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Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment [VCA] Report: Kondo, Checheche, Chibuwe Wards: District

KONDO, CHIBUWE AND CHECHECHE WARDS Red Cross Society 10/18/2013 00 | P a g e

Executive Summary

The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) with support from the Norwich Red Cross undertook a Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA) in October 2013 with the aim of embarking on a Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) programme to tackle vulnerability while at the same time strengthening resilience in three wards of Chipinge district. Essentially, these broader objectives would be achieved in three phases: 1] Development of a framework of partnerships with the National Society’s (NS) stakeholders; 2] Conducting the vulnerability capacity assessment/multi-hazard risk assessment; and 3] Implementation of ward-level CBDRR ward action plans through the province. The expected outcomes of the programme include:  Increased capacity of ZRCS to implement DRR measures to improve livelihoods security of vulnerable groups.  Improved livelihoods security and increased capacity of the targeted wards to implement DRR measures to reduce their vulnerability. Across the targeted areas, wards identified the following: Hazards and risks in the targeted areas  Forest areas leading to Human/Animal conflict (problem animals)  Unsafe drinking water  Limited rainfall  Soil erosion and galleys  Roads and Bridges (road accidents)  Business Centres (HIV/AIDS) Disasters  Cholera and typhoid  Drought  Malaria  Problem animals  Accidents  HIV/AIDS Coping Mechanisms/Capacity / Resources  Moulding bricks  Seasonal Gardening  Government and NGO support  CAMPFIRE  Manpower/human resources in form of community members  Committed local government officials  Modern communication technologies- cell phones and internet  Social capital within some sections of the ward driven by commonality of interests, lifestyles and shared values Challenges/ Vulnerabilities  Poverty  Disabilities  Bad road networks  Limited opportunities for alternative livelihoods  Low literacy levels  Limited knowledge on health issues, Problem Animal Control, Natural Resource Management.  Limited opportunities for dry land farming.  Limited access to markets for local resources like bricks and baskets  Disenfranchisement due to limited Government and NGO attention, failure of historical promises of development and provision of water sources, inadequacy of the CAMPFIRE project to adequately reward communities and controlling problem animal. Recommendations  Continued Governmental support to address developmental issues.  Continue strengthening DRR initiatives in the area.  Consider taking other ZRCS Integrated projects to Chipinge. Appeal for additional support  Encourage cooperation between people (in the face of diversity, varying political views) with divergent world’s views and lived in worlds

Table of Contents Executive Summary ...... 1

Table of Contents ...... 3

CHAPTER ONE ...... 4

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ...... 4

Introduction ...... 4 Chipinge District in Brief ...... 4 Zimbabwe Red Cross Society: background ...... 1 Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA) ...... 1 CHAPTER TWO ...... 3

RESEARCH METHODS...... 3

The VCA Process ...... 3 CHAPTER THREE ...... 4

VCA FINDINGS ...... 4

Introduction ...... 4 Common Issues ...... 4 Kondo Ward ...... 4 Checheche Ward ...... 5 Chibuwe Ward ...... 6 CHAPTER FOUR ...... 8

COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 8

Short-Term Recommendations...... 8 Long-Term Recommendations ...... 9 Capacities in the District ...... 9 Conclusion ...... 10

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Introduction This chapter introduces the Chipinge District by placing it into a national map and then provides detailed District Profile, in as much as the ZRCS is situated, organisationally. Within this chapter the VCA will also be defined and objectives listed.

Chipinge District in Brief Zimbabwe is made of up of ten provinces and 62 districts containing an estimated population of about 13 million people comprising a number of ethnic groups. To the Eastern part of the country is , which is predominantly the wettest part of the country in terms of climate. Chipinge is one of the seven districts of Manicaland province. It borders to the north, Province to the South West and due east. The district consists of 30 wards, with Mahenye being the southernmost. Chipinge town is the administrative centre of the district. The district has an estimated population of marginally above 300 000, mainly belonging to the Ndau ethnic group. Chipinge district has a number of challenges that hamper development in the past decade. Flooding, problem animals, drought and road accidents have been reportedly at the centre of threatening communities’ livelihoods and endangering human lives.

Map showing geographical position of Chipinge District In the light of this scenario, the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society partnered with the Norwagian Red cross in implementing a Ward-Based Disaster Risk Reduction initiative, which focuses on disaster risk reduction and ward resilience in areas known to be disaster prone.

