Education and Youth Lifeskills

EDUCATION AND YOUTH LIFE SKILLS

Education

HOCIC strongly believes that every Child has a right to a meaningful, safe, inclusive, developmental and relevant education that empower children for life. Since our founding, we have worked with communities, schools, local and central government and our donor communities in nurturing and providing support for holistic education that continues to bring transformation to communities in Zimbabwe

From providing psycho-Social Support, for children and youths at early childhood development level, up to facilitating full scholarships abroad, HOCIC has positively brought hope to children and youths from disadvantaged backgrounds. More than 90 % of the children we have assisted have over the years become influential leaders in society and have continued shining hope to others.

Our Psycho-social support model has over our 29-year history promoted child participation, inclusion and involvement of key stakeholders critical in child development in line with Children’s rights and responsibilities. In our inclusive and involvement strategy, we work with children from all walks of life, children with disability, from disadvantaged backgrounds, children in conflict with the law, children who need food assistance, children affected by natural disasters among others. We support them with life skills that will transform their lives.

Our success is seen in graduates of our programs who become social and academic leaders, with successful lives and transformed livelihoods.

Our work is supported by our local, regional and global technical and funding partners who have supported us for more than 2 decades as we seek to fulfill our mandate in our community

Life-skills

With support from KinderNotHilfe (KNH), UNICEF, UNWomen, Oxfam and GOLD Agency, HOCIC has over the years run very successful out of school programs since 1995.

1. Children’s Clubs (UNICEF)

The program developed assertiveness, self-awareness, communication, interpersonal, resilience, and team building skills in children and youths up to 24 years old. It was based on promoting Child Participation. The children met weekly in their communities as groups for psycho social support.

2. Sister to Sister and Brother to Brother Peer Education Clubs

With a keen interest to impart relevant and bankable skills to out of school youths, HOCIC has combined comprehensive Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights programming and livelihood skills training into the Sister to Sister (S2S) and Brother to Brother (B2B) Peer Education Model. The model allows youths to get age and sex specific engagements, mentorship, and skills tutorship which they can harness towards business development.

Youths in the groups are taught skills in manufacturing, hand skills, craftsmanship, financial management, value addition among other bankable skills.

2. GOLD (Generation of Leaders Discovered) Youth Program -Peer Education Program

Program has been running for 6 years under HOCIC and has managed to train over 500 in schools youths on health, leadership, life-skills, community engagement using the GOLD Peer to Peer Education model. This is a specially crafted syllabus developed as a co-curricular activity for youths in schools in Southern Africa. Children are taken through the program for 3-year cohorts and are prepared for economically productive careers after graduation.

Outcomes under the Education, Youth and Lifeskills thematic area

505 Out of School Youths trained in Vocational Studies through Support from UNICEF

23 students sent to the US for Undergraduate studies on Full Scholarships

80 secondary school students Supported with critical thinking and life skills through the US Embassy English Access Program

Over 23 000 pupils assisted with educational support including school fees, exam fees, uniforms, school resources (benches, chairs, desks, textbooks, lab equipment)

With the support from Kindernothilfe since 2013 HOCIC has implemented the Self Help Group Approach targeting poorest of the poor in Matebeleland reaching to over 3000 women aged 18 and above and 6896 children. The program empowers women socially (women share and discuss issues concerning them), economically (savings and lending for business purposes) and politically (they use their numbers to influence decisions on how to deal with barriers). Through profits from Individual businesses, women are able to diversify their businesses, buy small livestock, provide a minimum of three meals per day, pay school fees for their children, buy clothes and buy medication if need arises.

With support from Oxfam, HOCIC has implemented Securing Rights Program (SRP) in part of Umguza from 2014 to 2017 and in Matobo from 2017 to date. SRP changed to Irish Civil Society Partnership-Building Resilient Inclusive Communities in Zimabbwe (ICSP-BRIC Zim) in 2023. The main objectives of the program are to: increase knowledge levels on HIV and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, Improved access to HIV and SRHR services and Improved livelihoods for women and young people in rural areas, and Advocacy (capacity building of women to claim their rights from duty bearers), ICSP added a component of climate smart agriculture, ensuring women have knowledge and skills when it comes to responding to issues of climate change. The program empowers women using the Self Help Group Approach encompassing skills training such as detergent training, bead ware, reusable sanitary pads and establishment of fuel efficient stoves which they also use for baking scones and bread for business purposes.

HOCIC has also been implementing SASA! Together GBV Prevention program since 2018 to date, the model aims to prevent violence against women and girls. SASA! Is a four phased tool kit that encourages communities around the world to collectively use their power to create safe, violence free communities for women. Both males and females are trained to become Community Activist who carry out sessions that raise awareness on causes and effects of GBV as well as prevention and referral pathway for survivors. The model also uses He for She strategy where men stand in solidarity with women to create a bold, visible and united force for gender equity. HOCIC believes that a violent free environment is conducive for children’s well being.

Oxfam since 2022 is also supporting 2364 women in Bulilima under the Climate Adaptation and Rural Livelihoods (CARL), they are trained on climate smart agriculture, they are engaged in horticulture and rearing of small livestock. They are also trained on value edition, processing of dried vegetables, tomato puree, marmalade using lemons, and branding of their products. They are also linked to markets which is usually in Plumtree town. A total of 78 groups of women with 10 to 20 individuals are also active in Internal Savings and Lendings. CARL also empowers women with leadership and governance through Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) model.

In 2020, during COVID – 19, HOCIC reached to about 2500 women were trained on dish washing liquid, hand sanitiser, training to use in their households and in public in washing hands to curb the spread of the pandemic. About 23 women continued to make dish washing liquid to diversify their businesses. Adolescent young girls and young women were trained on reusable sanitary pads to curb menstrual poverty.

Every year HOCIC partners with different stakeholder in commemorating women’s days. In the month of March, the organisation celebrates International Women’s Day, in October – International day of rural women and Breast cancer awareness and from 25 November to 10 December HOCIC commemorates 16 days of activism against against gender based violence through raising awareness to the communities we are working with..