BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
DYING and leaving her children in poverty is not an option for 28-year-old Beauty Mpofu.
After failing to secure a formal job in Zimbabwe where the unemployment rate is as high as 95%, Mpofu, a mother of two, thought she was going to die a pauper.
“I thought I was going to fail to take care of my children or even leave an inheritance for them,” Mpofu, whose husband is also unemployed, narrated.
She revealed her life-changing story during a field visit organised by Hand in Hand Zimbabwe (HHZ) in Gwanda district.
Mpofu, alongside other women and men in Gwanda, Matabeleland South, ventured into various income-generating projects to eke out a living.
She joined a group called Thuthukani, which specialises in goat production and fattening.
“This project is a life-saver. I use the proceeds I get from this business to take care of my family,” she said.
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“As I speak, I can manage to send my children to school, assisting my husband who is also not formally employed.
“I want to leave an inheritance for my two children.
“Before joining this group, I had nothing, but now I have bought household property and small livestock.
“I would also like to buy cattle.”
She urged young people to do small projects for a living rather than to sit at home doing nothing.
The project, which started last year at Sizeze village in ward 8, consists of 13 members, nine women and four men. To kickstart the business, each member contributed a goat.
HHZ, an organisation aiming at helping poor and marginalised people create better livelihoods for themselves and their families in rural Zimbabwe, assisted the group with 25 goats, vaccines, feed and cement after it came first in the competition.
So far, the group has sold 79 goats for between R600 and R800 each.
Mpofu is not the only one who wants to leave an inheritance for her children.
There are many others.
There are other groups in the same district whose main aim is to empower the rural communities.
These include Zithuthukise, Sekusile Floor Polish Cluster, Green Pastures Association, Thuthukani, Progressive Garden, Ikusasa Lethu, Kgotso Garden, Bambanani and Zwalitombo Apiary.
The groups are undertaking various income-generating projects such as goat production, fodder production, floor polish production, broiler production, horticulture, sheep production, baking and rabbit production.
The projects are under HHZ’s community upliftment, market linkages, job creation and green enterprises projects.
HHZ assisted these groups with training on production, business management, commodity association, technical skills, and horticulture management, among others. The organisation also assisted with resources in some cases.
“We were struggling, but thanks to HHZ, which came to our rescue by donating chicks to us.
“Sometimes I wake up early in the morning at 2am to check on the chickens.
“My aim is to leave an inheritance for my grandchildren and I am teaching them how to do this business.
“I usually tell them that even if they fail at school, they can survive out of this business.
“To me, poultry gives more returns than cattle,” the grandmother of seven added.
Moyo said she had become a breadwinner as her husband was bedridden, nursing a chronic ailment.
The group’s chairperson, Lindiwe Nkala, a pensioner, weighed in saying: “I want this to be a continuous business for the family.”
The group consisting of 21 members was formed in 2018 and it specialises in broiler production.
HHZ donated 450 chicks and feed for coming second in the competition involving other groups in Gwanda district.
So far, they have managed to sell about 200 chicken, realising a profit of R15 000.
The group divides chicks among themselves, with two members given a responsibility to look after 50 chicks at their homesteads.
“We are in the process of registering our association so that we can grow the business,” Nkala said, adding: “Our vision is to have our own shop inscribed Green Pastures Association.”
For Getrude Ndlovu (46) of Progressive Garden, the projects are a game-changer.
“As a widow, the project has changed my life. From the butternuts and tomatoes I harvested recently, I got about R11 000,” Ndlovu said.
“When my husband died I thought it was the end of life, but alas, it wasn’t.
“Now I can take care of my four grandchildren and send them to school without any difficulty. I see myself as a businesswoman.”
Ndlovu urged women, especially widows, never to live on handouts, but use their hands to make a living.
“If you sit down and do nothing, no one will help you. You can do something,” she said.
Consisting of 43 members, 23 women and 10 men, the group is into the horticulture business, producing various types of vegetables and indigenous fruits.
Each member is given four by 50 metres beds to grow vegetables.
Down in Garanyemba village in ward 13 there is Sekusile Floor Polish Cluster.
The group started this year and consists of 17 members including one man.
The group makes floor polish for sale in the surrounding communities including schools, and shopping centres, among others.
On average, the group produces 37 by 300ml tins of floor polish per month.
For three months in operation, the group has managed to realise a profit of more than R1 180.
“Our aim is to have our nicely branded containers. The market is there and demand is very high.
“We also have a vision to start making our own paraffin and we have started the process,” the group’s secretary, Zodwa Nyathi, 43, said.
Kgotso Garden chairperson Sithembiso Moyo (43) said: “It’s important to do something as a mother and avoid gossiping.”
The group’s youngest member, Tsepo Dube (19), said he uses the proceeds from the project to look after himself and other family members.
“I would like to urge young people to do projects such as these ones rather than stay at home doing nothing,” he said.
HHZ business development manager Lindani Maphosa urged the groups to consider diversifying their businesses, use social media in marketing their products, register their businesses, do market research and have business plans.
Rural households in the developing world are involved in a variety of economic activities, as part of complex livelihood strategies, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
Consequently, the countries world-over — including Zimbabwe — aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030 under the sustainable development goal 2 (SDGs), making sure all people, especially children, have sufficient and nutritious food all year.
This involves promoting sustainable agriculture, supporting small-scale farmers and equal access to land, technology and markets.
It also requires international cooperation to ensure investment in infrastructure and technology to improve agricultural productivity.
In its research titled Income generating activities: A key concept in sustainable food security, Action Against Hunger — an organisation specialising on hunger — notes that income generating activities can help to overcome food insecurity when economic factors are a fundamental cause of food insecurity.
