Community Mentoring
The ZIMELE Mentoring Programme supports individual and community initiatives with linkages and skills necessary to meet their goals. These projects are started organically so that the individual or community itself sets their own goals while ZIMELE provides everything from guidance and connections, to resources and tools to help accomplish the goals in a self-sustaining manner.
The individuals that are mentored are involved in their own craft or agricultural businesses. Many participants in the Self-Help Groups have started various individual or group micro businesses such as spazas (roadside stands), tuck (small grocery) stores, community gardens, catering businesses, and beauty salons. ZIMELE provides business training to these entrepreneurs to assist them with the launch and growth of their businesses. ZIMELE encourages the groups to become independent businesses and to purchase the required raw materials directly from the suppliers. Until this is possible, ZIMELE acts as an intermediary.
ZIMELE is also committed to developing an extensive support structure around certain industries. The first such industry is craft production. ZIMELE also provides a credit fund which is drawn upon, on a revolving basis, to develop new crafters. The older crafters are phased out as they purchase their own raw materials and ZIMELE Fair-trade becomes their end buyer.
The community initiatives that are mentored by ZIMELE staff include the following:
- support given for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) – scholarships and community feeding programmes
- home based care (HBC) support for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) – care and medication
- development of a preschool
The mentoring provided by the ZIMELE staff includes:
- provision of funding and facilitators for HBC training workshops
- help with setting up management structures for HBC and support of OVC
- guidance and support for business ventures
