Red Cross initiates youth engagements on SRHR
THE Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS), through its youth project on sexual reproductive health and rights, (SRHRs) and sexual gender-based violence (SGBV), is conducting trainings in community engagement and accountability.
The trainings include a capacity building initiative targeting youths in primary and secondary schools, communities and youths at universities in Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces.
The project, which is running in the three project areas, aims at building on existing capacities and structures of ZRCS through mainstreaming SRHRs and SGBV as well as promoting strong youth engagement and active participation.
Community engagement and accountability encompasses working with key partners to engage people in crisis, especially the most vulnerable, in an ongoing dialogue in which their voices are heard, responded to and acted upon, while respecting fundamental humanitarian principles, and guaranteeing personal data protection while referring to a set of systematic activities done by ZRCS.
“ZRCS youths in project areas are being capacitated to adapt and formalise reactive and proactive feedback mechanism, which is a systematic platform that enables us as humanitarian players to actively listen to communities, collect their feedback and perceptions which then feeds into programming based on communities’ perceptions and needs,” said ZRCS secretary- general Elias Hwenga.
“This is best achieved by actively engaging with communities and working collaboratively with them to ensure that ZRCS actions are effective, inclusive, sustainable, and accountable.
“Youths will ensure that they systematically listen to and engage with communities on issues related to SGBV and YSRHR enabling people and communities to lead and shape positive, sustainable changes in their own lives based on their priorities.”
ZRCS youth development coordinator June Munyongani said 60 youths have been trained in community engagement and accountability in Chinhoyi, Gweru and Zvishavane.
“These trainings have equipped the youths to know the importance of engaging with communities, peers and other youths so as to have strengthened resilience through promotion of youth and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights in Zimbabwe,” Munyongani said.