February 15, 2010
I’ve just finished sending out highlights from Tariro’s 2009 Annual Report to our email listserve. If you’re not on our mailing list and would like to receive the full report, please click here, and you’ll be redirected to our website to sign up for our email updates.
Below, I’m including a few of the highlights from the Annual Report regarding our work in Zimbabwe. In 2009, Tariro:
This is only a small selection of Tariro’s activities and accomplishments in 2009! To read more, please sign our mailing list!
February 12, 2010
On February 22nd, I’ll be leaving for a three-month trip to Zimbabwe. As it’s been almost a year since I was last in Zimbabwe, I’m excited to have this opportunity to go back to assess the progress we’ve made over the past year.
More importantly, however, I’m looking forward to getting to spend some time with our students. When I’m in Zimbabwe, I try to attend every Saturday rehearsal of the traditional music and dance group, as this is an excellent way for me to participate in a meaningful activity with the girls, and to participate in a cultural exchange with them as we share our mutual knowledge of Zimbabwean cultural arts.
I’m also looking forward to attending this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations in Zimbabwe, where our student will once again participate in the WE CAN mentorship program, which pairs girls with outstanding women leaders, giving them the chance to explore a career they are interested in, as well as interacting with women role models.
It’s amazing what a difference activities like the mentorship program can make in the lives of the students we work with. Last year, one of our students, Tatenda C., developed a deep connection with her mentor, who has continued to support her by inviting her home to have a quiet place to study during school holidays, and offering her the chance of an internship this year.
Seeing the transformation that occurs in our girls’ lives as they have the chance to complete their educations, and to participate in empowerment activities such as the traditional dance group and mentorship program, always re-energizes me. I’m sure that this trip to Zimbabwe, like every other, will inspire me to work even harder to continue to expand Tariro’s programs.
Three of the concrete goals I’ve set during the time I’ll be in Zimbabwe include:
Expanding the lending library to accommodate more students, by bringing donated books to add to our collection, as well as adding a second room on to the one we currently rent, in order to give girls space to hold study and tutoring sessions in the library.
Reaching out to community leaders in Glen Norah and Highfield, our primary areas, in order to develop our social networks and facilitate our work within the community.
Working with the four students who finished Advanced Level exams through Tariro last year, in order to explore the possibilities for them to attend college. This will be the most challenging of my tasks, as the costs of attending college are much greater than those of attending secondary school. I will soon write another post exploring this question in more detail!
During my trip to Zimbabwe, I will be updating the blog twice per week, so be sure to tune in to keep up with what is happening on the ground! Remember, you can subscribe to the blog over email, to be notified every time a new post appears. You can also share our blog with friends via facebook and other social networking sites by clicking on the “share this blog” button to the right. Please help us to spread the word!
February 2, 2010
In this guest blog, Cathy from Sadza Marimba shares her recent experience working with Tariro students in Zimbabwe. Thank you Cathy for giving us the latest update from Zimbabwe! Here is what Cathy has to share with us:
We thought to begin the year with a party celebrating the hard work the Tariro girls have put in learning to playing marimba and singing and dancing traditional Zimbabwean music. As always, nothing is ever as it seems…suddenly the party turned into an opportunity for the girls to showcase their talent at the Mannenburg in Harare, with Mbira dze Muninga and some of their Zimbabwean and American musician friends. The small party with family and friends turned into a big performance at one of the hottest night spots in Harare.
The girls usually rehearse saturday mornings at the Chimbera school; rehearsals continued as usual. A final dress rehearsal with all the musicians the day before the event was held at a home in Emerald Hills. Outside on the sprawling lawn, with newly tuned instruments and all the other musicians looking on, the girls rehearsed and fine tuned their performance for hours. It proved to be fruitful.
The girls opened the show Thursday evening, beaming as they took the stage in their performance costumes. They shook the house with their great sound, awesome voices and amazing dance skills. The audience was enthralled, amazed at the talent and proud of the work that these girls are doing to keep their culture alive. Several musicians and dancers from the audience jumped up and joined them, moved by their energy. The girls came out full blast with an incredible show of talent and energy.