The project has been going on in three wards, Kondo, Checheche and the Chibuwe. This project seeks to implement more long term interventions that will build a culture of risk awareness and mitigation among wards. In this respect the, project aims to reduce the number of deaths, injuries, and socio- economic impacts caused by disasters by strengthening the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society and building safer, more resilient communities.

Zimbabwe Red Cross Society: background The Zimbabwe Red Cross (ZRCS) is a part of a family of 189 national societies throughout the world that makes up the International Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent (RC/RC) Movement. Since its inception through the ZRCS Act of 1981, the ZRCS’s ambitions has been to assist the most vulnerable members of society defined as those that are at greatest risk from situations that threaten their capacity to live with an acceptable level of social and economic security and human dignity. Like any RC/RC National Society, ZRCS is guided by the 7 fundamental principles1 of the RC/RC movement. The National Society depends on a country wide volunteer support base and branch network consisting of Red Cross oriented ward volunteers who support the work of the Red Cross.

Consistent with its mandate and vision, Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, the ZRCS is implementing DRR activities in Kondo, Checheche and Chibuwe wards of Chipinge district. The expected outcomes of the projects are:

 Increased capacity of ZRCS to implement DRR measures to improve livelihoods security of vulnerable groups.  Improved livelihoods security and increased capacity of the targeted wards to implement DRR measures to reduce their vulnerability to urban risks.  Increased access to safe water and sanitation facilities , increased knowledge, and improved attitudes and practices (KAP) in prevention or treatment of selected ailments (diarrhoea, HIV and injuries)

Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA) VCA is basically a method of investigation into the risks that people face in their locality, their vulnerability to those risks and their capacity to cope with and recover from disasters. The IFRC describe the VCA ‘as an integral part of disaster preparedness that can contribute to the creation of ward-based disaster preparedness programmes at the rural and urban grassroots level. This tool has been argued as enabling local priorities to be identified and defined, leading to the design of actions that contribute to disaster reduction’2.With the VCA, local people and wards become the focus, not only as recipients of

1 humanity, impartiality, neutrality, voluntary service, universality, unity and independence

2 International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, What is VCA? An introduction to vulnerability capacity assessment, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006 funding, but ideally as active participants in the development initiative. When applied to disaster preparedness, such methods can encourage participation, so that people become more completely involved in the identification of risks and in the design of programmes and actions to prepare for disasters. (IFRC, 2006)

CHAPTER TWO RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter outlines operational definitions and research methods that were used to gather information for the VCA. It was important to define and clarify the operational definitions to be used in the VCA, as well as the methods for data collection.

The VCA Process Resource materials were accessed from the IFRC website and previous ZRCS VCA Reports. The following steps were followed:

Setting up a VCA team and VCA objectives The VCA Team was set up comprising members from the ZRCS Head Office (including PMER, Disaster Management departments), ZRCS Manicaland Provincial and Chipinge District Offices. The VCA Team was guided by the Terms of reference [appended] which had specific objectives.

Planning the VCA (Sensitizations, developing data collection tools, doing desk/literature review) The ZRCS Chipinge District Office led sensitization activities to the relevant stakeholders from various areas of specialty and domains of responsibility at provincial, district levels and in the targeted wards. Data collection templates were developed to collect information. Particular attention was paid to the data collection instruments so that they were flexible and enabled participants to provide information in guided semi-structured manner. On the other hand, the VCA tool training programme provided an opportunity for volunteers to participate in theoretical and practical exercises prior to supporting the VCA in the targeted wards.

Systematizing, analyzing and interpreting the data. Information gathered was presented by group leaders from each of the volunteer groups in each targeted ward and discussed by the whole group. Information collected from Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were systematically presented in tables. Related information on vulnerabilities, risks, hazards and capacity were interpreted and consolidated in the report.

Reporting, deciding priorities and actions for transformation VCA findings were consolidated, and the report will be shared in the second phase of the VCA where stakeholders and wards will comment and adopt the report, then develop ward action plans.

Turning vulnerability into capacity through practical action. After adoption of comments on the report, community action plans will be mainstreamed in the Programme’s Risk Reduction activities developed with the wards.

CHAPTER THREE VCA FINDINGS

Introduction This chapter presents the findings of the VCA in the three wards of Kondo, Checheche and Chibuwe, Chipinge District. In highlighting the vulnerabilities, capacities, hazards and risks associated, findings of the various tools used for the VCA, the categories of vulnerability and capacity highlighted in the first chapter of this report are used. Additionally, cross-cutting issues are presented before ward-specific findings are presented.

