Masakhaneni believes in the upholding of basic human rights as enshrined in the constitution. It would not suffice to raise awareness on human rights in general without ensuring that some of these rights are realized in the communities we work with. Masakhaneni implements its programs in the areas of Matabeleland South which has not been favoured by its geographical location due to vagaries of climate. Poor rain fall received in these areas has constantly subjected these communities to poor harvests leaving the communities in a state of vulnerability and extreme poverty. Those that feel the brunt of this poverty are the women and the youth, more-so because the marginalization of these groupings have meant that they are excluded from decision making processes that affect their day to day lives. These groups have thus not been spared manipulation by political figures due to social and economic deprivation. It had been the norm that due to this political manipulation, a culture of un-productivity had crept into these communities leaving them to dance to the tune of the politicians. Political division amongst community members had also dealt a major blow on developmental initiatives as people tendered to be divided amoung party lines.
In its peace building initiatives, Masakhaneni through its various projects provided the link between conflict transformation and development. The way to sustainable peace was through cultivating a culture of productivity among the communities of Matobo through gardens and other livelihood projects like poultry raring. An economically sound community is less likely to fall prey to political manipulation. These livelihoods projects in a way afforded some people the basic economic rights as they could earn a living through selling produce from these. In some of the projects MPT has specifically targeted women and youth as a way of capacitating these marginalized groups to take charge of their lives. Women and youth have also been given a chance to govern themselves within these projects. This gives them an opportunity of leadership roles within the projects. People from various political parties have also been brought together setting aside their political differences towards income generating projects. This is a positive step towards conflict transformation and peace building. In Lushumbe (a village in Silozwi) a group of 19 people (9 men and 11 women) manage a community garden established by Masakhaneni through donor funds. Two gardens are also running in Nyandeni. One in village 6 has 32 members while another in village 2 has 13 members, 6 of them being youth. The poultry project in Nyandeni is composed of ten women only. Below are some of the pictures of some of the livelihoods projects which we believe will go a long in boosting the financial standing of the communities and build resilience by improving production.
Garden in Nyandeni July 2018
Poultry project in Nyandeni September 2018
Poultry project in Nyandeni