Exist to Exist - Every Child's Right to Be Seen
- izzyelton2
- Sep 13
- 2 min read
Almost half of Zimbabwe’s children grow up without a birth certificate. Without legal identity, they cannot graduate from school, access healthcare, vote, or receive legal protection. This invisibility traps families in cycles of poverty and exclusion.
At Zimbabwe Educational Trust (ZET), we believe that every child’s right to be seen is non-negotiable. Founded in 1987 by members of the Zimbabwean diaspora, ZET is a UK-registered charity working in partnership with grassroots organisations in Zimbabwe to remove barriers to education and lift communities out of poverty. Our focus areas include:
Access to education
Birth registration
Women’s empowerment
Climate-smart farming
Through our long-standing partnership with Trinity Project Zimbabwe, we provide legal, logistical, and advocacy support to help children secure the documentation they need to access their rights and opportunities. Since 2008, we’ve:
Helped 7,700 children and 2,600 adults secure vital documentation.
Reached 30,000+ parents and community members through awareness campaigns.
Contributed to policy changes, including banning hospitals from withholding birth records and reducing registration fees.
Case Spotlight: Jacqueline’s Story
Jacqueline, a 27-year-old mother of three, faced domestic violence and separation from her husband, who refused to help register their children. Without birth certificates, her children were invisible to the state and locked out of school. She was referred to ZET by her Village Head during a community dialogue.
With our help, Jacqueline secured birth certificates for her children, which became critical evidence in court to win custody. Her story is one of many that shows how legal identity can protect families and open doors to a safer, more secure future.
The BBC Radio 4 Appeal
This September, ZET will be featured on the BBC Radio 4 Appeal, presented by Zimbabwean-born international speaker and human rights advocate, Africa Brooke. Airing on 14 September and 18 September 2025, the Appeal will tell the story of Precious, a mother of six, and show how one simple act - birth registration - can change a child’s life forever.
The Radio 4 Appeal is a milestone moment for us as an organisation and we’re looking forward to seeing our work reach a new audience.
We first heard about the opportunity through another SIDCN organisation that had run an appeal before. We reached out for advice on the Facebook group and received some really helpful information and insights from others that had taken part too. When we first applied, like many SIDCN organisations, we had just one member of staff. The application wasn’t successful as there was a sense that we may have been too small to manage the appeal in full.
Thankfully we were successful on our second attempt, by which time we had a second member of staff in place.
For anyone else considering applying, the application process itself is quite extensive; covering appeal content, organisational governance, finance and more. Do get in touch with us if you’d like to hear more about our experience. The application process can be found here.
The Appeal runs on BBC Radio 4 from 14–20 September. Here are some ways to get involved if you’d like to…
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