Blessing Nduku
Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) in partnership with Fridrich Eberto Stiftung (FES) conducted a training workshop for vendors in Gweru on leadership skills at Gweru Memorial library on Tuesday.
The workshop focused on training leaders on community mobilization and participation as well Advocacy and lobbying to all informal workers.
Fridrich Eberto Stiftung Programs Manager Ntando Duman trained 18 vendors on six steps when organizing.
“First and foremost I would like to thank all vendors who attended this training workshop now into my presentation organize is a dynamic and trans formative approach to social change which brigs people together to collectively address issues affecting their communities.”
“Six steps to go through when organizing are community assessment this is when one gets demographic data, listen, clarify your goal of area, build local relationship with the authorities around you.”
“Low risk asks so as to get something from the authorities, high risk asks and mobilize people on all the findings from step one.”
Executive Director of VISET Samuel Wadzai explained the action plan for VISET Gweru during his presentation some of it which includes creation of informal working groups locally.
“One of our action plan as VISET is to organize consecutive meetings, discuss urgent issues that we as vendors thinks they need to be dealt with, organize platform of engagement with our officials. We need to mend our relationship with our authorities. I feel they should be a relationship between the informal sector and formal so that when we approach them they will hear our grievances.”
Speaking to this reporter after the training workshop Brave Honde a young vendor in Mkoba expressed his gratitude for the training workshop.
“I am grateful for VISET for this training workshop as a young vendor, at times we all think that there is no need to learn or apply leadership skills when you are a vendor but after this workshop I now understand the importance of it and I promise to go and teach my fellow vendors on all that we were taught here.”
Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) is a union of informal traders with structures throughout Zimbabwe. The organization was formed and registered as a Trust in 2015 to spearhead the social and economic transformation of street vendors by championing their quest to earn livelihoods in the current harsh economic circumstances.
Furthermore, the organization was formed pursuant to the need for a solidarity center for street vendors who continue to be victims of human rights violations.
The organization has a national membership database of over 68 000 vendors located in all major cities, towns and growth points in Zimbabwe. In November 2019, the organization established a Chapter in Namibia as part and parcel of its regional expansion programme.
Plans are at an advanced stage to set up similar Chapters in South Africa, Zambia, the Kingdom of eSwathini, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya
