Chirogwe Community Report from Fountain of Hope

This is one of the remotest communities of Chivi district which is found next to Makamure community. Chirogwe is in ward 18 of Chivi district and its difference from other communities is rich soil. The community has got sandy loam soil (ideal plant growing soil) which is quite different from what the other poor communities have. The biggest challenge for this community is poor rains since it is also in region 5 of Zimbabwe.

Another challenge in the community is that there are so many orphans and vulnerable children due to the two twin problems that the community have been struggling with; HIV/AIDS and the economic challenges. HIV/AIDS left many homes in this community without parents hence there are so many child headed households. Fountain of Hope has established a community based Child Protection Committee, which advocates for the rights of children in the community. Please find herein the report on the progress so far in this community: 

Recent Events

Foundations for Farming

30 farmers were trained in this community and thank God that this is the community that had a very big harvest of sorghum this year, which is a drought year. The sorghum crop did exceptionally well in the first year that these people tried it. They are going to have food that will take them up until November this year. This is completely different from other communities where there is literally nothing. Some of their children are going to start eating sorghum for the first time this year. It is not only sorghum that did well in this community but also groundnuts. Some of the people of this community were able to sell their produce of groundnuts and get some extra cash for their families.  

Livestock Management

Training has been done by Fountain of Hope together with the government’s Department of Livestock Management on how to rear and manage goats, cattle and chickens. Some of the widows in this community have got chickens and are using the funds they get from the sale of chickens to send their children to school.

The goat project was supposed to kick start in this community but was put on hold due to the challenges of COVID-19. The training will be ongoing so that the people may maximize their results from this project. 

Current Issues and Challenges

One of the greatest challenges in any area in region 5 of Zimbabwe is lack of water for drinking and productive purposes. Chirogwe community is very dry such that it is so difficult to get ground water easily. The community had an irrigation scheme that was functioning well in the early 80's but due to perennial drought and siltation the dam which they have can no longer hold much water. Due to the water problems, their cows have been dying each year and people have not been able to harvest much from their fields. The irrigation scheme is now a ghost project because there is no water anymore in their dam.  

Recommendations

The community suggested and implored Fountain of Hope to consider the following so as to improve food security and increase house-hold income:
- Resuscitation of Chirogwe irrigation scheme
- Scooping siltation from Chirogwe dam
- Establishment of a Transformation Centre to cater for orphans and vulnerable children in the villages of this community
- Drilling a borehole in Mabara village of Chirogwe to provide clean and safe drinking water to the four villages of Chirogwe