BULAWAYO A community-based organisation that seeks to end the phenomenon of child-headed households (CHH) in Matabeleland Province, has launched a beekeeping initiative as a way of generating sustainable income for the many teenagers in its care.Vanavevhu Children of the Soil, is dedicated to assisting those children who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe and have, of necessity, become the family head taking care of siblings. Their aim is to create a stable and secure environment for the young people to receive psycho-social support and to attend workshops such as community hygiene, budgeting and household management.
One of the most exciting aspects of the project is the beekeeping programme launched last month. The first 10 beehives are expected to be erected by the end of September, and in the meantime, entrepreneurship and beekeeping classes have been established. The child heads have been learning candle-making in order to make use of the wax that will be harvested from the hives. The benefactor of the project, Councillor Mangena, has secured the project a three-year lease on a market garden from the city council that will enable the teenagers to plant lavender to bait the hives.
Master beekeeper and carpenter, Onias Nyoni, has been teaching the young people about hive construction and beekeeping. They are using the Bee?Keeping Manual, published by Bees Abroad, a UK?based organization that assists groups in setting up small apiaries in Africa.
As well as beekeeping, Vanavevhu empowers the young people in its care by equipping them with new skills, training them in areas such as budgeting and saving money and encourages them to invest in their local community by giving their time and services to tasks such as painting the local Nketa Community Hall.
For more information, or to contribute to the life-changing work that Vanavevhu is involved in, visit www.vanavevhu.org.
Post published in: Economy