Zimbabwe: Weather - ACT: 01-Jun-01

Action by Churches Together (ACT) Appeal - Zimbabwe Drought Relief - AFZW11 Appeal Target: US$ 2,020,339 Geneva, 31 May 2001

The first quarter of this year, Zimbabwe suffered both from a severe dry spell in January which wilted most of the planted crop followed by floods in February and March which hit the northern part of the country, affecting mainly the Zambezi basin. Those crops that had survived the dry spell succumbed to the floods and, with the food security situation made worse by the drought and the floods, the coping mechanisms of the rural households dropped to their lowest. Most of the rural dwellers have had to dispose of their livestock at very low prices due to the glut in the market. Moreover, this emergency has added to the economic slump caused by the current political instability in the country. ACT members the Lutheran Development Service (LDS) - formerly the Lutheran World Federation, World Service (LWF/LWS) Zimbabwe Program and Christian Care (CC) propose to assist some of the communities affected by severe food shortages. Christian Care proposes to respond in; Harare, Matebeleland and Midlands with assistance comprising Food for Work, Water & Sanitation, Supplementary Feeding (for under fives) and school feeding. The Lutheran Development Services will respond in, Midlands, Matebele South, and Masvingo with Relief Food distribution through Food for Work Programs and School Feeding. Project Completion Date: Christian Care - 29 February 2002 Lutheran Development Service - 31 March 2002 Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested Less: Pledges Balance Target & Contr Recd Requested Christian Care 804,354 0 804,354 Lutheran Development Service 1,215,985 0 1,215,985 Total Target US$ 2,020,339 0 2,020,339 Ms. Genevieve Jacques Thor-Arne Prois Rev. Rudolf Hinz Director ACT Coordinator Director WCC/Cluster on Relations LWF/World Service REQUESTING ACT MEMBER Christian Care IMPLEMENTING AGENCY INFORMATION Christian Care is a Zimbabwean ecumenical organisation formed by 27 Zimbabwean Christian churches and church related organisations. It was founded in 1967 as a welfare organisation. Christian Care's mission is to improve the quality of life and the self-supporting capacities of the disadvantaged people in Zimbabwe without discrimination (e,g on the grounds of race, gender, political or religious affiliation and/or ethnic identity) in an efficient and effective manner. Between 1967 and 1979 Christian Care was actively engaged in public witness, lobbying, diplomacy, mediation and advising people oppressed under the Rhodesian regime, of their rights and how to exercise them. It also provided support to political detainees and their families. With the end of the war of national liberation and attainment of national independence in 1980, Christian Care changed its work from relief to encompass development work. The focus of Christian Care's work has become more development oriented to the extent that it only carries out relief work, in times of emergencies. But even this relief work has a strong development bias. The organisation's development work focuses on; water supply and sanitation, food security and nutrition, income generation for poverty alleviation, dam construction and irrigation development and; emergencies. In line with current schools of thought Christian Care has realised a growing need to use participatory methodologies in all its programs and at all levels of program development and management. Christian Care believes that such an approach to rural development fosters lasting community empowerment and ensures sustainable development. Christian Cares experiences in Emergencies and Relief Work Christian Care has long experience in dealing with emergency relief work in Zimbabwe. For instance, during the period of civil war in Mozambique Christian Care provided emergency relief to refugees fleeing the war in that country. In that effort the organisation provided food, shelter and clothing to the war victims. Furthermore, the organisation has always sought assistance and provided emergency food aid to rural communities in Zimbabwe in times of inadequate food resulting from droughts. In the drought of 1997/98 for instance, Christian Care provided up to 3,595 metric tonnes of maize, 510 tonnes of beans and 151 tonnes of nutrimeal (a fortified children's porridge meal) to more than 40,000 beneficiaries in Masvingo, Matebeleland North & South Midlands and Manicaland provinces. In 2000 Christian Care provided 169 metric tonnes of mealie meal, 24.4 tonnes of beans, 18.2 tonnes of Kapenta and, in addition to consumables, Christian Care provided plastic sheeting and constructed at least 300 houses for the victims of cyclone Eline in Masvingo, Matebelelasnd North and South , Midlands and Manicaland provinces as emergency relief aid. DESCRPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION Drought 2001 started with a promise that farmers in most parts of the country would recover from the effects of the ravaging Cyclone Eline that wrecked the peasant community during the previous rainy season. Early planted crops, albeit poor germination, had received rains for a good growth start. Zimbabwe received normal rainfall during the beginning of the 2000/2001 rain season (mid November to mid-December) but thereafter the country experienced a dry spell that devastated the early planted crops . The dry spell that extended from January to the first week of February was catastrophic for the community as their early-planted crops succumbed to the scorching prolonged dry spell. Early planted crops wilted beyond recovery shattering the entire peasant population's hopes for survival as early planted crops constituted over 75% of the total planted crops in the communal lands - a result of Department of Agricultural Extension services encouraging farmers to plant crops early in the season. Floods Incessant rains that affected the country during the month of February and March worsened the already ravaged communal lands which had experienced the prolonged dry spell. The rains pounded continuously for almost a month resulting in some parts of the three regions experiencing floods. The late-planted crops, to which the communities had switched