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Simbarashe Mutizwa
YOUNG people in Zimbabwe and around Africa live in a world of socio-economic inequalities. A majority fail to access quality education and adequate health care, while others have been affected by HIV prevalence, human rights and economic development issues. These factors are a stumbling block to efforts by young people to realise their dreams.

Many in Africa and around the world are deeply passionate about attempting to solve challenges confronting their communities, but often feel powerless or irresolute on how to make a difference.

Established in 2010 by a group of young people, United Children of Africa (Unica) is aimed at uplifting the livelihoods of children and youths in Africa through supporting communities.

Douglas Musiringofa, founder and director of Unica, is convinced his organisation is set to make a breakthrough in the Matabeleland region and the country as a whole in addressing problems faced by young people.

Unica has managed to harness young people’s passion for social change and equipping them with skills and resources to fight poverty and HIV/Aids among other challenges.

Musiringofa said Unica has played a critical role in contributing to the country’s infrastructural development through building and renovating youth and child centres as well as schools, an improvement which is in line with the countries’ economic blueprint, Zim-Asset.

In Victoria Falls, Unica is leaving no stone unturned by developing sustainable children and youth programmes. With almost 60 percent of the population in the resort town being youths, there is a need to establish community recreational centres that will accommodate young people’s desires and needs so that they realise their dreams.

Although young people are living in the shadow of multiple problems, Unica has embarked on deliberate activities to engage youths and keep them away from spending their spare time in unsafe places.

For most young people, indulging in sexual activities, involving themselves in criminal activities and spending their time in environments exposing them to alcohol and drug abuse has become the order of the day.

“In 2012, we realised that there were no recreational centres for young people in our community and thus we launched a child centre in Chinotimba, equipped with indoor and outdoor games for children aged between five and 15 years.

“The centre targets youth and acts as a recreational hub bringing youths out of unsafe places they might otherwise find themselves in due to lack of entertainment and employment opportunities,” said Musiringofa.

The centre has a wide stock of educational resources and an internet facility for research purposes and has become a useful hub for both O and A’Level pupils.

After the realisation that pupils were studying on their own, the organisation employed a tutor to assist with their studies. Musiringofa said the success of Unica’s first child centre paved way for the construction of another centre in Sizinda Village of Chidobe Ward, 20km from Victoria Falls.

“The Sizinda rural community donated land for the construction of the centre and the community members are also assisting with local building materials such as bricks and river sand.

“The centre has more space than the one we have in Victoria Falls and we are hopeful that young people from around this rural community of Sizinda are going to find it helpful. This centre, which will also be a camping site for youth capacity building initiatives, will have a community hall, offices, early childhood development centre, professionally constructed volleyball pitch, study rooms, fitness centre and an entertainment room. The centre will be equipped with internet services for research purposes, free indoor computer games for children, free outdoor games that include chess and darts among others,” said Musiringofa.

“In fact, when it comes to children, our idea is to ensure that they are free to enjoy their childhood and ultimately their rights,” he added.

In order for the Zimbabwean economy to register growth in a manner that is both competitive and effective, there is need for the country to undertake work in critical areas such as the development of a robust, elaborate and resilient infrastructure.

The rural community of Sizinda will benefit as the centre will be the hub of all activities in this area. Youths from this community will have the opportunity to meet and share experiences. The centre will also host weekend sporting activities including netball, soccer and volley between rural and urban teams.

In May 2014, Unica partnered with the Child Protection Society to launch a new Early Childhood Development (ECD) project, supported by the Roger Federer Foundation.

Musiringofa said this project is expected to provide access to ECD support services for 4,500 young children aged between four to six years old. Thirty ECD centres are under construction and renovations in Hwange district.

“The project facilitates training of ECD para-professionals or facilitators on ECD curriculum through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, parenting dialogue meetings, birth registration through the Department of Death and Birth Registry, health assessments through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and promoting income generating projects to sustain the ECD Centres,” said Musiringofa. The project comes at a time when the government of Zimbabwe in 2013 announced mandatory access to ECD education.

Since 2012, young people in the Sizinda community have been benefiting from the Income Generation Project (IPG), which is still running up to this day.

With the support of well-wishers and generous donations from individuals, Unica launched this project to provide income for children at risk of leaving school as a result of financial constraints.

“Each child receives two goats and five chickens for their families to breed and sell so that they are able to pay for their child’s tuition fees and other school needs.