Zimele
291 S. Van Brunt St., Unit 4
Englewood, NJ 07631
United States
Contact person:
+1((908) 336-5153
info@zimelecommunity.org
http://www.zimelecommunity.org/
Topics
- Aid organization
- Aid for developing countries
About us
Zimele is a unique non-profit organization which seeks not only to meet the daily needs of South Africans in the Kwazulu Natal region today, but also to build the physical, financial, and emotional infrastructure of their lives to improve the entire region. Zimele was formed in 2006 with the vision of developing community self-reliance in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa.
The mission of Zimele is to create self sustainable Zimele communities through the implementation of appropriate localized programs which include creating self-help savings groups, establishing and growing microbusinesses, and mentoring community driven non profit projects. Instead of charity handouts that build dependence, Zimele’s approach is to instill self-reliance in African communities. This means teaching skills and providing resources and tools to enable individuals to improve their own lives in a sustainable manner. Not only is this method more effective at transforming lives, but this method restores a person’s dignity which can impact multiple generations.
The programs of Zimele:
• Mentoring: The Zimele Mentoring Program supports community initiatives with resources and skills necessary to meet their goals. These projects are started organically so the community itself sets their own goals and Zimele provides guidance and connections to resources and tools to accomplish the goals in a self-sustaining manner. Examples include the following: Computer Lab, Community Library, Education (building schools), Scholarship funds, Medical (AIDS education clinics, vaccinations, medical clinics), Development of infrastructure (water systems, sewer systems, roads, power lines, etc…)
• Microbancs: The Savings Program currently targets mothers and grandmothers who are often heads of households due to the death of a parent from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Mothers and grandmothers are more likely to pass on economic benefits to their children and grandchildren, which make them the natural target for the savings program.The Savings Program’s self-help approach involves 3 phases concentrating on social, economic and political empowerment. This approach provides an environment of growth and enables the participants to step up from an empoverished surrounding towards a life of dignity.
• Microbusiness: The goal of the Craft’s Program is to the build crafts and business skills and also to facilitate distribution to local, national, and international markets. Zimele provides vital training, guidance, and resources to facilitate production of crafts products. In Winterton, Zimele has a crafts building that acts as a business hub providing workspace for artisans, product design expertise, warehousing for raw materials, and transportation logistics for finished products.
For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.