The Jesuit Food and Medical Assistance has been a relief to distressed communities facing food, educational and health challenges.
Amid massive shortages of basic food and medical provisions, the project has continued to support many families in areas such as Christon bank, Dzivarasekwa and other low-income communities.
The project is an attempt by the Jesuit Province of Southern Africa to respond to the ever-increasing numbers of vulnerable people in Zimbabwe faced with hunger and lack of health care.
Mrs Synodia Mahachi, the project manager, said so far, 300 people have benefitted twice from the program in 2022 and there has been an increase in numbers of request from new beneficiaries.
“More continue to register for food and educational assistance and some will be incorporated into the Educational project in the third term after the verification exercise has been completed,” said Mahachi.
“Dzivarasekwa, for example, has a long list of vulnerable families which dwarfs the 50 hampers allocated to them…there has been a request to either increase the hampers or alternate the list of the beneficiaries,” she added.
She said the challenges are not limited to food distribution only, as they face these challenges during Healthy and Education assistance programs.
A quarterly outreach clinic was put in place in collaboration with Our Lady of the Wayside Parish to be conducted at Christon Bank.
Even though Christon Bank is an extended centre of Our Lady of the Wayside Parish, the project is supporting both Catholic and non-Catholic beneficiaries.
“The first of these outreach clinics was held in March 2022 at Christon Bank Clinic where more than 150 patients were attended to, with about 100 patients being turned away due to lack of time and medical personnel fatigue,” she added.
The beneficiaries were very grateful for this gesture and hoped that it would become a permanent feature on their calendars.
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