The evening continued with songs from the five CD’s that Mbira dze Muninga collaborated on during their summer 09 tour to the states. (Sungano, Ndiri Mumhanzi, Muninga, Rova Mbira, Tiringeiwo). The girls were asked to remain on stage and participate in singing and dancing with some of those songs as well.
No matter that there was school early the next morning, the girls stayed on to enjoy the show as part the full house audience packed with friends, family, musicians, as well as a contingency from the US embassy who came to see what the collaboration between American musicians and Zimbabwean musicians is really all about. All were amazed to see the Americans singing in Shona and playing traditional Zimbabwean music.
A night to remember, Tariro girls opening at the Mannenburg, and sharing the stage with some of the top musicians of traditional music in Zimbabwe. Many thanks to all for the opportunity and the great experience.
January 30, 2010
Kundai, Vanessa, Rudo, Jessie, Tinashe, and Shawn receive assistance through Tariro's work with families caring for orphaned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe
Today, the New York Times published a letter written by Tariro’s Executive Director Jennifer Kyker, calling attention to a lack of assistance for families caring for orphaned and vulnerable children in Haiti, where destitute families may be forced to relinquish their children to orphanages for lack of assistance to help them meet their children’s basic needs. This broken system separates children from their parents, tearing apart the very fabric of Haitian society.
Tariro’s work in Zimbabwe establishes an important alternative model of working with orphaned and vulnerable children. Through direct financial assistance in the form of school fees, uniforms, and supplies, Tariro supports families caring for orphaned and vulnerable children, enabling families to stay together. The six children shown in the photograph accompanying this post, for example, have all lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. The assistance they receive through Tariro has been critical to enabling their surviving relatives to continue caring for them, keeping them within their community, neighborhood, and family.
Tariro is currently researching organizations based in Haiti to see how best we can offer our support to work toward the expansion of our model of family-based care for orphaned and vulnerable children. In the months and years following the immediate impact of the earthquake, grassroots organizations such as Tariro have an important role to play in ensuring that effective and sustainable assistance continues to be directed toward vulnerable and orphaned children.
Please sign our mailing list to stay informed of Tariro’s work in Zimbabwe, as well as our future plans in Haiti. You can also donate now to support our critical work with orphaned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe.
January 11, 2010
In this post, I would like to recognize the Tariro students who achieved the milestones of finishing their Ordinary and Advanced level studies in 2009. Students who finished Form 4 in 2009 wrote their Ordinary, or “O” level exams, which represents a basic high school education. Students who had previously passed their “O” levels with high marks went on to write their Advanced, or “A” level exams, representing a college preparatory level of studies. In 2009, Tariro is proud to recognize over a dozen students who completed one of these markers of academic achievement.
Ten Tariro students completed their Form 4 studies in 2009. These students include Cynthia and Dion, two talented young members of our traditional music and dance group.
In addition to Dion and Cynthia, eight other students finished Form 4 and wrote their “O” level exams in 2009. These students include Pamela, Lebo, Vimbikai, Stacey, Scholastica, a pair of sisters named Beula and Beauty, and one of the founding members of our embroidery club, Elizabeth.
We are waiting with anticipation to hear whether any of these students’ “O” level exam results are high enough to enable them to proceed to their “A”, or Advanced level studies, in 2010.
In addition, Tariro is extremely proud to have sponsored three students who finished Form 6 in 2009.
These advanced, college preparatory level classes culminate in the “A” or Advanced level exams, and we are very hopeful that these three high-achieving students will pass their exams, positioning them to enter college or the working world.
In 2009, Tariro’s Form 6 students were Kudzai, Tatenda, and Daphine. Tariro also assisted Daphine’s cousin, Lillian, secure private sponsorship for her “A” level studies.
We can’t be any prouder of these exceptional young women, who are realizing their dreams through Tariro.
