It was about time we did something different so I booked a table for two at La Fonteine. I sent a text to my dinner date confirming arrangements and she asked what the dress code was. I said “chic grunge”. Then, thinking about the 5 stars that Meikle’s is meant to have, I swiftly sent another text; “more chic than tat.” She turned up in impressive high heels, silver and shimmery. She got taller, I felt shorter. Thank God they were hard to walk in because they were soon ditched for sneakers. On our way to dinner I asked her how long since she’d been into the city at night. HIFA she said. We had a pre dinner drink in the Can Can Bar. The cocktail list is extensive and in a voice infused with doubt, I asked Wellington, the barman, whether he could make All the cocktails so temptingly advertised. In our very Zimbabwean way he said yes but not all. I played it safe and asked for a Cosmopolitan. At the Can Can it’s made with apple juice instead of cranberry juice. It took Wellington a full five minutes to convince me that This Would Be OK; in fact it’s even better than the usual way he said. And it was. I ended up having three. My date settled on an Old Fashioned. She winced when she had her first sip. I told Wellington that this was a good sign. She had two. I sat back and listened to some poetry that materialised out of my companion’s back pocket. She shared a poem by Barbara Ras; you can’t have it all, but there is this. Dinner menus were brought to us at the bar. There was a choice between a set menu or a la carte. Luke, one of the most gracious waiters I’ve ever met, said it would be fine to have a starter from one menu and a main from the other. Flexible restaurants rock! The starters we chose; mushroom soup and salmon pate with prawn toast, were faultless. We both chose the same main course, slow cooked lamb with an aubergine sauce. Again, the food was fabulous. The only down side was the insipid crème brule and the very weak and uninspired cappuccinos. The Can Can Bar and La Fonteine are well worth a visit. Compared with other restaurants in Harare its way ahead of the game and a visit won’t break the bank. You’ll also experience the best service in town. And if you’re worried about the safety of your car, you get free parking in the Meikles Hotel guarded car park. I’ll be back sooner rather than later especially if the pianist adds Fly Me To The Moon to his repertoire.

Our country has a history of violence – our children have experienced the horror and fear of rape and beatings in their schools, communities and homes.

Tree of Life workshops have been spreading throughout Zimbabwe over the last 9 years. They are Healing and Empowerment workshops facilitated by survivors of torture, violence and rape. The Story Telling Circles are based round the tree metaphor and allow for the integration of past, present and future experiences, and makes a deep connection to spiritual beliefs and traditions.

And our forest is growing, the roots stretching wider and wider throughout our country.

For the last 5 months, this growing number of facilitators have been gathering in ‘Gender Circles’ and meeting the difficult space between socially and culturally accepted norms and matching them against our Tree of Life Agreements: Equality, respect, truth, love, tolerance, humility.

These have been difficult conversations, particularly in a present external culture of abuse of power. But like all difficult conversations, they have been rich with compassion and learning.

The women have begun to move beyond the silencing of their voices and the ownership of their bodies. They have spoken of the value of mothering and community and loyalty and love, the limitations of jealousy and victimhood, and have learnt to walk with dignity and respect.

The men have listened to stories of rape – and have had the space to share their own. They have looked at the inequalities of ownership, and the effects it has had on their lives – in schools, churches, political organisations and the places they work. They have shared the limitations and difficulties of family  responsibilities inflicted upon them – often from an early age.

We met last Friday (18th March) There were over 50 of us, facilitators from Tree of Life communities and organisations representing the hundreds of circles who stand behind them, and we spoke of the One Billion Rising on the 14th February.

And we decided we are READY
We are ready to join the dance
We will be joining all the global rising on V Day against the abuse of women.

We are in the process of planning
Watch this space!

We will be posting on Facebook, Her Zimbabwe and One Billion Rising Zimbabwe

For someone who cheated his way to seven Tour de France medals this is a well-deserved award for Lance Armstrong. According to Foreign Police website the disgraced former world cycling champion was elected by France’s investigative website Rue89.com as the sports bastard of the year weeks before he came on TV with Oprah to confess his sins. Now we know what Lance was on besides the bike to win the races.

Even here in Zimbabwe we have our own Sport Bastard of the Year especially the Asia-gate cheats and the recent officials from the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) involved in the Ballon d’Or-gate for casting fake votes for the FIFA World Footballer of the Year award.

