Lusulu an Youth Centre, an education hub
Lusulu community in Binga district has been known for its high rates of teenage pregnancies and school drop outs which led to the establishment of a Youth Centre in 2005 under the auspices of Global fund which in 2008 was handed over to the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC).
Its establishment saw a reduction in the numbers of teen-pregnancies and school dropouts, taking for instance, Lusulu high used to record an average of 7 teen-pregnancies per year. Currently the figures has dropped to an average of 3 pregnancies per year before its establishment .
The Youth Centre also runs a community library which motivated school leavers into supplementing their O’ Levels, whose results led to an increased number of Lusulu youths in the teaching field.
Ennie Shumba, a relief teacher at KKOKKOLOZA Primary School, is one of the people who benefited from the Centre and is proud of having used library material in preparations for hers examinations.
Lusulu community is a hive of activities, hence it is known that in such places the spread of HIV and AIDS is very high and is the mandate of the Centre to fight against the spread of this pandemic through Adolescent ,Sexual and Reproductive health programme and it serves as a condom access point where the youth access the condoms to fight against the pandemic.
Unfortunately, at the moment condoms seem to be a scarce commodity in Lusulu, which leaves the youths at risk of contracting HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
In order to attract and occupy youths, the Centre provides recreational facilities to the community which are divided into two categories namely indoor and outdoor games.
This service has promoted the formation of football and netball clubs in the surrounding villages which keeps the youth occupied to minimise time for mischief.
The Youth Officer gives trainings to youths on income generating projects to encourage the youth to practices self-sustainability and reduce dependence and public nuisance as the youth loiter around without any business to do.
The youth centre with peer educators had been running a garden project though it didnt yield positive results because of stray animals since did not have a proper fence Furthermore the centre recruited 8 peer educatorsand are given allowances of $60 every. Most of these peer educators are in school as a result these allowances are used to pay their fees .For instance at Lusulu high and Kabuba secondary the centre have 3 and 2 peer educators respectively. In brief Lusulu youth centre is playing a pivotal role in reducing teen pregnances, dropouts,spread of HIV and promoting literacy in the community
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