Tariro receives $12,000 in grants from Mercy Corps, PEPFAR

Tariro students at our annual empowerment camp

I’m happy to share the excellent news that Tariro received two very important grants last week.  First, we received $10,700 in funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), administered by the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Section in Harare.  We received a second grant from Mercy Corps’ Mukomberanwa fund, from which we expect to receive close to $1,000 in funding.

This funding is essential to enabling Tariro to maintain our programs and activities in Zimbabwe.  In addition, receiving grants from established organizations such as Mercy Corps is an important acknowledgment of Tariro’s effective work, and our success in fulfilling our mission to educate and empower girls in Zimbabwean communities affected by HIV/AIDS.  Please read on to learn more about how Tariro will be putting this funding to use.

PEPFAR funding: Empowerment camp

Tariro’s empowerment camp, “Building Girls, Building Dreams.“ is the centerpiece of our HIV education program.  Working with facilitators from the organization SHAPE Zimbabwe, the empowerment camp imparts concrete knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention to our students.  In addition, the camp addresses issues of stigma, trauma, and grief for young women and girls whose families and communities have been deeply affected by HIV/AIDS.  This year, $8,700 of Tariro’s PEPFAR funding will be used to hold our fourth annual empowerment camp, scheduled for August.

PEPFAR funding: Counseling component

In addition, our 2010 PEPFAR funding includes $2,000 in funding for group and individual counseling services.  At last year’s empowerment camp, counseling was identified as a priority for several of our students, and camp facilitators identified seven students in particular need of ongoing counseling.  Using this year’s PEPFAR funding, we will be able to offer regular, individual counseling sessions with a licensed counselor for these students.  Group counseling sessions will also be offered for other students wishing to take advantage of this service

Mercy Corps: Mukomberanwa funding

This Tuesday, our program coordinator Fadzi, along with other Tariro staff, will be attending a training session held by Mercy Corps for beneficiaries of Mukomberanwa fund grants, which targets grassroots initiatives working with orphaned and vulnerable children. Mukomberanwa grants are specifically intended to provide for the basic needs of orphaned and vulnerable children, such as food, clothing, and school fees.  Tariro will be using our first Mukomberanwa grant to cover school fees, uniforms, and exam fees for our current students.

While Mercy Corps’ Mukomberanwa grants are small in size- usually under $1,000 per grant- they are renewable when new funding needs arise.  As Tariro will be using funding from the Mukomberanwa fund to help us cover recurring costs related to school fees, uniforms, and supplies, we plan to apply for funding from the fund once per term in order to support our ongoing work.