Who we
Are

We believe that there must be an active drive to break barriers to peace within the country. These barriers include dark episodes in our history, stereotypes, historical legacies, historical inequalities and marginalisation of other communities. We believe by leaving these to politicians alone, they can be instrumentalised, rendering peace even more difficult to accomplish. Thus, the prospect of a united society even more bleak. We therefore work with the affected communities to discover what it is that is required to break the barrier and also to see how in daily living the communities have devised what ways to deal with the ‘other.’

We believe that there cannot be a united nation if there are no deliberate efforts to build bridges that connect the people to one another across different regions. We also believe that communities can do well to learn from each other’s social experiences as this build trust and a sense of oneness. We thus believe in coming up with strategies and supporting initiatives that center on building bridges across communities, hence promoting greater interaction.

There are increasing debates and attempts to rebuild the ‘true’ African identity. We believe that we should build a shared national identity, one that cuts across the rich diversity of our people. We also acknowledge that the people want a nation that allows them to become the individuals they aspire to be and to realise their dreams. In the face of increasing globalisation, there is need to build our own identity that enables us to stand together and actively participate in the global village. While we do not hope to be trapped in the debates of the historical identity, we believe that we can take building blocks from our history that will allow us to forge a new national identity we are all proud of.

The distrust within our nation makes it impossible for the people to unite under a common goal and vision. This has been caused by the lack of accountability between the state and the citizenry and has resulted from the incapacitation of the citizenry. It has reduced them to partial participants within the nation. YIPIT strongly believe in supporting grassroots accountability programs and initiatives. Under “The Leader I Want Campaign” we hope to increase the role that citizens play in the election of our leaders and that after the election, the leaders ensure transparency and accountability at all levels.

We believe a strong nation is a gathering of strong communities. YIPIT therefore strives to support community leaders and initiatives that forge unity amongst communities. We initiate community engagements that allow a platform for building healthy societies which are able to address their needs and plan together in the utilisation of their resources.

We believe that hostility targeted at those who hold different ideas stems from the fact that there are no sufficient platforms which allow for the testing of these ideas and their thorough examination by the targeted audience. It means there should be a culture of debating ideas in a respectful and progressive manner where such ideas are weighed. People should be left to choose the ideas they want. Our educational curriculum fosters tolerance and violent free means of solving conflicts. We therefore work in peaceful engagement and the promotion of such engagements. YIPIT trust in the young people initiating this national engagement from the community to the national level.

We acknowledge that a society cannot be peaceful if the people are devoid of the means to make a decent living. The psychological and structural violence suffered as a result of disrupted livelihoods make a breeding ground for conflict and polarisation. It also puts the people to the mercy of the politically connected and the wealth which denies them any agency in shaping their own narrative or say in common resources. We therefore believe in supporting the youths in coming up with viable sources of income by empowering them with economic skills. We find this to be another effective way to do away with violence in communities as it frees the people to effectively engage in matters of development as it meets the basic human needs, that of meaningful livelihoods.

We believe in the capacity building of current and future leaders as well as those being led. YIPIT begins with the citizen who has full capacity to contribute to the development of his/her community before we can have leaders who have the capacity to lead their communities. We therefore support initiatives aimed at building the capacity of communities to address their challenges and that the youths become pro-active citizens. The impartation of capacity building skills and knowledge is at the heart of this campaign.

We strive to end the hopelessness in most of our communities by inspiring the young people in these marginalised societies. In most cases they are devoid of any hope for a brighter future and lack role models and knowledge of opportunities that can transform their lives. Most youths are driven into drug and substance abuse while others end up in sexual exploitation as a means for survival. We aim to bring hope for a brighter, flourishing future and knowledge of opportunities that can transform their lives.

We believe building networks is a great task which requires all hands willing and those that will be won over to share in the vision of an achievable great, united nation. We therefore believe in forging strategic networks in the attainment of the goal for peace. YIPIT believes that ideas and information should be freely shared amongst all, be it with other organisations that work towards the achievement of same goals in Zimbabwe and the world at large. We therefore seek partnerships in our various programs of engagement and we are willing to share our knowledge, expertise and resources for the achievement of peace.