Kubatana.net ~ an online community of Zimbabwean activists

Competition! Art & performance celebrating the impact that health has in our lives

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Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Your Health. Your Community: Voice of America (VOA)
Deadline: 30 April 2013

From 1 April, join VOA in an Africa-wide callout for art & performance celebrating the impact that health has in our lives and our communities. Photography, video, poetry, spoken-word, song, music & dance. Share a story, honor people in your community that have made a difference in the health of others, or showcase the small, but powerful steps that lead to healthy lives. Submit artwork, video or sound files via our webpage, africahealthnetwork.com, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or Email.

All artwork will be displayed online at voanews.com

Prizes will be awarded to the selected finalists. Please be sure to tag your submission with #VOAAHN.

Questions on the contest?
Email: AfricaHealthNetwork [at] voanews [dot] com

NGO job vacancies in Zimbabwe

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Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Hey! Need a job? Want to work in the NGO/development sector in Zimbabwe? Check out the job vacancies below and apply today. If you want to receive regular civic and human rights information, together with NGO job vacancies and other opportunities like scholarships by getting our regular email newsletter, please email join [at] kubatana [dot] net

Finance and Administration Officer – H/O: Basilwizi Trust
Deadline: 29 March 2013

Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced individuals to fill the above position that has arisen within Basilwizi Trust. Basilwizi is a registered NGO working for a sustainable people driven socio-economic development in the Zambezi valley. This is a one year contract with a prospect of renewal based on resource availability and individual performance.

The purpose of the position is to develop, oversee and monitor finance and administration functions for Basilwizi.

Main Duties
-Develop, implement and monitor financial management systems and budgets
-Oversee all financial and administration functions of Basilwizi Trust
-Prepare finance and administration reports to donor partners as well as the board
-Monitor and provide support on budgetary control to programs staff
-Develop sound administrative procedures
-Ensure compliance to the set procedures and policies for Basilwizi Trust
-Lead in human resources recruitment, management and mentoring
-Participate in strategic planning in key areas of Basilwizi work
-Develop, implement and monitor systems that safe guard Basilwizi assets
-Manage staff directly under supervision using set tools
-Develop new tools to enhance Basilwizi systems to comply with internationally accepted standards
-Liaise with the board treasurer as well as auditors in efficient management of Basilwizi resources.

Qualifications and Experience
The successful applicant is expected to have:
-A minimum of a first degree in Accounting from a reputable institution
-Full CIS or ACCA in the absence of a first degree
-Membership of an accounting body is a distinct advantage
-A higher qualification would be an added advantage
-Appreciation of Human resources practices
-At least two years experience in a similar position with an NGO environment
-Appreciation of community development and donor procedures a must have;

Personal attributes
-Team player and leader
-Outgoing
-Good communication skills
-Presentable
-Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines

Remuneration and related benefits will be shared only with short listed applicants.

Applications, with a detailed CV and certified copies of certificates must reach Basilwizi Trust  Director, 14 Edward Rd, Khumalo, Bulawayo or The Director, P.O. Box 3720, Bulawayo or scanned and sent to: info [at] basilwizi [dot] co [dot] zw

Only short listed applicants will be contacted for interviews.

Socio-economic Research and Analysis project Officer: Silveira House
Deadline: 2 April 2013

Silveira House seeks an economic and social analyst to take up the post of Socio-economic Research and Analysis project officer effect from 1st May 2012.

Success in promoting justice, peace and development in Zimbabwe calls for understanding how tomorrow will differ from today and yesterday! From such insights comes opportunity. This is what Silveira House has always tried to do since 1964.

The applicant must
-Be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of applied economics
-Have a detailed understanding of the economics and politics of Zimbabwe
-Have good communication and writing skills

Qualifications
-Masters in Economics or Economic Development, or equivalent
-BSc in Economics and Social Policy
-Experience in economic analysis
-Fluent in English
-Fluency in at least one Zimbabwean indigenous language in order to understand grassroots research data, results and situations
-Experience in journalism is preferred although not exclusively essential
-Driver’s licence (a must)

Special preference will be given to mature and settled applicants out of studies.

The successful applicant will initiate research to track emerging economic, social and political issues specifically affecting the lives of the people of Zimbabwe and provide us with thorough, in-depth analysis and forecasting. He/she will occasionally travel to the different provinces of the country and have regular contact with both local and national government, non-governmental organisations, business communities, media and most important of all, the ordinary citizens at grassroots level.

We offer the opportunity to work in a challenging, fast-paced environment where enthusiasm and creativity from the subject are the norm.

Salary is dependent on experience and qualification, and you will enjoy some excellent benefits.

Please send in your CV with a covering letter and details of current salary and employment to: director [at] sliveirahouse [dot] org

Or by post to the Director at Box 545, Harare

Two (2) Project Officers: Silveira House
Deadline: 2 April 2013

Silveira House seeks two qualified and experienced people to take up the posts of project officers in the Community Development programme which promotes leadership training, community development projects, citizens’ participation in economic and political processes, conflict management and youth formation/development. The successful applicants are expected to start work on 1st May 2013.

