I Call OnYou, Sis! A Mother's Legacy.

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Zvisinei Dzepasi Mamutse - a dynamic and powerful woman, plus a mom whose mission through educating her seven daughters helped influence and impact other women worldwide.

To listen to our recent interview and discussion about her mission, impact and project please click on link below. 

https://anchor.fm/andrea-holman/episodes/Zvisinei-Dzapasi-Mamutse-Global-Legacy--I-Call-On-You-Sis-Empowering-Young-Women-e99cuh?fbclid=IwAR0oxrKleDdNdXGuSntsvgn78DL6uv2gy3Xhyw6J4S3DsQpT6NbrQCHAlQM
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For more information about the Vasikana Project please see below.

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CINCINNATI, OH — Vasikana Project, a local immigrant-owned non-profit dedicated to empowering girls through puberty education, revealed its new brand and announced the launch of a fundraising campaign that includes the publication of a long-awaited empowerment Journal for women and girls. 

Through Journal sales, Vasikana Project will be able to provide its clients with a self-sustaining framework to manage their menstrual health and emotional wellbeing that will allow them to stay focused, and not miss out on school because of their monthly period. The Project worked with a local publisher to make the Journal available on Amazon and worldwide beginning August 17. The date is also the Launch date and will feature renowned Activist and Ambassador, Dr. Yewande Austin. While in Cincinnati, Dr. Austin will conduct youth empowerment workshops at local schools and universities. She is open to further engagements and can be reached via Vasikana Project's press office at 513.818.6715 or [email protected].​
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“When you purchase the Journal, for yourself, your Circle of Friends, or whomever you'd like to bless with an empowerment Journal, the proceeds go directly to the publication and distribution of a Puberty Education Handbook for Girls. In the handbook is a reusable template to create a sanitary pad using commonplace materials”, said Zvisinei Dzapasi Mamutse, Founder of Vasikana Project.​
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Vasikana Project is a non-profit organization empowering girls by providing puberty education and safe, dignified ways for young girls to manage their periods. It is particularly interested in assisting girls from Zimbabwe because of the country's dire needs and is where the Founder’s story starts. ​
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Dzapasi, a former Ms. Zimbabwe runner-up and Secretary of Cincinnati Sister Cities (Harare), founded the non-profit after discussions with her husband, Honest Mamutse, and subsequent discussions with her six sisters in memory of their pioneering Mother whose legacy of initiatives that empowered women is unparalleled. In the late '80s, way before women sexual empowerment was acceptable in Zimbabwe, Mbuya (granny) Dzapasi, as she was affectionately known, rode on her bicycle from one homestead to another, talking to women about safe sex and contraceptives, giving women control over their bodies.​
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Vasikana Project continues that legacy except, now women empowerment is widely accepted, but the girl child and the taboos on menstruation, made worse by economic woes have threatened to roll back years of progress. More and more girls drop out of school because of their monthly period, leading to early marriage and inadequate education of girls.​
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“Our Solution to this problem was a call to all women, thus the title of the journal – I Call on you Sis... It is a call to all women and their Circle of Sisters to help underprivileged girls in Zimbabwe better manage their lives through the provision of puberty education. The Journal goes further by providing a space for women to reflect on their relationships with one another and to call each other as they go through life. No woman or girl should ever have to go through life without the support of another woman.  We are more powerful when we band together and see each other through life’s trials, tribulations and glory”, said Dzapasi. “When you buy the Journal, for yourself, or your circle of Sisters, you are supporting those girls seating in the corner of a hut waiting out their period because all proceeds will go towards the girls,” Dzapasi concluded. ​
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It is a plea that comes from the heart. Dzapasi, a current Ph.D. candidate and practicing Nurse Practioner, knows all too well the struggle for success. Her story as an Immigrant in Cincinnati and subsequent success drives her need to make life better for other girls, starting with the most basic need – an education. ​