The Youth Edutainment Services (YES) Trust Zimbabwe is an NGO formed by a group of young people in a town named Plumtree in Zimbabwe. The group was established in 2008 to empower the nation’s youth using information. The organization was officially registered in 2013 and is changing the lives of empowered young women in Zimbabwe.

Empowering Women

Zimbabwe and many other developing nations struggle with gender equality on many fronts. Women’s involvement in politics is comparatively low, at just 35%, with an even lower statistic in local government at 16%. U.N. Women’s study shows that the reasons for the lack of participation in such roles include dangerous working conditions, unfair wages, sexual violence and lack of employment.

These issues need addressing if women are to improve their prospects. This is a mission that YES Trust has taken up, demonstrating how empowered young women in Zimbabwe can allow them to change their futures with the vision of a society of equality.

The YES Trust aims to provide youths in the country with information, giving them the education they need to freely determine their futures. Its objectives are to mobilize multimedia and edutainment strategies to give people an understanding of social protection, health, safe migration and gender-based violence. By recognizing the talents and potentials of young people, the YES Trust helps them to engage in their community and provides them with the faculties necessary to utilize their strengths in a productive way for themselves and their country.

The task is not an easy one; creating equal opportunities for all citizens, especially for women and girls, will take time. However, YES Trust believes it can make meaningful changes by 2026, according to its 2021 Brief Overview. The board of trustees and secretariat administrators govern the organization aiming to maximize its productivity and reach its goal.

Creating a Space for Young People

To reach its goal, YES Trust hosts several activities, including storytelling competitions, sporting tournaments, music competitions and school quizzes, according to the 2021 Brief Overview. These all aim to create a space for young people to enter into a larger dialogue concerning crucial issues, especially surrounding gender equality. By emphasizing the importance of access to information and the education of young people, there comes increased accountability and inclusivity that could help improve the poor statistics of women in leading roles. Empowered young women in Zimbabwe are taking action, actively seeking the transformation they wish to happen.

The Youth Edutainment Services Trust partners with several like-minded organizations that share the same goals. One of these partners is U.N. Women, whose ambitions align with those of the YES Trust, according to the 2021 Brief Overview. Together, they strive to end violence against women and girls while endeavoring to inspire women’s political participation in leadership roles.

Alongside this, the HER Voice Fund also works with YES Trust and shares similar aspirations of empowerment, with a focus on advocacy. By positioning themselves with such homogenous organizations, they further define and strengthen their mission statement, pointing towards a larger-scale movement that seeks the same end as YES Trust.

YES Trust, coupled with the organizations that have also identified the same problems, reflects how empowered young women in Zimbabwe are taking a practical approach rather than suffering as a result of deeply ingrained inequality

– Molly Ralph

Molly is based in Dorset, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr