By Tafadzwa Muranganwa
The Zimbabwe Open University which is rolling out an educational programme meant to uplift women in marginalised communities is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an interdenominational organisation ,Council for Churches in Africa.
Speaking at CCA organised women’s conference in the capital, director in the ZOU vice-chancellor’s office ,Dr Eurita Nyamanhare spoke of how the programme was spurred and how CCA can partner the distance-learning institution in empowering women.
“I recall one day in June 2020 when the First Lady met sex workers and one of them openly told her that she only wanted someone to help her train as an ECD teacher so she could leave her trade. It really touched my heart such that I went to the vice chancellor’s office and proposed how we could complement the First Lady’s efforts,” Dr Nyamanhare said.
“I was given the nod to go ahead with the initiative and since I had contacts of the First Lady’s office through my engagement with it during my days as lecturer at Belvedere Teachers College this led to the culmination of the programme.
“The launch was held in September 2021 in Epworth and the programme is to empower all women in marginalised communities ,”she added.
The ‘Life Changing Short Courses’ are being run for free and don’t require any educational qualifications.
Dr Nyamanhare challenged the women delegates at the conference to grab the opportunities and be able to change their lives.
“So far we have 40 000 women who have taken part in our programmes and your organisation just need to be organised in identifying those who would like to pursue these courses.
“It will be the first time my institution and the First Lady will work with women from churches and this will be exciting. We are more than ready to work with you as soon as we sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),”announced Dr Nyamanhare.
The CCA founder and president Dr Archbishop Rocky Moyo commended the programme saying it will go a long way in improving the lives of women.
“As an organisation we have been rolling out income generating projects like detergent-making to help out women but this is not enough .There is the need to also educate the minds of these women so that even their small businesses can grow hence my support for this great initiative by ZOU and the First Lady,”Dr Rocky Moyo said.
This was also reiterated by his wife who heads the organisation‘s Women Fellowship which convened the conference.
“We are delighted to partner the First Lady and ZOU in ensuring that women are empowered .We can’t let our government do it alone so as churches we are more than ready to complement its efforts ,”assured CCA Mother General ,Prophetess Faith Moyo.
Harare CCA women chair, Anna Mutamba said the programme will be beneficial for the organisation’s growth and uplifting of communities.
“This will enable us as an organization to grow because will have people with knowledge to spearhead our activities and at the same time communities will get empowered,” she reckons.
