December 1, 2012
Today is World AIDS Day, yet you won’t find a story about HIV/AIDS on the front page of the New York Times. In face, aside from the occasional red ribbon posted in solidarity as a profile photo on Facebook, it seems that HIV/AIDS is simply no longer news. After all, the disease has shifted from being a terminal disease to a chronic illness for most people living with HIV in the world’s industrialized nations, doctors have managed to completely cure AIDS in the case of one extraordinary patient, and the disease can now be successfully be prevented by having HIV-negative people take daily anti-retroviral drugs as a form of “pre-exposure prophylaxis.”
From the perspective of a comfortable kitchen table in South Philadelphia, where I sit typing this post during a break from attending an annual conference of the African Studies Association, AIDS no longer seems a deadly threat, no longer a cause for the type of radical action undertaken by organizations such as ACT-UP in the early days of the epidemic. Do we even still need a World AIDS Day?
The somewhat surprising answer to that question lies far from a kitchen table in Philadelphia, or the front page of the New York Times. We find it only on the front lines of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, in the slums of Kibera, in the drug treatment clinics of Kabul,in the crowded hospitals of Brazil. Here, we begin to see a different face of HIV/AIDS, one defined by crippling levels of poverty, high levels of gender and income inequality, and their associated barriers to adequate prevention and treatment options.
In fact, AIDS cases continue to rise dramatically in many places, including some of the world’s most populous nations such as China, challenging global prevention efforts. On the African continent, which has born the vast majority of the burden of HIV/AIDS, gains in prevention and treatment efforts made by countries such as Uganda have recently been eroded, reversing decades of success. And even in countries where AIDS rates have declined, such as Zimbabwe, recent scholarship suggests that this decline is tied not only to successful prevention efforts, but also to mortality rates. In other words, many of the Zimbabweans previously counted as people living with HIV have simply died.
Even as the disease continues to expand into a growing, global pandemic, however, funding for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS has declined shockingly, jeopardizing many of the gains made over the past decades. As a result, the World AIDS Campaign reports that
after years of international investment, just when we seem to have the right technologies, drugs, and approaches to keep the epidemic under control, success hangs in the balance.
Even in the United States, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, AIDS patients living in states like Florida are denied adequate treatment, receiving life-saving anti-retroviral drugs only once their immune systems are already severely compromised.
For the 34 million people living with HIV around the world, the 16 million children orphaned by the epidemic, and the many millions more at risk of contracting HIV, reductions in funding are not simply academic: they are a question of life or death. On World AIDS Day 2012, we at Tariro urge you not to forget that the fight against HIV/AIDS has not yet been won. To the contrary, a long, hard road still lies ahead. Given the recent decline in funding, your donations to organizations working in HIV prevention and treatment are more important than ever.
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, and as we enter the holiday giving season, we therefore ask you to give. Give to a local AIDS clinic, such as AIDS Care Rochester. Give to The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis. Give to Tariro. Working together, we can continue to ensure that HIV/AIDS remains a global health priority. Together, we can ensure that treatment and prevention options continue to be available to the 99%, not only the 1%. Together, we can continue to make progress in the fight against AIDS.
November 25, 2012
As we enter our Fall Fundraising Campaign, Tariro would like to thank the many communities that have supported us this past year. Most recently, we received donations from two performing ensembles in very different parts of the United States. Both of their members, however, share a love for the music and culture of Zimbabwe!
The first group, Kubatana Marimba, is based in Albuquerque, NM. For several years now, Kubatana has joined together with the awesome Wagogo Banda, a group that blends musical influences from Zimbabwe, Mexico, and elsewhere, in order to host a benefit concert for Tariro, raising close to $1,000 for us each year.
The second group, Kambuyu Marimba, is one of the few Zimbabwean marimba groups performing east of the Rockies! Based in Syracuse, NY, Kambuyu has been bringing the vibrant dance music of Zimbabwe to audiences in Western New York for almost a decade. Recently, we were thrilled to receive a check in the mail as a donation from Kambuyu!
As we work toward raising $40,000 in order to continue our work educating and empowering Zimbabwean girls in 2013, we appreciate the ongoing support of many individuals, organizations, and performing groups, including Kubatana and Kambuyu. And if you have not yet done so, please consider making a contribution to Tariro today. Your support is critical to our success!
November 23, 2012
Your donations to Tariro support students like Rosa S., pictured above
Once again, it’s time for Tariro’s Fall Fundraising Campaign! In the coming weeks, we’re striving to raise the $40,000 necessary to maintain our programs in 2013. As a friend of Tariro, we want to update you on our progress in 2012, and to invite you to extend your support for our work in 2013!