their hopes, suffered from water logging and nutrient leaching. The situation has exacerbated the already lopsided food security situation of the peasant population. The worst affected floods areas were Guruve and Muzarabani districts in the Harare region. Both incessant rains in February and the opening of the Kariba Floodgates caused flooding. Crops were submerged, houses and granaries were destroyed, drinking water sources and sanitary facilities were flooded while small livestock was drowned. This situation left many families homeless and without food, clothing or cooking utensils. In Gokwe in the Gweru region some areas were flooded and become inaccessible. To date one school is still closed because of flooding. The peasant farmers' food insecurity is worsened by the ever-declining national economy. The poor performance of the economy that dates back from the implementation of the country's economic reform Program (1991 - 1995) has had negative and devastating effects on rural families. The prices of basic commodities are spiralling under hyper-inflation of more 50 % making it difficult for most households to afford two meals in a day. Price hikes for social services such as health, education and transport have also rocketed to levels beyond the reach of many rural families. The closure and downsizing by firms has resulted in massive retrenchments pushing national unemployment rates ± 60 %. The retrenched workers turn to rural areas for subsistence farming for survival. All the above factors show that the disaster of floods and drought hit the country when it was least able to respond and the situation of the affected people is getting worse The rate of malnutrition (between 10% and 24%) has reached unacceptable levels in children under five years of age. Malnutrition rates beyond 5% are worrisome and need urgent intervention. The problem of food insecurity is compounding the problems of diseases such as the AIDS pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on the economically active age group of the community. The problem has not spared schools that currently experience low attendance. Many school children join their parents, most of whom have resorted to gold panning, as they endeavour to fend for food for their households. Some children can go without a decent meal for over a week and as a result drop out of school as they do not have the strength to attend and concentrate on lessons. The Government of Zimbabwe has stopped the grain loan scheme and replaced it with a Public Works Program. Under this Program drought stricken people work on projects aimed at improving their local environments for $250 per month. However, this is largely a political statement as there are no resources in state coffers, given the falling national economy. Mberengwa, Zvishavane and Gokwe South rural district councils have approached Christian Care to intervene. Impact On Human Lives It has been estimated that either drought or floods have affected thousands of people in different ways and many are faced with starvation and the children threatened with malnutrition. Christian Care's capacity to support all the affected people in Zimbabwe is limited, therefore its efforts will be complemented by other Non-Governmental Organisations operating in the country as well as Government Units such as the Civil Protection Unit. Christian Care's efforts will be directed towards the following affected population : 43,800 people who have had all their crops destroyed by either floods or drought and are therefore faced with starvation. They will receive food under the food for work schemes. 1,500 children under the age of five years and 2,500 school children threatened with severe malnutrition in Mashonaland, Midlands and Matabeleland regions will receive nutrimeal porridge. GOAL & OBJECTIVES Goal: The goal of the Program is to improve the quality of life for selected communities throughout the country by making food, water and sanitation facilities available to the most drought/flood affected communities. Objectives To make food immediately available to 14,900 people and 1,500 children below five years of age and 1,500 school children in all regions which were affected by the drought and floods. To maintain school attendance levels in Midlands through school supplementary feeding. To contribute towards reduction of malnutrition rates in children under five years of age to 5% over a period of nine months. To help communities affected by floods in Muzarabani and Tsholotsho to return to their normal life by rehabilitating and providing water sanitation facilities. Rehabilitation of one irrigation scheme in Matabeleland. BENEFICIARY INFORMATION AND TARGETTED AREAS The selection of areas was based on the allocations made at the District Civil Protection Co-ordinating Committee of which all NGOs are members. Selection of beneficiaries is based on the level of destruction of livelihoods with those worst affected. For example: category 1 has those who lost homes, household property, food as well as water and sanitation facilities; category 2 includes those whose fields were washed away or became water logged. Table 1 below gives detail of the number of targeted beneficiaries per region by component. The support will be given for 9 months to January 2002. MASHONALAND REGION Lower Guruve Lower Guruve is a district situated 152km north-west of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city. Internally it borders Muzarabani (Centenary) district to the East, of Mashonaland province and externally it borders with Mozambique to the north-east and Zambia to the north-west. The district has a total of eleven wards with approximately 135, 637 people. The community faces challenges of food deficits owing to a prolonged dry spell that devastated early-planted crops to a complete write off. Continuous heavy rains that pounded the entire area of Guruve resulting in floods following the prolonged dry spell. The floods caused water logging and nutrient leaching that adversely affected crops. The opening up of Kariba Dam flood gates also exacerbated the flooding situation and 6 deaths were reported whilst over 40 households remained without shelter. Hundreds of small livestock were lost and thousands of hectares of