 27 May.

Dedicated team

Justin Kufakweimba, Plan Programme Area Manager for Mutare, said accepting the award was a great honour.

“We are very excited to have received this award and the recognition it shows for the dedication of our team in Manicaland Province,” he said. “2008 was a challenging year and being chosen above other NGOs recognises the impact that our projects have had for the children of Zimbabwe in a difficult time.”

Making an impact

The judging team said Plan’s programmes targeted the most distressed members of the community and the decision was based on the visibility and impact of projects that Plan implemented under a challenging operating environment in 2008.

Every year, Plan Zimbabwe invests between US$10-16,000,000 to improve child rights, health, education, food security, and combat HIV and AIDS in the country’s 8 districts.

Plan is not a member of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce but each year the chamber looks beyond its members to recognise the organisation or individual that best exemplifies commitment to develop less privileged communities.

Plan Zimbabwe is now in the running for the national award which will be announced on 26 June in Bulawayo.