29th February 2020

On Saturday the 29th February 2020, the Scotland Branch of the UK Chapter of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe held a meeting at Motel One,78-82 Oswald Street, Glasgow, G1 4PL Scotland. The meeting was chaired by Vongayi Mufara.

Register of Attendance
Alvina Chibhamu, Vongayi Mufara, Olivia Chamboko, Edward Rhappozzoh, Harriet Ndlovu, Mafoti Nyika, Linda Chenyama, Masciline Mzondiwa

Meeting start 14:30hrs
Olivia Chamboko welcomed members and apologies for absence were accepted for Abigail Wadzanayi Chidavayenzi. Olivia then handed over to today’s chairing member- Vongayi Mufara

Minutes of last meeting
Minutes of January meeting were confirmed and agreed by all present as a true record by Alvina Chibhamu and were adopted.

Matters arising from minutes of last meeting
Members were reminded to inbox Alvina with list of questions for MP to take to parliament

Feedback from training

Alvina and Vongayi gave feedback from the “Organizing for Power” training they attended via Tripod. Emphasis was put on;-
– Group dynamics, in particular conflict management – how we need to function as a group with different personalities, strengths and weaknesses.
– The importance of giving and receiving feedback was also discussed and members were encouraged to keep this going to avoid conflict, forming and holding grudges. -Different campaign strategies and tactics were discussed and perhaps some we can adopt in future demonstrations.

Demonstrations and Campaigns
– Mafoti suggested we mirror demonstrations she’s been involved in before. She cited an example.
– Olivia suggested holding a demonstration against the military in Zimbabwe raping women.
Discussions led to a campaign idea of everyone holding a pair of white pants with a message against their face. We will then collate these images to make a slide show and perhaps have a voice-over in the background condemning these deplorable acts by security forces in Zimbabwe and the accompanying sense of impunity.
This campaign will also roll out to the other branches as instigated by ROHR Scotland.
Some of the ideas for hashtags for the campaigns that came up were; #mybodyisnotawarazone, #justiceforwomenagainstrapefromsecurityforces, #womenarenotsexidols among others. We will liaise with board members to solidify ideas.
This Demonstration idea was targeted for next month (March 2020) instead of the monthly branch meeting.

Action points and delegation of duties

  • Vongayi Mufara to contact the City Council for permission as well as Police clearance.
  • Alvina Chibhamu to organize leaflets for the publicity of the demonstration.
  • Edward Rhappozzoh to organize Banners for the demonstration.
  • Linda Chinyama to organize African Drums (Ngoma) for the demonstration.
  • Mafoti Nyika to organize Hosho for the demonstration.
  • Vongayi Mufara to organize Table
  • Alvina Chibhamu to send Invitations for demonstration.
  • Edward Rhappozzoh to organize  the logistics (e.g. Transporting soup and supplies) on the day

Still on the campaign for women, we discussed doing something for International Women’s Day on the 8th March 2020. Mafoti mentioned someone from Strathclyde university who will be addressing the issue of women being abused.

We could consequently attend International women’s day where Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland was going to be speaking. Mafoti will confirm details and get back to the group.

Action plan
Members to inbox Alvina with individual messages for campaign to avoid duplication and so we do not don’t flood the WhatsApp group

Involvement in Local community
This was discussed as a contingency plan for next month pending permission from City council + Police Clearance for our demonstration.
The group would make soup and offer bread rolls, tea/coffee somewhere central like Argyle Street- Glasgow.

Action plan
– Mafoti to make the Lentil soup
– Alvina to bring donation box as donors welcome.
– Mafoti suggested we could wear Volunteer vests if we can find them otherwise we will go with our ROHR T-shirts
– Group to purchase takeaway soup cups, tea/coffee cups, spoons and serviettes

Branch Executive Committee
Alvina ran over posts that were vacant on the Scotland branch executive committee and Olivia explained the duties of each.
The nominations and election of individuals into portfolios was conducted. At the end of the process, the executive committee of the Scotland Branch of the UK Chapter of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe was updated by the addition of the following new office bearers;-
Vice Secretary – Masciline Muzondiwa
Information & Publicity Secretary – Mafoti Nyika
Vice Treasurer -Harriet Ndlovu

The new members were informed they would need to complete membership application forms for our records.

Mr Panyika Karimanzira will be informed and he will also send them standard information designed for new members as well as send those who took up posts the roles & responsibilities of their portfolios.

Fundraising
Bring and share fundraiser was deferred to make room for demonstration or serving soup in the community

Subscriptions and Membership
Members to inbox Alvina with dates of membership validity to avoid risking any member being exposed if they fall behind
Olivia updated us on the balance of our funds after expenses of last month’s meeting. We also need to keep on top of them to pay for potential new venue in future.
Subscriptions were collected and left with the Treasury.

Housekeeping
Alvina addressed members on good communication with pointers from Organizing for power training and Olivia added that we would like to keep our group functioning in unity as we have always been.

Any Other Business
Members discussed looking for venue since we are growing in numbers and our current spot may not be feasible for meetings anymore. Everyone to chip in with ideas.
We also discussed ROHR Zimbabwe T-shirts especially for new members. Linda Chenyama (Fundraiser) updated the group on the costs etc.. All members without T-shirts or in need of additional T-shirts are to liaise with Linda.

Date of next meeting agreed and announced 21st March 2020.

With all agenda items and any other business having been exhausted, the chairperson of the meeting, Vongayi Mufara declared the meeting closed at 1700hrs.

To view pictures taken at the event, click here or follow the link below.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rohr_zimbabwe__manchester/albums/72157713309362583

By: Information & Publicity Department