cropping land damaged. Latrines and some water sources have been destroyed worsening the health situation in the area. There are three wards mostly affected - Angwa Ward 2, Chapoto and Neshangwe Ward 2. As such Christian Care would like to assist the three wards though priority will be given to the most affected ward if resources are limited. The support for drought victims will spread over a 9 month period to February 2002 Table 1 Number of targeted beneficiaries of proposed assistance. Regions Districts Wards Programs Food for work Child supplementary program School feeding program Construction of Blair toilets Mashonaland Muzarabani Chadereka 2,000 150 Guruve 1,400 Kariba Negande 5 1,200 Negande 6 1,400 Total 6,000 Midlands Mberengwa Mushandirapamwe 700 300 500 Ukomba 1,000 300 500 Total 1,700 600 1000 Gokwe Nemangwe 12 1,000 300 500 Nemangwe 10 1,000 300 500 Total 2,000 600 1000 Zvishavane Mhototi 1,000 300 500 Total 1,000 300 500 Matebeleland Beitridge 2,000 Tsholotsho 2,500 Total 4,500 TOTAL 15,200 1,500 2,500 150 Kariba District Omay communal land is in the Kariba District of Mashonaland West Province and is located 550km from Harare and 150km from Kariba town. The area is an arid agro-ecological zone and is highly prone to drought. The area received late rains making it difficult for farmers to plant early crops with some failing to plant at all. The continuous heavy rains that pounded the area resulted in water logging and flooding. Four wards in the district were the worst affected . However support will be given to 2 wards Negande 5 and 6. Muzarabani District This district is situated 210km to the north of Harare. The district was devastated by drought experienced in January which destroyed all crops to a point of no recovery. Shortly afterwards, continuous rains pounded the area for about a month resulting in floods. The floods submerged and water logged crops, destroyed houses and granaries and small livestock was washed away. Water sources such as boreholes and wells collapsed with some becoming contaminated leaving the entire communities with no safe sources of drinking water. Sanitary facilities were not spared as all were destroyed (150 toilets collapsed) further contaminating water sources. Six people died through drowning. The double tragedy left the communities with no shelter, food, clothing and sanitary facilities. Communication in the area has been disrupted due to roads that have been made impassable by floods. MIDLANDS REGION Zvishavane District Zvishavane District is situated 115km from the provincial capital of Gweru. The affected communal areas are within a radius of 40km from Zvishavane town. The district was severely affected by a prolonged dry spell. Early planted crops were scorched beyond recovery by the drought. The worst affected area in the district covers two wards, Mushandirapamwe and Ukomba where Christian Care will concentrate assistance. Mberengwa District. It lies to the south of Midlands province and is about 200km from the provincial town of Gweru. The area is in the arid environments and is highly prone to drought. The prolonged dry spell destroyed crops to a complete write off. Incessant rains followed the dry spell that flooded some areas in the district but the program will concentrate in two wards. The peasant population now faces starvation, as they have no hope to harvest anything from their arable lands. Rates of malnutrition in Mberengwa show signs of an upsurge although standing at 21% (Source: Min of Health - Mberengwa District.) There are also reports of children fainting at schools and schools recording low attendance and dropouts. Gokwe South District It lies to the north west of Midlands Province and is situated about 250km from the provincial capital of Gweru. The district experienced the double tragedy of severe prolonged dry spell followed by incessant rains. The dry spell scorched all early-planted crops to a complete write off. Incessant rains that pounded the area for more than a month made some places inaccessible and most arable land waterlogged. Crops suffered from lack of adequate nutrients because of nutrient leaching and most affected were the late-planted crops. One school has been closed because of inaccessibility caused by flooding. The whole district has been affected but Christian Care will focus its attention on two wards only that have been badly affected. Malnutrition is now rife as evidenced by recorded rates of up to 24.6%.(Source: Min of Health - Gokwe South District). MATEBELELAND REGION Beit bridge District This district is located in Matebeleland South Province about 320km to the south of Bulawayo. During the year 1999-2000 the province succumbed to the effects of Cyclone Eline. The communities' situation has been exacerbated by drought that has seen the region receiving 43% of the normal rainfall. Consequently, the communities will not harvest anything from their fields. 2,150 households urgently need food for them to be able to lead normal lives. Cases of malnutrition are on the increase resulting in high morbidity and mortality in children less than five years of age. Three irrigation schemes in the district were badly damaged by cyclone Eline floods. This has negatively affected production linked with the schemes. The proposal seeks to have two schemes, Bili and Jalukanga repaired under the food for work Program. Tsholotsho District. Tsholotsho District is located in Matebeleland North Province and is 200km from Bulawayo City. Continuous rains pounded the area for about 2 weeks resulting in floods. Low-lying areas were badly affected by floods when the Gwayi River burst its banks compounding the flood situation. Communities in the low-lying areas lost their crops, houses and granaries, clothes and small livestock. Targeted beneficiaries. The Program will benefit all households affected by either drought or floods in the selected areas for 9 months from May 2001 to January 2002. Although all people were affected, women and children are more vulnerable. The Program is set to make food available to those vulnerable groups of the rural communities and to construct/improve water and sanitation facilities. Criteria used for beneficiary selection The District Civil Protection Units are responsible for the selection