Finance and Administration Officer: Absolute Return for Kids (ARK)
Deadline: 21 January 2013

Job Purpose
The role’s main objective is to ensure proper financial management of ARK Zimbabwe’s affairs and in particular to ensure that funded programmes effectively procure products and services so that projects are able to deliver the agreed outcomes to the time and budget agreed. The Administration and Finance Officer will therefore contribute to the overall good function of ARK and delivery of its agreed goals.

Reporting Relationships: Reporting to the Country Director

Liaison Relationships
-Internal: All staff, including London based colleagues
-External: MOHCW, UNICEF other Development Partners

Principal Accountabilities
-Administration of office expenses
-Management and control of petty cash
-Preparation of payment documentation and ensuring payments made to schedule
-Provision of fully coded financial transaction data to financial accountant
-Monitoring internal and external expenditures, providing regular updates to the Country Director, and alerting Country Director to possible budget overspend in timely manner
-Supporting the costing of programme activities and the drafting of office and programme budgets
-Ensuring good administration and procurement procedures and compliance with Financial and Administrative policies and procedures
-Ensuring human resource needs for the organization are being met
-Managing overall infrastructure for the office, including office supplies and basic equipment
-Procuring products and services for ARK and ARK supported programs on time and according to defined specifications
-Maintaining an inventory of assets and supplies

Requirements
-Strong numeracy skills
-Ability to present data in easily accessible way
-Excellent organizational, planning and logistical skills with a proactive attitude and attention to detail
-Strong inter-personal skills, enhancing team work culture
-Ability to identify and confidence to report risks and problems in appropriate way
-Excellent computer skills (Excel, Word Powerpoint) and significant experience with email administration and internet usage
-Ability to work efficiently under time pressure
-Ability to handle confidential information appropriately
-Skilled at prioritizing and completing multiple tasks
-Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, as well as in a team environment
-Able to work additional hours or to vary hours when required
- Able to travel away from office when required

Qualification And Experience
-Degree level education, ideally with some Finance and Business Administration (may be studying for an accountancy/finance qualification)
-Minimum 3 years experience in bookkeeping or auditing in a reputable organization
-Experience in office management
-Clean class 4 drivers licence
-Working experience with NGO is an asset
-Traceable reference

Behavioral Competencies
-Relationship management: Builds and maintains mutually beneficial relationships with others inside or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance and support.  Remains calm under pressure.  Can manage multiple demands.
-Planning and organizing: Conducts planning for achievement of own, unit or organizational goals and organizes activities to achieve the goals
-Negotiation: Negotiates effectively and ensures mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties
-Integrity:  Maintains highest standards of honesty and integrity
-Teamwork: Works collaboratively with others to achieve organisational goals and objectives
-Communication: Listens to others and communicates both orally and in writing in an effective manner that fosters open communication
-Analytical skills: Interprets, links and analyses information in order to understand information
-Problem solving: Solves problems effectively

Applications
To apply for these position submit

1. A cover letter describing why you are interested in working for ARK and summarizing your suitability for the position
2. An updated curriculum vitae (not more than 2 A4 pages please)

Email to: zimrecruit [at] arkonline [dot] org cc: Easter.Shoniwa [at] arkonline [dot] org

On the subject line: Include first and last name, Job Title and date of submission

Or deliver to 7 St Quintin Avenue, Eastlea, Harare.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted for the recruitment processes.

Administration Assistant: Zimbabwe National Quality Assurance Programme (ZINQAP) Trust
Deadline: 21 January 2013 (4:30pm)

The Zimbabwe National Quality Assurance Programme (ZINQAP) Trust, is inviting applications from qualified candidates with the relevant experience to fill the position of Administrative Assistant.

