ZIMELE is a community development organization. It aims to empower people (particularly women) by building self reliance, assisting them to take control over their lives, building their confidence so that they become conscious of their own situation and are eventually able solve their own problems.

South Africa, particularly in the rural regions, has been devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and extreme poverty. While there are relief programmes in place throughout South Africa, the majority are focused on meeting the immediate needs of the people in the area, whether they are nutritional, medical, or educational.

ZIMELE is different. ZIMELE in Zulu, means ‘to stand on your own two feet’. The name captures the very spirit of what the organization is about and what makes it unique. ZIMELE is about providing a ‘hand up’ not a ‘handout’ so that the people of South Africa can ‘stand on their own two feet’. This is done through the implementation of the following four programmes appropriate for the rural communities of KwaZulu Natal namely:

1. The ZIMELE Self-Help Group (SHG) Programme
2. The ZIMELE Skills Building Programme
3. The ZIMELE Community Mentoring Programme
4. The ZIMELE Fair-trade Marketing Programme

The four pronged approach of ZIMELE aims to provide the women with physical, emotional and spiritual support to enable them to create a sustainable livelihood for themselves. The women are provided with skills and support to be able to produce agricultural crops or make crafts and other products for sale. In many development initiatives, the weak point is in the lack of capital provided to invest in the production process, which then leads to the lack of a viable, consistent market for the finished goods/produce. ZIMELE is providing support in both these areas with the provision of loans (from within the SHGs or externally) for purchasing of raw materials or equipment and then the provision of markets for the qualifying goods through ZIMELE Fair-trade. This process empowers the women to initiate and grow their own businesses to a position of self sustainability. ZIMELE also seeks to empower the women socially, aiding them to make their own decisions concerning their lives and communities. Within the South African context, they are also enabled to provide support to the large number of ‘child headed’ households and to the sick and dying family members with their resultant poverty.

Currently, ZIMELE seeks to work with women in the rural areas of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, and potentially throughout Africa. The improved livelihood status of these women will impact the children in their care.