Kites for Peace

The Kites for Peace movement seeks to strengthen the ideals that lead to peace. They are committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals which are believed to be the building blocks for peace. They have engaged over 150 local community charitable organisations to create the Zimbabwe Cares Network.

Zimbabwe Cares Network logo

The Zimbabwe Cares Network (ZCN) is a collective of all-encompassing, community based, goodwill initiatives. They believe that these organizations are key to driving social change! They use various platforms to network, collaborate and support each other through coordination by Kites for Peace. They meet annually at the Kites for Peace event and use the platform to fundraise and raise awareness of their causes.

Kites for Peace was launched in 2014 as a world record breaking attempt. It then became an annual kite flying event held in commemoration of the United Nations International Day of Peace (21 September).

Contact Details

Tel: +263 78 758 1990
Email: info@zimbabwecaresnetwork.com
Website: http://www.zimbabwecaresnetwork.com/?fbclid=IwAR38z2WIyWECZFwsmnTZUIHbnG7m0OvDHCR5s9mTGYO4ZVctFp-tpkpTVPw

Field

The Kites for Peace movement are committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The 150 local community charitable organisations and 5000 members use the annual Kites for Peace event as a platform to fundraise and raise awareness of their causes.

The Zimbabwe Cares Network is a collective of community based, goodwill initiatives. It is a voluntary support organisation. They come together to offer moral support, share information and advice, get exposure for projects and have a platform to garner support for fundraising efforts. They include a wide range of community projects and charitable organisations, from orphanages and cancer care to wildlife and environmental concerns. The organisations are registered to receive donations and, are felt to be worthy of support. They are deemed with great respect in the Zimbabwean community due to the good work they do. ZCN do not fundraise nor collect donations for them, but offer a platform and exposure for their causes, as well as advice, information and support as needed.
See Charities.

Events

In 2014, Suraiya Essof came across Kites for Peace, a World record breaking attempt of the number of kites flown. This record was first set on the beaches of Gaza, Palestine where children flew 13000 kites at the same time.

She contacted the organizer, Sarah Queblatin, and 48 kites were flown in Zimbabwe that year as a part of this “Kites for Peace” initiative. The world record was broken unofficially in 2015 by Sarah and her team, who engaged the Philippines government and spread the message of peace to the schools in all provinces.

Zimbabwean attendees called for an event to fly kites again. On World Peace Day, 2015, they climbed Ngomokurira and flew bright kites against a stunning backdrop of blue skies and spectacular rock mountains

Following news coverage, the 2016 the kite festival had 1000 attendees that year and in 2017 that number doubled to 2000! Both of these events were held at Haka Game Park. However in 2016, 25 people from a WhatsApp group, were invited to participate in the event, provide food and drinks, and had an opportunity to fundraise and raise awareness for their causes. The Zimbabwe Cares Network was born. There are now over 150 organizations, and over 5000 members.

In 2018, only 3 days before the planned event, clearance was pulled because of a cholera outbreak in the city. Thanks to the gracious venue, the Stephen Margolis Resort close to Chitungwiza, the event was given another opportunity in November. This event pulled in a crowd of over 1500 people despite the new date and hardships which made traveling difficult.

In 2019, the Sixth Kites event was held at the Harare Botanical Gardens on Sunday the 29th of September 2019. 1986 people gathered.

Due to the 2020 Covid pandemic, no big events were held. They will revisit in 2022.