Chitungwiza women plan to impact French markets

“I am teaching these women French because I want them to be confident and be able to take their goods for resale to French speaking countries,” said Munaku.

The women all belong to the Kusimudzirana Women’s Trust, formed three years ago. (Kusimudzirana is a Shona word which means empowering each other.)

“My aim is to ensure that these women are able to speak the language even if they cannot pay for the lessons. The majority of them are struggling to make ends meet and paying for French lessons is a non-starter,” she said.

Markets

Munaku believes Zimbabwean women are talented enough to make things that will fetch good prices in francophone countries and that it is important to equip these women with the ability to speak French so they can expand their businesses in other countries where language is the major barrier to the establishment of viable markets.

“Local and Southern African markets are flooded with Zimbabwean products and it is time women looked elsewhere for markets,” said Munaku, who has turned her home into a meeting place for the over 1,000 women affiliated to the Trust.

Disrupted

“We could not afford the costs of renting a venue for our meetings because various clusters of the organisation meet at different times and on different days,” she said.

Because of their large numbers, members were suspected of holding political meetings by some members of the community. Munaku recalled the day when a meeting was disrupted by ‘rowdy elements’ of the community who thought it was political.

“They were disappointed because they found that the gathering had nothing to do with the politics of the day – but focused of women’s empowerment,” said Munaku. Although her main aim is to bridge the language gap for women who cannot afford to pay for French lessons, her organisation is also involved in a number of activities. These include training in various income-generating projects.

Diverse

Members of the Trust include individuals and groups of women engaged in many different projects, including stone carving, candle making, farming, chicken and rabbit rearing, basket and mat weaving, candle and shoe making, construction, interior decor, dressmaking, designing and catering.

Munaku said the association was formed after realising that women in Chitungwiza did not have a platform where they could meet and come up with solutions to their various business challenges.

“Most of the women who are affiliated to the organisation run their projects at home,” said Munaku. “They do not have the expertise on how to manage their businesses effectively, so the majority ended up failing to run them profitably.

No space

“The challenge is that we do not have space where we can ensure that our members can conduct their businesses freely,” said Munaku, adding that she hoped that one day Chitungwiza municipality would give land for the establishment of a women’s centre.

Munaku, who has earned herself the nickname ‘Community Builder’, said she planned to establish a university for languages that targets women engaged in various business activities.

Maltas Mubaira, a beneficiary of the free French lessons, said she was not only conversant in French now but was also benefitting from the expertise and encouragement of her colleagues in the group.

“I can speak French very well and my next step is to ensure that I raise funds to take my goods to new markets in French-speaking countries,” she said. A former cross border trader, Mubaira said since joining the Trust, her capacity to operate her own initiative had been boosted.

Mavis Taruwona said apart from being taught French, she had received training on how to save her profits and re invest her capital for increased profitability.

“Being a jack of all trades who is into tie and dye and buying and selling as a cross border trader, the organisation taught me how to save money and make sure that I do not waste my capital,” she said.

Transformation

Ndaizivei Sadurahwe, 44 from Zengeza 4 in Chitungwiza, who lost her husband in a car accident in 2012 who is currently into chicken rearing, believes that women have the potential to transform their families, the community and the country.

“This organisation has provided an opportunity for me to learn from other women’s experiences and given me the strength to persevere and see light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “The networking and mentoring that we give each other enabled me to diversify and venture into farming and selling second-hand clothes, so that I am able to provide for my family.”

According to the recently launched Girls’ and Young Women’s Empowerment Framework, empowering women and girls contributes to the overall transformation of the country’s economy, productivity and growth.

“Adolescent girls and women are among the most economically vulnerable groups, as they typically lack access to financial capital and have more limited opportunities to gain the education, knowledge and skills that can lead to economic advancement,” says the framework launched by the Women’s Affairs ministry last week.