VSO Project Update:𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊, 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒!

Updated on November 12, 2026
by Tsuro Trust

𝐴 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒. 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠. 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑠, 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑖ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑠 – 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟.

But how do communities ensure their concerns are heard? Who follows up when problems arise? And how can every voice, including those of women, young people and persons with disabilities, influence decisions that affect their lives?

These conversations brought together four Social Accountability Monitoring Committees (SAMCO) from Wards 10A, 10B, 17 and 18 at a Learning and Exchange Workshop held on 30 October 2026 at Ngangu Boardroom, Chimanimani, under the 𝐀C𝐓I𝐕E P𝐫o𝐣e𝐜t.

Through sharing experiences and lessons, participants reflected on progress already made, including successful referrals of child marriage cases to Social Welfare, strengthened community by-laws against illegal tree cutting, and the establishment of fire guards in Wards 10A and 10B.

Beyond the achievements, the workshop created an opportunity for committees to learn from one another, identify practical solutions and strengthen collaboration with local stakeholders.

As one 𝐒A𝐌C𝐎 member from Ward 18 aptly observed:

“𝘉𝑒𝘧𝑜𝘳𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝘴 𝘸𝑜𝘳𝑘𝘴ℎ𝘰𝑝 𝑤𝘦 𝘵ℎ𝘰𝑢𝘨ℎ𝘵 𝘤ℎ𝘢𝑙𝘭𝑒𝘯𝑔𝘦𝑠 𝑤𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘰𝑛𝘭𝑦 𝑖𝘯 𝘰𝑢𝘳 𝘸𝑎𝘳𝑑, 𝘯𝑜𝘸 𝘸𝑒 𝑠𝘦𝑒 𝑤𝘦 𝘴ℎ𝘢𝑟𝘦 𝘴𝑎𝘮𝑒 𝑝𝘳𝑜𝘣𝑙𝘦𝑚𝘴 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘤𝑎𝘯 𝘴ℎ𝘢𝑟𝘦 𝘴𝑜𝘭𝑢𝘵𝑖𝘰𝑛𝘴 𝘵𝑜𝘨𝑒𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟.”

“V𝐚n𝐡u v𝐚k𝐚b𝐚t𝐚n𝐚 𝐯a𝐧o𝐤w𝐚n𝐢s𝐚 𝐤u𝐠a𝐝z𝐢r𝐢s𝐚 𝐦a𝐭a𝐦b𝐮d𝐳i𝐤o a𝐯o k𝐮b𝐮r𝐢k𝐢d𝐳a n𝐞k𝐮k𝐮r𝐮k𝐮r𝐢r𝐚n𝐚, k𝐮b𝐚t𝐬i𝐫a𝐧a u𝐲e k𝐮s𝐡a𝐧d𝐢r𝐚 𝐩a𝐦w𝐞.”

Because lasting community change begins when people realise that their voices matter, their actions count and their collective efforts can make a difference.

𝐄d𝐢t𝐨r: 𝐓h𝐞m𝐛a H𝐚r𝐚h𝐰a