As the current chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), 2023 was Angola’s turn to host the annual meeting of Ministers of Health. Held in the capital, Luanda, from 25–28 November 2023, the meeting was attended by ministers and senior officials from the Ministries of Health, as well as those responsible for HIV&AIDS in the respective Member States, and with the stated aim of noting progress reports and adopting decisions on key regional health initiatives and priorities for the region.
Over an intense three days, delegates listened to presentations highlighting important progress made in the region on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV&AIDS. Presenters also introduced various data-tracking tools and new “scorecards” that will better track health priorities such as reducing malnutrition, eliminating malaria, health financing and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
David Ramushu Secondary School in Kabwe is situated in one of the most lead-polluted areas in Zambia. The effects of lead poisoning, coupled with other issues, have devastating effects on the health of, not only the learners, but also on members of the community at large. This is naturally of grave concern to FutureLife-Now! with its focus on the health and wellbeing of those in the school communities it serves. So, to support the school and its community, in May and October last year, the FutureLife-Now! programme organised health services jamborees for learners, teachers and members of the community at David Ramushu Secondary.
The relevance and importance of such events are summed up by Richard Ngoma, teacher and FutureLife-Now! focal point person at David Ramushu.
Through various presentations by health officials from Kasanda Health Centre, I was reminded about the realities of the gap that existed on crosscutting issues and how teachers and stakeholders are the driving force … when it comes to information dissemination. More schools are becoming more widely recognised as a focal point for the initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of our young generation … .
If we wish to solve major health and societal issues, we must approach learners early, before they face issues which may prove insurmountable to their health and wellbeing. The ideal location to accomplish this job is in schools, where the vast majority of the youngsters congregate every day. With FutureLife-Now! conducting health services jamborees at our school it has become evident that health education and services are more important than ever.
These days, young people are so often urged to “dream big”, yet for whatever reason—lack of opportunity, lack of the necessary skills, inadequate resources—for many the dreams sour and are left unfulfilled. But here is a story of a boy, a young man, whose talents were nurtured through the FutureLife-Now! Programme and, by grabbing the opportunity presented to him, is making his dreams come to fruition. At the age of 18, Graham Tinotenda Mushavi has become a published author. His book, Behind masculinity—The reality, was inspired by his experience in the Boys’ Mentorship Club that FutureLife-Now! started at his school.
Graham is a teenager who has just completed his A levels at Nashville High School in Gweru, in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. His early years certainly were not easy: he and his younger sister were raised by his mother and grandmother, yet he worked hard at school and was appointed head boy at the start of 2023, using the opportunity to develop his public speaking skills, motivating his peers through talks at the school assembly. He also became involved in the school’s Boys Mentorship Club, a FutureLife-Now! initiative that seeks to address the vulnerabilities faced by boys and young men. This is achieved through a “buddy system”, whereby older learners mentor younger boys, while the elder boys in turn are mentored by some of the teachers. This inspired Graham to start his own initiative, Young Generation Ambassadors (YGA), a club aimed at eliminating drug and substance abuse among youth. The club also extended beyond the school, targeting out-of-school young people.
As the founder of YGA, Graham often found himself making speeches that addressed girl child problems. “Over the years,” he explains, “the girl child has been denied all forms of access … and nations across the globe are trying as hard as possible to eliminate problems faced by the girl child today, and it has been quite progressive.”
But what about the boy child? In the quest for gender equality, Graham came to realise that the boy child has now been neglected. Boy child issues have become hidden “behind masculinity” as society keeps setting expectations and spreading statements such as “men don’t cry”. This, according to Graham, is a reason why there are higher suicide and substance abuse rates among boys than girls. A feature on boys’ vulnerability in FutureLife-Now!’s newsletter motivated Graham to start on his book. “I wanted to give the audience the other side of the narrative, a different piece of the pie thereby promoting gender equality.”
As one of the FutureLife-Now! Phase 1 pilot schools, Fobane High School bears witness to the positive impact the programme is having on its learners. This is true for climate change, with many learners demonstrating improved awareness of climate issues, and importantly, now engaging actively to address some of the challenges. There is even evidence of positive behaviour change not directly related to their schooling.
Nkuebe Moshoeshoe, the FutureLife-Now! focal point teacher at the school, provides some background. The community where the school is situated has only recently (2019) been supplied with electricity: before that, the population was dependent on having to cut down trees to supply firewood for cooking and heating. This resulted in severe de-forestation: unfortunately, the cut-one, plant-two rule was unknown in these parts. The school faced the same challenges as the community: with trees gone, it was difficult to find firewood for cooking the daily meal provided to learners. Furthermore, it had to buy the produce, such as cabbage, to be cooked.
The effects of climate change are increasingly felt across the globe, not least in southern Africa. Malawi has been particularly badly hit, with, for example, the monstrous Cyclone Freddy having wreaked devastation across the country last year. So FutureLife-Now!’s focus on climate action has resonated in the schools where it has been introduced.
This was the backdrop for two exciting virtual interschool climate dialogues that FutureLife-Now! facilitated in October 2023. Under the theme, “Understanding Climate Change: Exploring its Impact on Different Sectors”, the main objective was to afford learners a platform to exchange experiences, share best practices, discuss challenges and propose solutions pertaining to climate change. Ngowe and Natola Community Day Secondary Schools engaged together in the first of the dialogues on 9 October, with Mbinzi Community Day Secondary School and Dowa Secondary School following the next day.
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