About Us
LGDA (Lower Guruve Development Association) is a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) registered in Zimbabwe under the Private Voluntary Organisations Act (PVO) way back in 1991 with the registration number PVO 15/91. It is a successor of an international Christian organisation that operated in the then Lower Guruve (now Mbire District) area from 1984 to 1990. The organisation’s overall goal is overcoming the social, economic and ecological constraints to development for the benefit of Communities. Initially LGDA catered for the population of Mbire District but has since spread its operations to other Districts in Zimbabwe. The Governing Body of LGDA is composed of rural farmers as well as technical experts while Management staff are hired on the basis of professional qualifications and competency. Since inception, we have partnered with several organisations in uplifting lives of vulnerable and marginalised communities. These partners include the World Food Programme (UN), Oxfam GB, CRS, Civic Forum on Human Development, Practical Action, Global Environment Facility for small grants projects. (UN), Volens, Oxfam Novib, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Simavi, UNICEF (UN), FAO (UN), KerkinActie, CIAT, UNDP and UN Women.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission: To prioritise Community needs by building its transformative capacities through strategic partnerships
Vision: An Empowered, Resilient and Transformed Community
Overall Objective: To promote economic, social and cultural development of vulnerable people through participatory sustainable agricultural practices and health promotion.
Our Core Activities
- Livelihoods, Public health & Lobbying and advocacy
- Orphans and Vulnerable Children
- Gender, TB, HIV and AIDS
- Emergency response (mostly drought and floods)
Our Core Values
- Responsiveness
- Transparency
- Inclusiveness
- Neutrality
Our Management
Dr Innocent Mangena (Executive Director)
The Board of Lower Guruve Development Association (LGDA) has appointed Innocent Mangena to the position of Executive Director. Mr Innocent Mangena joined LGDA in 2001 as the Finance and Administration Manager, a position he occupied until 2016 when he turned to further his Accounting and Governance profession whilst attached to the organisation. Today, he is holding a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree (Governance), ... Master of Science (MSc.) Degree in Accounting, Bachelor of Science (BSc.) Degree in Accounting, Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (ZICA) and Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (IAC)). Mr Mangena is a professional member of the Public Accountant and Auditors Board (PAAB) and IAC. Before joining LGDA, he was employed by National Tyre Services as an Accounting Assistant, a position held since 1991 until 1995 when he was promoted to the position of Internal Auditor. In 1999, Mr Mangena was appointed to the position of the Internal Audit Manager by African Marketing Services until December 2001.He is a 22-year experienced humanitarian and development worker, administering finance and programming work in an NGO environment coupled by 6 years of auditing experience.
Mr. Simbarashe Chirava (Programmes Coordinator)
Mr. Simbarashe Chirava holds a BSc degree in Rural and Urban Planning and is currently the Programs Coordinator for Lower Guruve Development Association (LGDA). He joined LGDA in 2016 as a Field Officer before being promoted to be the Organization’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer and Programs Manager. He has wide experience in Design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of UN agencies funded livelihood ...projects (Food Assistance for Assets, Lean Season Assistance; Cash-Based Transfers programming and School Supplementary feeding), mainstreaming gender, disability, HIV and AIDS in livelihoods recovery programme design as well as health and nutrition programming and proposal generation for community development projects.
Mr. Livingstone Munetsi (Finance & Admin Manager)
Mr Livingstone Munetsi is a dynamic Finance and Administration Manager with more than 20 years of extensive knowledge and experience working in the NGO setting. He is an expert and specializes in providing comprehensive financial consulting services to organizations, including financial statement preparation, budgeting, forecasting, cashflow management, grants management, ... contracts management, financial management, planning, analysis, as well as conducting audits and monitoring compliance. He is knowledgeable in financial software applications and financial risk management. Mr Munetsi holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honors Degree in Banking and is currently pursuing Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), Associate degree in applied accounting (Oxford University) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Leadership for NPO (University of Stellenbosch). He is certified in Credit Skills Assessment, Managing Performance and Development, Agricultural Planning and Entrepreneurship, Financial Management, Resource Mobilization, Pastel Accounting and Data Use and Management