Main Objective of the job
The main objective of the job in question is to ensure the achievement of Silveira House goal and objectives by implementing programme and project activities as in the strategic plan and the programme operational plan.

The applicant must
-Be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the politics and social configuration of Zimbabwe
-Have a detailed understanding of development issues affecting poor areas of Zimbabwe
-Have good communication and writing skills

Qualifications
-At least 3 years of experience in community development work
-Masters in Community Development or Development Studies or Sociology
-Fluency in English and at least one local Zimbabwean language
-Experience in facilitating workshop trainings
-Driver’s licence (a must)

Special preference will be given to mature and settled applicants out of studies.

The successful applicant will plan and implement project activities with colleagues in the programmes, read and research on relevant issues affecting communities or various targeted groups in Zimbabwe to update our knowledge base, reflect on the situation on the ground in order to identify new areas of intervention, and prepare community conscientisation and community mobilisation material for workshop trainings. He/she will travel to the different provinces of the country and have regular contact with both local and national government, non-governmental organisations, business communities and most important of all, the ordinary citizens at grassroots level.

We offer the opportunity to work in a challenging, fast-paced environment where enthusiasm and creativity from the subject are the norm.

Salary is dependent on experience and qualification, and you will enjoy some excellent benefits.

Please send in your CV with a covering letter and details of current salary and employment to: director [at] sliveirahouse [dot] org

Or by post to the Director at Box 545, Harare.

Gender Forum Discussion Wednesday

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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 by Amanda Atwood

Gender Forum Discussion Wednesday: Are Women & Girls Second Class Citizens?

  • “Mbare man gets four strokes of a cane for raping and impregnating a deaf and dumb girl of 14″
  • “Four Mvuma men get community service for gang raping a 12-year-old.”

A Reflection on Sentencing of Child Rapists – with Girls’ Legacy, Padare, Justice for Children Trust, Childline and legal and child services experts.

Step Forward To Sign A Petition to the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs!

Where: Book Café, 139 Samora Machel Avenue, Cnr 6th Street, Harare
When: Wednesday 27 March
Time: 5:30 – 7pm

Trash Queen at HIFA 2013

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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Trash Queen 2013

Dying to go to hospital

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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 by Marko Phiri

It has become a rather cruel irony that Zimbabweans now go hospital not to get medical relief but to meet their Maker.

Saturday 23 March 2013 made this patently clear.

Perhaps these are isolated cases, perhaps they are not, but the fact is that were we as litigious a society as America is, many of these hospitals would have gone bust by now, paying out millions to grieving families.

Two men were buried, one in Harare and one in Bulawayo on March 23. I don’t know if it was cruel coincidence to be hearing two identical stories about two unrelated people from the country’s two major cities. And these narratives emerged from two relatives of the deceased, relatives who themselves remain unaware of the tragedy they share as they are from two different towns in Bulawayo.

The sixty-something year old died in Harare after reportedly spending upwards of USD8,000 in hospital bills, with the relatives only to be told that the doctors had all the time been treating a wrong ailment. Obviously if that happens, you die and we always thought doctors know best.

Same story with the 40-something year old Bulawayo man: the doctors had been treating him for something totally different from what was eating him. The family was told after the poor man’s death that he had cancer of the liver – and you get to know this through the death certificate. Talk about cruelty of the highest order.

Perhaps these things are common in the rather abstract and esoteric field of medicine, but when they happen with some “frequency” it does get you thinking what kind of circumstances we are living in that families merely have to accept this and are expected to get on with their lives just like that.

You cannot sue these bungling buffoons and it reminds me of a man who had a wrong limb amputated in the US, but fortunately for him, lived to sue for millions! Surely there must be a way families can get justice for their deceased loved ones. But then I am yet to hear anyone in Zimbabwe who successfully sued for wrongful death!

Zimbabweans’ priorities for the new Constitution

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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 by Amanda Atwood

Zimbabweans' priorities for the new Constitution

Zimbabweans’ priorities for the new Constitution

Given that both Zanu PF and MDC-T were campaigning for a Yes Vote in last weekend’s Constitutional Referendum, it’s not surprising that the Referendum passed by a wide margin, and the Draft Constitution will go before Parliament soon.

But as the case of Beatrice Mtetwa recently demonstrated, it’s one thing to have a Constitution, and another thing to follow it.

With this in mind, Kubatana recently solicited Zimbabweans’  priorities for the new Constitution via text message. We received hundreds of replies, and by far the most pressing concerns were for respect for human rights (including freedom of speech, media freedoms and freedom of assembly), adherence to the rule of law, security sector reform and free and fair elections. The word cloud above is a visual representation of all subscribers’ responses.

Where possible, we mapped this feedback as well, and we found over 200 points on a map of Zimbabwe, with subscribers sharing their priorities from across the country. Link to the interactive map below, and click on individual points to read these subscribers’ feedback in their own words, by location and category.

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