Citizen’s Feature

Community Foundations in Zimbabwe

Addressing Local Priorities

One of the key strengths of community philanthropy is its ability to address local priorities. It allows communities to identify and prioritize their most pressing needs, whether it is access to clean water, education, healthcare, or economic empowerment. By focusing on local priorities, community philanthropy ensures that resources are allocated where they are most needed, resulting in targeted and impactful interventions.

Leveraging Local Knowledge and Expertise

As they say, knowledge is power. Communities possess vast knowledge about their environments and are in a position to understand their situations better that is, their challenges and some of the ways to solve their predicaments. Indigenous knowledge systems also play a role in forging communities and helping mitigate some of the challenges. Community philanthropy recognizes and leverages this local knowledge, engaging community members as active participants in the development process. By tapping into the wisdom and insights of the community, philanthropic efforts become more culturally appropriate, sustainable, and effective.

Catalysing Sustainable Development

Community philanthropy plays a vital role in catalysing sustainable development in Africa. By investing in local solutions, it builds capacity within communities, enabling them to continue addressing their own challenges long after external funding ends. This sustainable approach fosters resilience and self-reliance, breaking the cycle of dependency on external aid and fostering long-term development. Although from the study none of the organisations have arrived at a point where they can function without external funding, their scope and commitment are projected to help them get there.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Limited Resources: Lack of financial resources remains a significant challenge in community philanthropy. Many communities face economic constraints, making it challenging to mobilize adequate funds for their initiatives. Creative approaches, such as leveraging partnerships and exploring alternative funding sources, can help overcome this challenge.
• Institutional Capacity: Strengthening the institutional capacity of community-based organizations is crucial. Building skills in project management, financial literacy, and monitoring and evaluation can enhance the effectiveness and impact of community philanthropy initiatives.
• Collaboration and Coordination: Collaboration among various stakeholders, including philanthropic organizations, governments, and community members, is essential for maximizing the impact of community philanthropy. Establishing networks, platforms, and partnerships can facilitate coordination and knowledge sharing.
• Policy and Regulatory Environment: Creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment is essential for the growth and sustainability of community philanthropy. Governments can play a vital role in supporting and recognizing the contributions of community philanthropy, providing tax incentives, and ensuring an enabling legal framework. There is also a need for community organisations to understand and be aware of the regulatory frameworks that affect their work for better advocacy and engagement of the state for an enabling environment for philanthropy.
• Community philanthropy in Zimbabwe, and more broadly in Africa holds immense potential for driving sustainable development and empowering local communities. By embracing local ownership, leveraging local knowledge, and addressing local priorities, community philanthropy can unlock the transformative power of communities to create lasting change. However, addressing challenges such as limited resources and strengthening institutional capacity requires collective efforts from all stakeholders. Through collaborative action, African countries can harness the full potential of community philanthropy to build resilient, inclusive, and prosperous communities.

Access to Education Powered by Communities

It is now a well-established fact that communities are aware of the challenges within their society and have knowledge of how to mitigate some of the challenges. Various evidence of community philanthropy across Africa shows the potential communities have to drive meaningful sustainable development. This March 2024 alone two stories captured by the Chronicle, a Zimbabwean newspaper on the 4th of March, highlight the efforts made by communities to improve their conditions in society

The first article by Mthabisi Tshuma titled “How a community is building a school from the ground up” is a true testament of the power of solidarity within a community. The article states that the members of the Norwood community in the Matabeleland South province started leveraging natural resources already existing in their area to drive meaningful change. Zimbabwe has a shortage of learning facilities evidenced by a student-teacher ratio of 1:46 on average. Zimbabwe has approximately 6 million school-going age groups (3 years to 18 years) for both primary and secondary education. With such a figure, the country has only 10517 schools, and this implies a shortage of schools to cater to the growing population. The Norwood community did not just fold its hands at the educational problem they had as a community where children had to walk many kilometres to school.

They thought of building classroom blocks to solve their problem in the area of access to education in their area. Instead of waiting for external aid, they realised that they had resources around them that they could use to solve part of their problem. The stepping stone, having the educational infrastructure first. They realised the area was endowed with a natural resource, river sand, which was being extracted by external opportunistic businesspeople. The community members started extracting the sand and selling it, and proceeds were channelled towards building a school block. The construction is still ongoing and soon children will have a sheltered educational facility provided by the local community.

Access to Health Powered by Communities

Access to healthcare is a challenge in many parts of Zimbabwe as people, in rural areas mostly, walk for long distances to get to the nearest clinic for treatment. Accessibility to healthcare facilities is one of the biggest contributors towards maternal mortality rates. Community members of the Mhalipe area in Gwanda realised no messiah was coming to deliver them and provide healthcare facilities. The members mobilised one another in solidarity and contributed at least one hundred and fifty rands (R150) per household, a currency better accessed as many people in the area usually cross over to neighbouring South Africa in search of jobs. They have since started engaging people living in the diaspora to help them mobilise resources towards building a clinic. Community members identified their challenge which was the lack of nearby medical facilities forcing some to walk long distances to access medical attention. They mapped a way forward and decided to own up to their development. From the article by Sukulwenkosi Debe-Matutu, the community members prove there is dignity in leading the much-needed development in their community.