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Preventing Gender-based Violence through Economic Opportunity

18-year-old Roy Chikotsiro is a double orphan from ward 15 in Nyava Village Bindura. Through the
Prevention and reduction of gender-based rights violations, teenage pregnancies and early
marriages of adolescents and young people in Mozambique and Zimbabwe project
, he was able to
strengthen his resilience and face the emotional and psychological effects of orphan hood.


With funding from terre des hommes Deutschland e.V. (TDH) Roy was taught income generating
skills of operating an industrial peanut butter machine, a grinder, a deshelling machine, a maize cob
processing machine, and a packing machine.


Roy is one of the eight members of the NYEDC group. The group constitutes of adolescent young
women and men who produce peanut butter, maize pop and operate a grinding mill. They were also
capacitated on business management and accounting.


The young women and men were also empowered socially by educated to challenge harmful social
and cultural norms and living in community environments with reduced teenage pregnancies, child
marriages and instances of gender-based violence (GBV).


“I am very grateful to TDH and its implementing partner SAFIRE. After losing my last parent in 2017, I
saw my life shattered with no hope. However, the universe had better plans for me. In 2022 I was
selected to be part of this project. I was taught skills that empowered me economically. Now I know
how to operate industrial peanut butter machine, a grinder and a maize cob processing machine on
my own,” said Roy.


“They did not just teach us how to make money, but they also taught us not to be vulnerable to


social ills like drug abuse, early childhood marriages, and GBV. These are things which I thought were
normal but I am grateful to SAFIRE and its funding partners because they taught us right things. I am
proud to say that I am now a better man to the society who will never violate someone’s rights by
participating in either GBV or early marriage.”


The project aims at improving the quality of life and development opportunities of youths, an aspect
that has been achieved in Roy’s life.
“I stay with my grandmother and ever since I joined the program, I can now cater for our household
costs. I hope that five year from now, our group would have grown into a big firm with a huge
market share and profits,” he said.

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