Youth Fund
DESCRIPTION
The Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT) Youth fund is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to provide institutional capacity building of 15 organisations across the country in the youth sector.
It was initially launched in 2009 as a pilot programme that ran for 18 months. The second phase of the fund started in February 2011 and will run till May 2012.
OBJECTIVES
While supporting creative and innovative youth initiated projects the project also strives to strengthen the technical, institutional and operational capacities of youth organisations to participate as equal partners in development.
Also, aims to promote interaction and partnership among youth organisations for learning and knowledge sharing in addressing common issues affecting the youth sector at national, regional and international level.
RESULTS ACHIEVED
The fund has demonstrated great potential in making a difference in the lives of youths across the country as participation of youth in national and international platforms for sustainable economic and political development has significantly increased while a number of jobs have been created for the youth through the entrepreneurship projects. The project continues to address pertinent issues of peace building, democracy and governance.
Beneficiaries
The activities carried out by the YYF sub-grantees in the second phase of the project have reached out to 3969 youths in the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe through trainings and activities.
In addition 1547, 956 males and 591 females were reached out by YET trainings and youth organisations that implemented activities under the strategic interventions and commemorations of key events support.
An estimated 25 000 people were indirect beneficiaries of the project through distribution of IEC materials
Significant change
Organizations that have received support under this grant have significantly improved in their record keeping for programs and finances and they have also now put in place organisational policies
Meanwhile, last year a delegation of eleven youth, drawn from YETT partners working on democracy and governance visited Zambia and met with officials from Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
The exchange programme was critical in understanding the creative and critical role that youth organisations can play in electoral processes.
‘Meetings held with these stakeholders were an eye opener on how massive the loopholes we have in our system. They provided with options which can make us improve on our voter sensitisation especially concerning youth’ Sally Ncube- Platform for Youth Development Trust who participated in the Zambia exchange programme.
Of the 14 organisations receiving institutional support for this project, five youth organisations are currently implementing or have integrated income generating projects to address issues of economic empowerment for young people.