Our Programmes – Zithande Rural Development NPC

Our Programmes

Our Focus Area

Through its technical assistance operations, ZiRD will assist in local efforts to identify appropriate rural development solutions compatible with specific circumstances of rural communities. Our emphasis is placed on three complementary fields of activity:

Strengthening local capacity to identify and prepare better programmes and projects, including support for the formulation of policies for improving the general framework of rural development.

Mobilising the efforts of rural populations, which entails encouraging their participation in decision-making, organisational activities, training and rural education, and social communications.

Promoting programmes and projects that will contribute to capitalising and galvanising the rural economy, and that will act on the mechanisms for the retention and reinvestment of surpluses generated in rural areas.

Our Programmes

Self-reliance programme - Rural women empowerment

Rural women are key agents for achieving the transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. But limited access to credit, health care and education are among the many challenges they face, which are further aggravated by the global food and economic crises and climate change. Empowering them is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also to overall economic productivity.

The Rural Women Empowerment programme supports the leadership and participation of rural woman in strategies, policies and programmes formulation on all issues affecting their lives, this include food security and better livelihoods. RUWEM equips rural woman with skills to pursue new livelihoods and adapt technology to their needs.

Environment management programme

The environment is key to human life and its destruction is a shortcut to mankind self-destruction. For this the protection of our environment is an important practice human should preserve.

This programme looks to strengthen rural communities, enabling them to reverse land degradation and desertification trends in our rural settings, to adopt sustainable land and water management systems to improve food security and reduce poverty.

Skills development programme

The youth in this life constitute the future of any nation as it is from the young people that our future leaders come. Preparing the youth for future responsibilities is a noble duty of any government. Unfortunately we live in settings where opportunities for our young people become more and more scarce.

In the context of our country, South Africa, the majority of our young people come from the previously disadvantaged population and still live in the rural settings. Many access school in very difficult conditions where infrastructure are not conducive.

As a youth led organisation ZiRD has made it its mandate to contribute to the development of our rural young people, providing them with skills development programmes and training among which: