By Takemore Mazuruse

The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society's International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Japanese government supported Water and Sanitation (WatSan) and Food Security programmes have brought great relief to the vulnerable communities in Manicaland and Matebeleland province respectively. Specific areas that have benefited are the Marange and Gwanda districts in the respective provinces. Of these interventions, the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society's Secretary General Mrs Emma Kundishora said these were confirmation of the National Society's dedication to serve humanity.

"The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society has got a clear cut vision to become a dynamic voluntary organisation which leads in the satisfaction of humanitarian needs and promoting human dignity of the most vulnerable groups. Our Water and Sanitation and Food Security projects are therefore part of the National Society's broader response to the needs of disadvantaged Zimbabweans and they feed into our overall vision and mission. I am thus elated at the level of relief that we have brought to the beneficiaries in Marange and Gwanda through our interventions," said Mrs Kundishora. The ZRCZ Secretary General also thanked the project partners for heeding the call to alleviate human suffering

Over 1000 families have benefited from the Japanese and Hong Kong Red cross's five month long Food Voucher programme in Gwanda urban. Through the programme, identified vulnerable families get US$20 worthy of grocery vouchers which they can redeem at the local Savemor supermarket. The families get food items namely 20 kgs mealie meal, 750ml vegetable oil, 2kg beans as compulsory items and from the change they can get anything of their choice but not alcohol and cigarettes. One of the beneficiaries, 76 year old granny Talaza Ndlovu who is a retired teacher thanked Zimbabwe Red Cross Society and its partners for the programme. "This is a welcome intervention and I salute the Zimbabwe Red Cross and their Japanese and Hong Kong Red Cross partners for coming to our aid. There is so much suffering here though some have a misconception that urban families are less vulnerable", she said. Gwanda is a generally dry area and that has  not made our situation any better," she said.

The beneficiaries include, the aged, widows and orphans and vulnerable children as well as HIV and AIDS patients. The programme is owned by the community and it is the local leadership that selected the beneficiaries judging by the level of vulnerability. Most of the beneficiaries actually called on the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society and its partners to continue with the programme since they didnt harvets anything this agricultural season owing to poor rains. If anything, the vulnerability is going to be even worse this year.

In Manicaland province, the national Society managed to rehabilitate boreholes as well as construct low-cost latrines for local schools and other public institutions. Marange is one of the areas that was hard hit by the cholera outbreak of 2008 and the ZRCS intervention will go a long way in curbing a looming catastrophe given that people were relying on unsafe water practises and had no proper sanitation. Other provinces benefiting from the WatSan borehole rehabilitation and construction of latrines initiative include Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Midlands and Matebeleland North.  In total 480 latrines will be constructed and 340 boreholes rehabilitated in the named province.