As a student from the United States visiting South Africa to study development issues, I first became interested in Zimele upon discovering its declaration of an empowerment-focused development approach. I have learned of the poor track record of development NGOs in the past decades, of the lack of sustainability or of any consideration at all of the opinions or abilities of the people the NGO is seeking to help. I believe in allowing people to realize their own potential to improve their situation, that the only way to achieve true long-lasting development is, as “Zimele” means, to stand on one’s own two feet. Thus, I was eager to see if this high ideal could be seen in practice on-the-ground. I sought to learn more about how Zimele’s Self Help Groups (SHG) empower the impoverished people of this beautiful land, and to see if Zimele really achieves (as so few organizations actually do) a project that neither imposes nor condescends, but one which works with people, to empower.

As part of my academic program with the School for International Training, I had one month to engage in a research project of my choosing, so for me being part of an organization with such clearly stated principles seemed the perfect learning opportunity. I contacted Rosetta Heunis (Zimele’s founder), who was more than willing to have me on. I soon moved into Zimele’s volunteer accommodations in Swayimane and began my new life with the incredible people of Swayimane. The staff of Zimele and the people of the community of Swayimane welcomed me into their lives and work, and I can truthfully say that my weeks with them were some of the best in my life. This is not only because of the relationships I formed, the magnificent countryside through which I walked daily, but because of the inspirating strength, beauty, and hope of the women of Swayimane that I met at the SHG meetings.

I became a part of the SHG project in every way I could: I accompanied the community facilitators (CFs) on their home visits to tell people about the SHGs, I attended the weekly meetings of the various SHGs and saw the pride on the members’ faces as they contributed their weekly deposit of 2 Rand (about 30 cents) to the isikhwama (purse). I attended capacitation workshops, and even went to one meeting of the cluster leadership: members elected from various groups to come together to coordinate bigger business ventures, but more importantly form a representative body of the members at large. This demonstrates Zimele’s larger goal not only of helping the community members improve their local situation but also discover a voice in themselves capable of enacting real social change on a larger scale.

Through extensive prior study on the issue, I was aware of the difficulty for an NGO, even with the best intentions, to actually maintain in-practice a policy of empowerment, one which really does seek to work itself out of an area so that it is no longer needed. Aware of this, and many past examples of it, I entered into my time in Swayimane hopeful yet not without a certain level of skepticism. Amazingly, however, Zimele is one of those rare NGOs.

At every stage I saw something driven by, and helpful to, the people. I heard, from the mouths of the members - poor rural women traditionally the most marginalized group - how much their lives had changed for the better after joining a SHG. They said that now they can put food on the table even in tough times, and should an emergency arise they know the group is there with the funds to mitigate it. These women have also begun to develop their own small businesses in an area rampant with unemployment using capital they raised as a group. But most of all, as they recounted to me, they are more independent and self-confident, and I listened with a full heart to accounts of life-changing empowerment. The ingenuity, resourcefulness, and stamina to continue to strive was a consistent element, and as I learned of their struggles I knew I could never have the strength and faith that they possess to persevere as they do.

This project’s goal is to enable the people to achieve an immediate personal security so they can start to think beyond immediate issues of basic needs to a more entrepreneurial outlook on how to improve their local conditions, to address social issues, and to give themselves a voice. Zimele trusts in the resources that exist within each rural Zulu woman it works with, and has simply provided the knowledge and the guidance to recognize that within themselves and to produce a result that not only improves their lives but one which they can call their own. Thus far incredible results have been reached, and the project is only a year old! I walked away from this experience with a head full of new knowledge and experience (not to mention quite an expanded isiZulu vocabulary), a heart full of love and gratitude for the people of Swayimane, but most of all a fullness of hope for the potential that resides in the people of Swayimane, together with Zimele, to truly rise up and show the world what a poor and marginalized people, given the opportunity to stand on their own two feet, are capable of achieving.

Regards,

Tess