BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA recently in Mbire
SASA; a programme designed by a Ugandan-based non-governmental organisation, Raising Voices, has proved its worth in Zimbabwe, as it had helped to reduce violence against women and HIV infections.
And to add it onto its benefit, the SASA (Start, Awareness, Support and Action) programme has also managed to change some people who revealed they used to be perpetrators of violence against their fellow community members.
These people revealed their appreciation of the SASA programme during a National AIDS Council Media Tour of Mashonaland Central.
According to The HIV/AIDS Network; SASA is a methodology and approach designed by the Uganda-based Raising Voices, which works with women and children to explore the gender aspects of power and to address the link between violence against women (VAW) and HIV/AIDS.
“SASA is a Kiswahili word for “now” and also serves as an acronym for the key components of the programme: Start, Awareness, Support and Action.
“The programme seeks to prevent VAW and HIV by changing the attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate power imbalances in relationships between men and women.”
Gladness Mwale, aged 23, from Mbire District in Ward 3 was full of praises for the SASA programme, as she was honest enough to reveal that she used to be violent.
“Ini SASA yakatondibatsira nekuti ndaitombovawo munhu wacho aitokonzeresa mhirizhonga.
“Ndaingoti kugumburiswa ndaibva ndatoita mhirizhonga. “Ndaingoti kungokanganiswa chete, ndaisazvitora zvakanaka, asi pavakanditora, vachindidzidzisa kuti unochinja; hunhu hwangu hwakabva hwachinja.
“Ndaiva munhu wekuti ndaiti ndikanzwa zvataurwa nezvangu ndainobvunza, asi pakubvunza ndipo paikonzereseka dzimwe nyaya dzaizonetsa. (SASA programme helped me personally because I used to be violent. Whenever I got angry, I would engage in violence but it took me to be trained that I saw that what I was doing was wrong.)
Mwale revealed that when she was introduced to the SASA programme she didn’t understand it before she got hooked, in a good way.
“As a member of this programme, we were taught that before you expect to change other people, you have to change first.
“So I’m happy I did that, I did self-introspection and knew what I had to change about my behaviour.
“We were taught about things to do with gender based violence and all its key drivers. So we started going to villages and spreading this word on SASA.
“I started in 2019 and this year in December I will be completing this programme. We go into villages teaching people so that they know all that is to know about GBV. Many people did not even know what SASA was all about, but it all changed and many people got to know about SASA and it impacted them positively.
“Many also got to be serious about getting tested for HIV and also to book pregnancies early and it also helped in many other aspects of maternal health,” said Mwale.
She added: “cases of GBV have lessened because SASA speaks against such issues, it really helped us. We also got to engage in many other income generating projects, this really helped us a lot.
“SASA also helped us especially as young women because we got to learn about many projects because we used to have issues with financial management.
“Before SASA, we really used to have issues in our marriages, like our husbands would just use all the money on things which they wanted not considering the family but we have been empowered also such that we now have our own income generating projects.
“We have goat projects which has really helped.”
She also revealed that as a result of SASA, women can now stand for their rights, they now understand that they can report either to the police or other women’s organisations.
Cases of young women who used to be abused and the perpetrators getting away with such crimes have also lessened said Mwale.
Holiday Banda, a 37-year-old man who is also helping to spread the SASA ‘gospel’ said the programme had also helped him in his marriage because they used to have numerous misunderstandings with his wife, but that had since changed.
Banda said at first he didn’t understand what this programme was all about till they were trained.
“There are groups and in each group there are 25 people and in a month we meet three times, first month we discuss about GBV.
“Then second month we discuss about power dynamics in the house, then lastly we talk about HIV and AIDS,” said Banda.
Chipo Jongoro, Katswe Sistahood Field Officer, revealed that the programme had four phases and along with NAC, they are implementing it in Mbire District five Wards 2, 3, 4, 11 and 12.
“In Ward 2 and 3, it is in the Action Phase, which is the last phase of the project where we are looking to say when the project is done, what shall happen, who will remain to see that the project continues.
“So we are working with several government departments, like Ministry of Youth, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Health and we are also working with traditional leaders, church leaders and youths and women who have influence in the community so that when the project they will continue to talk about GBV and HIV issues.
“Our main aim as SASA is we are looking at women and young women who are facing abuse, linking them to get health services or getting help when they want to get report issues,” said Jongoro.
Edgar Muzulu, Provincial Manager for NAC in Mashonaland Central, said GBV was one of our key drivers of HIV so they were making use of the SASA approach, which is a model meant to bring about transformation in terms of how people relate, how people view their own norms and values.
“So it is transformative in nature in terms of how people look at what is valuable and in terms of traditional practices.
“You will find out that traditionally in a setting like Shamva, there was actually valuing those traditions like chiramu, kugara nhaka and so forth, which were some of the causes how HIV spreads.
“So you will find that because of the education, it actually focuses on traditional leaders, influential leaders, religious leaders and the approach seeks to make people introspect and relook at how they are living and see which are the practices which are wrong, which are in the negative, which need to be addressed,” said Muzulu.
He added that with the SASA model, people are equipped with skills of trying to raise awareness amongst themselves and they are also given skills of how to respond, how to encourage each other to avoid such practices.
Muzulu further added that they had noticed some positive outcomes as a result of the SASA model which is currently being employed in Shamva, in Bindura District under the Global Fund and in Mbire District under a Social Contracting Arrangement.
And during the week long NAC Media Tour, journalists managed to see and hear how SASA had changed lives, testament that this Uganda borrowed initiative, can also work well in Zimbabwe.
