…Breaking gender norms

Delight and Blessing making metal window frames

These three young mothers Tashinga, Delight, and Blessing are some of the adolescents who got a second chance under the Mavambo Children Vana (MCV) USAID-funded skills development program!

They are breaking gender norms, learning trades dominated by men in Zimbabwe. They now earn a living through the construction skills they learned.

Tashinga has mastered the skill of Building, Delight, and Blessing specializes in welding where they make window and door frames from scratch and sell them together with other metal products.

Tashinga poses for a photo whilst plastering a room in Stoneridge.

Since 2019, Mavambo Trust has trained 509 orphaned and vulnerable girls in vocational skills that include but not limited to building, welding, carpentry, hairdressing, dressmaking, baking and catering, leatherwork, and fabric printing. Currently, 118 girls are enrolled in the program and have been linked to a master craftsperson who mentors up to four at a time over six months.

Reducing gender inequality strengthens economies and builds stable, resilient societies that give all individuals – women and men, girls, and boys – the opportunity to fulfill their potential