and registration of all the affected people. Rural Districts Councils have Social Service Department committees with representatives from district wards. These representatives work with local counsellors and other civil leaders to select those affected by drought or floods. Those to benefit from relief aid include: Those with crops destroyed by either floods or drought. Those whose water and sanitation facilities were destroyed by flooding. IMPLEMENTATION DESCRIPTION PER ACTIVITY The Program will basically consist of five components: Provision of maize grain under Food for Work concept. Child supplementary feeding for the under fives. School feeding Drought Recovery/Rehabilitation Program that entails reconstruction of blair toilets for the households affected by floods. Domestic water supply and rehabilitation Food for work Drought stricken households will work for maize grain. Each household will send one member to work on projects aimed at improving the community's local environment. The projects will include working on: Dam construction Construction of community granaries (Zunde Ramambo) The community will be expected to store grain from the Zunde Ramambo plots Gully reclamation and reforestation projects of the community. Construction work of local school and health centre. Repair of damaged roads in the area. Repair of damaged irrigation schemes specifically in Beit Bridge District. Production of food in nutrition gardens - The situation in the affected areas is such that there is a food shortage yet there is plenty of surface water as a result of flooding and water-logging. The beneficiaries will therefore not be given any beans or kapenta but rather they will be encouraged to produce vegetables in their nutrition gardens. No budget has been provided for this. However, there are already functional gardens supported by Christian Care in most communities. Child supplementary feeding The Child Supplementary Feeding component will meet the balanced nutritional needs of children who are five years of age and below. The ration will be 100g of nutri- meal per day. Feeding points will be established at villages. The Program will resuscitate some of the feeding points that were established by the government. In an effort to prevent stigmatisation children will not be screened. School feeding program The Program will benefit children at primary schools from grade 1 to grade 3. One thousand five hundred children will benefit from the project and the ration will be 100gm per child per day five days per week. Nutri-meal porridge will provide a wide range of nutritional requirements, which among other things include carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamins and other micro mineral salts. Domestic Water Supply & Rehabilitation Due to the flooding that occurred in Muzarabani a number of water sources were destroyed. The Program will therefore focus on rehabilitation and flushing of damaged bore holes and drilling bore holes in areas where communities were depending on open unprotected wells. Geo-physical prospecting of new water sites will be conducted and main works will be constructed on 5 sites. The community will be trained in community based management of water sources through water point committees and they will be supported with maintenance kits as part of the training package. ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING Administration Implementation of the Program demands co-operation of all stakeholders in rural development. The Civil Protection Unit will co-ordinate the activities of different stakeholders. Christian Care will be responsible for the overall day to day implementation and management of the project. The implementation and management of the Program will include procurement, storage and distribution of suppliers of food, accounting for resources. Christian Care together with the local churches will carry out the of selection of beneficiaries The organisation will also be responsible for co-ordination with all stakeholders at grass roots level. Reports with relevant information and statistics on various projects, beneficiaries in the districts and will be produced midway and at termination of the Program. A Project Assistant will be employed full-time to monitor the implementation of the Program at district level. Project Officers will be responsible for procurement of goods and their transportation and distribution along with routine monitoring. The Area Manager will be responsible for the overall smooth implementation of the Program and accounting for resources. Support staff, in the form of a book keeper, will also provide accounting services for the Program. Local communities: Christian Care , local churches and the local communities will identify possible projects aimed at improving their local environment. They will provide all locally available resources and labour. They will elect local project supervisors to supervise people working on the projects. The communities will maintain registers of people working at each project. Christian Care will also recruit local projects assistants to work with the local people. Ministry of Health: This agency will provide consultancy on the child and school feeding components of the program. The Environmental Health Technicians based at field level will supervise the storage and preparation of food at village feeding points and schools. Ministry of Gender, Youth and Employment Creation: The above ministry will assist in community mobilisation and organisation. They will ensure that the communities will elect responsible people to store, prepare food both at village feeding points and at schools. They will also assist in record keeping of attendance and food stock. Ministry of Education: The schools will work together with the school local leadership to mobilise the parents for the logistical support such as provision of cooking utensils and firewood, food preparation and recording of food stocks and children. Monitoring & Equipment Warehouses for storage of food and other materials will be needed in each of the 8 districts. These can be rented, while existing ones will need rehabilitation. Eleven security guards to provide security services at the warehouses will be hired. One National Program Co-ordinator will be hired to co-ordinate and monitor all activities at national level. A vehicle will be purchased in order to facilitate his work. At regional level the available fleet of vehicles will be used while heavy trucks will be hired to transport food and materials to distribution points. Motorbikes (3) will be purchased to augment the fleet which is already available. These will be used by Project Assistants in the day-to-day running and monitoring of the project. