Capacity development, participation and ownership are what VVOB and the new programme on Quality Education and Vulnerability mean to me. My name is Mrs Beata Chikwandha and I am a lecturer at Morgan Zintec college in Harare. This college trains primary school teachers and I am a lecturer in Health and Lifeskills Education. I first became involved with VVOB through their ZimPATH project, which was working with colleges on participatory approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention and lifeskills education. After extensive training in programme making and facilitation, I also became an extended support team member complementing the work of the VVOB support team members in the colleges.
VVOB has given me a new vision on education in Zimbabwe, one that addresses vulnerability to enhance quality. I now see myself as a vehicle of change for my college and the schools that we send our student-teachers to. As a lecturer, I have become more empathetic to the student teachers and I now believe that if our teachers are to effectively address vulnerability in schools, then they must not be made vulnerable at college. Once we nurture these students in an abuse-free environment, then they also become champions of quality education and will not be perpetrators of abuse themselves.
I have acquired skills in making effective programmes that address the needs of the target group on the ground and that make use of participatory methodologies. I have also experienced the positive effects of working as a team at my college where teamwork has brought about ownership and diversity. I value the skills, knowledge and interpersonal relationships that result from any workshop much more than any remuneration that comes from it. The flexibility of the new programme is motivating because I am learning from what other colleges are doing to achieve quality education. I have learnt that monitoring and reflection assure the quality of what we do. My dream is to create student-friendly colleges that will enhance quality education in schools free from child abuse.
