Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau The National Aids Council’s (NAC) Sista2Sista programme is influencing positive behaviour change among adolescent girls and young women across Matabeleland South, with many now…
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
The National Aids Council’s (NAC) Sista2Sista programme is influencing positive behaviour change among adolescent girls and young women across Matabeleland South, with many now making informed decisions on sexual and reproductive health issues while others are returning to school and starting small businesses.
The mentorship initiative targets vulnerable girls in high-risk communities and equips them with life skills, health information and economic empowerment tools to help them navigate challenges that often expose them to HIV, teenage pregnancies and child marriages.
In Insiza district, some girls who went through the programme have re-enrolled in school after dropping out, while others have started income-generating projects to support themselves and their families.
The Sista2Sista programme reaches at least 800 girls in Insiza district every year. NAC’s provincial programmes officer, Mr Wilfred Ngwenya, said across the province, each mentor works with 50 mentees who undergo structured mentorship for 12 months, covering topics on HIV prevention, gender-based violence, menstrual health and entrepreneurship.
In an interview, Alice Tshuma, a young girl from Amazon in Insiza, said she has opened her own clothing shop after receiving business training through the programme.
She is now also mentoring other girls at the business centre, an area where artisanal miners who often prey on young girls are common.
“Through Sista2Sista I learnt that I can choose my future and not depend on anyone. I am now running a business and teaching other girls how to protect themselves,” she said.
Acting District Development Coordinator for Insiza, Siceco Gwayi, said NAC programmes have helped to reduce teenage pregnancies and child marriages in the district while empowering young adolescent girls to make informed decisions about their future.
At Denje in Insiza, mentor Miss Siphathekile Ncube said they have introduced interventions to reduce gender-based violence and to promote empowerment through the money tree concept, which teaches financial literacy.
She said the team also donates sanitary pads to girls every month to restore dignity during menstruation.
Nokuthaba Mthethwa (16), a young girl from Denje, said she is now conscious of sexual and reproductive health education and feels able to choose her own destiny.
The Insiza Godlwayo AIDS Council (IGAC) MEAL Manager, Mr Bekezela Mpofu, said the uptake of HIV prevention programmes by young girls is increasing in the area.
A representative from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development said they are complementing NAC’s work by teaching the girls business training, how to start small sustainable businesses, and record-keeping, all aimed at improving their way of life.
