05.07.22
Make Mothers Matter has always believed in the crucial role of civil society in addressing key issues such as women and girls’ education. It is for this reason that we are supporting and giving voice to one of our grassroots members and its actions in Zimbabwe, Rozaria Memorial Trust.
The UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education honours outstanding and innovative contributions made by individuals, institutions, and organizations to advance girls and women’s education. It is the first UNESCO Prize of this nature and is unique in showcasing successful projects that improve and promote the educational prospects of girls and women and in turn, the quality of their lives.
The Prize is awarded annually to two laureates and consists of an award of US $50,000 each to help further their work in the area of girls and women’s education.
The Prize directly contributes to the attainment of the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda, particularly SDG 4 on education and 5 on gender equality.
Founded in 2006, Rozaria Memorial Trust (RMT) leads innovative initiatives that promote health, education, and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, especially girls and young women, in rural and resource-poor communities in Zimbabwe.
RMT promotes girls and young women’s education by addressing the root causes that keep many girls out of school:
RMT deploys its advocacy on different levels: at the local level, by mobilizing the community (girls in school, community leaders, etc.), and at the regional and national levels, as member of the Zimbabwe Network for Early Childhood Development (ZINECDA) in particular.
Their systemic, multi-level, multi-cause, and multi-method (formal and informal education) approach has shown real results in the reduction of school dropouts and has allowed RMT to implement replicable programs.
The not-for-profit organisation has been carrying out programs on addressing the socio-cultural and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) barriers that limit girls’ access to education. The objectives have been to increase the knowledge base for retention and reentry of girls in rural communities, to shift negative social and cultural norms through traditional cultural institutions to remove barriers that limit girls’ access to education, and to influence educational institutions and systems on addressing stigma around reentry into school by girls.
Stories of significant change have been collected by RMT where the beneficiaries speak about how the education assistant projects impacted their lives. The number of girls and women in need of accessing their right to education is increasing and the more people are aware of the educational assistance that RMT offers its beneficiaries, the higher the demand of assistance by other members of the community who fit the criteria.
To learn more about Rozaria Memorial Trust’s extensive projects and their work with girls and young women in Zimbabwe, please visit their website.
02.07.24
UN New York / HLPF - Register now to join us online at this year’s High Level Political Forum side-event.
13.02.24
UN New York, CSocD62 - MMM's intervention to the Commission on Social Development reiterates that investing in mothers through recognition, education, protection and adequate support is a smart invest
11.03.24
UN New York, CSW68 - Join us for a discussion on changing the narrative in support of mothers - an online parallel event to the 68th UN Commission on the
16.12.24
UN Geneva - The working group on discrimination against women and girls has requested input on care policies and programmes worldwide. In addition to highlighting examples of good laws, policies and practices t
14.12.24
MAV: Turning the Challenges of Motherhood into Professional OpportunitiesWe are happy to announce MMM’s participation in the EU funded MAV (Mom Virtual Assistant) Project, an innovative initiative designed to
05.12.24
Make Mothers Matter co-presented the official launch of Be Family in Paris, a movement aimed at bridging the gap between personal and professional life for working parents. This first event, which took place in
05.12.24
We were delighted to coorganise, together with the European Parents Association (EPA), the "Quality Assurance in Child and Family Support in Europe: Policy Lessons for Evidence-Informed Decision Making" initiat
02.12.24
Responding to a call for input for a UN Report, MMM highlights how the early years of the child constitute a crucial period to act and foster peace and tolerance for all, and what needs to be done to support ea
15.11.24
Make Mothers Matter (MMM) visited Côte d’Ivoire to mark International Day of the Girl Child on 14 October 2024. Our UNESCO advocacy team leader, Brigitte Marais, took part in the celebration of this signific