Covid-19 a curse or a blessing to young people in Zimbabwe

When I look at the young people today during this Covid-19 pandemic all I see is tears from within, uncertainty of their future and mostly fear of the unknown. Many questions linger in their minds, is this purpose we are living for to suffer at the mercy of a pandemic? The alarming rate of infection and death rates has made young people sceptical and conclude that surely their future is bleak.

When a total lockdown was officialised in Zimbabwe, schools had closed earlier deterring young people from fully utilising educational facilities both in urban and rural schools. The young people in Universities had to go back home within a week of opening school, they have been deprived of a right to education. Although some resort to online learning, a good initiative, I look back at my rural friends-where will they access internet from? Even urbanites are finding it hard to cope with these ICT trends. The young people are suffering because their sources of income have been closed. Covid-19 is now like a generational curse which is haunting most people whether rich or poor , we all need to be active in safeguarding the young people as the future generation have a legacy from which they can pick from but corona has other thoughts in mind.

Young people are losing loved ones and bread winners to this pandemic. Apparently, gender based violence increases because of the lack of resources in households.  There have been a rise in child-headed families, many are vulnerable and are easy prey for scavengers who want to utilise this opportunity to destroy the future of our young people by abusing them in exchange for money and sex. Our morals as young people are being tested, but due to desperation we are losing it bit by bit so that we can fend for our families.

Young people have lost their employment due to most companies shutting down during this pandemic. Some of their small start-ups have been demolished by the city councils to enable a safer environment for the citizens of Zimbabwe. All these contribute to the economic hardships to the young people. Their hard earned resources getting destroyed and counting these losses leads to high rates of mental health scares. Substance abuse increases in the name of relieving stresses caused by Covid-19, our generation is dying because we are not able to adapt to changes in lifestyle as the world is quickly changing in the face of the pandemic.

Young people are succumbing to hunger fears than Covid-19 pandemic. Malnutrition shall rise as our parents do not have means of finding work to sustain their households. Food relief is being availed to the disadvantaged communities but is it reaching the intended targets? Will it be sustainable for the families? All these questions are in the young people’s minds but who can answer them. Non-governmental organisations have brought programs such as food for work initiatives to boost household nutrition levels but lockdown has led to the closure of such programs to ensure the pandemic does not spread in the country.

Water and sanitation issues are also a major contributor to young girls and boys succumbing to long hours waiting at borehole queues just to get water for household use. They spend almost the whole day in line, these places become hubs for substance abuse, sexual abuse as girls resort to offering their bodies for the so called borehole mafia’s can give them water or make them jump the line. It is a sad situation but what can we do as young people as running water is scarce. Although the government issued a statement that water should be availed in all councils responsible all over the country but it is a different scenario for my hometown in Chitungwiza. You can get it once in two weeks and it will be dirty with green like substances floating, it is not hygienic but you have no choice than to fill up the water for consumption. It is a saddening situation, there is no social distancing at these places and one is highly susceptible to the pandemic.

Another major concern is the issue of affordability and accessibility of sanitary wear for young women and girls in this pandemic. Water is critical for their menstrual hygiene management. The costs of sanitary wear has risen and looking at the economy how many can afford to buy and the lockdown has led to many streams of income being shut down. How will our young women and girls bleed without fear? It is at this juncture that we should ensure that no girl or young woman is left behind during this pandemic. They are the mothers of tomorrow therefore they need to be safeguarded as jewels of the society. We have many organisations running to rural areas with supplies but have we checked if sanitary wear is availed to the vulnerable in society during this time. Now there is need for a low cost sanitary wear like reusable cloth pads which last longer to curb the need for girls and young women to have stress on how their next menstrual cycle shall be. Young people have enough problems but basic necessities need to be prioritised to ensure our health is safeguarded. Both urban and rural young people have the same needs let us not only think of the other as inferior but equity is needed for full programming efforts in this Covid-19 pandemic. Local clinics are not functioning to full capacity how can young people access sexual and reproductive products for their health?

I appeal to Zimbabweans at large to look not only to the elderly but the young people as well, as they also have huge challenges during this pandemic. And to the youths we are in this together let’s fight this pandemic by becoming industrious and show the nation that we are truly leaders of tomorrow with our skills.