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE The implementation of this Program will run from June 2001 to 29 February 2002. BUDGET ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE Description Type of No. of Unit Budget Budget Unit Units Cost ZWD USD HARARE REGION CENTENARY DISTRICT - Muzarabani Floods - (600 households) FOOD FOR WORK Maize grains Ton 180 10,000 1,800,000 33,520 Primary haulage transport Trip 4 30,000 120,000 2,235 Secondary transport Km 5,000 60 300,000 5,587 Sub Total 2,220,000 41,341 SANITATION (Rehabilitation of 150 toilets) Community mobilisation Workshop 6 5,000 30,000 559 Health and hygiene training Workshop 4 5,000 20,000 372 Cement (5 bags per unit) Bag 750 300 225,000 4,190 Barbed wire Roll 12 3,000 36,000 670 Copper wire Roll 150 60 9,000 168 Fly screens Roll 150 60 9,000 168 Training of builders Workshop 2 20,000 40,000 745 Transport costs - materials Km 2,500 60 150,000 2,793 Sub Total 519,000 9,665 DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY REHABILITATION Surveys Site 5 10,000 50,000 931 Drilling of borehole Borehole 5 300,000 1,500,000 27,933 Preparation & flushing of boreholes Borehole 5 60,000 300,000 5,587 Headworks construction Borehole 5 40,000 200,000 3,724 CBM training Workshop 2 30,000 60,000 1,117 CBM kit Kit 3 15,000 45,000 838 Transport costs - materials Km 1,500 60 90,000 1,676 Sub Total 2,245,000 41,806 KARIBA DISTRICT ( Wards 5 & 6 of Negande) FOOD FOR WORK Maize grains Ton 234 10,000 2,340,000 43,575 Primary haulage transport Trip 6 30,000 180,000 3,352 Secondary transport Km 6,000 60 360,000 6,704 Sub Total 2,880,000 53,631 GURUVE DISTRICT (Neshangwe ward) Maize grains Ton 126 10,000 1,260,000 23,464 Primary haulage transport Trip 4 30,000 120,000 2,235 Secondary transport Km 3,200 60 192,000 3,575 Sub Total 1,572,000 29,274 TOTAL HARARE REGION 9,436,000 175,717 Description Type of No. of Unit Budget Budget Unit Units Cost ZWD USD MIDLANDS REGION MBERENGWA DISTRICT Maize grains Ton 153 10,000 1,530,000 28,492 Primary haulage transport Trip 5 30,000 150,000 2,793 Secondary transport Km 1,500 60 90,000 1,676 Sub Total 1,770,000 32,961 ZVISHAVANE DISTRICT Maize grains Ton 63 10,000 630,000 11,732 Primary haulage transport Trip 2 30,000 60,000 1,117 Secondary transport Km 1,000 60 60,000 1,117 Sub Total 750,000 13,966 GOKWE DISTRICT Maize grains Ton 180 10,000 1,800,000 33,520 Primary haulage transport Trip 5 30,000 150,000 2,793 Secondary transport Km 4,000 60 240,000 4,469 Sub Total 2,190,000 40,782 CHILD SUPLEMENTARY FEEDING (Children under 5 yrs old) MBERENGWA DISTRICT Nutrimeal Ton 16 60,000 960,000 17,877 Primary haulage transport Trip 1 24,000 24,000 447 Secondary transport Km 608 60 36,480 679 Sub Total 1,020,480 19,003 ZVISHAVANE DISTRICT Nutrimeal Ton 8 60,000 480,000 8,939 Primary haulage transport Trip 1 12,000 12,000 223 Secondary transport Km 300 60 18,000 335 Sub Total 510,000 9,497 GOKWE DISTRICT Nutrimeal Ton 16 60,000 960,000 17,877 Primary haulage transport Trip 1 19,200 19,200 358 Secondary transport Km 600 60 36,000 670 Sub Total 1,015,200 18,905 SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING FOR 3 SCHOOLS MBERENGWA DISTRICT Nutrimeal Ton 12 60,000 720,000 13,408 Primary haulage transport Trip 1 14,256 14,256 265 Secondary transport Km 446 60 26,760 498 Sub Total 761,016 14,172 ZVISHAVANE DISTRICT Nutrimeal Ton 6 60,000 360,000 6,704 Primary haulage transport Trip 1 7,128 7,128 133 Secondary transport Km 223 60 13,380 249 Sub Total 380,508 7,086 Description Type of No. of Unit Budget Budget Unit Units Cost ZWD USD GOKWE DISTRICT Nutrimeal Ton 12 60,000 720,000 13,408 Primary haulage transport Trip 1 14,256 14,256 265 Secondary transport Km 446 60 26,760 498 Sub Total 761,016 14,172 TOTAL MIDLANDS REGION 9,158,220 170,544 MATEBELAND REGION BEITBRIDGE DISTRICT Maize grains Ton 180 10,000 1,800,000 33,520 Primary haulage transport Trip 5 30,000 150,000 2,793 Secondary transport Km 4,000 60 240,000 4,469 Sub Total 2,190,000 40,782 IRRIGATION AND REHABILITATION PROJECT - BILI DISTRICT Cement Bag 100 300 30,000 559 Quary M3 10 1,000 10,000 186 Bitumen (30 kg tins) Tin 2 3,500 7,000 130 Trinepon 19 (30 kg tins) Tin 2 1,500 3,000 56 Transport to site Km 1,200 60 72,000 1,341 Transp of materials central w/house Km 1,200 60 72,000 1,341 Fuel (diesel) Litre 1,680 45 75,600 1,408 Siphon Unit 100 150 15,000 279 Headworks Lumpsum 1 200,000 200,000 3,724 Repairs to storage tank Lumpsum 1 150,000 150,000 2,793 Sub Total 634,600 11,818 TSHOLOTSHO DISTRICT FOOD Maize grains Ton 225 10,000 2,250,000 41,899 Primary haulage transport Trip 6 30,000 180,000 3,352 Secondary transport Km 6,000 60 360,000 6,704 Sub Total 2,790,000 51,955 TOTAL MATEBELELAND REGION 5,614,600 104,555 PERSONNEL, ADMINISTRATION, OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT Salaries and Support Staff: National Coordinator Month 10 55,000 550,000 10,242 Area Managers (3 persons at 50%) Month 10 30,000 900,000 16,760 Project officer (3 persons at 80%) Month 10 35,000 1,050,000 19,553 Project assistants (8 persons) Month 10 25,000 2,000,000 37,244 Bookkeepers (5 persons at 40%) Month 10 18,000 900,000 16,760 Project Monitoring and Evaluation: National coordinator Day 100 2,000 200,000 3,724 Area managers (3 persons) Day 48 2,000 288,000 5,363 Project officers (3 persons) Day 100 2,000 600,000 11,173 Project assistants (8 persons) Day 60 2,000 960,000 17,877 Drivers (5 persons) Day 29 2,000 288,000 5,363 Vehicle Operations: Vehicle running costs (4 light trucks for 9 mths) Km 129,000 40 5,160,000 96,089 Description Type of No. of Unit Budget Budget Unit Units Cost ZWD USD Motor bike running costs (8 cycles for 9 mths) Km 200,000 15 3,000,000 55,866 TOTAL PERSONNEL, ADMIN, OPS & SUPPORT 15,896,000 296,015 MATERIAL, STORAGE, WAREHOUSING AND HANDLING Rental of 8 warehouses Month 9 7,000 504,000 9,385 Security guards (8 persons) Month 9 2,500 180,000 3,352 TOTAL MATERIAL, STORAGE, WAREHOUSING & HANDLING 684,000 12,737 CAPITAL EQUIPMENT Programme vehicle (light truck) Unit 1 1,500,000 1,500,000 27,933 Motor bikes Unit 3 185,000 555,000 10,335 TOTAL CAPITAL EQUIPMENT 2,055,000 38,268 EVALUATION Program evaluation Day 35 10,000 350,000 6,518 TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE 43,193,820 804,354 Rate of Exchange: USD 1 = ZWD 53.70 BUDGET NOTES The following rations were used, 100g of nutrimeal porridge per child per day for 9 months 100g of nutrimeal porridge per school going child (grade 1-3) per day five days a week. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER Lutheran Development Service (LDS- ELCZ) in co-operation with Lutheran World Federation, Department of World Service. IMPLEMENTING AGENCY INFORMATION The Lutheran Development Service (LDS) is the former Lutheran World Federation/World Service (LWF/LWS) Zimbabwe Program which was successfully handed over to the local church earlier this year. While maintaining strong ties with LWF/LWS, the nature of the relationship has undergone a change and LDS is currently an independent local Program with its own Board and management, completely in the hands of local staff. LDS has been operating in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 after participating in the repatriation of the wartime refugees. The organisation then became involved in rehabilitation work and gradually moved into long-term development work. In addition the organisation has also assisted South African, Namibian and Mozambican refugees in the 1980s to the mid-1990s. Zimbabwe has had four droughts and one flood since independence and the LDS has assisted the affected communities during two of the droughts and the last flood. Droughts are the most common disaster and the current food shortage is due to the fifth severe mid season drought to affect the country since independence. LDS has the implementing capacity to assist the affected communities in its current operational areas of Masvingo, Midlands and Matabeleland south. DESCRIPTION OF EMERGENCY SITUATION Background The 2000/01 season has been characterised by two diverse emergencies in Zimbabwe, floods and drought. A flood hit the northern part while the southern and western parts of the country were reeling under a drought in the early part of the season. The rainfall season generally started late with patchy, light rainfall. It commenced over the north and central parts of the country that received normal to above normal rainfall up to December 2000. The southern parts suffered from persistent droughts throughout that time. For most parts of Matebeland the rains started in February. The rainfall season was generally characterised by a long dry spell in January throughout the country followed by continuous heavy rains in February and March. The result of this variable rainfall pattern has resulted in crop loss due to flooding and water logging in some areas and in other areas due to low rainfall. The south and south east of the country were worst hit by late and low rainfall. In these areas the rains earnestly started in February and in those areas particularly the Midlands and Masvingo areas when the rains started in Nov/October they were light and patchy. A long dry spell was experienced in January seriously affecting crops. After the rains resumed in February the country received above average rainfall for the season. However for the early-planted crops wilting was beyond recovery and at the same time it was too late to start planting a crop as the rainfall season only ends in early April. Nevertheless, the late rains have rejuvenated the grass and other vegetative growth in the veld and this means livestock survival is now out of danger. Food shortage is now imminent as a result of the mid-season drought. At national level it is estimated that 1,27 million tonnes will be produced this season and this represent a 42% reduction from last season and a 32% from the 1990 average. With this current production estimate and a carry over of 440-000MT Zimbabwe will experience a food deficit by January 2002. The food security situation at household level is worsened by the fact that less that 50% of households and in some areas getting as low as 30% have grain stock from last years harvest and for the areas which were affected by the floods farmers have virtually no grain stocks. A crop and livestock assessment report from the Famine Early warning system network indicates that most districts in Matabeleland south, Masvingo and midlands provinces have lost over 60% of their average maize income from crop production in the 2000/2001 season. Current Situation As outlined above food shortage is now imminent as a result of the mid-season drought and the carry forward of the problem from last year. As of now the Government of Zimbabwe has started a food for work Program in which the community is working five days per person per month for a payment of Z$250 (USD4) per month. This money is not sufficient to buy a 50 kg bag of maize which costs up to Z$340 (at the Grain Marketing Board Depots) and is supposed to cater for a family of six for one month. The limited funds for the government funded food for work Program are only sufficient to cover five households per village of 100 households. Unless there is international assistance many families face starvation, as they are not covered under the current food for work Program. To make the situation worse many communal people live far away from the government established grain depots and unscrupulous traders are buying and reselling a 50 kg bag of maize at prices as high as Z$500/bag. The coping mechanisms of households are currently at their lowest. The floods, thus resulting in no immediate food security reserves at the village level, destroyed household granaries that normally form the major source of grain storage. Farmers have had to dispose of their livestock that are fetching very low prices due to a glut in the market. To raise income others have resorted to illegal gold panning, a risky business and a danger to the environment. The economic slump being experienced in Zimbabwe has exacerbated