At Tariro, we are passionate about educating girls – the mothers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and leaders of tomorrow. Your support of our work is critical in enabling us to continue to educate and empower young women in Zimbabwe. Thank you for all you do for Zimbabwean girls!!
January 2, 2010
Sugar Daddy: "It's true that AIDS kills, so I'll only go out with young girls who don't have it yet!" from Zambuko 3, Chishona, Fomu 3, Herbert Chimhundu, College Press, 2004 (1995)
To start off the new year, I’m going to post a modified version of a paper I gave at a conference on HIV/AIDS held at the University of Oregon in April, 2009. The conference was organized in part by Janis Weeks, a member of Tariro’s board of directors, and the mother of Jake Roberts, who has appeared as a guest author on our blog.
This paper is a way to open up discussion on the kinds of messages Tariro students hear about HIV/AIDS, an aspect of our work which has wide resonance for other individuals and organizations involved in HIV education and prevention. After spending the past year in Zimbabwe conducting dissertation research for my PhD and working with Tariro, I became aware of how various discourses on HIV/AIDS compete for space in the public sphere, complicating HIV education and prevention efforts, My paper explores how these discourses impact Tariro’s students. It is built around two basic questions: first, what kinds of messages do our students hear and see about HIV/AIDS? And second, what personal emotions and reactions do they express in response to the disease? Specifically, I focus on the messages about HIV/AIDS that our students hear in school, as part of the government curriculum on health.
In small group discussions and individual interviews, our students identified the school curriculum as a major source of information on HIV/AIDS. Many students said that HIV/AIDS came up as a discussion topic during larger units on health, with their teachers working from information on HIV/AIDS included in their school textbooks. Many students additionally identified books, including textbooks and other books, as major sources of information on HIV/AIDS. Somewhat to my surprise, in fact, books were the primary source of media conveying information about HIV/AIDS to secondary school children enrolled in Tariro, as many live in families with no access to televisions or radios, while books are accessible at their schools, as well as through Tariro’s lending library.
The textbooks used in Zimbabwean schools, however, draw heavily upon a very particular kind of discourse about HIV/AIDS, as exemplified by the following image from a high school textbook.
Depiction of AIDS in a Zimbabwean high school textbook. From Rurimi RwaAmai, Bhuku 2, T.K. Tsodzo, College Press Publishers, 2001 (1992)
In textbooks, HIV/AIDS is repeatedly represented through stereotyped imagery of bedridden and skeletal AIDS sufferers, as well as through images such as the skull and crossbones motif in this photo. The Shona speech bubble here says, “Watch out, AIDS kills!” This emphasis on the suffering and death seems meant to scare adolescents into taking HIV/AIDS seriously. Here is another example from a school textbook:
Skeletal AIDS suffer in a high school textbook, from Rurimi RwaAmai, Bhuku 4, T.K. Tsodzo, College Press Publishers, 2007 (1995)
However, at best, these images represent an attempt to deploy a very blunt weapon against a disease with a complex bio-medical and socio-cultural profile. This type of imagery has largely been abandoned by most organizations working in HIV prevention and treatment, as it may have undesired effects, including effects contrary to those originally intended. In the words of HIV prevention worker Barb Ncube, early HIV prevention campaigns featuring this type of imagery “made it like a huge mystery, something really scary. They used the wrong tactic, they just wanted to scare people away from it. And in doing that, it made people more promiscuous because they felt helpless. They started feeling like, ‘Ah, well, we probably all have it, let’s just have unprotected sex anyway.’”
While these scare tactics are much less frequent in contemporary public health campaigns, however, many Tariro students seem to have internalized a discourse equating HIV infection with full-blown AIDS, suffering, and death, as shown in the following picture.
This drawing was made in an art therapy workshop held during our annual empowerment camp. Here, we see how one group of Tariro students depicted the disease visually through the image of a corpse lying inside a coffin, accompanied by the following poem: “AIDS brings sickness with no cure/Sickness that makes you unable to eat/You are left thin, unable to survive, without a good life/ Once you have AIDS.”