Written by Tatenda Rukarwa

Covid-19 a curse or a blessing to young people in Zimbabwe

When I look at the young people today during this Covid-19 pandemic all I see is tears from within, uncertainty of their future and mostly fear of the unknown. Many questions linger in their minds, is this purpose we are living for to suffer at the mercy of a pandemic? The alarming rate of infection and death rates has made young people sceptical and conclude that surely their future is bleak.

When a total lockdown was officialised in Zimbabwe, schools had closed earlier deterring young people from fully utilising educational facilities both in urban and rural schools. The young people in Universities had to go back home within a week of opening school, they have been deprived of a right to education. Although some resort to online learning, a good initiative, I look back at my rural friends-where will they access internet from? Even urbanites are finding it hard to cope with these ICT trends. The young people are suffering because their sources of income have been closed. Covid-19 is now like a generational curse which is haunting most people whether rich or poor , we all need to be active in safeguarding the young people as the future generation have a legacy from which they can pick from but corona has other thoughts in mind.

Young people are losing loved ones and bread winners to this pandemic. Apparently, gender based violence increases because of the lack of resources in households.  There have been a rise in child-headed families, many are vulnerable and are easy prey for scavengers who want to utilise this opportunity to destroy the future of our young people by abusing them in exchange for money and sex. Our morals as young people are being tested, but due to desperation we are losing it bit by bit so that we can fend for our families.

Young people have lost their employment due to most companies shutting down during this pandemic. Some of their small start-ups have been demolished by the city councils to enable a safer environment for the citizens of Zimbabwe. All these contribute to the economic hardships to the young people. Their hard earned resources getting destroyed and counting these losses leads to high rates of mental health scares. Substance abuse increases in the name of relieving stresses caused by Covid-19, our generation is dying because we are not able to adapt to changes in lifestyle as the world is quickly changing in the face of the pandemic.

Young people are succumbing to hunger fears than Covid-19 pandemic. Malnutrition shall rise as our parents do not have means of finding work to sustain their households. Food relief is being availed to the disadvantaged communities but is it reaching the intended targets? Will it be sustainable for the families? All these questions are in the young people’s minds but who can answer them. Non-governmental organisations have brought programs such as food for work initiatives to boost household nutrition levels but lockdown has led to the closure of such programs to ensure the pandemic does not spread in the country.

Water and sanitation issues are also a major contributor to young girls and boys succumbing to long hours waiting at borehole queues just to get water for household use. They spend almost the whole day in line, these places become hubs for substance abuse, sexual abuse as girls resort to offering their bodies for the so called borehole mafia’s can give them water or make them jump the line. It is a sad situation but what can we do as young people as running water is scarce. Although the government issued a statement that water should be availed in all councils responsible all over the country but it is a different scenario for my hometown in Chitungwiza. You can get it once in two weeks and it will be dirty with green like substances floating, it is not hygienic but you have no choice than to fill up the water for consumption. It is a saddening situation, there is no social distancing at these places and one is highly susceptible to the pandemic.

Another major concern is the issue of affordability and accessibility of sanitary wear for young women and girls in this pandemic. Water is critical for their menstrual hygiene management. The costs of sanitary wear has risen and looking at the economy how many can afford to buy and the lockdown has led to many streams of income being shut down. How will our young women and girls bleed without fear? It is at this juncture that we should ensure that no girl or young woman is left behind during this pandemic. They are the mothers of tomorrow therefore they need to be safeguarded as jewels of the society. We have many organisations running to rural areas with supplies but have we checked if sanitary wear is availed to the vulnerable in society during this time. Now there is need for a low cost sanitary wear like reusable cloth pads which last longer to curb the need for girls and young women to have stress on how their next menstrual cycle shall be. Young people have enough problems but basic necessities need to be prioritised to ensure our health is safeguarded. Both urban and rural young people have the same needs let us not only think of the other as inferior but equity is needed for full programming efforts in this Covid-19 pandemic. Local clinics are not functioning to full capacity how can young people access sexual and reproductive products for their health?

I appeal to Zimbabweans at large to look not only to the elderly but the young people as well, as they also have huge challenges during this pandemic. And to the youths we are in this together let’s fight this pandemic by becoming industrious and show the nation that we are truly leaders of tomorrow with our skills.

Written by Tatenda Rukarwa