unemployment due to retrenchments. This has increased the urban to rural drift resulting in more people joining the already overloaded government food assistance Program. In addition the critical shortage of diesel in the country makes it difficult for the food to be transported to the existing grain marketing depots in time Impact on Human Lives The impact of the situation is phenomenal at the household level. At the rural schools some children are now reported to be fainting as they are walking long distances to school on empty stomachs. Most families can no longer serve more than one meal a day in order to conserve the meagre food resources that they have at any one time. Vulnerable groups such as children under five, pregnant mothers, the elderly and the disabled are already facing severe cases of malnutrition. For example in Matabeleland south the under fives who weigh below the line has been found to be as high as 20% in the remote areas. Over eight hundred thousand people are now on the Social Welfare registers of the three provinces and in the very near future these people could easily face starvation as there are very few (if any) coping mechanisms in the current situation. GOALS & OBJECTIVES Goal : To ensure that starvation is avoided by giving food aid to the needy communities. Objectives To assist the hungry vulnerable groups such as the children under five years, orphans, pregnant mothers, the elderly and the disabled with food. To give supplementary feeding to the school children and the under fives so as to reduce the levels of malnutrition. To start a food for work Program with the communities who are already involved in the current long term development activities at the project sites. BENEFICIARY INFORMATION & TARGETTED AREAS MATABELELAND PROVINCE Beitbridge District Beitbridge Town is some 320 km away from Bulawayo town. The district has a population of 90,000 of whom 59,000 are expected to be on the social welfare drought relief registers. Another 12,000 are in the vulnerable category of old age, orphans and pregnant mothers while up to 14,2% of the 20,000 children under five have already been found to be undernourished. . The district has 22,029 primary school children in need of supplementary feeding. Only 10% of the farmers have attempted to plant crops but the crops wilted during the mid-season drought and 90% of the farmers never managed to plant any crops. This means that the district is in dire need of food assistance. The government has established an extra grain-marketing depot at Zezani but this depot does not have a constant supply of maize and therefore fails to cope with the demand at local level. Beitbridge District borders with South Africa and due to the recent food shortages many people, especially youths have been illegally crossing the border into South Africa in search of employment. Gwanda There are 140,000 people in Gwanda District with Gwanda town being the Provincial capital of Matabeleland South and 120 km away Bulawayo. Gwanda has a number of vulnerable people who include 14 % of the 38,000 under five children, 2,500 orphans, 35,000 primary school children, 14,425 aged and disabled. In addition 38,100 are already registered with the Social Welfare for food assistance. Zvishavane In Zvishavane the town is situated about 180 km from Bulawayo town while the district population is around 76,000 people (12,803 households) living in 18 wards. The farmers planted 70% of their crop at the beginning of the current rainy season in November 2000 while the remaining 30% of the crop was planted in December 2000. It is the early-planted crop that wilted during the scotching heat that was experienced the first 42 days of this year when not a single drop of rain was received. The later planted crop had its yield reduced by up to 60% as a result of the same mid-season drought. There are a total of 46 primary schools in the district with a total enrolment of 21,648 pupils and due to the food shortage some children at Masehuni School in the Mazvihwa area are reported to have started fainting in mid-February as they walk long distances to school without having taken any form of food. Mberengwa The district is adjacent to Zvishavane with an estimated population of 180,000 people. There are 108 schools with a total population of 49,140 pupils. Chivi The district is situated some 250 km away from Bulawayo. There are over 80,000 people already registered for food relief with the Social Welfare Department. There are a total of 89 schools in Chivi with a total enrolment of 47,843 children. Mwenezi A temporary grain marketing board depot was set up in February to serve the population but currently has no maize stocks. There are a total of 44 primary schools with an enrolment 28,403 children. Criteria used in beneficiary selection The most important criterion for benefiting in this project is that the household has had no meaningful food harvest. For the food for work activities the people participating are the same people on the Social Welfare registers who should not be receiving any assistance from other sources. The local village committees, to avoid duplication, will co-ordinate the programs. In the schools all enrolled pupils will be beneficiaries while, the under fives are weighed monthly at the clinics and those below the weight for their age will be targeted for the supplementary feeding rations. Number & targeted beneficiaries per area. Masvingo All pupils in schools for the schools supplementary feeding. These consist of 7,849 children in 13 schools in Chivi, 5,778 pupils in 9 schools of Mwenezi district. Food for work at 5 dams in Chivi with a total of 900 participants, 8 dams in Mwenezi with a total of 850 participants and 2 conservation works in Chivi with a total of 370 participants. Another 200 participants at Rushangarumwe Primary School will be assisted with food for work while doing the school construction work. Midlands Food for work will be done at 7 dam sites in Zvishavane with a total of 833 participants, In Mberengwa there are 12 dam sites with a total of 3765 participants and 6 conservation sites with a total of 810 participants In Zvishavane North LDS intends to concentrate its activities in the current operational area of Ukosvo, Runde and Hombe