I have been reflecting on MPT programs and realise that all of them seek to tip the scales of justice and fairness in favour of the less privileged. I will not attempt to define who in our communities fits in the definition of “less privileged”. Suffice to say that when members of the communities we work in, men, women, girls and boys, enjoy basic freedoms like the freedom of choice, freedom of expression, freedom from fear and freedom from hunger, as well as the freedom of the acquisition of knowledge and information, MPT would have achieved a much.

 

TROICARE/TRACE supports MPT in enhancing the protection and promotion of Human Rights in the communities we work in. We notice that as we engage in MOU’s with various local government entities, there is some consternation about the concept of Human Rights. The rights of our communities are enhanced when they have access to clean water to drink, the children are able to attend schools close to them, and there is neither domestic nor any other form of organised violence whose objective is to deny communities freedom of choice.

 

In partnership with CAFOD, MPT seeks to improve the participation of women and youth in decision making structures through livelihoods. In our view, women and youths should actively participate in development projects by being elected to various committees or structures that are relevant to the enhancement of livelihoods.

 

The Open Society of Southern Africa is funding MPT’s bid to ensure that the Girl child’s chances of accessing quality education are improved. The adage that you educate a woman then you educate a nation”, applies in the choice of this kind of support. Women constitute the majority in our society, thus educating women gives the community a chance to increase its skills base whilst strengthening the status of women who tend to be marginalised in most societies.

 

We at MPT, know for a fact that communities that are in conflict hardly find common cause to promote their collective interests. Their urgency is compromised and they lag behind in development. The Oloff Plame Centre therefore funds MPT’s community work that improves community solidarity and diversity through the creation of collective voices and negotiations. Communities learn to tolerate diversity and promote co-existence. Peace enables communities to expand their energies in productive activities which in turn improves the guarding of life of communities; this is called the peace dividend.

 

PACT looked at MPT’s program and contributed to strengthening existing initiatives that seek to empower women and youths in decision making in their communities. This intervention is premised on a shared vision that places the role of youth and women at the centre of the whole democratization project in rural areas where the majority of the citizens we work with live.

 

In rural Sitezi in Gwanda North, SIDA is supporting the construction of a Reflection Centre where young people will be provided with space to think critically about their roles as citizens and stakeholders in their communities. They will be provided with opportunity to reflect and choose the skills that they believe would enhance their participation in development activities in their communities.

 

It has been an extremely busy period for the Masakhaneni Staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the various projects. The economic uproar posed as a threat in the carrying out of some of our projects but MPT staff rose to the occasion to ensure that none of our projects were negatively affected.