A Skill, a Second Chance.

Finding hope through enterprise training in Zimbabwe’s South-East Lowveld

October 7, 2026

SOUTH-EAST LOWVELD, ZIMBABWE - At 25, Evelyn Mundauya is thinking about the future differently after leaving an abusive marriage, she is not only rebuilding her life. After leaving an abusive polygamous marriage, Evelyn returned home to Manjinji in Ward 15, carrying the responsibility of raising her five-year-old child largely on her shoulders. It was not the future she had imagined, but she knew she had to find a way to start again.

Today, she is doing just that one skill, one idea, and one step at a time.

For Evely, returning home was a difficult decision. But staying in circumstances that were harming her was not an option. She needed to rebuild her life and find a way to provide for her child while creating a future in which she could stand on her own feet.

That search for a new beginning led her to skills training supported through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund Phase II (ZRBF II).

Evely is undertaking a welding course, gaining practical skills that she hopes will eventually translate into an income-generating enterprise. For her, the training goes beyond classroom learning on how to weld. It has given her something tangible to build on that’s a skill, a sense of purpose and a renewed belief that she can create opportunities for herself. A welding course has given her something she had been searching for, a practical skill she can turn into income, and with it comes a renewed sense of possibility.

“I want to start something of my own,” said Evelyn, who now dreams of establishing a welding enterprise in her community.

Her ambition is to establish a welding enterprise in her community. She has already identified a gap in the local market for which there are currently no similar services in her area. She sees an opportunity to provide products and services closer to home while generating an income to support her child. For Evelyn, that is what opportunity looks like.

Evelyn's experience is part of a wider investment in young people across Zimbabwe's South-East Lowveld, where ZRBF Phase II is supporting communities to strengthen resilience by expanding access to skills, livelihoods and economic opportunities.

With guidance from the Government of Zimbabwe, the programme received financial support from the European Union and the Government of Ireland, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) managing and coordinating ZRBF II, technically supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in natural resource management and agriculture, strengthened by the Resilience Knowledge Hub (MERCYCorps) through evidence generation and a catalytic role. In the South-East Lowveld, implementation is being led through the RECLAIM Consortium led by Care International.

Together, these partners are supporting communities to identify practical and locally relevant pathways towards stronger livelihoods and greater resilience.

Through ZRBF II, young people are being equipped with practical, market-oriented skills in areas including climate-smart agriculture, confectionery, welding and entrepreneurship. The intention is not simply to provide training, but to help young people turn skills into livelihoods, livelihoods into enterprises and enterprises into stronger households and communities.

So far, 240 young people have benefited from skills development and entrepreneurship initiatives in the South-East Lowveld, and the programme has identified more than 1,000 additional young people for similar opportunities as it expands its reach.

For young people in communities where formal employment opportunities are limited, and livelihoods are increasingly exposed to economic and climate-related pressures, practical skills can create new possibilities.

For Evelyn, however, the opportunity is deeply personal.

Every day, she thinks about providing for her child and building a more secure future. Her hope is that the welding skills she is acquiring will eventually allow her to establish a business of her own, one that can provide an income and, over time, potentially create opportunities for others in her community.

She is under no illusion that starting a business will be easy. Equipment, capital, customers, and persistence will all be needed. But unlike before, she now feels she has what it takes, a skill she can build on and a clear vision of where she wants to go.

“There is no one providing these services in my area,” she said, pointing to the gap she hopes to fill. She added.

Her words reflect a shift in how she sees her circumstances. What might once have looked like a limitation now looks like an opportunity. Resilience for her is the ability to begin again even after difficult circumstances, and to see possibility where there was once uncertainty. With the right support, a small enterprise can become more than a household livelihood.

And her dream is shared by other young people who have gone through similar enterprise-oriented training. For many of them, completing a course is only the beginning. They want to use what they have learnt to start businesses, generate income and become economically independent.

Sharing the same sentiments, Donald Muraicho, one of the young people under training, said, “Once I complete the course, I will have a certificate to help me find a job and improve my life by gaining practical experience in the field. However, with all things constant, I intend to save enough money so that once I have gained sufficient business management experience, I can start my own business.” He added.

Through ZRBF II, the investment goes beyond training; it’s about strengthening the resilience of families and communities. For Evelyn, her second chance may start with a welding machine, a business in her community, and a determination to make it work.

She left marriage with uncertainty. She is moving forward with a skill, a dream, and the hope of building something of her own.