This campaign has now closed

Establishing a street paper in Zimbabwe will offer something unique – it will not provide just a ‘hand-out’ to hundreds of young homeless people, but an employment opportunity for those who wish to move themselves from poverty back into society. Street paper vendors will be fully supported by our in-country partner NGO. The project will also raise awareness and campaign for basic human rights such as freedom of expression and opinion.

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Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Other Other
  • Beneficiaries

    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other

    Situation

    Zimbabwe's unstable and volatile domestic economy has produced an estimated unemployment rate of 85% and an urban homeless population exceeding 700,000. The state government in Zimbabwe has propagated inhumane campaigns to systematically rid the landscape of informal settlements, displacing tens of thousands of people from their homes and leading to a massive influx of 'unskilled,' impoverished, and degraded urban residents. The repressive political regime has severely restricted people's basic rights to freedom of expression, impeding access to local, independent media and alternative perspectives that might be critical of government policies. Acting as an umbrella organisation, INSP offers advice, expertise, encouragement, research, and training for enterprising anti-poverty programmes, harnessing the vast collective knowledge and experience of its global membership for the benefit of newly-emerging and well-established street paper projects in their fight to end poverty. In recent years, street papers have become increasingly recognised for their relevance to the developing world. By combining a sustainable social enterprise model with an independent media voice, street papers provide a unique means to address urgent needs for poverty reduction, economic development, and free expression in some of the poorest countries on Earth. This project will provide direct employment opportunities to over 400 homeless people in Zimbabwe over three years, indirectly supporting over 1800 additional family members who will benefit from their basic needs being met. The capacity of the Zimbabwean partner NGO will be built and 15-20 staff and volunteers trained. Costs are for 3 years and include INSP training in-country, establishing an office, start-up costs for the paper, vendor support programme and inward study visits. This equates to a unit cost of just £1.26 per person per month - lives will be measurably improved by this initiative.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Other Other
  • Beneficiaries

    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other