Shuva Foundation, Nominee for The Change Maker Award, 2023 Africa Awards

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Shuva Foundation is an Australian not-for-profit organization based in Perth that is committed to fundraising to support AIDs orphans in Zimbabwe.

Shuva Foundation was established in 2016 as a mechanism to raise funds here to resource the work of Youth With a Vision based in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Youth With a Vision is a Zimbabwean humanitarian and private voluntary organisation under the leadership of the founding director Rev Bonface Mutudza.

Rev Mutudza has dedicated the past two decades of his life to caring and providing for the youth orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe, through a unique community-based orphan care program across four centres near: Harare, Mazowe, Chivhu, and Mutare.

There are 1,000+ orphans spread over three locations around Harare that are totally dependent on Youth With A Vision for their daily food requirements, school fees, clothing, and medicine.

Shuva Foundation, in partnership with Youth With a Vision, has been able to feed 1,000+ orphans and their elderly carers annually through the following initiatives:

• The planting and harvesting of 10 ha of corn each year to provide food (maize meals) for orphans and increase their health and welfare;
• Pay children’s school fees and increase the level of education locally;
• Cover costs of fuel for transportation and delivery of fortnightly food distribution

INITIATIVE: FARMING IN ZIMBABWE TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR AIDS ORPHANS

FUNDRAISING & FARM MANAGEMENT

• Shuva Foundation funds the planting of 10 ha of corn near Mazowe in Zimbabwe each year since 2016 that provides the orphans with maize meal for their staple food.
• The planting, harvesting and distribution of the corn is done by Shuva’s local partner, Youth With a Vision.
• This provides the orphans and their care communities with their staple food essential to survival for about nine months of the year.
• The funding for the corn planting is mainly from families that make regular donations to Shuva Foundation.

PROVIDING FOOD FOR ZIMBABWEANS

• Fundraising means more corn can be planted to increase access to their staple food for 12 months of the year or have excess that they can sell; more vegetables and chicken broilers can be used or sold; aquaponics can be bought for fish and vegetables.

FUNDING TRANSPORT AND OPERATIONS

With additional funding Shuva Foundation wishes to:

• Purchase a light truck for regular food drop-offs; farming equipment (contractors for planting and harvesting) and implements for food production (they are using contractors for planting and harvesting) and water bores for aquaponics.
• Pay for upgrades to school facilities in locations accessible to the orphan care communities.
• Shuva to enable access to medical clinics near the orphan care communities.