22 that nothing breeds success like success, but this is a truism with powerful application here. It is endlessly demonstrated by studies on individuals that OVT creates powerlessness and a lack of selfefficacy, and many commentators point out that this is replicated in the social and political arena. These findings speak to the heart of this problem: survivors are traumatised into feelings and beliefs of powerlessness, perform less well in the many tasks of life, and this failure compounds and reinforces the lack of self-efficacy. It takes little imagination to see how this then translates into community, social and political apathy, and provides severe problems for the development of rural areas. This is a point that has been made again and again by refugee workers and community workers in areas that have experienced epidemic violence. This must all be viewed within the context in which these survivors are living. In real terms, the supporting facilities - health and social welfare - around them are eroding at an alarming rate. At the time of this survey, it was estimated by the government’s own Poverty Assessment Study Survey, in 1997, that more than 45% of Zimbabweans were experiencing regular food shortage - below the food poverty line - and, moreover, that only 26% of Zimbabweans were “not poor” in economic terms 74% were now classified as poor in this 1997 survey as compared to 62% in 1995. Clearly the figures will be considerably worse currently in 2005! If survivors are below these thresholds, this is alarming indeed, and suggests that some proactive measures will be necessary to alleviate the consequences of disability and poverty in survivors. It is well to remember that this is also a population at risk for HIV and AIDS like all other population groupings in Zimbabwe, and that these are families that must develop the parents and workers of the future. 4.3 Advocacy programme The advocacy programme developed out of the survey mentioned above, as well as the earlier understanding that Amani’s clients had been unable to make any progress in advancing a case for their rehabilitation or compensation for over a decade. A primary goal of the advocacy programme was to give Amani’s clients a sense of agency in their lives by participating in a campaign to lobby Parliament to effect changes to the War Victims Compensation Act. Earlier work by the Amani Trust had suggested severe problems with this Act, and a need to amend the Act to take care of problems not envisaged in 1980 at Independence23. Although the Amani Trust itself made representations to the Government on this issue, and especially to the Commission to Investigate Abuses of the War Victims Compensation Fund, it was felt that the best advocacy on this issue would come from the survivors and their families themselves. This programme had two related components: the first was the advocacy facilitation programme, whilst the second addressed the issue of poverty, and revolved around training in permaculture and support for agricultural activities. The participants were mostly drawn from those survivors seen during the family visiting programme. 4.3.1 Advocacy groups In order to develop the lobby and advocacy capacity of the survivors and their families, a programme of bringing representatives of local groups together to discuss the issues around their torture and its consequences. This programme, which was highly participatory, engaged groups of survivors from the Liberation in extended discussions about their trauma, the issues requiring redress, and determining a way to develop a victim-driven advocacy campaign24. 23 See Reeler, A.P (1998), Compensation for Gross Human Rights Violations: Torture and the War Victims Compensation Act, LEGAL FORUM, 10, 6-21. 24 See MHETURA, J (2000), The neglected issues in rehabilitation of old victims or organised violence and torture: Areas of importance with regards to Zimbabwe victims of organised violence from 1972 to 1980. HARARE: AMANI TRUST. AMANI TRUST: Psycho-Social assistance to Survivors of the Liberation War. A report on Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe.