Zimbabwe students protest against high school fees

ZIMBABWE – HARARE – The Zimbabwe National Students Union today joined the Zimbabwe High Schools Students Union (ZIHISSU)in protesting against the astronomically high fees being levied both in high schools and tertiary institutions.

Addressing scores of students at the Ministry of Education Sports Arts and Culture head offices at the Ambassador House today the ZIHISSU President Cde Kudakwashe Munemo castigated Minister David Coltard’s due date on examination fees saying it was a gross violation of the African child’s rights and a clear negation of responsibility by the ministry as well as the government.

President Munemo also emphasised on the ministry’s insincerity in dealing with students issues saying time has come that Zimbabwe’s top government officials should desist from making empty rally rhetoric to appease and silence the voice of desperate students.

President Munemo also castigated the Ministry of Higher Education for denying students their 2009 examination results as well as barring thousands of students at the University of Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe University as well as the Midlands State University from sitting for their end of semester because they constitute the poor of the nation.

Also speaking at the gathering was the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)acting Education and Research secretary Noel Gotora who reminded the gathered students of the Sharpeville massacre and the strength of the students if united by a common purpose.

Cde Gotora told representatives of the Education Sports Arts and Culture that the two ministries of education can never locate justifications and logic for imposing such education denying fees structures to the same students whose parents are civil servants and are earning paltry salaries of US$120 per month.

The ZIHUSSU delegation later received audience from representatives of Minister David Coltard who promised to look into the matter with urgency, however the ZIHISSU President emphasised that the Union shall not relax because they had been granted some charming promises fearing that the words might turn out to be kisses of the enemy designed to appease the Union into submission.

ZINASU shall struggle shoulder to shoulder with all the poor sons and daughters of Zimbabwe whose quest for knowledge is facing sombre threats from the government’s empty neo-liberal polices.

ZINASU is committed to fight at all levels to ensure that the right to education is realised by all as dictated by the Universal Declaration of Human rights and all other declarations on education.

We salute these young brave sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who demonstrated in the streets of Zimbabwe today.

Struggle is our birthright!

28/05/10

Zimbabwe youth protest in London

Free Zim-Youth, a group of young Zimbabweans living in the UK, demonstrated outside the South African embassy in central London in protest at the ANC's silence over the Mugabe regime. Commemorating the anniversary of the Sharpeville Day massacre during apartheid rule, the youth group accuse the ANC of betraying the people of Zimbabwe. In this podcast, hear the voices of the protesters and the sounds of the demonstration. To contact Free Zim-Youth email them at freezim6@yahoo.co.uk

Children flee Zimbabwe to uncertain future

He knows the best spots to sleep in a bus shelter, how to work an 11-hour day, and the tricks of bluffing his way back across a border after being deported.

But beyond his streetwise know-how, Jelom is just a penniless small boy who misses and worries about the grandmother he left behind in rural north-western Zimbabwe.
"I ran away on Wednesday, October 15, because I wanted to buy some books, clothes and a bicycle," he said in South Africa's border town Musina, after travelling solo through Zimbabwe.
Citing chilling accounts of poverty, drought and violence by President Robert Mugabe's supporters in his home village, the well-spoken boy has not been to school since 2007 but still dreams of being a pilot.

"Many people told me that if you are not learned, you are nothing," he said. "I want to be a pilot because a pilot is what my father wanted to do."

Jelom is one of 100 Zimbabwean children sleeping in a crowded tin-roofed garage at a Musina church, set up as a shelter for scores of young Zimbabwean boys found wandering the streets.

Living rough, often eating from rubbish bins, the street children are casualties of the worsening crisis at home where deadly cholera has come on the back of chronic food shortages, mind-boggling inflation and the collapse of hospitals and schools.

"These children come from different parts of Zimbabwe, rural and urban, with different stories which are very shocking," said Lesiba Matsaung of the United Reform Church which started the shelter last year.

"Some arrived in May and they are still here. It's very hard for us to say 'Go.' As a result, they increase and increase."

Most of the boys came to Musina with goals but few plans. They want to track down family members, amid dreams of becoming dentists and flying airplanes, and escaping the poverty and upheaval at home.

Lost families
Such was a skinny boy from central Matabeleland, who was found on a border farm, and brought to the church in a torn jacket, dusty khaki shorts and shirt, and flip-flops that had giant holes worn through the heels.

Hours after fleeing Zimbabwe, the 13-year-old told church officials his aim: finding his brother in the hustle-and-bustle of Johannesburg, South Africa's flashiest, fastest and meanest city some 500-odd kilometres away.

In a small bag, he carried two oranges and a pair of long shorts, saying he had not eaten a proper meal for a week.

But with no address or phone number, the boy was soon introduced to the other boys milling about and given a care pack of toiletries. An hour later, he was crying by himself in a corner of the yard.

Jelom, who lost both parents to AIDS and said that he wants to be tested, also tears up when he speaks about his grandmother, knowing that she is unemployed.

"I want to see my grandmother...because she loves me," he said, still wearing the threadbare clothes that children in his village used to mock him about.

More than one million Zimbabweans are believed to be living in South Africa, and thousands more apply for asylum every month to escape the grim realities at home.

Outside economists estimate inflation in the trillions, while nearly half the population needs emergency food aid and a cholera epidemic has left more than 1,800 dead since August.

With no sign of bettering conditions in Zimbabwe, experts say the exodus is likely to continue. The church is already building a new donor-supported home for the boys.

"The numbers have gone up quite dramatically over the past year," said Lynette Mudekunye of Save the Children which supports four soup kitchens in Musina.
"Last year in June, those centres were feeding 100 children. By November it was 1,000," Ms Mudekunye said.
"We're really concerned about the potential for trafficking that is perhaps happening under the radar that we are not aware of at all. Nobody has a proper record of who they are and where they came in - anything can happen to them."

Zimbabwe's children struggle to survive

growing humanitarian crisis have had a devastating impact on children, particularly those who are orphaned or vulnerable, and United Nations officials have warned that child mortality rates will continue to rise.

United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) executive director Ann Veneman, who visited Zimbabwe recently, told journalists that the cholera epidemic, the collapse of the health services system, the closure of government hospitals and the economic and food crises have made it difficult for children to access healthcare and other preventative measures.

According to Unicef, Zimbabwe has a higher number of orphans than any other country in the world. Of a population of 13-million, at least 1,3-million are orphans.

Children living with HIV have had nowhere to turn for treatment of opportunistic infections since health workers at government referral hospitals downed tools in October 2008 in protest over the deteriorating working conditions and poor salaries.

About 120 000 children are in need of antiretroviral drugs, but only nine percent are receiving their medication from the government-run programme. The drugs should be collected every month, but the HIV/Aids clinics have closed, so getting the drugs has become difficult.

Access to the life-prolonging medication can depend on whether the overworked senior staff still working at the hospitals have decided to open the clinics.

"The fact that children have no access to HIV/Aids treatment services because hospitals are closed or Aids clinics are closed is a big issue for us," Veneman noted.

"What happens when they get pneumonia and they don't have access to antibiotics? We all know that pneumonia is one the biggest killers of children under five, while children living with HIV are particularly vulnerable to this disease -- and other diseases -- because of their compromised immune systems," she added.

According to Unicef, about 41 percent of child deaths are Aids-related; with limited access to healthcare and HIV/Aids treatment services, child mortality rates will keep rising. About 1,7-million people are living with HIV in Zimbabwe, of which about 160 000 are children.
The work boycott led to the closure of at least three referral hospitals in the capital, Harare, leaving patients stranded. To help get health personnel back to work, Veneman announced that Unicef would make available US$5-million for salaries and incentives.

Veneman also expressed concern about the effects of the deteriorating health system on maternal health. The programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV has suffered a setback as a result of the health worker boycott.

Women have struggled to be admitted to deliver their babies in state hospitals, and are not being adequately monitored. Most Zimbabweans cannot afford the high cost of obstetric care in private-sector institutions.

Without treatment or other interventions, 15 to 30 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers will become infected with HIV during pregnancy and delivery. A further five to 20 percent will become infected through breastfeeding.

Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa told Irin/PlusNews the government was doing the best it could to address the problems in the health sector.

"We are currently working with donors on the ground to address problems in the health sector," he said. "However, the economic crisis continues to make life very difficult for us, but we are doing our best." - Irin

Zimbabwe: Children's Future In The balance

Save The Children's Lynn Walker in Zimbabwe

I went with the team to visit probably the remotest and poorest part of the district.

Save the Children has not been working in this area for very long because another local agency had a programme there. But now we're needed, too.

The area is reached by probably the poorest road in the district - possibly in the whole country. This road is often impassable during the rainy season which means that for part of the year the area is cut off. Because of this, the local organisation can no longer afford to work in the area.

Save the Children have been distributing food aid there since October and the reason for my journey was to look at other ways to support this isolated community.

We visited the health centre where a small but dedicated team were grappling with an outbreak of illness, which might have been cholera. Cholera is actually endemic in the area and annually there are a small number of cases. For this reason, the centre had dealt with the recent outbreak of illness extremely well and seemed to have contained it.

They did need some supplies, which Save the Children was able to provide, but otherwise they felt they were managing.

We then proceeded to the school and pre-school to deliver some learning materials and assess the situation as the new school year is due to start. Sadly, the road to the school had been washed away a couple of days before and so we were unable to get there. We left the materials at the clinic so that they could pick them up once they could cross the river.

Whether or not this school and all the other schools in the district open for the new school year is a matter of real concern. Many teachers around the country are not reporting for duty because their salary, which is still being paid in the now virtually useless Zim dollars, will not even cover the bus fare to reach the school.

Also, children are unlikely to attend because many families are still struggling for food and children are in the bush looking for wild foods. And without the chance to go to school, the future of the children here really hangs in the balance.