My name is Eugenia Masimba. I am the Founder of International Women Development Trust an organization that deals with empowering women with skills to start their own businesses. IWDT was registered in 2019 and today we celebrate 5 years of existence. More than 500 women and girls have benefited from our efforts direct and indirectly and we have established more than 50 businesses owned by women who have graduated from our courses.
After graduating my TFT Diploma in 2019, I felt empowered to take a leap of faith and start my own organization, dedicated to equipping women and the girl child with life-changing skills. Witnessing their growth and Training for transformation motivated me to continue on this path. The TFT methodologies I learned gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone, overcome my shyness, and face the world with courage.
Inspired by my newfound passion gained from TFT, I made the bold decision to leave my well-paying job with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and pursue my dream. TFT not only helped me think outside the box but also gave me the resilience to navigate uncharted territories and stay committed to my vision.
I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with the women featured in testimonials that I have provided and have had the privilege to work with them providing them with income generating skills, transforming their lives, for the past two years. What strikes me is how their journeys resonate with TFT principles of thought-filled therapy. TFT methodologies that I use help individuals overcome emotional barriers, the Listening surveys and generative themes from the surveys help us identify and address problems. These women that I have worked with have demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability in their pursuits, which is the work of TFT.
Some of our beneficiaries
Our young baking entrepreneur Lesley Williams is 12 years old. He bakes scones and muffins for school and also sells to other friends for a living and is happy that after he finishes school he will be working as a baker and owning a bakery business. Thanks to IWDT for the training that he received.
Marble Kajevhu from Chimango Mudzi District- a remote village between the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. We imparted them with baking skills. She said she is grateful that IWDT came to their village to teach them how to bake cakes for a living. She narrated how backward their village was before we visited them and that neighboring villages looked down upon them.
They didn’t know how to bake or even to cook good meals and now because of the learnings they got from us they can cook and bake for the family and sell for profit. She thanked their councillor for inviting IWDT to their village.
Our officer did an M&E of bakery businesses for Tafara Harare women to find out how their baking businesses were performing and she found out that they are now able to bake cakes and bread for a living, but they lack funding to upscale their businesses because of the harsh economic environment of Zimbabwe. We have resolved to do refresher courses for them and to add their list of products and other courses like detergents making, cookery and tailoring so that they don’t rely on their bakery only but have multiple streams of income to sustain themselves and their families.
