The characteristics of people around me
In the several weeks that I have spent in the Mutasa District there is a lot that I have observed in relation to the above mentioned title. I have attended meetings held with stakeholders responsible for action within the newly designed Food and Nutrition Security Policy for Zimbabwe. I realised that there is a pool of knowledge among the professionals working in this area that if it were to be effectively utilized, stunting rates will surely be reduced. In a workshop that World Vision funded two weeks back on the same, I noticed that even the stakeholders from the ward levels are also knowledgeable on stunting issues and ways of prevention that could be employed to curb the problem.
Within the community, leadership and other community structures seem not to be aware of the nutritional challenges within their district. They have been co-operative though in relation to the PD Hearth program. They are open to new ideas as well as supportive and have pledged their assistance so that the project is successful.
The interactions with the leaders during PD Hearth sensitisation meetings in the past two weeks have been productive. A lot of issues have been brought to light and the one that surprised me the most is the vulnerability of the girl child. Mutasa District is on top spot in terms of child (forced) marriages with a high rate of early marriages. To the people here there is nothing amiss finding out a 12 year old girl is married, it is part of their culture. The dark side to this whole scenario is the fact that there seem to be no structures to assist these young girls if they should decide not to get into these forced marriages.
Having worked with the organisation before, it has been quite easy to settle in even though I am working with new people. In the past few weeks I have done a lot of field work and managed to do so with little or no assistance in terms of planning. I am also fitting in well as a team player where there is need to combine activities with the other World Vision Officers, as well as engaging relevant stakeholders.
I am proud to say that for the past two weeks I have been running the show, as the Nutritionist left me at the helm of the project whilst he attended to other important matters. During his absence I had a workshop to take care of, making sure the stakeholders responsible for the facilitation were there and catered for as well as the participants. I have also done community leadership sensitisation meetings, met traditional leaders inclusive of chiefs in three different wards. Additionally, I have done PD Hearth demonstration sessions with the help of the Nutrition representative from the local hospital and local nurses. I have one more week to go working on my own and I can say that “so far so good”, I have not disappointed.