Educating and empowering Zimbabwean girls
In our work, Tariro frequently encounters girls like Rosa S., pictured above. After her father passed away, Rosa was forced to drop out of school due to her inability to pay her school fees. Instead, she began working as a maid and selling vegetables at a local market in order to support her mother, who was also ill. Already 18 years old when she joined Tariro earlier this year, Rosa was eager to return to school, yet she encountered significant difficulties in finding a school willing to take her. She was two years behind her peers, yet many schools have strict policies regarding age limits in each grade. Reflecting the intensive, personalized attention Tariro is able to give to individual students, our program coordinator, Tafadzwa “Fadzie” Muzhandu, spoke to ten school headmasters before finding one who was willing to take Rosa. As Fadzie observes, “Rosa’s story is not unique, but it reminds us of the many girls who fall through the cracks because of money, and sometimes when they get the money they are ‘too old’ to join the school system.”
Tariro needs your support!
Your support enables Tariro to sponsor students like Rosa, who would otherwise be unable to complete their high school education. This year, Tariro’s fundraising goal is $40,000. Of this amount, we need to raise $15,000 in donations in the next two months, in order to cover the cost of sponsoring our students during the first term of the Zimbabwean school year, which begins in January. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation in support of our work, enabling Tariro to continue educating and empowering Zimbabwean girls!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Kyker, Executive Director
November 22, 2012
Tariro student Ashley B.
On Thanksgiving Day, I wanted to write a short post giving thanks for yet another Tariro success story! After meeting with our program coordinator Fadzie Muzhandu last month, I have updates about several students who are making good progress and achieving impressive things. I’ll begin by sharing the story of our student Ashley B.
Ashley’s background
From the rural area of Mhondoro, Ashley attended Rwizi Secondary School. Already enrolled in Form 4 when she joined Tariro in 2008, Ashley was looking forward to completing her Ordinary Level exams, and hoped to join another Rwizi student, Tatenda C., for Advanced Level study. Like many of our students at the time, however, Ashley’s chances of success were crippled by the economic and political crisis facing the country in 2008, and her exam results were not high enough for her to be admitted for her A-Levels.
Overcoming initial failure
Undaunted, Ashley joined Tariro’s embroidery club, and began to sew panels, saving the proceeds from her work in order to pay the required fee to retake her O-Level exams. No longer enrolled in school, she continued to study on her own, using whatever time she could spare from doing household chores.
On her third attempt, Ashley’s dedication finally paid off, and she passed her O-Level exam. Given how hard she had struggled to pass, Ashley made the decision not to pursue A-Level study. Instead, she decided to concentrate on finding a paying position in the formal sector right away- not an easy task in a country with unemployment levels that range between 80-90%.
Finding a job
As you might imagine, Ashley approached finding a job with the same motivation she had put into her studies, researching her options, and ultimately deciding to join the Zimbabwe Republic Police. After successfully completing her training, she is now working as a policewoman in the city of Bindura, located 65km north of Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare.
Giving thanks for successful outcomes!
Nine years ago, Tariro began sponsoring our first, small group of students in the Mhondoro rural areas, where Ashley grew up. Today, we’re thankful that we’ve been able to expand and maintain our program over the years, empowering girls like Ashley to complete a high school education.
As we approach our tenth year, we’re incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of so many of the donors and friends who have enabled our work. Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!
October 18, 2012
On October 7th, Tariro’s program coordinator, Tafadzwa Muzhandu, or “Fadzie,” arrived in Boston for a month-long visit to the United States. With funding from the Mellon Foundation, Fadzie’s trip was organized by Dr. Holly Hanson, a professor of Ugandan history at Mount Holyoke College. Fadzie has spent the last two weeks at Mount Holyoke as an “embedded practitioner” in grassroots development. During her visit, she has been visiting classes to speak to students about Tariro’s work, as well as meeting with development scholars to think through issues of post-secondary education for girls enrolled in Tariro’s programs. In addition, she has been discussing the potential to create opportunities for Mount Holyoke students to intern with Tariro on an ongoing basis.
A bit about Fadzie…
After graduating from Mount Holyoke in 2005, Fadzie was inspired to journey to Nepal, the home of her college roommate, where she volunteered in rural libraries for several months before resettling in Zimbabwe. Shortly after her return, she began working for Tariro as our first full-time employee. Fadzie’s presence marked an important shift in the growth of our organization, enabling us to administer educational sponsorship for greater numbers of students, in addition to working more intensively with the girls enrolled in our program, producing better outcomes among our students.
