{"id":2382,"date":"2026-05-08T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2026-06-24T11:43:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:43:59","slug":"from-sitting-at-home-to-building-a-future-tafadzwas-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/from-sitting-at-home-to-building-a-future-tafadzwas-story\/","title":{"rendered":"From Sitting at Home to Building a Future: Tafadzwa’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MUTARE<\/strong> \u2014 Tafadzwa remembers the days that stretched endlessly before her, filled with nothing but uncertainty. At just 20 years old, she had already learned what it felt like to have doors closed to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unable to complete her primary education due to financial challenges at home, she spent most of her days sitting idle, watching her dreams fade with each passing hour. Her future seemed written in stone \u2014 limited opportunities, no skills, no income, no hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came an invitation that would rewrite everything .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tafadzwa had watched a friend transform her life through the Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education (SAGE) project. Inspired by what she saw, she decided to take a leap of faith .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I joined the Youth Economic Empowerment (YEE) component of Plan International’s SAGE project,” Tafadzwa shares. “Before joining SAGE, I spent most of my days sitting at home with no hope for my future. Seeing my friend succeed inspired me to take a step forward” .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAGE project, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through the Girls’ Education Challenge, has supported 5,657 out-of-school girls across Zimbabwe. Since its launch in 2018, the program has provided literacy, numeracy, life skills, and hands-on technical training to highly marginalized adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tafadzwa, the journey began with the basics. She first strengthened her reading and writing skills before progressing to vocational training \u2014 a pathway designed to match each girl’s needs and aspirations .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What came next surprised even Tafadzwa. She trained in a field dominated by men \u2014 bricklaying, plastering, setting out, and foundation digging .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The learning was not easy. The concepts were complex, the work demanding. But with the guidance of a supportive trainer who simplified difficult ideas, Tafadzwa’s confidence grew alongside her competence .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her dedication and strong work ethic caught the attention of a contractor, who offered her a place on his team .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Today, I can read, write, and gain practical skills that are helping me build a better life for myself,” she says .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tafadzwa’s transformation extends far beyond her own life. Today, she earns an income that supports her family in ways she never imagined .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She now provides food for her household, buys clothing for her siblings, and supports their education \u2014 responsibilities she once could not even dream of carrying .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her community has taken notice. People see her not just as a young woman who learned a trade, but as a symbol of possibility for every girl who has been told she cannot .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community members are now eager for the SAGE project to return so more girls can follow similar paths .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tafadzwa’s message to other young women is clear and powerful :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let’s not underestimate the power of practical skills or limit ourselves because of outdated beliefs. Girls can do anything when given the chance” .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAGE project runs through 2026, and its impact is measurable. Across Zimbabwe, 3,104 Integrated Skills Outreach Program learners have gained competency, and 620 young people have received Technical and Vocational Education and Training \u2014 including 426 girls and 194 boys .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girls are now training for traditionally male-dominated trades. Over 413 girls have enrolled in such courses at TVET colleges .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tafadzwa’s story is part of a broader shift. The SAGE project is embedded within the larger TEACH program, which combines teacher professional development, equitable access, and adolescent girls’ education. By 2024, Grade 7 pass rates had risen to 45 per cent, with gender parity maintained .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 1.5 million marginalized children are now attending functional schools supported by School Improvement Grants .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tafadzwa, the numbers tell only part of the story. The real change is in the life she has built \u2014 brick by brick \u2014 and in the hope she now carries for her siblings, her community, and herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, she is no longer a woman sitting at home with no hope. She is a builder, a provider and an inspiration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita MUTARE \u2014 Tafadzwa remembers the days that stretched endlessly before her, filled with nothing but uncertainty. At just 20 years old, she had already learned what it felt like to have doors closed to her. Unable to complete her primary education due to financial challenges at home, she spent most of her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","category-special-features"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2384,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions\/2384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}