In 2005, a march organised by Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN) to protest against the government’s slow work towards normalising the availability of ARVs led to their arrest. They had managed to mobilise people living with HIV/AIDS, children affected by AIDS, affiliated organisations and other interested people to protest outside the Parliament of Zimbabwe. The timing of the march was perfect as on that day, the 1st of December 2005, the then Minister of Finance was presenting his budget. However, the arrest of WASN staff members and others who voluntarily handed themselves to the police did not deter them form continuing to advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Today, nearly six years down the line, such efforts of voicing out have brought about a change in the country with regard to HIV/AIDS related issues. Gone are the days when HIV/AIDS issues were whispered quietly or even associated with promiscuity or prostitution. It is through the work of organisations like WASN and others that advocate for people living with HIV, who disseminate information about the disease and those that take a step further to assist children affected with AIDS, mostly orphans, that we see this change.

Speaking at a Food for Thought session at the US Embassy Public Affairs section in commemoration of International Women’s Day, Mary Sandasi, WASN’s director urged the government and the local community to fully support HIV/AIDS programmes and projects before turning an eye to external support. She insisted that the government, through its finance ministry, should increase the national budget allocated to the health ministry. She also said that, as research is so fundamental in the battle against HIV financial support must be given to this area.

As individuals our role to help fight against HIV/AIDS is to get tested and know our status. In so doing those who are infected can go for early treatment and therefore reduce the chances of them being bed ridden and the need for home based care.

Miracle Missions Trust, a non-profit organisation working on waste management in Zimbabwe is determined to make Harare look better. Over the past months, they have been mobilizing volunteers from different communities, and the Harare city Council for massive clean up campaigns around the city. Last Friday they were in Chisipite busy at work.

Every year, the first Monday of October is set aside to commemorate Habitat Day. On this day reflections are made on the state of our towns and cities, basic rights for all, and access to adequate shelter. For Amnesty International, World Habitat Day is a global day to take action to end forced evictions and other human rights violations suffered daily by people living in slums and informal settlements. In commemoration of this years’ World Habitat Day, Amnesty International Zimbabwe remembered the survivors of Operation Murambatsvina with the theme “End Forced Evictions’. Many families were displaced and left homeless when the government of Zimbabwe initiated its unpopular and inhuman Operation Murambatsvina. Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle then followed to resettle these families but, however, today years later no proper essential facilities and services have been provided for these families such as sanitation, education, housing and health.

A drama group from Hopley and Hatclife settlements where many of the families affected by Operation Murambatsvina are settled took time to remind Zimbabwe of how they are living. They had their own exhibition of their plastics shacks at the Harare Gardens. Some operate hair saloons, or bars and some sell firewood, or vegetables. The shacks take various shapes and forms but they all exhibit the plight of how our government has failed its people in so many ways. In these informal settlements education is a privilege whereas it should be a right for all children. In these settlements safe drinking water does not exist, as their water sources are unprotected wells. ‘The walls have ears’, is a saying you wont be caught saying in these settlements because their housing is little more than thin plastic.

Therefore Amnesty International of Zimbabwe in remembering the survivors of Operation Murambatsvina is calling on the government of Zimbabwe to:
End all forced evictions
Adopt guidelines based on the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development Based Evictions and Displacement
Provide free primary education for children living under Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle

Last week in the Mail & Guardian a South Africa paper, I read a story on wedding contributions titled, “I’m getting married, please send money” which has become a culture in Tanzania. In a nutshell this means that when one is getting married they send out an invitation asking for contributions from friends, relatives and colleagues. Erick Mchome, who wrote the article from Dar es Salaam, quoted this text from a card:

“The family of so-and-so is happy to inform you that their beloved son/daughter is getting married in October. We have a pleasure to ask you for your participation by contributing some money and moral support. Please give the money to the one who gave you this card or contact the phone numbers below.”

I found this shocking, but I then recalled it’s their culture. In my mind I quickly brushed it off and said not in Zimbabwe! I just found it outrageous to be asking everyone for ‘financial’ support for a wedding. Just when I thought it wouldn’t happen in my country, I got the shock of my life! A guy walked past our office and gave me a paper saying please contribute towards this … I hesitantly took the paper thinking its one of those church building, school function donation forms, only to read PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS OUR WEDDING! I just gazed at the paper horrified.

