Angeline Mugwendere

I was born in Sadza – a rural district in Zimbabwe. My parents were subsistence farmers with little or no surplus to sell for basics, let alone school fees. During my first years at primary school, no school fees were required – just any dress, some food and a little encouragement. Life took a bitter turn, though, when the government introduced fees. I remember my parents getting so frustrated when in the same year the rains did not come. Rains were our source of livelihood.

I vividly recall wearing a torn dress to school, no Vaseline to hide my cracked skin, no shoes and little to eat. I felt so vulnerable and uncomfortable, I remember the times when I just could not stand the teasing by the well-off students and I withdrew from drama and debating.

In spite of the obstacles that poverty put in my way, I scored the best possible results in my final year at primary school. I was not just the best at my school but in the province, and one of the best in the country. And yet this success made me cry not for joy but out of pain. It made me realise the power of poverty against me getting into secondary school. It was then that Camfed came in and committed to support me through my education, an education that has had an irreversible impact on my life.

Cama was born in July 1998 when a group of young women like myself came together at a national event in Zimbabwe organised to celebrate the fact that we were among the first girls in our communities to complete secondary education, with Camfed’s support. It has grown into a powerful support network run for and by young rural women belonging to different nationalities, religions, culture, ethnicity and languages. We seek to eradicate poverty in rural communities by empowering girls and young women, through promoting their freedoms, which include social, economic, reproductive, physical, psychological and political freedoms.

In partnership with Camfed, Cama is providing training opportunities, channelling resources including finance and supporting women to step up to local, national and international platforms and challenge the world to invest in girls’ education and young women’s leadership.

Cama represents a platform for rural girls and young women to share experiences. It allows them the opportunity to have personal exchanges about their lives and experience, to draw strength from the past of living with poverty.