The Leadership, Economic and Mentorship Hubs- LEMHs class of 2022-2023 first stage was a success special thanks to Global Fund for Women and African Women Developmental Fund.
Tag a Life International (TaLI) has been implementing the LEMHs programme since 2018 to empower girls and young women between the age of 16-24 to participate in leadership, governance, democracy, human and women’s rights. The LEMHs programme has 3 stages and the first stage is Youth Engaging in Growth (YEG) which is training across thematic areas; Personal Leadership, Environment and Climate Change, Financial Literacy, Advocacy, Human’s and Women’s rights, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), Constitutionalism, Information, Communications and Technology (ICTs), Young women and intersectionality, Citizen Journalism, Governance and Democracy, Gender Based Violence and Peace Building.
Each year a call for applications is released on TaLI’s social media platforms that is WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and website and interested girls and young women apply. This year our targeted areas were peri-urban settlements i.e. Hatcliff, Domboshava, Epworth, Chitungwiza, Hopley, Goromonzi etc. University students in Harare were also part of the target group. Girls and young women with disabilities, victims of child marriages and abuse and those living with HIV were given first preferences. Our selection criteria also included passion for community work and ability to commit to the one year program. This year we recruited 20 girls and young women.
Prior to the YEG 10day boot camp training, an orientation was held at TaLI office in March. During the orientation the selected girls and young women were assessed as a way of mapping training methodologies. The LEMHsters also signed their contracts of commitment to the programme. TaLI officials explained the programme and the organization to the girls and young women.
For the first time TaLI had an in house resident trainer throughout the 10 day boot Camp as was recommended by the programme’s alumni through the stakeholder consultations that were done as the organisation is experimenting with the Social Labs Methodology in programming. The training was conducted using notes, video clips, group work, role plays, drawing. A few external facilitators, mostly female leaders who are experts in other the thematic areas such as financial literacy and environment and climate joined TaLI staff members who also supported training of the LEMHsters.
In a bid to model practical life skills in the young women leaders such as networking, A Red carpet dinner was hosted and the young women and girls had the opportunity to network with invited guests and stakeholders whilst presenting their elevator pitches about their community follow on projects under YELL.
A dialogue was hosted during the dinner between the girls and young women and mature women on the theme, “Challenges in Leadership Participation in Public Life for young women’ courtesy of Fojo IMS one of our TaLI funders, which will be also shared as a webcast on our platforms and that of our partner Identities Media. The dialogue that was hosted by the TaLI Director Ms Nyari Mashayamombe had LEMHsters, the in-house trainer and mature women guests in the panel promoting intergenerational conversations young women leadership participation. The girls and young women managed to air out the challenges they are facing in public life and the mature women motivated them through their stories of how they conquered.
One of the LMHster on the panel Ntando vowed to go back to her tertiary institution to run for office, this time refusing a tokenism title but pushing for a position of influence to make a change.
During the Red Carpet dinner one of the young women named….shared how the 10 day boot camp had helped boost her confidence through the Personal leadership topic which covered the topic of self-awareness. “Before the LEMHS training I was extremely shy, I had very low self-esteem and I struggled during the first day of training. After the self-awareness exercise, I realized that I have missed so many opportunities because of my low self-esteem and immediately started working on confidence building. Look at me now; I am standing in front of so many people, giving my testimony on how the LEMHs training has impacted my life in such a short period of time.”
The young women and girls were trained on the above mentioned thematic areas, so that they are able to advocate for themselves as they have issues that particularly affect them because of their age and sex, thus standing up for women’s issues ensuring that no issue is left out. The young women and girls will advocate for issues that affect women by raising their voices, supporting each other, getting involved, knowing women’s rights, joining the conversation and most importantly educating the next generation.
The LEMHsters will come together to change policies, practices, traditions and cultures which hinder young women from reaching their full potential.
The first stage of this year’s LEMHs programme was a success. TaLI and the LEMHseters are looking forward to seeing the girls and young women impacting their communities and influencing change as “change makers” in their communities through the 2nd stage of the programme which is Youth Engagement In Local Leaders(YELL).