In 2007, Fadzie left Zimbabwe for the United Kingdom, where she completed a Masters degree in development at the University of Reading. After returning to Zimbabwe, she worked for several months for a large development organization. Tariro was absolutely thrilled when Fadzie told us that she felt our small-scale approach to transforming girls’ lives was more effective than the work being conducted by many bigger organizations, and expressed a desire to resume her work with us as program coordinator. We invited her back immediately, and she’s been with us ever since.
Creating bridges between Zimbabwe and the US
With Tariro’s focus on educating girls, Mount Holyoke College is a natural ally for us in the United States. We’ve already hosted one Mount Holyoke student who traveled to Zimbabwe this past year to conduct research on sexual health education for teenaged girls in Zimbabwe as part of a senior thesis, with funding from Mount Holyoke’s history department. We’re happy to have the chance to strengthen our relationship with the college through Fadzie’s visit!
In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting many new stories and photos that Fadzie has shared with us. Stay tuned!
October 16, 2012
Tariro board president Easther Chigumira and husband Munyaradzi Chiura
Today, I’d like to share a short post celebrating the marriage of Tariro’s board president, Easther Chigumira, to Munyaradzi Chiura. On September 22nd, the couple was joined in marriage during a beautiful ceremony held in Harare, which was attended by family and friends from around the world. Reflecting Easther’s commitment to Tariro’s work, guests at the ceremony included two women who have also served on Tariro’s board, Janis Weeks and Marilyn Mohr, and who flew all the way from Eugene, Oregon to attend the wedding. Joined by Cosmas Magaya, a traditional musician deeply involved with our work in Zimbabwe, Janis performed on the mbira dzavadzimu at the reception following the service, and Marilyn made the beautiful flower arrangements for the wedding and reception.
Former Tariro board member Janis Weeks performs mbira at the reception, with Musekiwa Chingodza, left, and Cosmas Magaya, right.
In an especially lovely gesture, Easther also asked Tariro students to make small, embroidered bags as wedding favors. Each of the embroidered bags was accompanied by a printed tag featuring Tariro’s logo, letting guests know about our work. Joined by our librarian, Senzeni, two of the more advanced members of our embroidery club participated in this project, and their work brightened the table arrangements greeting guests at the reception.
Wedding favors embroidered by Tariro students
Although Easther’s request was “in-house,” it represents the first time that our embroidery students have put their skills to work for a specially commissioned project, outside of the panels we have been selling in the United States to fundraise for their school fees. With the payment they received for their work, the two students who did the wedding favors are considering investing in a small income-generating project, such as buying a machine to press peanut butter.
A happy couple!
Easther and Munya, congratulations on your wedding! We wish you many happy years together, and we’re glad that Tariro could contribute to your beautiful, special day!
August 23, 2012
Nomatter C. is one of the many teenaged girls attending school thanks to Tariro!
Did you know?
Together, these facts shape Tariro’s mission! By educating girls in Zimbabwean communities affected by HIV/AIDS, Tariro seeks to reduce our students’ risk of contracting HIV, as well as empowering them to work toward a better future for themselves and their families.
The effects for individual girls: Nomatter C’s story
The facts above have powerful consequences for individual girls in Zimbabwe, as illustrated by the story of Tariro student Nomatter C.
A vibrant 14 year-old, Nomatter lost her father in 2003. During primary school, she was a beneficiary of Zimbabwe’s government-funded education program, known as BEAM. However, once she reached secondary school, Nomatter was told that BEAM funding was no longer available. Nomatter’s situation at home had also deteriorated dramatically, as her unemployed mother, utterly destitute, could not afford even to provide food or lodging for the family.
Nomatter’s situation improved slightly when she moved in with a sympathetic teacher from her former primary school, who agreed to act as an informal foster mother. However, her new foster mother likewise struggled to cover the costs of sending Nomatter to school. As a result, Nomatter missed an entire term of school before being accepted into Tariro’s sponsorship program.
With assistance from Tariro, Nomatter returned to school late during the first term of 2012. Her teachers report that she has caught up with her peers despite missing the first two months of the school year. Combined with Nomatter’s excellent scores in Grade Seven, Tariro’s program director Fadzie is optimistic that Nomatter will continue to do well.
Nomatter’s dedication to her studies is reflected in the 2-hour walk that she makes to and from school almost every day, with a few exceptions when her foster mother is able to provide her with money for public transport.
Join us in our work!