I am now sitting in the office, and saying to myself that Tanzanians do the contribution stuff better than the Zimbabwean I met, who literally asks for something from anyone! Having a big, colourful wedding is everyone’s dream, but if you cant afford one, should you then go around ‘begging’ for a wedding contribution? My Pastor at church, who is a marriage officer, always tells us that money should not stop people from getting married legally. He actually says that those who can’t afford to have the big ‘white wedding’ can bring in their witnesses, and parents to his office, get married and celebrate eating home baked scones! My sister had a court wedding. They went to court with their witnesses and a few relatives, came home and we celebrated and blessed them! Its almost 15 years later now but we still marvel at the pictures and even though I was still in primary school I can remember her gown. It didn’t cost much but at least it was something that they and the immediate family could afford to have.

My friends and relatives, I am not expecting to receive a card inviting me to contribute towards your wedding! I would rather support you any way I can even if it means me merely hooking you up with the best florist in town…and of course I wont forget to bring that traditional wedding gift for you and your loved one to bless you on your day.

The fabrication of stories to bring out and portray a certain issue inclined to a political party is now common in the local newspapers, both private and state owned. I have recently been seen a trend in the media. When an event or something transpires we seem to get similar headlines in the newspapers. An example is that when Energy Minister Mangoma was acquitted. These were the various headlines carried by Zimbabwean papers on 19 July 2011, for example: The Herald carried the story as ‘Mangoma freed as AG drops charges’ and in The Daily News, the story was ‘Mangoma case crumbles’. This shows at least some validity and honesty in the story that the Energy Minister had indeed been acquitted.

But it doesn’t necessarily mean we expect to see similar headlines everyday in our newspapers. But we expect to read credible and reliable information. If a media house or newspaper publishes a story of its own, this can be attributed to the good investigative skills the journalists working for that paper have.

A recent fabricated story is that by Zimpapers in the Sunday Mail of July 24, 2011 of the government’s spending. The story read ‘The high flying Prime Minister of Zimbabwe’ where it said Prime Minister’s Office had the highest expenditure on Government travel.

This story came in two days before the Finance Minister Biti could deliver a statement on Mid-Term Fiscal Policy statement which then revealed the truth about government’s spending. In a recent public forum with Professor Welshman Ncube he did have something to say about the media in Zimbabwe particularly regarding this story. He described the state owned paper as being an agent of preempting stories before their actual event, so as to cause confusion in the public.

This is so true because imagine being an ordinary citizen who from his/her earnings cannot afford to purchase a daily newspaper and has no access to the Internet to read online news. People tend to feed themselves with headlines. I have seen quite a number of people in the morning who stand by newspaper vendors and read headlines and move on. I wonder if they will at least be able to get a copy during the day and read the rest of the story but the chances are slim. Having read a headline that the Prime Minister’s Office is on the top list of government travel spending on Sunday and reading the actual story of who tops the list surely it leaves people confused over who is telling the truth.

There are times when one truly wonders when this will come to an end. We are tired of having to read stories and then question their validity and reliability.

It is so easy for one to throw litter on the streets without caring about who then picks it up. Some of this litter finds its way into the city’s water sources, which in turn means that the City Council has to fork out millions to purify the water. Failure to do so then means residents will receive a short supply of this precious resource. The possibility of it being contaminated and dirty cannot be ruled out.

Tisunungureiwo Cooperative is a community-based organisation that recycles waste material. The cooperative collects the rubbish from unemployed people who move around the city of Harare.

It is the Cooperative’s dream to build solid infrastructure at their complex and also be able to do the recycling themselves. For example, melting plastic bottles or grinding metal objects. They also wish to have a supply of electricity and water, both of which they currently don’t have. Some members of the group have received training in waste management but they also wish to further their knowledge and the skills of all their members.

These photographs show the work of Tisunungureiwo Cooperative. This is a way they earn their living by being responsible citizens.