CRS Work in Zimbabwe

Our Work At A Glance
CRS Zimbabwe works through more than 20 community-based partner organizations to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on communities. Its integrated programs in HIV and AIDS, food security, livelihoods security, global solidarity, emergency and protection, and capacity building serve more than half a million Zimbabweans every year.

Some specific examples of CRS and our partners' work include:

With CRS support, Sister Yullita established a medicinal herb garden. The herbs grown here are used to help treat opportunistic infections in HIV-positive people.

• HIV and AIDS — CRS and its partners work together to develop communities' capacity to care for and support people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as orphans and other vulnerable children. For example, one partner operates an accelerated learning center for children who have never before attended school. In addition, CRS has a special program for HIV-positive children that increases their access to treatment and support services. The country program also implements a workplace project that encourages and facilitates HIV and AIDS prevention, care, treatment and support for all employees and their dependents.
• Food Security — CRS Zimbabwe also implements a program called Food-for-Work in which vulnerable community members receive food for their households in exchange for work on community development projects, such as establishing community nutrition gardens. In addition, one of CRS' most innovative food security projects is called the Market Assistance Program.


These children belong to a CRS-sponsored Junior Farmer Field School, where they learn about agriculture and gain important skills.

• Livelihoods Security — CRS and its partners help communities protect the incomes of vulnerable people who rely on agriculture to feed themselves and their families. These efforts also enable community members to access the food they need to live healthy and productive lives. In order to provide more holistic support to communities, in 2006, CRS also began activities that improve individuals' ability to generate income as well as enhance health and well-being through improved water and sanitation practices and expanded home-based care programs.
• Justice and Peace — CRS builds its partners' capacity in peacebuilding and advocacy, and helps them to address legal issues facing orphans, other vulnerable children and the poorest of the poor. For example, CRS assists partners' efforts to obtain birth certificates — a legal document children need to access social services and take important school exams. CRS Zimbabwe also organizes training workshops on Catholic social teaching to ensure that staff members and partners are well-grounded in these principles.
• Emergency and Protection — Many Zimbabweans were targeted by a government "cleanup" operation in 2005, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people. CRS assists community members in Zimbabwe's second-largest city, Bulawayo, in their efforts to re-establish sustainable ways to make a living. CRS and its partners support vulnerable people who rely on agriculture to feed themselves and their families.
• Capacity building — CRS would not be able to do its work without close partnerships with community-based organizations. In 2006, CRS and our partners engaged in a learning exercise to determine partners' strengths, partners' areas for improvement, and how the relationship between CRS and its partners could be reinforced. Now that the exercise is complete, CRS can collaborate with colleagues to build upon their strengths, develop their capacities in identified areas, and enhance existing partnerships, all with the aim of increasing the positive impact on the communities we serve.