Give education & training to Zimbabwean girls

Rafiki has had a very successful quarter and we would like to thank our supporters on Global Giving for their very generous support. Recently we met our original fundraising target on Global Giving, and thanks to you have been able to raise this target to support even more young women to develop their skills and transform their lives.

The centre continues to offer nine month courses to cohorts of young women, boosting their social, practical and vocational skills and rounding their students into confident, successful women with the tools to lift themselves out of poverty.

The 2015 class graduated at the end of May, with 100% of students passing their courses. Even though these 29 young women graduated less than three months ago, 13 have already gone into employment, 2 have successfully set up their own business, and one is enjoying motherhood.

The 2016 class has now seen 31 young women enrolled into vocational or educational courses, and 27 of these women have already started their training. These girls have also enjoyed extra-curricular activities, such as a visit to the cultural and historical sites at Pasichigare Resort and a Career’s Day, offering invaluable workshops on how to impress at job interviews and in the workplace, and with a number of professional partners and speakers.

Rafiki continues to support young women with HIV, offering HIV testing and running counselling and workshops for its students, aimed at getting young women to open up about HIV and surrounding issues, and break down stigmas and prejudices associated with positive status.

The young women at Rafiki have continued to make dresses, fabric-wares, table mats and cushions during their studies at Rafiki. They intend to sell these to a wider market in Zimbabwe and globally, and Rafiki in collaboration with ZET have been looking into the market for this, with a hope to expand into this during the next quarter.