This is a text-only version of an article first published on Tuesday, 5 November 2013. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
AS a Youth and Student Intern for Christian Aid I was lucky enough to witness the work of Dabane Trust first-hand, writes Chris Bright. I met 47-year-old Skha, who lives in a community that has been working closely with
Chris Bright is pictured with Silindende Gumbo, a gardener in the Asenzi Garden, a nutrition garden supported by the Dabane Trust.
Dabane Trust to build a sand dam, which is used to trap water deep within the sand, providing safe, clean water for drinking and agriculture.
Skha described to me how she worked with other members of her community to build the dam.
They dug the foundations and collected rocks, whilst Dabane Trust provided water and tools to make the cement.
The dam took two years to build.
I was inspired by the level of determination Skha and her community had shown by enduring extremely hot conditions and digging into solid ground in order to access a reliable water source, which I take for granted every day at home. Water extracted from the sand dam is used to irrigate crops such as onions and kale grown in a community nutrition garden.
Dabane Trust has supported many communities in Zimbabwe to establish nutrition gardens and has offered training in gardening techniques.
Nutrition gardens are green pockets of hope amidst an otherwise barren land.
Gardeners I met proudly showed me their crops and explained how the garden means they can grow enough food to feed their families and any surplus can be sold for income.
Through working alongside Dabane Trust communities have been empowered to lift themselves out of poverty. The climate, an ageing population, and no secure tenure all pose significant obstacles to achieving water security in Zimbabwe.
However Skha and her community have been encouraged by Dabane Trust to change their situation and they are determined to end poverty in their area.
If Skha's community is working hard to end poverty, this Christian Aid Week we must do the same. Chris Bright is the Volunteer Youth and Student Intern for Christian Aid in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. Christian Aid Week: Get involvedChristian Aid Week (12-18 May 2013), Britain's longest running door-to-door fundraising week, will this year be urging the British public to 'bite back at hunger' and ask why, in a world where there is enough food for everyone, one in eight people go to bed hungry every night?Hunger is the world's biggest health risk.
It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
In developing countries, a third of all child deaths are linked to hunger. But tackling hunger with sustainable solutions has long-term benefits.
Nourished women have healthier babies, reducing hunger helps economies grow and it builds a safer and more secure world.