First Impressions
I struggled for the past few days on how to accurately describe Zimele in just a couple of paragraphs. There’s so much that I learned in the last couple of days and I’m really excited to share, but it’s difficult to get into words. I finally got to see Zimele in action today. Previously, I’ve only heard bits and pieces about exactly what Zimele does, but the parts that I did hear, made me very excited because it was something that I truly believed in.
The whole vision of Zimele is to change people’s mindset from receiving handouts to taking care of themselves. Rosetta told me that it’s very difficult to get people out of poverty in Swayimane and in many parts of South Africa because the community’s culture breeds a sense of reliance on others. Zimele wants to facilitate communities to act on their own accord and take responsibility for their own finances and in the long run, their entire community. That’s the basics of Zimele. Traditionally, many of the non profit organizations in South Africa work to solve the short term problem. They feed them and put clothing on their backs. It is a very good thing, but it is a temporary fix. In no way is it a long term solution, and in the end, it just instills in the people the same principle of dependence on others.
Today, I sat in on a six hour class that Audrey gave to a group of five community facilitators. There are eight modules, each teaching them a part of the Zimele methodology (this module happened to be about saving and loans). These facilitators will take this knowledge and teach them to their own Self Help Groups (typically around 10-15 community people).
During this lesson, I saw the essence of Zimele. The facilitators were being taught to be exactly that: facilitators. No more, no less. The most important thing stressed during the lesson was that the community itself was supposed to take the lead in forming this Self Help Group and that they needed to come up with their own rules for savings, loans, businesses, etc. The facilitators were only there to help them in the right direction. Zimele’s belief is that eventually, the facilitator will no longer be needed and the group will be self reliant. In the short time that Zimele has been around, I’m amazed about the stories I hear about the amount of good that has been done already.
Hopefully, in the months ahead, I can see the good with my own two eyes in the Swayimane region and report back. Feel free to check out the rest of the Zimele website for a far better explanation of Zimele than the one I gave. There are also some success stories on the website that you can peruse. Also, if you feel compelled, you can donate a little to the cause. C’mon, how many of you can say you donated a little something to Africa and you had a friend there to report back exactly how the money was being used. =) Plus, I trust Rosetta whole heartedly with my own money, so take that for what it’s worth.
I will be heading off to Swayimane to live tomorrow and I will no longer have internet access for possibly a week, so you guys will have to wait a little while for another update. I already miss my friends and family in the States, but I’m REALLY excited by what I’m about to see. I think these three months are going to breeze by.
