Tapiwa Bengewa is a civic engagement and policy activist who lectures people on issues relating to inclusivity in terms of policy making and how to challenge policies that are not friendly to the communities we live in.
He also lectures on Human Rights and how people can identify violation of these rights and the best actions to be taken settling human rights violations, misunderstandings or attaining justice.
He is the founder and Executive Director at Wekwedu Youth with Difference, an organisation that prepares youth to become principal actors and decision makers in their own economic development as an important step for the eventual transition into adulthood.
The organisation’s approach is based on the fact that young people are the future, and for them to effectively prepare for this future they must be trained on their future responsibilities to become productive adults; who in turn can provide for their families, contribute towards community development and economic growth as citizens of a country.
The organisation’s goal is to empower the youth and drive a new era of entrepreneurship development, growth, productivity and confidence to participating society.
Wekwedu YWD empowers marginalised young men and women to become key economic drivers through skills development in the areas of literacy and numbers, vocational skills, entrepreneurship and village savings and lending.
The Wekwedu YWD vocational skills programme differs from those being offered by other organisations in that they teach people the sustainable way of combating poverty so as to allow future generations to use the same resource to generate income. This also includes sewing, basketry, poultry and small-scale farming.
Wekewdu YWD teaches communities how to run their businesses in a sustainable manner, including how to advance their businesses so as to gain maximum social benefits.
There is also a professional agricultural team that assists and educates farmers in agricultural sustainability so as to allow future generations to use the same piece of land while it is fertile.
The impact of Tapiwa’s work has resulted in the improvement of animal husbandry and community members sharing their experiences, and how best to use the available resources together as a community.
His vision is to operate as a fully independent organisation, and also facilitate exchange programmes between the youth from the rural and urban areas even at a regional level.