Once again, it is time for Tariro to begin our annual fall fundraising campaign. Your donations to our campaign are critical in enabling Tariro to provide the funding necessary for Nomatter to attend school, as well as more than 50 or her peers. Please consider making a donation in support of our work, and check back regularly on the blog for updates on work, as well as our fundraising progress. You can also visit our website for more information about our organization, which is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
June 26, 2012
Teenaged mother Rachel M. has returned to school with Tariro’s support
Working with girls: the challenge of teenaged pregnancy
Today, I’d like to share with you a story that is unusual in Tariro’s history. In previous posts, I’ve talked about the importance of acknowledging the challenges and limitations of development work, as well as celebrating our successes. In Zimbabwe, Tariro has faced one ongoing challenge in particular- that of preventing teenaged pregnancies in a conservative social environment where unmarried women are generally prohibited from discussing or learning about birth control.
While the majority of our students finish their O and A levels without falling pregnant, we estimate the one out of every twenty-five girls either drops of our program upon falling pregnant, or writes their O level exams pregnant, significantly affecting their exam scores. Girls who fall pregnant rarely return to school, in contrast to their male counterparts, who are more frequently permitted to complete their education even after fathering a child.
While roughly only 4% of Tariro students will become teenaged mothers, we still feel that this is too high! In response, Tariro’s program coordinator Fadzie worked with undergraduate student researcher Laura Tolosa-Leiva from Mount Holyoke College this past December, in order to figure out why girls seems to be at particular risk of becoming pregnant during the last year of high school, as well as what we can do to reduce their risk. In my next post, I will share an excerpt from her work.
Hope for a second chance: Rachel’s story
Today, though, I’d like to share with you the remarkable story of Rachel M., who is the first Tariro student to successfully return to school after falling pregnant during the year of her O level exams. When I first met Rachel, in 2008, she was one of our most promising students, with exceptionally high grades. Quiet, respectful, and studious, she was also a particularly talented dancer and musician, participating actively in our music and dance ensemble. In fact, Rachel often seemed to be the best and most dedicated at whatever she did, from embroidery lessons to attending church.
Rachel is one of Tariro’s most talented traditional dancers
Given her outstanding performance both in and out of school, we were all shocked and disappointed when Rachel became pregnant shortly before she was scheduled to write her O level exams in 2010. Now married, Rachel has been a stay-at-home mom for the past two years. This year, however, she approached Fadzie to see whether there was any possibility that she could re-enroll in school. Rachel is the first Tariro student to express an interest in finishing her education after having a child, and given her academic potential, we were pleased to offer her a second chance. Now attending Success Academy, Rachel is re-enrolled in Form 3, and is preparing to write her O level exams next year.
We are proud of Rachel’s determination to finish her education despite becoming a teenaged mother, and we’ll keep you updated on her progress over the next few years. Development work offers no firm promises, and we can’t guarantee that Rachel will overcome the many obstacles to passing her O levels and proceeding on to A level study. However, her story offers an important ray of hope, and the unusual opportunity for one Zimbabwean girl to have a second chance at a better life.
I’ll leave you with an autobiography, written by Rachel in May 2008, when she first joined Tariro.
Myself
In this world everybody has a self. Even animals have selves too. Some people are tall, some are born crippled and some are beautiful on their faces but inside their hearts you don’t know what they are like. Here is what I’m going to tell you about myself.
My name is Rachel M. and I am a girl aged 14. I was born on the 24th of August in 1993 at Edith Opperman Maternity Unit in Harare. I live in Western Triangle in Highfields in Harare with my family.
I live with my mother and we are four children. My father died on the 3rd of October in 2007 after a short illness. I am the second born and I come from Murehwa in Chikwaka village. My totem is heart and I come from a tribe called Mutizhe. I am brown in complexion, black hair, I am not very tall and not slim or fat I am at a medium size. I go to Highfield High 1 school and I enjoy school very much. My best friend is Faith K., we like reading and watching t.v. I don’t like friends who have bad manners, cruel to other people, who do all the bad things, who don’t know God and friend who don’t like school. My favourite subjects are Accounts, Maths, English, Geography and History. My hobbies are reading stories and novels, writing, watching the television and hanging out with Faith.
At school I play tennis, basketball and I also like hockey and swimming although we don’t have such sports at school. I also like playing marimba and dancing traditional dances. I like these dances because they remind me of my father. He liked traditional music and he also liked rural things. My favourite musicians are Shingisai Solumo and Celine Dion.
I like eating rice, chicken, fresh chips, ice cream, sadza, okra, vegetables and sweet potatoes. When I am at the rural areas I like eating sadza, beef, vegetables and okra. I like to wear clothes and shoes which match and fit me. My favourite colours are pink, baby blue, red, luminous green, yellow, white, peach, apple green and all the colours which are light colours and not dark. My dream countries are Canada, USA, UK, Korea and Japan.