Common Issues The cross-cutting hazards emerging from the FGDs, interviews and direct observation in the three wards include a major highway connecting Triangle and that pass through two of the wards and limited rainfall, flooding especially in Chibuwe, and wild animals. From the FGDs, it emerged that wild animals destroy crops compounding further to their challenge of drought and hunger in as much as they destroy their domestic animals. In this respect, and to an extent, wildlife remain a menace to human life as lions from neighbouring Devuli Range in occasionally escape and find habitat in the mountains, hills and forest thickets dotted around Chipinge district. Equally, the unavailability of safe water for domestic purposes prompt residents to use shallow wells (often filled with contaminated water) among other unprotected water sources. This situation has seen the wards occasionally grappling with abdominal related complications such as typhoid and cholera. Still on the downside, the three wards are bedevilled by the challenge of lack of entertainment, unemployment and poverty promoting youth to frequent night spots at shopping centres. Flooding and stagnant waters provides grounds for the flourishing of mosquito reproduction. In this regard, all wards reported prevalence of malaria within their respective areas. Despite this development, records at St Peters Hospital suggest to the contrary, as cases of malaria are rare and far between with the majority of patients who are tested for malaria coming out negative.

On the other hand, and throughout the three wards, vulnerability remains high amongst the elderly, disabled people, orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs), the unemployed youth, and children. Capacities in the areas could be represented by the existence of infrastructure such as a clinics in each of the three wards while for Checheche there is a big Hospital, NGO presence, schools (however few and ill equipped) that could disseminate vital hygiene promotion information, manpower/human resources and collective action that could be harnessed towards solving some of the overarching issues. In as much these issues represent cross cutting issues, we now turn to the ward-specific issues.

Kondo Ward Disaster ranking by the ward FGDs in the Kondo ward showed that drought was the most ravaging challenge. While drought is a perennial disaster, the last most significant disaster was in 2008, where the severity manifested itself through families going without food for days and surviving on wild fruits, migration to South Africa, social disintegration and having cash without food in the shops. Diarrhoea, mainly cholera, was ranked as the second with the last significant outbreak being in 2013. 2013 as well represents the year of the third ranked disaster’s outbreak, animal diseases. However the information from the FGDs reports a declining trend in terms of severity and frequency. From the FGDs and interviews the following emerged from the Kondo ward:

HAZARD DISASTER RANK VULNERABILITIES CAPACITIES Limited Drought and 1  Limited dry land farming  Sound traditional leadership ( chief, rainfall, hunger opportunities village heads lack of  Lack of farming  Agritex with training in conservation inputs implements Agriculture  Limited Conservation  Social relations with relatives for Agriculture knowledge food and maize  Disability, age and poverty  Church leaders helping with food at  Limited irrigation times  Limited alternative livelihood options  Lack of disposable assets Unsafe Cholera 2  Few boreholes leading to  In some areas, the capacity to drinking use of shallow wells collectively manage common water and  Inability to collectively property resources poor waste manage water sources  Presence of NGOs and the disposal  Use of contaminated water government sources  Active village health workers and  Limited health promotion EHTs campaigns leading people to prefer unsafe water just because of taste  Disability, age and poverty Mosquito Malaria  Lack of mosquito nets  Ministry of Health and Child Welfare breeding  Distant clinics and health Mosquito spraying programme grounds facilities  Active village health workers  Belief in witchcraft making  Helpful church leaders and traditional healers the first traditional leadership port of call when disaster  Potential for partnership with strike external world in matters related to health In addition to the three highlighted most common disasters, through the FGDs it emerged that violent winds are also becoming a threat to human life in the areas to the south eastern parts of the ward. Animal diseases are also emerging in the ward with the participants reporting that quite a sizeable number of domestic animals, mainly cattle, have since died due to various infections as black leg.

Checheche Ward From the group ranking of hazards and disasters in the Checheche ward, it emerged that little rains and drought represents the most common. Lately they indicated that the highway that passes through their ward and currently used by the speeding heavy vehicles ferrying sugar cane from Lower Sabi estates to the ethanol plant in pose a great danger to their lives and animals. In this respect, they noted during FGDs that these vehicles do not even follow the road ethics when they run over animals in as much as they don’t even stop when they are involved in minor accidents. Through interview with the councillor for the ward it also emerged that drought has having far reaching consequences on various aspects of their lives with the last most significant drought being in the year 2008. The impacts manifest themselves through physical, social economic, natural and individual domains. These implications of drought vary from breaking of social relations, dropping out of school, malnutrition, hunger and starvation in human beings, to destruction of the natural ecological environment resulting in livestock death. On the social front, this disaster was said to result in individualism and the breakdown of social capital, an asset which the society has depended upon for decades. Very often, and as the ward noted, people end up stealing, migrating to towns and indulging in erosive survival practises (livelihoods) as prostitution in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Equally people first survive on quick (cheap) disposal of assets accumulated over longer periods of time in the past. While for the few who are well up, this may last for as long as the drought persists, for the greater majority of the population in the ward, this means sinking deeper into eternal poverty and igniting the ruthless cycle of poverty, a cycle they can never come out of. The table summarises the community vulnerabilities and capacities.

HAZARD DISASTER RANK VULNERABILITIES CAPACITIES Limited rainfall, Drought 1  Limited dry land farming  Sound traditional leadership ( lack of inputs and opportunities chief, village heads hunger  Lack of farming implements  Agritex with training in  Limited Conservation Agriculture conservation Agriculture knowledge  Social relations with relatives  Crop destruction by wild animals for food and maize  Disability, age and poverty  Wild fruits  Limited irrigation facilities  Church leaders helping with  Limited alternative livelihood food at times options  Lack of disposable assets Highway without Road 2  High ways close to Mabhiza  Road and Traffic safety speed humps at accidents Primary School education provided in schools business centres  No speed humps on high ways  Road traffic safety Council and schools  Limited road traffic speed booklets in schools enforcement  Speed traps at business centres but however occassional Unsafe drinking Diarrhoea 3  Few boreholes leading to use of  In some areas, the capacity to water and poor shallow wells collectively manage common waste disposal  Use of contaminated water property resources sources  Presence of NGOs and the  Limited health promotion government campaigns leading people to prefer unsafe water just because of taste  Disability, age and poverty

Chibuwe Ward In FGDs held at Chibuwe Business Centre, flooding emerged as the most common disaster in the ward coupled by their destruction of crops. It is worth noting that Chibuwe represents the ward closest to the Devuli range of the three wards. Finally the third commonest disaster in the ward was drought. Other unranked challenges they faced as a ward included the issue of environmental degradation through soil erosion and the formation of galleys, however at localised scales within the ward. Below, a detailed summary of the hazards, vulnerabilities, capacities and coping mechanisms pertaining to the Chibuwe ward are presented.

HAZARD DISASTER RANK VULNERABILITIES CAPACITIES Heavily Flooding 1  Lack of proper early warning  Traditional early warning silted rivers leading to loss systems in case of problem systems, however not all that and river of lives and animals efficient banks property  Proximity to silted rivers and river  Civil protection unit banks.  Active Red Cross Society and  Relatively weaker building volunteers trained in disaster structures in the face of flooding management  Self belief in luck  Age and poverty

Problem Destruction of 2  Proximity to national parks, safari  Traditional early warning animals property and areas and forests systems, however not all that roaming loss of human  Limited technology and resources efficient freely life to wild to chase away wild animals  CAMPFIRE who mobilise and animals  Lack of proper early warning sensitise the ward in times of systems in case of problem ravaging problem animals animals  NPWLA presence in the  Slow response from NPWLA district, however distant from  Self-belief in luck the ward Limited Drought and 3  Lack of farming implements  Kondo are visible, loud and rainfall, hunger  Limited Conservation Agriculture clear marauding knowledge  Sound traditional leadership ( elephants,  Crop destruction by wild animals chief, village heads lack of  Disability, age and poverty  Agritex with training in inputs  Limited irrigation facilities conservation Agriculture  Limited alternative livelihood options  Lack of disposable assets Within the Chibuwe ward, it emerged that they do have the challenge with flooding from January through May. An interview with the Chibuwe clinic staff revealed that issues of malaria are common in January through April, however isolated cases can be found from August to December. The existence of stagnant water bodies within the ward has also been noted as one of the driving forces for the spread of malaria with the Chibuwe Business centre area being hardest hit. The prevalence of diarrhoea was reportedly high in children under the age of 5 and peaks during winter due to, and after the rain season.

