Funded by action aid

In Zimbabwe, 1 in 3 women and adolescent girls have faced physical or sexual violence. Women, adolescent girls and people with disabilities (PwDs) in Zimbabwe face violence in their communities and challenges accessing the support they need. Through support from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, ActionAid and LCDZ will work alongside women and girls – and their schools and communities – to end violence and champion the rights of women, adolescent girls and persons with disabilities.

Worldwide girls and women with disabilities (GWWD) are three times more vulnerable to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) compared to their non-disabled counterparts. At a global level, a UN Women (2015) report noted that 60%-80% of women with disabilities have suffered sexual violence.

Adolescent pregnancy and sexual and reproductive health is also a key issue for adolescent girls in Zimbabwe, impacting girls’ ability to reach their potential, including preventing them from finishing their education. According to a Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe (LCDZ) project report, the majority of cases of sexual abuse occur in closed family settings. Some survivor’s with certain disabilities may not understand what is happening or may not have a way to communicate the assault. Others may realise that they are being abused, but not be aware of their rights, that it’s illegal or how and where to access available support services.

FUNDED BY LILIANE FOUNDATION

This unique programme combines a targeted and structural change approach to disability and inclusive development, supporting children and youth with disabilities below the age of 25 years to realise their well-being and full development while working with a network of Disability Organizations known as Partner Organizations (Pos). The Child Empowerment (CE) programme is a Community Based Rehabilitation program (CBR) implemented in seven out of the country’s ten provinces. LCDZ is the funds manager for the programme grant received annually from the Liliane Fonds Netherlands, which is channelled through its structures to thirty-two (32) implementing partner organizations operating at grassroots level, with some offering center-based services.

LCDZ also in turn provides technical-programmatic and financial management support to the implementing partners. The essence of this partnership model is to ensure broad reach of services that covers all types of disabilities, reduce duplication and strengthen collaboration of the disability movement in Zimbabwe. However, due to high costs of disability services in Zimbabwe we are yet to reach a position where local level rehabilitation activities are delivered at a lower cost by our partners, hence the average cost of intervention per beneficiary remains in the region of USD$250.

The varied experiences emanating from consistent operations of our partners is accelerating learning and replication of innovations with a goal of improving effectiveness, and driving down costs. We rigorously apply strong management systems coupled with strong monitoring and ongoing technical support provided by LCDZ to partners which leads to effective prioritization and efficient execution of cost effective and impactful activities.

The Child Empowerment programme has two broad categories of support namely; the Core Strategy and Capacity Building. The Core Strategy addresses the (direct) individual rehabilitation and habilitation needs of children and youngsters with disabilities and their environment whilst the Capacity Building component is concerned with building the institutional and organizational support functions of the POs to offer strong and enduring rehabilitation services to Children and youth with disabilities. The Core Strategy has two sub- components that are; Child Development and Enabling Environment.

Child Development (CD) refers to customized interventions and activities that are aimed at improving individual child or youngster with a disability’s physical and or sensory functionality, social participation, knowledge, skills and economic independence. On the other hand, Enabling Environment refers to interventions that address barriers to participation in the child’s environment such as negative attitudes, discriminatory policies and inaccessible physical environment among other barriers. In 2019 the programwas implemented by 22 Partner Organizations and below is the main activities carried out and their associated achievements for the year.

Funded by European Union and enabel

According to the UNCRPD Article 27, persons with disabilities have a right to work on an equal basis with others, this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labor market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities. Providing employment for persons with disabilities is very important because it provides opportunities for self-sufficiency and improvement in their living condition. The aim of vocational training for persons with disabilities is to enable them to acquire skills that are relevant to the current labor market demands.

Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe in partnership with Development Aid for People to People (DAPP) is implementing a Technical Vocational Education Training (NET) project in Shamva and Bindura districts of Mashonaland Central. The project is strengthening skills development systems that improve employability, promote access to employment opportunities and increase incomes for inclusive and sustainable growth for all young women and young men. The specific objective is to improve completion of vocational education and training and transition into the labor market among disadvantaged and vulnerable youth in the Shamva and Bindura Districts of Zimbabwe. LCDZ is ensuring that the technical and vocational needs of students with disabilities are catered for; ensuring increased rate of vulnerable students who successfully enroll in vocational skills and are integrated into formal and informal workforce or self-employment.

To date, LCDZ has conducted an accessibility audit of the two Technical Vocational Education Colleges namely Ponesai Vanhu Technical College and Chaminuka Technical and Vocational Colleges. LCDZ conducted the accessibility audits in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works representative from Mashonaland Central. The two colleges started adapting their infrastructure after receiving the specifications using their builders and students who are doing brick and block laying. LCDZ also trained 15 TVET Lecturers on disability inclusion and sign language so that they will be able to assess, enroll and teach students with disabilities. The trained lecturers were drawn from the two TVET colleges and were requested to cascade to other lecturers at college level.

Funded by European Uniion

The push for policy reforms underpins most of our work. While LCDZ programs demonstrate practices for disability services delivery that can be replicated at scale, the need to achieve a conducive and comprehensive policy and legal environment in order for persons with disabilities to fully realize their human rights cannot be underestimated. The Youth Actions on the Implementation and Monitoring of Disability Rights in Zimbabwe and Zambia is an extension of efforts started in 2009 with a goal of ensuring the domestication and implementation of the UNCRPD and disability friendly laws in Zimbabwe.

The current project phase funded by the European Union, is a tripartite partnership action being implemented in two countries Zimbabwe and Zambia involving Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe in partnership with Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) Zimbabwe and Cheshire Homes Society of Zambia. The project addresses the continued exclusion of participation of persons with disabilities from social, economic, political and cultural activities and programs that could positively contribute to social change in their lives as well as capacity to escape poverty in particular youth with disabilities (YwDs).

Safeguarding the gains made so far, such as the domestication of the UNCRPD, the inclusion of disability rights in the current Constitution, LCDZ and partners is working with young people with disabilities and their representative DPOs in supporting government efforts aimed at domesticating and implementing the CRPD since the CRDP represents a strategy that, if implemented, will restore the ability of persons with disabilities to access their rights, benefit from impartial and equal access to justice, and participate in democratic processes on an equal footing with their fellow citizens.

FUNDED BY UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

LCDZ is actively involved in the UN Spotlight initiative, providing support to girls and women with disabilities to realize their human rights. During the reporting period, we received funding from the UNDP under the Spotlight Initiative to sensitize and incapacitate women and girls with disabilities who are vulnerable to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and harmful practices (HP) and face denial of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) services on what the law is and law-making process.

Once the women and girls with disabilities have an understanding of the law- and law-making process, their Constitutional rights and SGBV, HP, SRHR and gender equality they will then engage policy makers and participate during public consultations of Bills. The aim being, to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are not left out of decision-making process and their voices are heard in key national decisions and processes line with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5 and 16.

The project, thus ensure that; women and girls with disabilities participate in law making forums by advocating for their needs and aspirations to be included in policies and laws. To achieve the above women and girls with disabilities and DPOs will be incapacitated to interface with policy and law makers and adequately raise their concerns; and actively participate in developing policy recommendations that address SGBV, HP and SRHR concerns for women and girls with disabilities. At the end of the project, DPOs, women and girls with disabilities should have attained adequate capabilities and skills to engage in policy, legislative and decision-making processes at community, and national level.