Qualifications
-HND in Accounting/Administration
-Degree qualification will be an added advantage
-Competence in use of Pastel accounting package
-Minimum of 2years’ experience in the Accounts department  in the NGO sector
-Good Communication skills
-Fluent spoken English, Shona and/or Ndebele

Job Description
-Processing of payments to suppliers/creditors
-Receipting and Banking
-Maintaining petty cash
-Raising invoices to debtors on a quarterly basis
-Perform other duties as assigned by the Finance and Administration Manager

Submit application letter together with detailed CV and copies of certificates to:

The Director, ZINQAP Offices, Parirenyatwa Hospital Grounds, Harare

Or email: hr [at] zinqap [dot] org [dot] zw

Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

ZimRights director denied bail. Okay Machisa, who was arrested on Monday has been denied bail, and his case remanded until 30 January. According to this statement from the Regional Coordinator, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Regional Office [SA]:

The Crisis Coalition Chairperson and Zimrights director, Okay Machisa, was remanded in custody this afternoon to the 30th of January 2013.A Harare magistrate denied him bail on the basis of three flimsy reasons:

1) That the case is a matter of national interest since the nature of the alleged offence is meant to discredit national institutions (that is the Registrar General’s office)

2) That the investigations are complex hence the state needs more time to carry out a thorough investigation throughout all the Zimrights branches across the country

3) That the co-accused (Leo Chamawhinya) is remanded in custody  hence no basis to remand Machisa out of custody.

The magistrate said that the public will lose confidence in the justice system if Machisa is granted bail since it is a high profile case of national interest. The magistrate did not refer to legal arguments to the contrary submitted by Machisa’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa in what appeared like a clearly motivated political judgment.

The detention of Machisa shows that the state has no respect for the presumption of innocence principle. We condemn this calculated assault on activists meant to cow civil society organizations that are fighting for democratic reforms before the next watershed election. We reiterate our position that the political environment in Zimbabwe is not yet conducive for a free and fair election.

We appeal for solidarity action, regional and international pressure on the Zimbabwe state to respect the rule of law. Such action is important to mitigate against a possible surge in the harassment and detention of activists especially as we head toward the general election.

Thirty-four (34) vacancies: Local NGO
Deadline: 17 January 2013 (12 noon)

A local NGO based in Harare is seeking the services of team supervisors and enumerators to participate in a nationwide evaluation exercise from 15 February 2012 to 14 May 2012.

1) Team Supervisors (2); Deputy Supervisors (2)

The supervisor will be responsible for facilitating and overseeing technical aspects of the project. The work involves the formulation of research instruments, planning, conducting field activities, and ensuring the production of relevant reports. Each supervisor will also be responsible for coordinating the capturing, processing and analysis of data at the data centre in Harare.

Specific roles of this position include
-Providing leadership and guidance to each enumeration team
-Daily planning and deployment of enumerators
-Co-ordinating accommodation, food, and transportation
-Carrying out the business enterprise survey: total of 360 meaning 4 per ward for the 90 wards
-Carrying out the Focused Group Discussions: 2 FGDs in each district giving a total of 12
-Carrying in-depth interviews of select households: 24 semi-structured households giving 4 per district
-Administer community questionnaires: one per ward giving a total of 90 questionnaires
-Ensuring daily briefings (planning and feedback) of the teams
-Liaise with the Team leader on a regular basis.

Competencies
1. Masters Degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences or related fields.
2. Strong competence in Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis,  full knowledge of CSPro and added advantage
3. Strong competence and experience in Qualitative data collection and analysis
4. Proven leadership roles in various institutions and team settings
5. Interpersonal skills essential, knowledge of Ndebele and Tonga added advantage

Deliverables and Remuneration
These will be discussed with the successful applicant.

To Apply
-NB: Applicants must commit to avail themselves for the entire duration of the survey i.e. from 15 February 2013 to 14 May 2013 (continuous days)
-Applications should include cover letter and CV with traceable referees. Please submit full application set with “Supervisor” in the subject line to: evaluationsurvey2013 [at] gmail [dot] com
-Women are encouraged to apply

2) Enumerators x 30

Specific roles of this position include
-Collect data through household interviews
-Ensure timely completion and submission of allocated household questionnaires to respective team leader/supervisor
-Participate in daily de-briefing sessions

Competencies
1. First degree (working towards 1st degree) in Development Studies, Economics or Social Sciences
2. Strong competence in Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis,  full knowledge of CSPro and added advantage
3. Interpersonal skills a must, knowledge of Ndebele and Tonga added advantage

Deliverables and Remuneration
These will be discussed with the successful applicant.

To Apply
-NB: Applicants must commit to avail themselves for the entire duration of the survey i.e. from 15 February 2013 to 14 May 2013 (continuous days)
-Applications should include cover letter, CV with traceable referees. Please submit full application set with “Enumerator” in the subject line to: evaluationsurvey2013 [at] gmail [dot] com
-Women are encouraged to apply