women and young people who attended the focus groups in the two provinces visited6 to substantiate their claim. Statistics from the annual reports have been provided below in the “Impact” section indicating the number of train the trainer courses that have been conducted during the period under review and how many women have participated in these training courses, as well as at ward level. There is however no definitive information regarding the number of young people who have participated in the courses. During the focus group discussions it was noted by the Project Assistants as well as participants that after the 2005 elections a decision was taken to re-design or re-focus the training programme with the specific purpose of making it more action-oriented. Although social mobilisation around grassroots community issues may not be interpreted as huge gains in terms of impact, it nevertheless is a significant step for ordinary people living at grassroots to have the courage to speak out and try and make a difference to their lives and that of their community, within extremely challenging conditions. This is all due to the learnings from the CIVNET training workshop. Under normal conditions the CIVNET civic education programme would have been able to reach its targeted number of communities and participants but due to funding constraints, the spiralling economic conditions, the volatility of the Zimbabwean currency, the dolarisation of the economy, the loss of trained facilitators and trainers to HIV/AIDS and migrancy and the general conditions in Zimbabwe, CIVNET was not always able to meet its own training targets. The annual reports provide an indication as to how many train the trainer courses have taken place during the period of review and similarly how many community participants participated in ward training workshops. These statistics are elaborated upon in the “Impact” section of the report. Phase Three A new programme entitled “The Citizen Leadership Development Programme” was introduced in 2006 with the intention of training and preparing potential community leaders. CIVNET identified the need for a training programme of this nature because of the general lack of effective leadership at ward level. It is more intensive and extensive training, in terms of duration and content, and it is anticipated that it will create the conditions for the emergence of strong and effective community leaders for the future. 3. Training Methodology CIVNET learnt, through its extensive experience of working at grassroots, how to negotiate access to communities in a way that did not threaten the workshop participants nor the facilitators and CIVNET staff. Furthermore, CIVNET has developed a training methodology that is reflective of and responsive to the numerous issues and conditions that impact on the lives of Zimbabwean citizens, especially those in the rural areas.7 The training methodology is participative and builds on the personal and collective experiences of community participants. It therefore has a situational relevancy that can be identified with by all participants. The training seeks to empower the citizenry to deal with the numerous challenges they face in their localities, by enabling them to analyse their issues of concern and find practical solutions that will make a significant difference to their personal lives and those of the broader community. Issues that have 6 7 Matabeleland South and Midlands These include the former commercial farms, the resettlement areas, mines, the general farming community and other rural areas. THE CIVIC EDUCATION NETWORK TRUST (CIVNET)) IN ZIMBABWE – Sida EVALUATION 2008:51 9