Achievements And Challenges Of NGOs In Protecting And Empowering The Girl Child In Africa

Girls and women in Zimbabwe are marginalised due to cultural perceptions,patriarchy and religion,all further compounded by poverty.The study examined the initiatives of a nongovernmental organisation,Girl Child Network Zimbabwe(GCNZ)in protecting and empowering the girl child in Zimbabwe.Based on Upendra Baxi’s theory of human rights,the study documented and discussed GCNZ’s interventions and their impact on the girl child.A mixed methods research design was used on a sample of 123 participants in Chitungwiza town,Zimbabwe.Data was collected using questionnaires and an interview guide.SPSS and MS Excel were used to analyse quantitative data while Taguette software was used to analyse the qualitative data.A major finding was that GCNZ came up with a first of its kind empowerment model to care for abused girls;provided them a safe haven,sent them to school and facilitated the reporting and arrest of the abusers.Another is that GCNZ in its formative years,was highly impactful upon the community,but this later deteriorated,partly due to governance failures within the organisation and partly because of external factors.The study concluded that initially,GCNZ did contribute to the empowerment and protection of the girl child in Zimbabwe,so much so that the political elite whom they persecuted by happenstance,took exception to their activities and used their power to intimidate the organisation and its leader,which ultimately led to GCNZ’s current state of decline.The study has therefore put forth some recommendations to arrest this.