CHAPTER FOUR COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings highlighted in the previous chapter reveal hazards and disasters which can be summed up as revealing inadequate resources deployed in key sectors such as health, social services, water and sanitation and infrastructural development. This situation has left the wards of Kondo ward vulnerable to impending disasters. Firstly, the ward is highly vulnerable to drought given that the area receives scant rainfall in a context characterised by limited knowledge on conservation agriculture and rainwater harvesting coupled by lack of resources to undertake irrigation despite having rich soils and fairly flat lands. In the area of health, issues such as Typhoid and Cholera outbreaks are prevalent within the three wards. In addition, pressing issues related to Water and Sanitation exist, including lack of access to clean water and inadequate toilet facilities in majority of the households. Set against this background, what is the way forward in enhancing the capacity of Chipinge District in terms of disaster preparedness? This report suggests the following in working towards the attainment of the above mentioned goal:

Short-Term Recommendations a) As a starting point, there is need for the ZRCS to open up avenues for cooperation and building community-wide relationships and partnerships with all stakeholders and government as a gateway to their engagement

b) There must be multi-stakeholder cooperation in provision of clean water to the wards, and this can be achieved in the short term through rehabilitation of dysfunctional boreholes, and in this respect Public-Private-Ward Partnerships become handy.

c) There must be massive effort put in by the government and other stakeholders, including the NGO sector, on Ward awareness in areas such as Water and Sanitation and health concerns, such as HIV/AIDS, cholera and typhoid.

d) There is need to ensure that the vulnerable wards have food aid in the short-run while long term livelihood enhancement activities are drawn, before the generality of the ward sink further into vulnerability and are irrevocably engulfed by the vicious circle of poverty. In this respect, the government of Zimbabwe should mandate itself further and engage the WFP and bail out the disaster stricken wards and ensure the reduction of malnutrition.

e) There is need for the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society to further capacitate their volunteers in disaster management so that they drive the disaster reduction objectives from within the wards and they become the first port of call should disaster strike.

f) There is need for a holistic disaster management plan, one that is shared by key stakeholders and a ward-based short- and long-term strategy. g) There is need to engage the NPWLA among other wildlife related stakeholders to comprehensively take stock of the safety of wards bordering forests with a view of reducing, or even eliminating populations of problem animals.

h) There is need for training ward members by the Government and the NGO Sector on local resource mobilization and community coping mechanisms.

Long-Term Recommendations a. The government of Zimbabwe, particularly the Ministry of Local Government and Public works through the Chipinge RDC should ensure adequate provision of safe water in the District through erecting boreholes at focal points in each area for domestic use. Alternatively, and with much concerted effort, coming up with Community taps with water pumped from the Save river and purified. In this regard, the NGO sector may chip in where the responsible authorities seem handicapped.

b. The engagement of the government, through the Ministry of tourism, to revisit, reengineer and redecorate the CAMPFIRE programme with an ultimate objective of prioritising safety of communities adjacent forest and safari areas ahead of profits and far away development.

c. There is also need for the government to revisit the laws dealing with conservation in general, and wildlife in particular, with a view of improving the relationship between nature and humanity, more importantly and ideally, giving conservation at the very least ‘a human face’.

d. The government, private sector and the NGO sector need to make partnerships with various wards with a view to provide suitable livelihood options/support for the highly vulnerable groups normally burdened by the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic among other vulnerable groups including unemployed youth, child- and single-headed households

e. There is need for ward programmes that focus on building resources or safety nets that develop opportunities for revolving funds. These funds can then be used in the provision of critical resources to people in need.

Capacities in the District In the implementation of the above mentioned recommendations, the local capacities listed below can be used in the attainment of the short- and long-term recommendations:

a. Abundant natural resource base

b. Manpower in the form of hard working men, women and youth.

c. Intact cultural practises that have seen accumulation of abundant goodwill over the years leading to a better stand point in soliciting for leniency, mercy and generosity. Ideally, everyone is in a position to listen to, and to prioritise Chipinge since it has been documented nationally, regionally and globally as a district in need.

d. High social capital and strong internal relationships and exchanges that can be harnessed towards achieving certain predetermined collective social goods and goals.

Conclusion Being at a localised level, the Chipinge VCA has brought to the fore various challenges that are faced by the Chipinge community in general and the Kondo, Chibuwe and Checheche populace in particular. To be sure, the Chipinge Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment exercise has created an invaluable awareness in the ward on the prevailing risks, hazards and capacities and thus provides a platform for informed planning, implementation and monitoring of priority projects identified by the wards themselves. In this respect, the basis for fighting vulnerability and enhancing both household and institutional capacities has been laid.