In addition to imagery of those infected with HIV as deathly specters, textbooks commonly cite prostitution as the primary means of transmission of HIV. For example, one textbook used in Form 2, the equivalent of grade nine, the five major causes of AIDS are listed as follows: prostitution, blood transfusions, coming into contact with infected blood, having medicinal incisions made by a traditional healer, and being bitten by someone who is infected. The textbook goes on to say, “In order not to contract HIV/AIDS follow traditional customs of abstinence if you are still young and sticking to one partner if you are mature.” (Rurimi RwaAmai, Bhuku 2, T.K. Tsodzo, College Press Publishers, 2001 (1992) ) Likewise, the unit on HIV/AIDS in one Form 3 textbook consists of the reproduction of an newspaper article about a prostitute who admits to being HIV positive, but continues sleeping with customers. (Zambuko 3, Chishona, Fomu 3, Herbert Chimhundu, College Press, 2004 (1995))
This type of discourse ties the transmission of HIV exclusively to transactional sex, leaving no room for discussion about methods of safer sex, except within the confines of marriage. For youth, the only acceptable response to HIV becomes abstinence. The logical conclusion of this discourse is expressed in another book targeted specifically toward teenaged girls in Zimbabwe, with the Shona title of “Grandmother and Granddaughter.” As this book explicitly states, “Experimenting with condoms is regarded as the game of loose, immoral girls who go about having casual sex for prostitution business, whether using condoms or not. A well groomed girl does not take chances in having casual sex. With the advent of HIV and AIDS, if married couples discover that one partner is HIV positive, yes it’s recommended that they use condoms. But, not with a pretty virgin girl…” (Mbuya NeMuzukuru: A girl’s journey to adolescence in Zimbabwe: Reviving African culture for today’s women, by Rose Siyachitema. Gweru: Galaxy of Arts Production, 2005).
Many teenaged girls are thus denied knowledge about how different sexual behaviors carry varying degrees of risk, as this knowledge is seen as inappropriate for young women. For example, at one condom demonstration I witnessed at a community center in Zimbabwe, women told two teenaged girls, one wearing a school uniform, to leave the demonstration area as the demonstration was not appropriate for them to witness. Likewise, Tariro students reported being barred from condom demonstrations held at their schools in conjunction with mobile voluntary testing and counseling units, as they were under the age of sixteen, the legal age of consent in Zimbabwe.
For teenaged girls, the equation of premarital sex with prostitution, a discourse asserting prostitution to be the major method of HIV transmission, and the deliberate withholding of information on safer sex practices amounts to a death sentence. However, all girls with whom I spoke had deeply internalized this discourse of abstinence. In a group interview with ten Tariro students in Epworth, for example, girls identified abstinence as the most important message or information a person could have about HIV/AIDS. Other Tariro students likewise identified abstinence as the most important prevention method, and it was often the only prevention method suggested. In the words of one student, “People should abstain. That’s number one. Because condoms are not one hundred percent perfect. So people should just abstain.”
For many Tariro students, however, it was clear that abstinence was an unrealistic prevention method. Over the past year, two girls who had recently completed their secondary school education through Tariro fell pregnant and were sent to live with their boyfriends’ families, and two other girls were likewise sent to live with their boyfriends’ families when their guardians discovered they were sexually active, although they were not pregnant at the time. These common discourses on HIV/AIDS pose major challenges to organizations working in HIV education and prevention, complicating intervention efforts.
When dealing with students who have largely internalized a discourse on HIV/AIDS which equates AIDS with death, and asserts that its main transmission method is through prostitution, how can we provide alternative models through which to understand the disease? How can we break through the silence surrounding sexual activity among teenaged girls in order to provide girls with life-saving information on safer sex? And how might we work with community leaders, parents, and guardians to emphasize important cultural values, including abstinence, in conjunction with important biomedical information on AIDS transmission and prevention?
