Masakhaneni Projects Trust (MPT) is a non-profit making and independent organization working to promote sustainable peace, reconciliation and justice in post conflict situations by implementing projects which will help heal and rebuild communities that have been affected by violent conflicts and human rights violations. The organization is dedicated to working with rural communities in Zimbabwe to help them reach their full potential through the resuscitation of livelihood projects. These activities promote democracy, good governance at local level and ensure the full participation of women and youth in local decision making. MPT programs seek to address key drivers of conflict the major one being poverty, Gukurahundi atrocities and other past unresolved orchestrated human rights violations are also dealt with. Reviving of livelihood projects is a way of reducing community dependency on politicised state programmes.
In 1997, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in conjunction with the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), in their report: “Breaking the silence, Building true peace: A report on the disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980 to 1988”, in view of the scale of the atrocities, among other things, recommended that a neutral body be set up to facilitate and organize psychological counseling of victims. Remains of missing persons and persons buried in mass graves would be identified by forensic experts so that memorials and shrines can be constructed.
Masakhaneni Trust was formed in response to these recommendations. The Masakhaneni Projects Trust not only focuses on past human rights violations but also on issues of torture, organized violence and denial of freedoms in our contemporary dispensation. Since its inception, the organization has sought to bring issues of justice, impunity, reconciliation, healing, torture, organized violence and the plight of victims of human rights violations to the fore.
The activities of the organization also include holding meetings and seminars at community level to transform community thinking. Communities are facilitated to consider themselves as capable and entitled to decide their own destiny. There is training in leadership and democratic practices. Communities are assisted to come up with strategies to re-build their livelihood projects and social institutions like schools and clinics. A comprehensive peace building programme is integrated into these projects to make it attractive, appealing and sustainable.
Masakhaneni has a strong pro-gender mainstreaming programme implemented with a Human Rights Based Approach. The organization views gender mainstreaming as a high priority in conflict transformation in target areas.
Women in rural areas are affected by violence differently from their urban counterparts. Although women in rural areas might attend workshops or public meetings in large numbers, their participation remains a statistical issue. These women rarely contribute and are overshadowed by their male counter parts. Masakhaneni prioritizes gender mainstreaming to give women an opportunity to participate as equals with men. Gender equality issues are integrated into all project activities because these are cross cutting issues. MPT seeks to see improvements in gender issues with women given space to challenge decisions and actively participate in critical institutions of governance like the traditional council.
VISION
A democratic well governed society in which citizens participate fully in local decision making process.
MISSION STATEMENT
To have citizens participate freely in democratic processes that brings about good governance at local and national level.
GOAL
To achieve sustainable development and peace through the establishment and capacitation of community based peace and conflict transformation institutions.
OBJECTIVES
a. To eradicate a culture of intolerance and violence and help communities rediscover themselves as peace loving and tolerant people: transforming communities, building structures of resilience and a culture of leadership accountability, respect for human rights and productivity.
b. To develop and strengthen community systems to be able to support mechanisms and structures that intend to address their past conflict situations: strengthening and sustaining the peace building and conflict transformation work and producing generations that reject any form of violence and human rights abuse (be it political, domestic and cultural).
c. To deepen analysis and skills required by the critical mass from communities in order to formulate relevant and effective strategies and programs to address the drivers of conflict: consolidate and advance the building of a critical mass of women and youth leaders and to explore and activate forms of organization for community empowerment in particular women and youth empowerment.
d. To engage women in democratic processes as a way of empowering them: to improve women’s rights with a particular focus on economic, social, political and cultural rights, as well as develop insights into the meaning and practice of gender mainstreaming.