Chitungwiza-based young people led organization, Teen Rescue Mission (TRM) on Wednesday 11 June 25 joined forces with the Embassy of Canada together with UN Women to commemorate the Day of the African Child (DAC) at an early event that was held in Chitungwiza under the theme “Education for Empowerment: Youth Skills for a Brighter Future”.
The event brought together young people and parents from Chitungwiza together with the Chitungwiza Municipality to observe the day in one accord.
Speaking as the guest of honor, the Ambassador of Canada to Zimbabwe His Excellency Adler Aristilde called for collective efforts to address issues of child and forced marriages, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse saying that all these ills deny children of their childhood, disrupt their access to education, jeopardize their health and make them vulnerable to violence and a life of hardship.
“Today I am wearing two hats, the first one as the Ambassador of Canada, and the other one as the HeForShe Co-Chair for Zimbabwe (2025) and I am here to express my unwavering support towards the upliftment of both the girl and the boy child. As Canada we support women empowerment and gender equality. I am very glad to hear that 30 young people are going to benefit from TRM’s initiatives of which this number includes both girls and boys which shows that there is a gender balance.
“There are worrisome statistics of school dropouts according to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education which accounts to 3433 in 2024.Although the government of Zimbabwe has introduced legislative and policy measures against child marriage, cases continue to happen.
“These challenges are caused by societal challenges driven by gender inequality. We need to do more collectively to end gender inequalities and child marriages as it jeopardizes their health, education and hamper their future.
“As men and boys let us be part of the solution, we should campaign to end violation of girls and women. However, we do not mean that focusing on protecting the girl child should neglect the boy child, let us ensure a balance and i am happy that TRM is doing justice to that,” he said.
Speaking on the same occasion Women Deputy Country Representative Dr. Loveness Makonese expressed the need for massive investments in education citing that education and skills development are a cornerstone for youth empowerment.
“I want to encourage all young girls to persist, persevere, dream and overcome, do not give up but know that the sky is the limit. Challenges are stepping stones; education is very important. Education and skills development are the cornerstone of empowerment for our young people.
“As UN Women we are proud to stand with TRM for women empowerment and gender equality. Women are faced with many challenges but that is not the end of the road, you can continue to thrive. I also want to urge societies to support young girls and women. Above all as societies let us create environments that are inclusive, let us continue to invest in the education of the children,” she said
Meanwhile, young people who attended the commemorations appreciated the efforts by TRM, the Embassy of Canada, HeforShe and the government of Zimbabwe for channeling resources towards youth economic empowerment.
Michael Chibatwa who is studying motor mechanics thanked TRM for the intervention in his life saying “Since January I have been assisted with accommodation and I was saved from taking drugs. Through learning these skills i believe that I will have something to occupy me so that I will be trapped into drugs and substance abuse,” he said.
TRM Director Abraham Matuka says the Day for the African Child is a reminder to the whole of Africa that empowerment of the African Child is the solution to problems faced by the continent.
“We are grateful for the support that we are getting from the Embassy of Canada towards empowering the young people of Zimbabwe. Today we are talking of 30 young people who are beneficiaries of the Canadian aid through our organization.
“As a society we need to be very supportive of our young people. Let us always make sure that we nurture them and create opportunities for them to flourish. We are saying no to drugs, no to domestic violence and no to child marriages,” said Matuka.
The Day of the African Child which takes place annually on 16 June and this year’s commemorations have been aligned with the theme which says “Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights: Progress since 2010”.
