Tamuka Hove, Tamiswa, Vimbai from the Association of Women's Clubs (AWC), Othaniel from ZANU-PF Kuwadzana West, and Jim Holland, updated Graham Chuck and Peter Murphy about the Boy Child Project, on September 3, 2025. Tamiswa and Vimbai urged that the Boy Child Project be expanded and reach out to more young people. They could describe the impact of the sanctions on young people – unable to make online purchases, lack of jobs, impact on traditional roles in the family. Their suggestion for outreach was to make short video performances which could be projected on social media platforms.
They emphasised that the majority of the Zimbabwe population are young, but said they don’t really understand how the sanctions work to limit their possibilities. Othaniel said that drugs and alcohol were a barrier to organising, but Vimbai said that they could campaign about several issues at once.
They suggested that they could publicise their agenda, create a wider network and provide training to it, and grow the campaign. Since 80 per cent of the people are in rural areas, they need the support of the Traditional Chiefs and of the Department of Local Government.
Jim Holland spoke at some length about the history of the struggles in Australia, starting with the contacts with Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere in the early 1970s, which led to the visits to Australia by Edison Svogbo and Herbert Chitepo. This led to Sekai Holland undertaking training at the Zimbabwe African Nationnal Liberation Army (ZANLA) base near Lusaka, in Zambia. As an internal conflict developed inside the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), its President, Herbert Chitepo advised Sekai that his life was in danger and so was hers, and that she should leave Zambia. The Melbourne Age even reported that Sekai had been killed. Sekai and Jim eventually returned to Zimbabwe in 1980-81 and Jim did work in water supply and eventually in Information Technology (IT). He said that job creation by both the private and public sectors was urgently needed. Jim briefly described the project for a Youth Training Centre at the Midlands State University with a focus on how to start a business related to farming. The program will involve IT skills, peace building and respect for the environment.