When I grow up I want to be an Accountant, to be a fashion designer, to help people who are in need and to do many good things if God helps me in my life. I love myself very much.
Reflecting on Rachel’s story…
Rachel’s story paints the picture of an average teenaged girl, whose father’s sudden death threw a stable family into significant financial as well as social distress. I’m so pleased that she has made the courageous choice to return to school. Rachel, we love you too!
June 14, 2012
Brenda M. is one of 8 new students enrolled in Tariro in 2012
In this post, I’m please to begin introducing you to some of Tariro’s newly enrolled students for the 2012 school year. Given our students’ exceptionally high pass rate for O-level exams in 2011, we now have an unprecedented number of nine students enrolled in Advanced, or A-level study! This means we’ve accepted a slightly smaller number of incoming students, with eight new enrollments this year. This brings the total of students enrolled in our sponsorship program to 56. Additionally, six of our past students, who have finished various levels of education ranging from O-levels to university level study, continue to participate regularly in our extra-curricular activities, including our traditional music and dance group.
While the majority of our students have lost one or both parents, Tariro’s sponsorship program accepts both orphaned and vulnerable children, a category widely recognized by the best practices of many international organizations. In today’s post, I introduce you to our student Brenda M., who is one of our few students to experience the stability of having two living parents. Despite this intact nuclear family, however, Brenda’s need for educational sponsorship is overwhelming.
Brenda M.
14 years old, Brenda M. is enrolled in Form 1 at Domboramwari High School, in Epworth. Her father is blind, and has never benefited from any type of special services such as vocational training, leaving him unable to perform even basic household chores. As a result, Brenda’s mother is responsible for running the household and caring full-time for Brenda’s father, as well as her younger sister, who is currently enrolled in primary school. Unable to pay rent, Brenda’s parents live with extended family members, in a pattern typical of Zimbabwe’s informal social networks. Her father’s maternal uncle, who works in a shop in Harare, offered them a room in his house, and has generously taken on the entire responsibility for paying bills and covering food for this extended household of relatives .
After finishing grade seven, the last year of primary school in the Zimbabwean school system, Brenda applied for financial assistance with her school fees from the government’s Basic Education Assistance Module, or BEAM, a program designed to provide support for the education and health care of orphaned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. However, as the United Nations has observed, this program has been “threatened as economic conditions worsen, and as donors become more reluctant to fund President Robert Mugabe’s regime,” leaving many of Zimbabwe’s needy children without adequate support.
When Brenda learned that she had not been accepted into the BEAM sponsorship program, she was desperate to find another source of assistance to enable her to continue attending school. Given her good grades, her primary school teachers came together in an extraordinary gesture, contributing money from their own small salaries to pay her school fees for the first term of Form 1, allowing her to begin secondary school at Domboramwari. Aware of Brenda’s unsustainable financial situation, the headmaster at Domboramwari immediately contacted Tariro’s program coordinator, Tafadzwa Muzhandu, to recommend her as a candidate for our sponsorship program.
We’re pleased to have such a great new group of incoming students, and we’re even more pleased that so many of our old students are continuing on in the program, during their A-level studies! In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting more profiles of new students, as well as updates on some familiar faces. Thanks again for your ongoing support of Tariro’s programs! We couldn’t do it without your donations and encouragement!
May 17, 2012
The cover shot for Tariro’s album, “Maungira EZimbabwe”
Did you know Tariro offers an album featuring music performed by our students, alongside their music teachers and friends? The album, “Maungira EZimbabwe,” or “Echoes from Zimbabwe,” offers a selection of various musical instruments and genres, extending from up-tempo marimba performances by our students to meditative acoustic guitar pieces performed by renowned musician Tute Chigamba. In addition, the album offers recordings of many musical styles that are difficult to find, and under-represented on most collections of Zimbabwean music, including the chipendani mouthbow, as well as drumming, singing, and dance genres such as mbakumba.
Tute Chigamba plays the chipendani mouthbow for an audience of Tariro students
Speaking as Tariro’s director, my favorite track on the album is an extended solo performance of on the mbira dzavadzimu by Paradzai Gore, the first mbira player to join legendary Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo.
Our album is available on CDBaby, and now, it is also linked directly to our Facebook page! Visit either page to hear samples from the album’s tracks, and help us share the news with friends. Buying “Maungira EZimbabwe” is a great way to experience new sounds from Zimbabwe, as well as supporting our students’ efforts to contribute to their own educations by performing with our music and dance ensemble. Thanks again for your support!
You must be logged in to post a comment.