By Elizabeth Nyaguyo
Three youths in Stoneridge suburb, namely Tendai Karavhayi, Victor Mushlakureva, and Lorette Nhema are earning a living out of poultry, a project which is being facilitated by Plan International.
This program is called the Harare Urban Youth Empowerment project which is being implemented in two areas namely Stoneridge and Epworth specifically for the young people aged 16-35 who were affected by COVID-19 so that they regain their economic status.
In an interview with Sly Media during a field tour organized by Plan International, TELOVIC representative Lorette Nhema said that,the group become a well-established group after they engaged in various training that was being spearheaded by Plan International for young people.
“As an enterprise, we also participated in financial management training where we were equipped with skills in managing our finances efficiently.
“Another workshop in record management helped us to ensure our records were up to date.
“We were later given a sum of US$450 as start-up capital as a revolving fund, and we bought our first batch of 50 chickens we also managed to sell the first, second and third batch and now we have our fourth batch which has 100 chickens,” she said.
She added that their business has expanded, and they are looking forward to registering their company as their next objective.
“We are so happy because our business has grown so fast from where we started.
“We are also looking forward to registering our company as well as boosting it,” said Nhema.
Nhema said that they are encountering some problems, but they are overcoming some of them as a team.
“Even though we face some challenges as a group like the passing on of our chickens, we are trying our best to solve them by working with Veterinary Officers in our area.
“At first, we used $300, and in return, after selling our chickens, we got $600.
“Initially we encountered some losses, but now we have grown so big all thanks to Plan International, and it is now rare for us to encounter these losses,” she said.
Nhema went on to say that apart from them doing poultry, they are focusing on other things as well.
“We were trained not only to focus on poultry but on different projects such as baking, catering, and decor, and these projects are helping us to take care of my children.
“As for baking we are now baking things like doughnuts, buns, and cakes for those with birthdays and we are making money from that, as for decor and catering we are looking forward to be invited over to big events like weddings and we are sure that we will make more money from it.
“We are so happy because, from the money that we are getting from the profits, we are now able to pay school fees for our children, buy uniforms and stationery, and ensure that the children have a balanced diet,” added Nhema.
Addressing the media during a tour, the Programme Coordinator Oriah Musendo said that as this project has helped so many women.
“The project has gone a long way in empowering women, and this can be seen through Tendai, Lorrete who are part of TELOVIC group and they are no longer depending on their husbands for money,” he said.