December 28, 2009
As we approach the end of 2009, I want to share some photographs from the wonderful holiday party that I hosted for Tairo students last year, in 2008. During the extreme financial crisis at the end of 2008, Tariro was fortunate to receive a grant of $1,000 from the Rubatano center on Whidbey Island, enabling us to provide each of our students’ families with a gift box of food. In addition, our holiday party gave our students the opportunity to share a good meal, enjoy each others’ company, and experience the progress made by the traditional music and dance ensemble, which performed at this event for each other, and for invited guests.
Here are some of the images from the party:
The students were all very excited to have the opportunity to attend the party, and all we saw was big smiles all day long!
We were fortunate to have Sekuru Tute Chigamba attend the party as a special guest, sharing his wisdom and music with us during a performance on a traditional instrument, the chipendani. For orphaned and vulnerable children who grow up in urban areas, the chance to share time with an elder such as Sekuru Chigamba is an important opportunity to learn about culture, history, and tradition.
As our students rehearse together every Saturday with students from Chembira Primary School, we invited both groups to perform together at the holiday party. The Chembira students were very excited to have the chance to attend the party alongside Tariro students, further cementing relationships between the two groups.
This occasion was only the second time our students had performed in front of an audience. However, many of the attendees said that this was the best youth traditional dance performance they had ever seen! This was a wonderful confirmation of the work we’ve done to introduce our students to traditional music and dance, which represents a way for Tariro to gain visibility and recognition within the local community and further abroad. You can experience out students’ musical talents on the CD “Maungira EZimbabwe,” available online through CDBaby and iTunes. Check them out!
After a great performance, our students relaxed and enjoyed each others’ company, in addition to sharing a traditional Zimbabwean meal of chicken and rice.
Students also participated in a workshop on capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, held by members of the group Capoeira Folha Seca. Even some of the very youngest students had the courage to go inside the roda, or circle, and play capoeira, and all of our students expressed an interest in learning more about this wonderful form of cultural expression. We hope to partner with CFS in the future to provide additional opportunities for our students to learn more capoeira!
But my favorite part was the impromptu basketball game that happened after the party! It was so great to see the girls out on the court in their traditional dance uniforms.
And another photo of the game… I just couldn’t resist.
The party was a wonderful way for me to get to know our students better, and to share our work with a variety of friends in Zimbabwe, including guests from the US Embassy and other organizations who have supported us in the past. Most importantly, though, it was an opportunity for our students, who have had to deal with the trauma and grief of losing their parents to poverty and HIV/AIDS, to relax and enjoy themselves during the holidays.
My appreciation goes out to Erin Folk and Debby Chen for co-sponsoring and co-hosting the party with me, and taking the photographs I’ve included in today’s post. I can’t wait to host another holiday party for our students in December 2010, when I plan to be back in Zimbabwe. Would anyone else like to come along with me? If so, please let me know. I would love to have some company on my trip, and some willing hands to help with Tariro’s work.
Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for your support of Tariro’s programs over the past year. We are looking forward to sharing more exciting news about our work, and great things from our students, with you in 2010!
December 17, 2009
In this week’s post, I’d like to introduce one of Tariro’s youngest students, Noleen C. Noleen is affected by Spina Bifida, a condition in which the spinal column does not fully close while a child is developing in utero. Depending on where the spine fails to close, Spina Bifida can result in differing degrees of severity. Noleen’s condition affects her lower spine, resulting in the paralysis of her lower body.
Tariro began sponsoring Noleen in 2007, paying for her to attend a school for the handicapped run by the Jairos Jiri Association, which runs schools and centers throughout Zimbabwe, assisting over one thousand children and adults with education, skills training, treatment, and care. With physical therapy, Noleen has been learning to stand, but cannot yet walk, because her feet are unable to support her weight. Noleen’s physical therapists have suggested the use of special boots and calipers to reposition the bones in her feet, in the hopes that she will be able to eventually graduate from her wheelchair to a pair of crutches.
