By Nyasha Dube, Zvishavane
The most recent climate shock which had devastating effects was Cyclone Idai in 2009, which not only led to destruction of infrastructure such as schools, but also disrupted people’s ways of life and even led to death of many.
According to statistics by the Zimbabwe Education Cluster, of the estimated 300 000 people affected, 129 600 were children, and education was one of the most affected sectors.
Children are the most vulnerable during times of crisis and sometimes schools are destroyed or have to close for longer periods of time.
Currently, there are parts of the countries which are experiencing floods due to excessive rains.
Pictures of children in school uniform trying to cross flooded rivers have been circulating on social media, sometimes children wading their way through knee-high or neck-high water.
This shows the challenges and risks that children face every day as they try to access their basic right.
In rural areas, the rainy season not only means that children can no longer access schools because of damaged bridges or lack of. It also means that children become a source of manual labor and have to assist in farms.
Children’s workload at home increases and they find themselves having to miss classes or drop out of school entirely.
It might seem like this problem only affects children in rural areas but those in cities are not spared either.
They are mostly affected by power cuts and destruction or pollution of water sources. Poor drainage in most cities has also resulted in flooding lately.
Girl’s rights advocacy organizations believe the solution lies in prioritizing education and conducting awareness campaigns with communities on the importance of education.
Tadiwa Burukai-Matutu from Womandla Foundation says there is need to intensify education awareness campaigns and have dialogue with communities on children’s education rights:
“Teachers and headmasters need to be capacitated so they can follow up whenever a child misses class, or when they come to class tired. It is also important for communities to come together and assist each other with farming (humwe) rather than depending on children as a source of labor. This will ensure that children attend school, and at the same time bring communities together so that they support initiatives live building schools, roads and other infrastructure,” she said.