For many children in Zimbabwe education is no longer a part of daily life. The crippling poverty that now grips the country means that the majority of parents are unable to afford to pay the fees necessary for their children to attend school. This means that many children across the country are denied access to the most basic education. Read more
Since 2008 the Zimbabwe Benefit Foundations ‘Helping Hands’ project has been providing agricultural inputs to families, schools and orphanages across Zimbabwe. This project can so far be estimated as assisting over 120,000 people.
Introduction
The Helping Hands seed pack project was established in 2008 in direct response to the grave food crisis facing millions of vulnerable Zimbabweans. The aim was to provide much needed food aid to many in a way that was efficient, sustainable and in keeping with the traditional farming practices of Zimbawbe. After a very sucessful first planting season in 2008/2009 the Helping Hands project has run again in 2009/2010 with equally positive results. ZBF hopes that support will make a third year of providing agriculutral inputs under the Helping Hands scheme possible.
Project Outline
ZBF representatives in Zimbabwe behind the Helping Hands project created a seed pack intended to provide a sustainable source of food for an average family for 6 months. An individual pack contains enough seed to plant just over one acre of land and consists of Maize, Cowpeas and a variety of Vegetable seeds. Packs are able to be created quickly and the order can be on any scale, subject to the funding available, and are ideally distributed at the beginning of the agricultural planting season in Zimbabwe which runs from September to June each year.
The seed packs are produce in Harare and are then collected and distributed within local communities throughout Zimbabwe. This is done in a non-partisan fashion through a network of trusted volunteers who take responsibility for ensuring packs are delivered and reporting back to ZBF. All recipients have to sign when receiving a pack so that a database of beneficiaries can be compiled. Those who receive assistance are spread widely across the country having been identified as needy and vulnerable, with areas of distribution also being informed by guidance from the FAO.
Results
In 2008/2009 ZBF purchased over 24,000 seed packs which were distributed in the target areas with minimal loss. The amount of seed in each pack was calculated to provide food for a family of five for 6 months. Based on this figure, ZBF is estimated to have helped 120,000 people meet their basic food needs.
In 2009/2010 ZBF has so far purchased around 10,000 seed packs and hopes to increase this amount before the end of the agricultural season, subject to funding being available.
Future
After two very sucessful years of this project, ZBF wants to continue work in supplying agricultural inputs in the forthcoming planting season beginning in September 2010. After focusing primarily on individuals for the past two years, in this third year of the project ZBF wants to shift its focus to solely supporting schools, orphanages, and other organisations such as HIV/AIDs hospices and care homes for the vulnerable.
