Two women embrace on an open field at an outdoor ceremony, while students in purple and white school uniforms look on from under a marquee.

Turning histories of trauma into dialogue, healing and development

Since 2014, Ukuthula Trust has worked with rural communities in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, on peacebuilding, recovery of memory and economic empowerment.

See the photos What we do

What we do

We help communities in Matabeleland become more resilient, socially cohesive and economically empowered.

Community members, most of them women, sit together under a marquee during a meeting, with uniforms hanging from the tent behind them.

Healing and safeguarding

Responsive safeguarding and holistic support for citizen-led healing.

Two mannequin heads on a table, one wearing a braided wig and one a straight black wig.

Skills and livelihoods

Vocational training for rural youth and women at our two centres in Gwanda District.

Guests seated along a head table dressed in purple and gold under a large white marquee.

Leadership and advocacy

Supporting traditional and community leaders, and taking community voices to national and international dialogue.

Our vision

Just, peaceful, resilient, inclusive and accountable communities where citizens transform histories of trauma into platforms for dialogue, healing and sustainable development.

Our mission

To empower rural citizens, including women, youth and traditional leadership, to actively participate in economic development and the promotion of tolerance in their communities.

We do this by acknowledging and repairing conflicts rooted in past violence, strengthening socioeconomic capacity and building advocacy skills.

Our goal

Communities in Matabeleland that are more resilient, socially cohesive and economically empowered.

Through robust, responsive safeguarding, accountable local leadership, sustainable livelihoods and active civic participation.

From the field

Training, graduations and community life at our centres in Gwanda District and across Matabeleland.

All photo galleries →

A smiling young woman in a pink fascinator holds a certificate from the Enyandeni Community Skills Training Centre.

Chief Dakamela smiles, holding a carved walking stick, in front of a large poster of traditional dancers.

A large group of women and girls in purple skirts and white blouses gather on open ground between two marquees.

A young woman holds up her certificate of competence, standing outdoors beside two women.

Shari Eppel receives a certificate of recognition from the Public Policy and Research Institute of Zimbabwe.

A young man in a bucket hat and a smiling young woman hold a certificate of completion from the Enyandeni Community Skills Training Centre.

A tall metal sculpture with radiating spokes stands in the dry grounds of the Enyandeni Training Centre.

A group of women stand outside a building, holding up a large textile artwork they made together.

A trainee welds a large metal frame outdoors during a welding class.

A trainee lays bricks, checking them with a spirit level, during a building class.

Trainees prepare food on tables in a classroom during a baking class.

Trainees sit around a table sewing green fabric for school uniforms.

Trainees walk between rows of crops in the irrigation garden.

The thatched childcare hut for babies and toddlers, painted with a cartoon bear.

Women sit around a table making a textile artwork together from cut-out pieces of fabric.

Five people in matching t-shirts and field clothes stand together in front of a large baobab tree.

Who we are

Established in January 2014, Ukuthula Trust has over 12 years of experience in peacebuilding, recovery of memory and socioeconomic empowerment. We run two rural training centres in Gwanda District: Enyandeni Peace Centre and Enqameni Reflection Centre. Our staff combine deep institutional memory with the energy of a new generation.

Our vision, mission and theory of change →