By A Correspondent| A Chipinge based community based organization, Platform for Youth and Community Development Trust, on Saturday 3 October 2020 launched an exciting initiative dubbed #Kungoma which is an intergenerational platform meant to instill cultural values among youths.
Officially launching the #Kungoma project at Checheche Business Centre, PYCD Chairperson, Sally Nobuhle Mlambo said they were trying to find solutions to community problems such as early marriages, child prostitution and gender based violence among other challenges.
”PYCD is trying to find solutions to a serious challenge in our community which have the potential to derail community development,” said Mlambo.
Giving a background of the project, PYCD board member Owen Dhliwayo stated that Kungoma was derived from a Shangani concept ‘Kukomba’ which means a place where women go to when they reach child bearing age.
“This concept was developed after PYCD conducted a baseline survey in various wards within Chipinge district with a view to capture the views of adolescent aged 13 – 19 years and adults on the challenges being faced by adolescents.
“The baseline survey was conducted with specific objectives of identifying SRHR needs of the adolescents in order to design a needs based responsive program,” Dhliwayo said.
According to PYCD, the baseline survey noted that adolescents in the district face numerous forms of gender based violence and that there was systemic poverty being experienced by the adolescents.
This has been attributed to societal pressures and expectations being exerted on the adolescents as well as lack of socio – economic opportunities by the adult population.
Again, it noted that there is prevalent child headed families within the district and children born to young parents who lack parenting skills.
This is compounded by a cohort of orphans due to the HIV and AIDS pandemic and other related deaths.
This has resulted in the family institution having been eroded which subsequently subject adolescents to the effects of low inculcation of Ndau values and practices.
It was found that adolescents lack resilience skills to cope with the societal pressures.
Therefore, PYCD designed the #Kungoma using three social theories that include the learning, inoculation and cognitive theories.
The Kungoma initiative will rope in aunts and uncles whose role will be to come in and change current adolescents’ attitudes and behaviours through participatory dialogue.
The aunts and uncles according Dhliwayo will help provide the required cultural information by stressing the ways culture respond to adolescents’ challenges.