The Salvation Army is actively involved in building communities across Zimbabwe & Botswana. Here are some of our current community development projects:
Cotton Farming
Location: Mucheni Area, Binga District, Matabeleland North
Division: Hwange Area.
• New varieties of crops (i.e. cotton and maize) have been introduced to the community, and farmers have started growing them. Many farmers are generating cash income for the first time in their lives. These cash crops are better suited to local conditions, and Mucheni is planning to become a collection point for the national cotton company, Cottco.
• Two boreholes have been drilled, and there is a demonstration vegetable garden.
• There are two scotch carts and a number of ploughs based at the centre which can be hired, for a small fee, by farmers to work their own land.
• The officers’ quarters and a training shed (which also serve as a community meeting place and corps hall) have been built, and a warehouse to store agricultural supplies for sale to farmers is forthcoming.
• Community women have been trained in basic sewing.
• The project is being extended into new areas including Syansundu (where a community vegetable garden is being developed), and Tinde (where a borehole is being drilled, as well as a vegetable garden being developed).
Cattle Restocking
Location: Matabeleland South
Division: Semukwe
• 200 beef heifers have been bought, and 150+ beneficiaries have received the cattle.
• Farmers have been trained in the management of livestock and the establishment of fodder plots.
• The ‘pass-on’ scheme involves the mother heifer being passed to a new farmer while the calf remains with the original farmer.
Murimi 1&2
Location: Chiweshe, Juru, Goromonzi, Domboshawa, Mount Darwin
Divisions: Chiweshe, CMD, Mupfure
• Dairy cattle have been supplied, and trained farmers are caring for them.
• This ‘pass-on’ scheme involves calves being passed on to the next farmers
• The Chiweshe farmers have constructed a commercial milk centre at Nzvimbo using their own resources.
Nyautare Water Project
Location: Nyautare, Eastern Highlands
• A small dam has been constructed in the mountains. Villagers have dug all the trenches and pipes, cement, sand and stones have been carried into the mountains to build the water system.
• Water is being piped down to villages in the valley; working completely on gravity, and therefore being low-maintenance.
• Community vegetable gardens have been established and are being irrigated using the overhead system.
Young Farmers
Location: Watsomba (dairy), Gokwe (dairy) and Mbembeswana (beef)
• Another ‘pass-on’ scheme, similar to Murimi 2, where the beneficiaries are young farmers (age 16-25).
• Watsomba and Gokwe have DDP milk centres and young farmers are able to take advantage of these to sell their milk.
Bvumbura Integrated Project
This project was established in response to Cyclone Eline, which hit the Bvumbura community very badly in February 2000. Many homes and livestock were lost. The Salvation Army began with relief work to stabilize the community, and then moved into development.
• Farmers are being trained to keep cattle and 100 animals were given to the community in a ‘pass-on’ scheme. The vision is for every family in the community to eventually receive a cow.
• Farmers have also been trained in bee-keeping and learnt to make their own hives.
• Two training shed/community meeting shelters have been constructed.
• 2 boreholes have been drilled too supply clean safe water.
Water and Sanitation
This project started in four provinces of Zimbabwe, where the need was more urgent, but is now supplying boreholes and Blair toilets (VIP latrines) throughout the country.
An additional ‘Various Borehole’ project, funded by a number of individuals and corps in the UK, is supplying community boreholes throughout Zimbabwe. The project is training people in community hygiene and pump minding.
Vocational Training Centres (VTC)
The VTC mandate is to provide students and school leavers with practical knowledge and skills which can then be transferred to industry or enable them to set up private business. This creates a sense of self-sustainability or self-reliance for students. It also creates employment which is not only seasonal.
• VTCs provide training in livestock management (goats, beef, dairy, etc), vegetable production, agro forestry, poultry, piggery and dry land crop production. These skills assist farmers in fully utilizing the land that has been allocated to them by the Government.
• The Home Economics Department (which runs a small tuck shop where they sale groceries and baked products, and also has catering services for various workshops held at the institution).
• The Garment Making Department (which supplies school uniforms and baby garments; meeting requests for local schools as well as orphans, etc).
• The Carpentry Department (which manufactures furniture and coffins as well as installs and repairs roofs and ceilings).
• Zimbabwe’s functional Vocational Training Centres are located at Tshelanyemba Hospital and at Howard Hospital, in Chiweshe. There are also several non-funcational VTCs, due to lack of financial support and administrative issues. These are located at Charles Clark (Hurungwe Division), Zaka (Masvingo Division), Sosombi (Midlands Division), and Mbembeswana (Semukwe Division).
