Civil Society organizations who gathered in Hopley Community agreed that there was need for concerted efforts to help build the vulnerable community and rid it of ills such as the high teen pregnancies, Sexual abuse as well as high substance abuse.
By Patricia Mashiri
Hopley, a Peri-urban community on the outskirts of Harare has a population of 200 000 residents. Speaking during a stakeholder meeting on gender-based violence at Tariro Youth Centre in Hopley, Obey Mukorera, the Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Research (ZiCHIRe) programs Officer said there was need to come up with a civil society activities directory so that they will be able to compliment each other in building up the community.
The people we selected to be at this stakeholder meeting are the ones operating in Hopley. They are doing something in terms of preventing gender-based violence for example you can talk of Mavambo Trust, it deals with people living with HIV, it also pays fees for some of the girls in Hopley. Just having an event like we had today we are trying to interface with different stakeholders knowing who is doing what, where and how in trying to improve the health seeking behaviors in the community members.
“We are concerned with this community because there are many depressing cases which are reported on a daily basis. These include cases of rape, early marriages, child headed families, teenage pregnancies, parent neglect and water shortages among others,” said Mukorera.
ZiCHIRe is implementing the spotlight program where they are identifying different cases of gender -based violence referring the cases to different service providers just to strengthen the existing referral pathways.
Meanwhile, Mr Tendai Katsariya, Councilor Ward 1 Harare South said the activities in Hopley are a cause of concern and they need leaders to be vigilant in dealing with them.
“We have cases of teenage pregnancies, cases of neglect by parents, school dropouts. The cases of school dropouts are many and we have been trying to raise awareness on how it is a rights for children to go to school. Parents need to know that the children are the future but this is a different case all together in Hopley.
“If cases of rape came to me as a councilor I refer back to the police and I make follow ups as a leader such that these cases can be being dealt with. I can testify that since the COVID-19 induced lockdown cases of gender-based violence have increased. At times shortage of money in the household contributes greatly to GBV as people will be confined in one place,” said Councilor Katsariya.
Meanwhile, Debryne Mugarapanyama, Provincial Facilitator for Harare Metropolitan Province, Young People’s Network SRH under the National AIDS Council said there is an issue of sexual gender based violence against young girls by older men which needs to be addressed.
