Goromonzi youths find way out of vices
AWAY from temptations that often lead their peers astray, some youngsters in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East province, are forging a different path with assistance from the Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM) programme.
Led by district elder Mr Masimba Kamudyariwa (45), CBIM uses sport, academics and entrepreneurship lessons to lure young boys, especially orphans. Under the programme, boys between the ages of six and 18 gather for activities such as playing football and group discussions on career prospects.
Those who excel in sporting activities are assisted to join professional academies. On the other hand, those who are academically gifted are sponsored to pursue further studies.
If they are keen on entrepreneurship, they get training and start-up packs for their projects. Courses on offer include welding, bricklaying and plumbing, among others.
Sitting in a circle after a football match, the boys have a safe space to share their fears, doubts and challenges.
“We use football as the conduit for interaction. After a soccer match, we sit down with the boys and discuss each of the participant’s challenges and various ways of making their lives better,” Mr Kamudyariwa told The Sunday Mail recently during a gathering of CBIM programme participants in Goromonzi.
“Nowadays, our old ways of living have been battered, our social lives have been badly affected, with extended families and community elders no longer playing their advisory roles, leaving young boys vulnerable to all manner of vices.”
Even boys as young as six to 13 are roped in to inculcate good values in them at an early age.
“Here, we teach these boys personal grooming and etiquette. We further teach them their roles at school, at home and in the community. We make them realise their importance in the future of our country,” he said.
In Goromonzi, cases of boys as young as 12 abusing drugs are rampant.
“The CBIM initiative seeks to tackle such delinquency. Their parents would even fail to reprimand them, as the kids fell into the trap of alcohol or drug abuse well under the age of 18. Toxic substances are so rampant that kids are accessing them so easily. This is what pushed me to start this programme,” he added.
Impressed by Mr Kamudyariwa’s selflessness, the Ministry of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture appointed him the sport and recreation officer for Goromonzi district.
His work has also attracted interest from Mavambo Orphan Care, a local non-governmental organisation that supports orphans and vulnerable children care.
Mr Kamudyariwa automatically became the facilitator and CBIM coach under the programme bankrolled by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Since then, the programme has now widened its scope to ensure that, away from sport, young boys are not abused at home, school or any other place. We leave them to express themselves as we identify the areas they are gifted in so that we synchronise their education with their natural gifts,” added Mr Kamudyariwa.
Speaking during a recent visit to Chabwino Primary School in Goromonzi to assess the CBIM project, USAID mission director Ms Janean Davis said: “I have seen how the programme works to improve the incomes of families that care for orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe, and I must say I am proud to see young people participating.
“As we are living in an era where drug use is on the rise, keeping the young occupied and guiding them on life skills that can earn them some income will deter them from engaging in risky behaviour.”
◆