Incidences of politically motivated violence in Mberengwa District, as reported by ZIMCET peace committees over the years, has resulted in dysfunctional relations and tensions amongst community members. The Church and Civil Society Forum (CCSF) jointly with the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET) in 2013 initiated a long term peace building initiative in the affected area using the Sustained Dialogue methodology.
Mberengwa West district lies in the Midlands Province with an mixed community that speaks both Shona and Ndebele. The initial stage of the intervention involved conducting focus group discussions with local traditional leadership (village heads and the chief), various church leaders, the youth and other community members involved in local development initiatives. These unearthed a number of conflict issues experienced in the district, some of which are politically related such as systematic beatings, politicised food distribution and forced attendance to political rallies. Others included land and fields boundary disputes and domestic violence. Both traditional and church leaders were in agreement that political intolerance in the district was the root cause to the socio-economic challenges being faced by the communities.
Sustained Dialogue, which has five phases, was used to address underlying dysfunctional relationships and root causes of the community conflicts over a period of 1 ½ years. This involved creation of safe spaces for dialogue amongst community leaders to constructively reflect on the challenges facing their community and devise strategies to restore peace and cordial relationships within the community.
The convenors supported the community peace dialogue through capacity building and information sharing on the constitutional provisions relating to Peace and Reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Accordingly on the 14th of July 2015, ZIMCET and CCSF jointly hosted a CPMRT training and NPRC awareness meeting targeting traditional and church leadership, youth leaders, women leaders, ZANU PF and MDC leadership in the district and local peace committee members. 
Community Leaders who participated in
the CPMRT Training and NPRC Sensitisation Meetings
To date the CCSF has held 8 provincial NPRC sensitisation meetings targeting women, girls and traditional leaders, 5 provincial sessions with state, CSOs attended by the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration (ONHRI). In addition 17 District NPRC information sessions reaching out to 4910 people have been held. At national level the CCSF engaged the Women Affairs Gender and Community empowerment, Local Government Rural and Urban Development, and Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs parliamentary portfolio committees, Women’s Caucus and the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security, in structured policy dialogues centred on the drafting of the NPRC Draft shadow Bill. A CSO NPRC Draft shadow Bill has been drafted and shared with the relevant policymakers. CCSF coordinated the submission of nominees to the NPRC, of which 30% of the shortlisted candidates were nominated by CSOs. This is complimented by a media campaign involving the playing of NPRC jingles on radio and television, together with NPRC billboards and posters. These efforts are part of CCSF strategy to build a critical mass of citizens who collectively advocate policy makers on the urgency to ensure that the NPRC is up and running given that it has already lost two years out of its ten year constitutional tenure.
27 NPRC Billboards erected countrywide
The CCSF has developed, through a exhaustive national consultative process involving 5 national workshops in 2009/10 followed by the 1st National Peace and Reconciliation Conference of 2013, and the 2nd National Peace and Reconciliation Conference of 2014 collectively with at least 2000 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Church representatives participating, the minimum imperatives for a functional NPRC which shall be used to monitor and shadow the work of this critical commission.
For more information please visit www.ccsf.org.zw