By Michael Gwarisa
It’s around 12 midday, Audrey Katsande (22), and her friend Mitchell Munjoma (21) are chilling in the Girls’ Space inside the Student Resource Centre at the Midlands State University (MSU). It’s a time to cool off after a long morning of lectures and college work.
University life can be difficult for students at times, and MSU students are no exception. Being a multi-campus college with an estimated student enrollment above 18000 students, the MSU is faced with unique challenges. Its accommodation facility caters only for less than half of the student population. The rest are housed in the neighbouring suburbs and the Central Business District (CBD) exposing them vulnerabilities, and different socio-economic challenges which affect their health and well-being.These range from sexual harassment, sexual abuse, Gender Based Violence (GBV) among other vices.
Recognizing the high demand for services, the MSU has availed a bigger space for the Resource Centre for students to utilise. Students like Audrey and Mitchell have found solace in the Student Resource Centre, a facility being run by the Students and Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT), through financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
I come here mainly for psychosocial support and to get relevant information about my Sexual Reproductive Health,” says Mitchell.
“This place has been a safe space for me. Whenever I need psychosocial support, this is the place I come to. At times I don’t feel comfortable going to the University Clinic to get an HIV test so I always come here.”
Mitchell also cherishes the peer education sessions which she says have helped her to cope with some of the life pressures and stress.
Audrey on the other hand says the Resource Centre is her home away from home, and her favorite place in the facility is the Girls Space.
“We are given our privacy where we can talk about anything, and as you know, as girls, we like our own spaces so this is like our own safe space,” says Audrey.
“This place is like a source of every information that you want. There is free WIFI here. You can research anything that you want here. Some groups come in and have educative programs and many more.”
The Resource Centre coordinates numerous initiatives and efforts such as the comprehensive orientation program for first-year students, peer-led dialogues, radio listening sessions, in-studio broadcasting, and awareness campaigns such as the Know Your Service, drugs and substance abuse, and the condomise campaigns. The Resource Centre serves as a hub for information, edutainment, and referrals for services at the college clinic or external facilities.
Students at MSU also contribute to knowledge and information generation through participating in activities that include research indabas, quiz, and debate competitions.
The Resource Centre also offer health services through the coordination of trained peer educators who assist in pushing referrals for different SRH services required by the students.
Margaret Muchikichi, the Matron for the Resource Center and Patron for the Peer Educators said the Centre has helped reduce the prevalence and occurrence of Gender Based Violence as well as ease referral pathways for GBV for students and now more than ever, the female students know their rights.
“In terms of GBV cases they have reduced because of information. Previously, the students would not report whenever their rights were violated but now we are seeing more and more students coming to report,” said Matron Muchikichi.
She added that Centre empowers female students by giving leadership roles and equipping them with relevant information for the to take challenging roles in the future.
“The leader or president of this resource center is female, and we empowered her by taking the role of leadership. We also empower the girl child by giving them information, especially about Sexual Reproductive Health. We give them information about HIV testing and teach them why it is important to screen for HIV and know one’s status. We also offer services like screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections.”
Matron Muchikichi added the school has a Sexual Harassment Policy and they have made it known to the students so that they know what they should do when they are harassed be it verbally, physically or sexually. The college also has a grievance procedure for students and they also make use of their Students Representative Council.
The Student Resource Centre does not discriminate and offers services to both male and female students including students living with disabilities. With the active participation of peer educators, SAYWHAT organizes health fairs and Know Your Service Campaigns for the students. These are aimed not only at providing information but at bringing the services to the students to complement efforts by clinics who at times have limited SRH services as required by the young people. A notable change has also been the change of attitude by the Student Representative Council (SRC) who has started prioritizing health issues through organizing wellness days a thing that was never prioritized before.
Nkosilomusa Ngwenya, the SAYWHAT Provincial Programs Officer for Midlands and Masvingo provinces said the Resource Centre has greatly empowered students with information.
“This resource centre is a model that we see to be working especially here at MSU. We have come up with many other ideas to make it more marketable to students. These include provision of free and fast WIF and having games for both male and female students,” said Ngwenya.
To ensure that students have access to youth-friendly and quality services, SAYWHAT focuses on strengthening the capacities of peer educators and SRH defenders in community-led monitoring in a bid to strengthen health systems within college clinics.
Ngwenya added that while their focus at the onset of SAYWHAT was the provision of SRHR programs, there are emerging issues which they have also brought on board. These include Mental Health, Drug and Substance Abuse among others.
