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Women of Machoka Village, Chiredzi, learn life skills and 16-year-old Yvette Sigauke (Inset), who dropped out of formal school due to fees challenges, sees the programme as an opportunity to put her life back on track

Leroy Dzenga Features Writer
In Machoka, rural Chiredzi, it was culturally frowned upon for a woman to wear make-up or skirts that are not ankle length.

It was this same mentality that saw a lot of women not being prioritised when it comes to education.

As a result a number of women in the area are not substantially schooled and did not have a stand-alone source of income apart from subsistence farming as well as labouring in fields.

With limited options, most did not have ambitions that went beyond starting families and working in fields.

However, a programme aimed at women in the area has offered a new beam of hope as they are being taught life skills to widen their horizon as well as their ideas of sustenance.

In a bid to reduce their dependence on farming, which is difficult in their region, Plan International’s Women and Youth Economic Empowerment Programme, with the assistance of Machoka Primary School, offered these women an opportunity to study for a certificate in cosmetology.

Despite the constricting norms of the land, the project’s uptake drew a diverse group of participants.

Mrs Emma Mahuhushe (61) is one of them and says she will utilise her chance to gain a life skill.

“I did not believe it and when I heard that there are projects of educating women, I came to enquire. Between doing the academic stuff and skills, I chose skills. I am too old to sit in class and write in books,” she said.

The practical courses they are being taught, which include hair plaiting, massage, pedicure and manicure, have given them an additional revenue stream.

“Since I enrolled at school, people have been asking me to do their hair and I get a small amount of money for my efforts. I can only imagine how things will be once I complete the certificate,” Mrs Mahuhushe said.

She believes her society is on the verge of paradigm shift through this programme.

“Traditionally, a Tshangani woman should always cover her head and things like plaiting hair were associated with immoral activities. However, with a growing number of women getting educated, people are beginning to understand that it is not as bad as we were made to believe,” she said.

Even at household level, she says the education she is getting has helped her.

“My family says I have improved since I started going to school, they say I am now more hygienic. I had given up on life thinking I am now too old,” she said with a giggle.

Another participant in the programme, 16-year-old Yvette Sigauke who dropped out of formal school due to fees challenges, sees the programme as an opportunity to pick the pieces and put her life back on track.

“My father died when I was about to begin Form Three and since he was the breadwinner, I dropped out of school,” she said.

It was during the time she was out of school that she got pregnant.

“I got pregnant and gave birth to my child. Her father does not work and relies on occasional manual work. Now that I can plait hair and have all these skills I am sure that I will be able to provide for my child,” she said.

Sugauke intends to use the proceeds from her skill to go back to formal education and complete O-Level.

Her belief is that formal education is important in the goal she is trying to chase after.

“In future I would like to open my saloon in Chiredzi town. I have always been good with handiwork and I am convinced I am doing well. But before I do that, I need to finish high school so that I can make calculations and talk to affluent clients as I work,” she said.

Ms Delilah Takwana, the lady who has been tutoring these 35 ladies, says the enthusiasm they show makes her job easier.

“For me, to be able to work with them I divide them into groups. Despite the fact that I am younger than most of them, they give me respect,” she said.

The mutual love between the teacher and her class is evident.

“Since I started working as a life skills trainer I have never seen a class that is as committed as this one. They come to school on time and are catching on fast,” Ms Takwana said.

During her early days, she faced criticism from locals who said she was trying to bring bad morals to their community but she says they have since warmed up to her.

Mr Charles Mabururu, the Plan International Project Coordinator for Women and Youth Economic Empowerment Programme in Chiredzi says the women are set to be self-reliant when they complete the project.

“This project is meant to empower women and ensuring that they get skills that can help them in their lives. Their certificates are of the same value as attending a Vocational Training Centre,” he said.

Some of the women who had given up on pursuing careers in life have had their dreams resuscitated.

“Considering the hands-on approach used in the programme, the ability to read and write cannot be a huge deterrent as we focus on equipping them with knowledge that needs little capital to convert to money,” Mr Mabururu said.

With the growth of the project, the original room they were allocated is proving to be too small.

With the new primary and secondary school academic curriculum focusing on life skills, this project is in sync with local and global trends.

Instead of streamlining everyone into the shrinking academic path, others are gaining entrepreneurial skills.

Most of the women involved said they wanted to open salons of their own, meaning that they will not be joining the queue for jobs but want to work for themselves.

The 2016 World Economic Forum Global Challenge Insight Report, titled “The Future of Jobs”, predicted that the workforce in the world is becoming smaller.

“Recent discussions about the employment impact of disruptive change have often been polarised between those who foresee limitless opportunities in newly emerging job categories and prospects that improve workers’ productivity and liberate them from routine work, and those that foresee massive labour substitution and displacement of jobs,” read part of the report.

The report suggests students equipped with skills are likely to fare better than those with purely academic skills.

“Without urgent and targeted action today to manage the near-term transition and build a workforce with skills, governments will have to cope with ever-growing unemployment and inequality, and businesses with a shrinking consumer base,” the report said.

The Chiredzi women may not know this reality as of now, but they are currently working in accordance with the future of jobs and occupations, especially in a niche they will serve, as women in Machoka village warm up to the skills they are gaining.

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