Wards with a total of 2267 households while in Zvishavane south activities will be in Murova, Mutambi and Indava wards with a total of 2063 households. Schools supplementary feeding will be given to 18 schools in Zvishavane with a total enrolment of 7361 children and 22 schools in Mberengwa with a total enrolment of 15803 children. Matabeleland South A total of 14 schools with a total enrolment of 7,373 children will be assisted in 8 out of the 18 wards in Beitbridge. In Gwanda 12 schools with an enrolment of 5,867 children will be assisted in 7 out of the 20 wards. In Beitbridge 882 participants will be involved in food for work projects while in Gwanda district 473 participants will also be involved in food for work projects. The activities that will be done in both districts will be dam construction and conservation works. IMPLEMENTATION DESCRIPTION PER ACTIVITY Food for work: Each family will get one x 50 kg of maize per month. Schools Feeding : Nutrimeal porridge will be given at a ration of 100 grams per pupil per day. Under five children : Each child who is below the weight for age will be given 3 kgs per child per month. ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, REPORTING & MONITORING Administration The LDS Director will be in overall charge of the implementation of the Program and this is done through the Program Co-ordinator who is in charge of the field activities through the Area Co-ordinators, Area Officers and Community Organisers. The water activities are co-ordinated through the Water Engineer who reports to the Program Co-ordinator. Finance The Harare finance office will be responsible for the financial management with the assistance of the finance office staff in the field. The LWF Area Finance Co-ordinator who is based in Harare will assist with the overall financial management according to the LWF and ACT procedures. It is a normal procedure for the Harare finance office to carry out internal audits at least twice a year. While the main audit by the external auditors will be done at the end of the year. The finance office will ensure that the financial report will meet the ACT requirements. Monitoring The main implementers of this project at ground level are the Area Officers and the community organisers. The Director and the Co-ordinators will make regular field visits to ensure that the implementation of the project is as per plan. Staff also attend the Civil Protection Committee meetings at regular intervals to keep other implementers as well as the government authorities informed. LDS will produce monthly highlights, which will be shared with partners in addition quarterly reports will also be produced. These reports will compare the actual progress on the ground with what was intended. At the end of the project an evaluation will be carried out to assess how much the project achieved in meeting its goals and objectives. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE The implementation of this program will be for 10 months beginning June, 2000 until end of march, 2002. CO-ORDINATION At Government level this is done through the Civil Protection Units, which have been established at National, Provincial and District Levels. At the ground level implementation is also co-ordinated by other NGOs, churches and with Christian Care who is LDS's major ACT Partner in Zimbabwe. All procurement is done using the procedures outlined in the ACT guidelines. BUDGET ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE Description Type of No. of Unit Cost Budget Budget Unit Units ZWD ZWD USD DIRECT ASSISTANCE Food for Work Maize 9,083 families x 50 Kg per family / month x 10 mths) Ton 454.15 10,000 4,541,500 84,572 School Feeding Nutrimeal porridge 50,031 children x100 gr/child/day x 150 school days Ton 750.465 60,000 45,027,900 838,508 TOTAL DIRECT ASSISTANCE 49,569,400 923,080 Description Type of No. of Unit Cost Budget Budget Unit Units ZWD ZWD USD MATERIAL, TRANSPORT, WAREHOUSING & HANDLING Transport Lorries and trucks Km 53,400 60 3,204,000 59,665 Haulage hire Trip 42 30,000 1,260,000 23,464 Light vehicles Km 72,000 40 2,880,000 53,631 Motor bikes Km 40,000 15 600,000 11,173 Warehouse rental and repairs Month 10 7,000 70,000 1,304 Warehouse security Month 10 6,000 60,000 1,117 Casual labor loading & offloading Lumpsum 1 90,000 90,000 1,676 TOTAL MATERIAL, TRANSPORT, WAREHOUSING & HANDLING 8,164,000 152,030 PERSONNEL, ADMINISTRATION, OPERATIONS & SUPPORT Salaries and Benefits: Director Month 10 40,000 400,000 7,449 Program co-ordinator (50% salary) Month 10 30,000 300,000 5,587 Area co-ordinators (2 @ 50%) Month 10 40,000 800,000 14,898 Finance officers/clerks(4 @ 40%) Month 10 12,000 480,000 8,939 Area officer/community organiser Month 10 10,000 1,000,000 18,622 (10 @ 40%) Drivers (3 persons) Month 10 10,000 300,000 5,587 Other Staff Costs: Staff training Lumpsum 1 120,000 120,000 2,235 Staff travel Month 10 275,000 2,750,000 51,210 Staff Insurance Lumpsum 1 75,000 75,000 1,397 Office Operations: Office supplies Month 10 7,000 70,000 1,304 Telephone and fax Month 10 18,000 180,000 3,352 E - mail Month 10 5,000 50,000 931 Water Month 10 3,000 30,000 559 Electricity Month 10 5,000 50,000 931 Maintenance of office equipment Month 10 15,000 150,000 2,793 Head office support costs (vehicle insurance, meetings) Month 10 30,000 300,000 5,587 TOTALPERSONNEL, ADMIN, OPS & SUPPORT 7,055,000 131,378 AUDIT AND EVALUATION Audit fees Lumpsum 1 150,000 150,000 2,793 Evaluation (30 man-days) Lumpsum 1 360,000 360,000 6,704 TOTAL AUDIT & EVALUATION e 510,000 9,497 TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE 65,298,400 1,215,985 Rate of Exchange: USD 1 = ZWD 53.70 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ecumenical Centre Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33 150, route de Ferney Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06 P.O. Box 2100 E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org 1211 Geneva 2 Telex: 415 730 OIK CH Switzerland http://www.act-intl.org distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Center for International Disaster Information Volunteers in Technical Assistance web: www.cidi.org listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - comments/suggestions/requests to incident@cidi.org