Dzikwa Trust Empowers And Changes Lives Of Vulnerable Dzivarasekwa Community
By Desire Tshuma
Dzikwa Trust, a community-based center located in Dzivarasekwa suburb in Harare, has empowered the community by sponsorship and catering for vulnerable children and youth since its establishment in 2003.
On Friday May 31, 2024, Kwedu Township Tourism organized and launched its initiative which is composed of a group of young innovative youths who are under the age of 35 to tour Dzikwa Trust Center and projects that the latter sponsor.
Dzikwa Trust was formed in 2003 and started to operate in 2004. The founder of Dzikwa Trust Mr Seppo Ainamo narrated to this publication how they started the project together with his wife Oili Wuolle, who is the programs director of the Dzikwa Trust.
“We bought a stand in Dzivarasekwa township and constructed the center to empower vulnerable children. We pay school fees for children whom we cater for and they attend all seven primary schools in Dzivarasekwa and two Dzivarasekwa high schools, namely DZ 1 High School and DZ 2,” said Mr Ainamo.
“We identified most vulnerable children in Dzivarasekwa community and we cater for their educational needs and also give them food at the our center,” explained Mrs Wuolle, the Programs Director for Dzikwa Trust.
She said they have a total of 300 children at Dzikwa Center whom they provide food and pay school fees for.
“We go the extra mile by also giving food from Monday till Friday to other 300 vulnerable children from the community whom we don’t take to school but who are facing malnutrition,” she added.
Altogether Dzikwa Trust feeds 600 children daily from Monday to Friday.
Dzikwa Trust and Wellbeing Support caters for over 400 vulnerable children and youths every year. It has several other projects that it runs within the community, like re-forestation and food security programs for environmental and self-sufficiency. It also secures grants for special projects and currently two projects are ongoing. These are Youths Employability Skills Enhancement & Entrepreneurship which is a 4-year grant from Children of Zimbabwe Society from the Government of Finland and Anti-Substance Abuse Campaign funded by OAK Foundation grant.
Dzikwa Trust have just finished a two-year grant project funded by UNDP which was Conservation, Biodiversity and Food Security.
In 2010 the City of Harare terminated a contract with the Forestry Commission and Dzikwa Trust took over and signed a 25-year contract with the local authority where it is now planting different types of trees including gum trees which they have a target of 8000 plants per year.
Dzikwa Trust is also helping divorced women whom it bought a center which they named Batsiranai Center. In the center, women are doing hand crafts, knitting dolls and bags for sale.