Several months after joining Tariro, Noleen’s family moved to the nearby satellite town of Norton, outside of Harare and our normal cachement area of Glen Norah, Highfield, and Epworth. Because of Noleen’s disability, however, Tariro made a commitment to continue sponsoring her education. Noleen is entering the fifth grade at the beginning of the Zimbabwean school year in January, and is learning at grade level.
Noleen’s educational expenses are relatively higher than most of our other students, as she requires $900 per year for her school fees, in addition to $300 more for uniforms and supplies. Tariro is currently seeking a sponsor for this young woman who is interested in supporting a student with disabilities, and committed to working with us as we continue to research options for Noleen’s care and treatment. If you are interested, or know of potential resources for assisting Noleen, please contact me. In particular, we’d like to figure out some way to get a better wheelchair to her, as the one she is currently using is clearly meant for a full-sized adult.
Tariro’s small size and flexibility enables our organization to work closely with students like Noleen, who have special needs. We are proud to be helping to educate and empower this remarkable young woman, among the many wonderful girls we work with!
December 15, 2009
I’m very excited to introduce an album of new music from Zimbabwe. “Zimbabwe Today,” released today through Wide World Artists, is the first compilation of new music from Zimbabwe to emerge in over a decade. And 10% of the profit from the album will be donated to Tariro!
Wide World Artists is a new record company founded by James Collins. A filmmaker and Fulbright Fellow whose fieldwork in South Africa documented the work of the Field Band Foundation, which works to bring musical opportunities to low-income youth. Check out his blog to read about his experiences.
James and I met in Zimbabwe last year, when he came up on a brief visit from South Africa. A few months ago, he contacted me to ask if I would be interested in getting involved in the release of the “Zimbabwe Today” album. We decided to form a partnership between Wide World Artists and Tariro, and I jumped into the project, identifying artists and songs for inclusion on the album, and writing bios and descriptions of each artist’s music for the website.
In the process, I became familiar with many new artists myself, and I absolutely love many of the songs featured on the album. For me, some of the highlights include Hope Masike’s song “The Land,” Mathias Julius’s “Der Pon,” and Alexio’s hit song “Shaina.” In addition, the album features Bongo Love, who has toured extensively in the US with the band Dispatch, selling out Madison Square Gardens. It also includes songs by Selmor Mtukudzi, daughter of the Zimbabwean music legend Oliver Mtukudzi, Tendai Manatsa, son of another music legend, Zexie Manatsa.
The vision of Wide World Artists is unique in making independently produced music from Zimbabwe available internationally, primarily through digital media. I love this innovative way to support artists and communities in Zimbabwe, and I’m so happy that Tariro is linked to this initiative. Don’t miss this great album, available online through Wide World Artists
December 8, 2009
In this week’s post, I’m sharing a short video that shows Tariro’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; one which works to strengthen communities by educating and empowering girls. In the video clip, Tariro student Ashley M., interviewed by program coordinator Nyasha Chidoba, explains how Tariro is making a difference in her life.
An article published in last week’s New York Times emphasizes the importance of working with families and communities to support home-based care for children who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, giving them alternatives to entering into orphanages. The article contrasts the experiences of children living in orphanages, who are separated from relatives but have access to food, clothing, and education, with those of children living with extended family, who have the emotional support of their relatives, but often receive little in the way of direct assistance with basic needs.
According the the Times, experts maintain that orphanages “are expensive and often harm children’s development by separating them from their families.” Instead of directing financial resources to orphanages, the article suggests, small amounts of financial support can make a world of difference for families caring for orphaned children.
By providing educational sponsorships for orphaned girls like Ashley M., Tariro gives much-needed support to families caring for orphaned children, enabling caretakers to better meet these children’s basic needs. Tariro’s work in Zimbabwean communities affected by HIV/AIDS ensures that the extended families of orphaned children are able to keep them out of orphanages and in a familiar environment, where they remain integrated with their families, peers, and neighbors.
The full text of the New York Times article appears at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/world/africa/06orphans.html
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