Zebakwe Trust Profile

Vision

To be a reliable and significant Trust in supporting community development in Selous and municipal areas of Chegutu and Norton.

Mission

To alleviate the social distress in Selous and Chegutu and Norton Municipal areas through sustainable empowerment programs and the provision of social services.

Values

• Integrity
• Inclusivity
• Transparency
• Diligence
• Sensitivity
• Respect

Goals

• To alleviate conditions of social distress in communities in which the Trust operates,
• To grow the Fund and expand program activities
• To build a portfolio of strategic partners in order to fulfil the mandate of the Trust

Strategic objectives

• To strengthen the capacities of the Trust administration in order to improve effectiveness in carrying out Trust objectives.
• To enhance governance of the Trust for the purpose of accountability.
• To enhance resource mobilisation of the Trust in order to finance program activities implementation in the communities where the Trust operates.
• To enhance stakeholder engagement by the Trust for the purpose of inclusivity, sensitivity and transparency and above all to secure licence to operate in the district where its activities are carried out.

Background

Zebakwe Trust is a non-profit entity set up following a once off donation of residential properties and cash by Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited in 2002. Its main objective was and remains to alleviate conditions of social distress in communities especially following the closure of Hartley Platinum Mine when it was operating under the management of BHP Minerals. This objective is realised through spearheading community development projects. The Trust, working in unity with communities seeks to bring about community development in order to improve living standards in the district in which it operates.

The program scope comprises health, education, empowerment, livelihoods, and care for the environment, advocacy and volunteerism. The Trust operates in Mashonaland West with a focus on Chegutu District with potential to extend coverage as resources permit. The Trust program activities are mainly targeted at widows, youths & youths organisations, OVCs, the aged, destitute, local authorities, community groups such as School Development Associations (SDAs), Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as arts and culture groups.

By managing the assets donated and those that the Trust continues to seek from well-wishers as well as crafting strategic partnerships with corporate bodies the Trust seeks to finance the implementation of program activities for the benefit of the communities in which it operates.

Programs Portfolio in Detail

• Sustainable Livelihoods Program

The organisation, working with communities and local leadership structures will develop interventions designed to address poverty, hunger and the challenge of HIV/AIDS. Planned program activities include setting up and running nutritional gardens, small livestock programmes and internal savings clubs. Others programme activities will be designed and rolled out working in cooperation with communities and strategic partners.

• Health Program

Under this program the Trust seeks to promote and encourage healthy ways of living. Planned initiatives include promotion and support of community sporting activities, water and sanitation programs (drilling of boreholes and building toilets in rural areas), drugs and equipment support to clinics and hospitals, and a health professional's volunteers program to assist with treatment at health institutions. The Trust's efforts will be channelled towards preventive rather curative measures.

• Education Program

In this program the organisation will run projects for improving educational opportunities for the disadvantaged such as bursary and scholarship programmes. Another programme supports the education of OVC's. To promote excellence in service delivery in schools the Trust will have floating shields with prize money to encourage hard working and excellent results. The Trust will run camps in support of the Zimbabwe middle and long distance development program products of which will flow into the annual marathon and further into junior world championships. In this way the Trust nurtures young talent focusing on 800, 1500, 3000 and 5000 metre races. In addition the entity is involved in infrastructure development as a way of capacity building in schools. ZT also supports education of people living with disabilities as well as supporting schools with educational materials and assistive devices such as crutches for the disabled.

• Community empowerment program

Planned programme activities focus on leadership development and training, social responsibility and entrepreneurship development. Other activities include skills training and development, advocacy, volunteers program, support of women's clubs, SME's support and training as well as promotion of arts programmes.

• Care for the environment Program

A clean and safe environment is conducive to sustainable development. Program activities will focus on preservation and improvement of the natural environment through advocating and encouraging sustainable harvesting and use of natural resources. Program will include promotion of the preservation of wet lands, anti-litter and bins for the community and clean up campaigns

• Shelter for All

Management and leasing out of donated properties to tenants and efforts to try to grow the properties portfolio has opened up avenues for the Trust to contribute towards addressing the critical challenge to provide shelter as a basic need for humanity. Zebakwe Trust endeavours to meet a social need for accommodation and to this end leases out some of the houses that were donated by Zimplats. The idea is to ensure affordable accommodation even for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and expanding access to shelter by working with corporates wishing to fund development of housing for the poor.

• Advocacy Program

Effective solutions to challenges bedevilling the communities are normally best found at the grass roots in the communities. Many a time voices from grass roots are stifled. Under this program the Trust will seek to strengthen advocacy for community development needs. Among other things this program will include a referral programme. This involves addressing community challenges by referring beneficiaries to relevant organisations which best provide solutions to the challenges they are facing. The Trust aims to work with community local leadership on pertinent issues affecting communities and bring awareness to responsible authorities with a view to have those issues addressed.

• Volunteers Program

This program cuts across all other programs. It aims to encourage the communities to realise that they are their own liberators from the shackles of underdevelopment if they do things for themselves without seeking to be paid. This promotes community ownership of community development projects as well as cohesion in line with the cultural values. In addition the program aims to promote local and international volunteerism from professionals encouraging them to donate their skills in promoting community development in the areas where the Trust operates.

• Some Of the Projects carried out to date

• Donation of educational books to schools around Norton
• Donation of equipment to Norton Hospital and Chenengundu clinic in Chegutu
• Assisting in building an ablution block at Chiedza Primary School in Norton
• Donating ICT equipment at Norton 1 Primary School in Norton and Kaguvi Primary School in Chegutu
• Partnering with Chegutu Municipality in the construction of a waste water treatment plant enabling 30 000 people to have access to clean water and sanitation
• Drilling and equipping a borehole at St Eric's Primary school in Norton
• Donating clothes to disabled people in Chegutu
• Assisting Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC's) with payment of school fees

Current Board of Trustees

• Mr David Mutambara: Chairman

An Executive Director with ZBCW and member of Boards of other several corporates in Zimbabwe and former Executive Director of Institute of Directors Zimbabwe(IODZ)

• Mr Robert Mordecai Kaisi: Vice CHarperson

A Chief Surveyor and executive with the Ministry of Mines.

• Mrs Busi Chindove:

Divisional Head of Corporate Affairs at Zimplats and has worked for a number of listed companies.

• Mr John Makandwa:

A Geologist with Ministry of Mines in the Mining Promotion Department.

• Mr Morgan Makina:

A Director in Finance, Administration and Human Resources with the Ministry of Mines.

• Mr Takawira Maswiswi:

A General Manager - Human Resources with Zimplats.

• Mr Charles Mugwambi:

General Manager - Finance at Zimplats and has worked for other leading mining houses in the country and also sits on other non profit organisations boards of trustees.

Secretariat

The Trust has a small Secretariat headed by Mr. S. Njovana whose working experience spans over 25 years, 13 years of which were in Finance and Corporate Administration for two major mining houses. Due to the size of the secretariat emphasis has been on working with strategic partners and Board Committees to compensate for the limited skills within the secretariat.

Address and contact details

No. 20 Northampton Crescent Eastlea Harare

Cell

+263 772 211 931
or
+263 772 274 116
Email:
shepherd@zebakwe.co.zw
sumertons@zebakwe.co.zw

Bankers

• CBZ Bank
  Samora Machel Branch
  Harare
• Stanbic Bank
  Parklane Branch
  Harare

Auditors

• BDO Chartered Accountants, Kudenga House, 3 Baines Anevue, Harare

Lawyers

• Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni No. 9 Bates Street, Milton Park, Harare