All I Need Is a Warm Hug”: For Rio’s Drug Users, Harm Reduction Begins With Humanity
By Michael Gwarisa For more than a year, 59-year-old Lilian Leonel has lived on the streets of Maré, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela complexes. Her journey there, she says, was shaped by a complicated mix of personal struggles, family circumstances and drug use. But Leonel is quick to challenge what she believes is
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Women’s Leadership Vital to Zimbabwe’s Development, National Indaba Hears
By Patricia Mashiri Women’s leadership is not merely a matter of representation but a constitutional right and a critical driver of Zimbabwe’s development, delegates at the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) High-Level National Indaba heard. The Indaba brought together representatives from the church, traditional leadership, civil society and government to discuss strategies for advancing women’s
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More Than a Courtesy Call: What Lydia Zigomo’s Zimbabwe Mission Means for Women and young people
By Michael Gwarisa When Lydia Zigomo, the UNFPA Regional Director for East and Southern Africa arrived in Zimbabwe for her recent high-level mission, her schedule appeared much like that of many senior United Nations officials. There were meetings with government ministers, engagements with development partners, discussions with young people, visits to key national institutions and
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How Gold Is Fueling a Teenage Pregnancy Crisis in Shamva
By Kuda Pembere, recently in Shamva When Rhoda (not her real name) fell in love with a 19-year-old artisanal miner at the age of 15, she believed she had found a future. Instead, she dropped out of school, became pregnant and was abandoned before her baby was born. Today, at just 17, she is raising
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From One Mother to Another: How Sayana Press Is Spreading in Rural Zimbabwe
By Kuda Pembere in Mashonaland West When 23-year-old Mai Audrey switched to Sayana Press after struggling with side effects from another contraceptive, she simply wanted a family planning method that worked for her. She never imagined her experience would encourage other women in her community to make the same choice. Today, women in Kasanze, about
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A Voice From the Podium: Pregnant Teen’s Emotional Testimony Defines National Adolescent Pregnancy Launch
By Michael Gwarisa in Goromonzi A hush settled over the grounds of Goromonzi High School on a chilly Monday morning in the third week of June 2026 as government officials, development partners, traditional leaders, health workers and students gathered to launch Zimbabwe’s National Multi-Sectoral Framework for the Prevention and Management of Adolescent Pregnancies. Amid the
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At 17, Motherhood Changed Her Plans. Family Planning Helped Her Rewrite Them
By Kuda Pembere in Mash Central On a cool Monday morning, Christabel Chiweso arrives at Wadzanayi Clinic, a health facility run by the Shamva Rural District Council. This time, she is not seeking a family planning method for herself. Instead, she has accompanied her sister-in-law, who wants to start using contraception. The two women have
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A Landmine Took Her Leg. Years Later, Another Accident Nearly Took Her Life
By Kudakwashe Pembere in Mt Darwin The explosion came without warning. Regina (not her real name) was helping her aunt carry a log of firewood in Rushinga when she stepped on a landmine buried beneath the soil. She was 27 at the time and had a baby strapped to her back. Sixteen years later, she
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Inside Khami Prison: The Inmate Called “The Headmaster” Transforming Education Behind Bars
By Kuda Pembere As he walks into the classroom, the room falls silent. A silence that settles whenever a figure of authority steps into the space. Rows of inmates sit shoulder to shoulder, carefully writing letters and numbers into neatly covered exercise books. The room is bright, orderly and filled with focus. One young inmate
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Zimbabwe Rebuilds Midwifery Workforce Through Training and Digital Innovation
By Michael Gwarisa “I enjoy midwifery because, to me, it gives me the satisfaction that I am saving humanity and playing a part in bringing lives into this world,” says Sr Sikhangele Mguni, a midwife at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo. For Sr Mguni, those words are not just a reflection. They are a lifetime of
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