Chegutu Branch

TRACE is a project which resulted after an implementation of a funded Monitoring of District Operational Plan , as part of the DOP the schools where entitled to have suggestion Box with the committee in place which comprises a guidance and counselling Teacher and two school learners making cognizance of gender as well as two parents and one School development committee member , this was to insure the smooth flow of communication of not only bad and suspicious activities in both communities and school but also the good things and behaviours that the school have been witnessing all round year
The project brought a component of training of schools and community on the use and maintenance of SUGGESTION BOXES , looking at financial management and Psycho social support under learner welfare services 30 schools where trained and given suggestion boxes , after the training the schools where to come out with their comities which notes down the issues which would have came out of the box as well as to come out with action points for issues that would require attentions , among the schools were Chitenderano , Jinks town , Mafuti , Chirundazi to mention but a few . Mafuti primary school is located about 13 km out of chegutu urban direction Pick stone mine the small business community as a results of gold mining the same community in which The Y is known for Implementing CEHCLA Project.
On the day of November 13th 2017, the school Suggestion box comities set down to open their suggestion box to insure a notable routine seating, the committee, opened the box and noted quite a number of issues among them the interference of the councillors in school development comities, the victimisation of young people in the community by political allies and the sexual abuse of a 10 year old janet mupande of plot number 16 mafuti .
The committee lead By the guidance and counselling teacher started a follow up on the matter of the sexual abuse with the school head as this was part of their resolution made during the meeting , the school head informed the district responsible authorities and an investigation committee was put in place ,which comprised of the Chegutu YMCA staff , DVFU police officer as well as the District leaner welfare services officer and the story came out to be true , the sad side of the story was that the parent of the child was also part of the committee and have been leaving with the child for years and never noticed this has been happening , special thanks to the suggestion box which brought the issue to light ,
The man purported to be the perpetrator was cuffed and kept in the police cells as the investigation and opening of a criminal docket was being finalised, with reference number CRL123/17. It emerged that when the mother would work up early everyday going to work, working as a farm worker at the nearby farm the uncle who leaved next door would accompany the two children to school one boy and one girl and as a result the other boy was also sodomised several times for almost a year and the victim above (Jane ) was later molested and sexually abused for some time again which could not be established , however the mother could not know about all this happenings but the community could know and hear about it however afraid to share with the parent because the man was known to be violent and very abusive , he was sentenced to 36 years in prison after the case was heard and properly finalised by the Chegutu magistrates court ,
We realised that the community of Mafuti would have not managed to cab such disturbing behaviour if was not for the Chegutu YMCA project funded by ECOZI,
They say it takes a community to raise a child this was the true meaning of what we learnt from Mafuti Primary school and community

Chido Joana Ndoro

Chegutu YMCA staff

Chegutu is both a mining and farming town. In and around Chegutu most working children are engaged in agriculture, mining, quarrying, construction and street selling. Children engage in the mining, are usually engaged in illegal gold panning with their families. Tobacco and cotton farmers are employing children although the government has laws against this.
Orphans are most vulnerable. Many of these children are denied an education and are forced to work in dangerous conditions that often result in life long injuries by widespread poverty. Child labour causes physical and psychological damage to children. Many children attempt to escape this form of trade but due to poverty, are forced into similar situations. Some children around Chegutu also engage in cattle herding, while others in domestic services. Children engaged in domestic work for third-party households are sometimes not paid by their employers. Street selling is the most common form of child labour in Chegutu. Children work as street vendors, selling phone cards, fruits and other foodstuff. Children work in the streets to the early hours of the morning. As this is not formalized employment, the children always fight running battles with the police.
In bars and night clubs in the town many young girls continue to be exploited in prostitution. Mostly prostitution by girls is due to poverty. Poverty is blamed for, high food prices and lack of funds to pay school fees are all factors contributing to the prostitution of girls, including girls as young as 13 years. The belief that sex with a virgin can cure sexually transmitted infections contributes to the sexual exploitation of children and the spread of diseases.
As revealed in the stated scenarios, most child labour in Zimbabwe occurs in the informal sector. The main cause being poverty and the increased rate of orphans due to HIV/AIDS. Children work because their survival and that of their families depend on it, and in some cases, because unscrupulous adults take advantage of their vulnerability. Due to the persistence of child labour in Chegutu Zimbabwe YMCA intervened and had their programme campaign against child labour. The programme was comprised with the following activities community education(awareness raising), single women’s projects, back to primary education, social support, child birth registration and after school support group.
SUCCESS STORY
The campaign against child labour in Chegutu is very fruitful and successful, many young people are being assisted and they have their success stories to share with the whole nation. Below is one of the success stories a girl from Chegutu shared.
There was a girl from a poor family. They lived in a squatter area outside the subdivision. The father already died, so, she was living with her mother whose sideline is doing household chores in the subdivision, and two siblings that had stopped sending at school by their mother due to poverty.
The girl wanted to go back to school, one day she told her mother that she would be going to the town to look for a job. At first her mother disagreed because she was worried that something might happen to her daughter, yet she did nothing but to let her go. The girl went to town and she found a job in a house. She was hired as a maid, her owners who were her bosses had a male child a grade 3 pupil. Almost all the time she does all the chores it was very tiring for her age. The salary she received could not even cater for her family’s expenses.
One day she discovered about the YMCA campaign against child labour through the community education (awareness raising). The girl told her story to the YMCA her mother got support through the single women’s project which assisted the mother to have her own income generating programme. The girl left the job of a maid and was assisted through the back to primary education and the two siblings with tuition fees and uniforms, they are all back at school. The girl got psycho-social support which was also a success the girl revealed how she was treated when she was employed as a maid. The psycho-social support gaveher the courage to speak out of what the girl child would go through if she is employed informally thus sexual harassment, physical abuse, emotional abuse as well as financial abuse her stronger and appreciate.
The girl is happy now and is forever grateful to the Chegutu YMCA for such a programme which was at her aid when she needed it the most her mother is having her own business, her siblings are at school and herself as well. This is one of the success stories the YMCA had to share with the rest of Zimbabwe to deny child labour and fight against such practices in our country. The young ones are our future, hence we need to safe guard them from the physical and psychological damages.

Maidei, 10 Years Old

Single Parented Child