Community Partnerships
Development programs stand or fall on the strength of community partnerships. All the constituencies that influence girls' education and young women's empowerment are included as partners in the Camfed program. Sustainable change grows from these partnerships as each constituency changes to advance the status of girls and young women:
- The change in families where girls have historically borne responsibility for domestic chores with their mothers, while boys have had more freedom to play and study. Mothers are now sharing those domestic chores between girls and boys.
- The change in leadership structures that have traditionally excluded women, such as the chief's courts. In Zimbabwe, young women are now involved as counsellors and advocates for women bringing action on issues such as domestic violence.
- The change in schools where girls have previously been a minority, participating in predominantly male environments and seen as less intelligent than their male peers. The change in girls and young women themselves as their self-perception rises and they become role models and activists.
Community structures
All these constituencies are represented on Camfed Development Committees in each district of operation. Committee members, including headteachers and health officers, participate as volunteers, represent their constituency and are enabled, through their participation, to be more effective in their roles. The committee monitors girls' welfare, supports the selection process of beneficiaries and calls community meetings to discuss and resolve challenges.
Cama (the Camfed alumni) is the second community level structure. Cama provides the local, district and national level framework to enable young women to develop decision-making, advocacy and activism. Cama is one indicator of the cheque achieved through girls' education. Members are united through their background in rural poverty, their transformation through education and their determination as change-makers.
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