BINGA: When drought hits, its effects go beyond malnutrition and might be imagined by many.
Communities, especially rural are grappling with a surge in teenage pregnancies and theft cases, as young people desperate to escape the pangs of hunger turn to early marriages and risky survival strategies.
With drought-induced starvation taking a devastating toll, young girls are increasingly resorting to early marriages as a means of seeking refuge from the biting hunger.
Meanwhile, their male counterparts are engaging in unsafe migration and unorthodox ways of making money, all in an effort to escape the harsh realities of drought and starvation.
The scenario used to be rife in Binga has significantly improved thanks to the intervention facilitated by the Partnership for Social Accountability Project (PSA).
The partners have been implementing a climate resilience project in Siameja Village, Siansundu in Binga which aims to tackle the increased frequency and severity of disaster due to climate change, which predominantly affect vulnerable groups and disrupt food security and livelihoods.
One of the methods the project is using in the district is keyhole garden. This climate-smart adaptation initiative where a nutrition gardening method ideal in areas like Binga is being implemented to ensure vulnerable villagers like the youth, pregnant/ lactating mothers are food secure benefiting from a reliable source of nutrition.
A beneficiary, Exodus Munkuli (24) says the project has not just saved them from the biting drought but has also taught her to be focused and self-sustenance.
“As a young woman growing up in a community with many challenges, I had wishes and one of them may seem simple but you will agree with me that every young girl would want a fancy hairstyle and make up before we even talk of basics as sanitary pads.
“Such needs, or should I call them wants have seen many girls in my area getting into early marriages but surprisingly, remain in the same poverty after the marriages,” said Munkuli as she narrated how young girls in underdeveloped communities are often exposed to early marriages.
Munkuli’s story isn’t one of solitary struggle. She’s part of a mentorship programme by Binga based Basilwizi Trust, focusing on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR). The programme, in partnership with ActionAid Zimbabwe and other organisation integrates SRHR with agricultural initiatives to create a foundation for food security.
“The coming of the PSA project was a blessing to me and my other colleagues involved because it has taught us not only good forms of subsistence farming as keyhole gardening but has gone a step further to train us self-sustenance.
“After giving up the luxuries of my youth, I can now enjoy the pleasures because I can now afford from my garden proceeds.
Besides, I am looking forward to also fund my education advancement from my garden and goat project so that I attain my dream career of being a teacher,” added Munkuli.
Determined to attain her goals, Munkuli endures seven kilometers cycling trip to get water from the nearest source.
“Binga has acute water shortages before we even talk of the changing climate. So, I cycle seven kilometers to the nearest water source and fetch water to water my plants.
“This is a challenge of cause but with the help and encouragement from my family, I am motivated to take the trip. The results of tangible harvest are also another key motivator because since we engaged in these climate smart projects, we are getting produce compared to days we cultivated large pieces of land but getting nothing,” Munkuli further said.
Munkuli’s flourishing keyhole garden boasts of a mix of okra, paprika and tomatoes.
The innovative design, with its central reservoir for water retention is particularly apt given Binga’s scorching climate.
It is against this background that the climate-smart intervention seeks to build capacities of targeted communities and institutions to effectively prepare food for, withstand, respond to and recover from climate induced disasters and crises – Partnership For Social Accountability Newsletter (January – June 2024)
