Project Tariro/Ithemba
Conexa Zimbabwe
Project Report
FOR FOUR DAYS IN THE SUMMER OF 2025, CONEXA COLLABORATED WITH THE ZIMBABWE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (ZPA) AND LOCAL LEADERS TO DO PROJECT TARIRO/ITHEMBA (TARIRO/ITHEMBA MEANING "HOPE"). INSPIRED BY THE SUCCESSES OF THE PREVIOUS YEARS IN UGANDA AND KENYA, CONEXA RAISED FUNDS THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF MANY TO NOT ONLY HOST THE FIRST-EVER EFT EXTERNSHIP IN ZIMBABWE, BUT ALSO ADVANCING SYSTEMIC APPROACHES TO MENTAL AND RELATIONAL HEALTH IN THE COUNTRY.
In Zimbabwe, relational violence remains a widespread challenge, impacting families across both urban and rural communities.
n our Zimbabwean communities, relational violence often takes the form of 1) intimate partner violence, and 2) violence against children and child maltreatment. Growing economic hardship, intergenerational trauma, and family conflict have fueled a crisis in relationships, leaving many individuals, couples, and families struggling with trauma, depression, and anxiety. Rising rates of separation and divorce add further strain. Altogether, these breakdowns have overwhelmed community leaders and mental health professionals, who face increasing demand for support amidst limited resources.
Zimbabwean society is deeply community-oriented, meaning that couple distress and family breakdowns extend far beyond the home, creating ripple effects that impact children, extended families, and entire neighborhoods.
Introduction
DR. JULIA MUTAMBARA
PROJECT LEADER
This August, we were excited to host the Zimbabwe Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) Tariro / Ithembatraining (translated to mean HOPE). The event was held at Manna Resorts in Harare from the 4th to the 7th of August 2025.
Thanks to funding from Conexa, participants enjoyed a significantly reduced registration fee—an average of 135 USD compared to the usual 1,100 USD for a four-day externship. Fifty-seven mental health practitioners from across Zimbabwe attended, representing diverse fields such as Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Family Therapy, and pastoral counseling.
The training was led by Professor Elmien Lesch, an EFCT-certified supervisor and trainer based in South Africa. Facilitators came from three countries:
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Uganda: Ronald Asiimwe, Elizabeth Okello, and Pendo Galukande (one based in the USA, one currently studying in the USA).
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South Africa: Colleen Sturrock, Lucinda Johns, and Peter Muhwati.
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Zimbabwe: Julia Mutambara, Nombulelo Crocco, and Catherine Mombasasa.
The Zimbabwe Psychological Association (ZPA) hosted the event locally, providing administrative assistance and oversight throughout.
The training came at a critical moment. Zimbabwe has experienced rising divorce rates over the past decade, leaving many families struggling with emotional pain. Economic hardships have forced partners to migrate for better living conditions, straining marriages further. Stressors such as unemployment, inflation, loss of income, and the rising cost of living continue to fuel marital breakdowns.
EFCT is particularly relevant given the rise in physical and emotional affairs, often worsened by misuse of social media, phones, and the internet. Traditional patriarchal beliefs that normalize men’s extramarital affairs add to this strain. At the same time, women’s increased economic empowerment has led many to leave toxic marriages, rejecting cultural sayings such as “Garira Vana” (stay for the sake of the children) or “Chakafukidza dzimba matenga” (family problems must remain hidden).
Women now recognize the long-term physical and psychological harms of abusive relationships; not just for themselves but for their children. EFCT-trained therapists now face the important task of working in an environment where toxic masculinity, emotional abuse, and intimate partner violence remain significant challenges.
As a mental health practitioner with over 15 years of experience working with couples, I strongly support Conexa’s vision of bringing EFCT to communities. This work is essential for fostering healing, peace, and healthier families.
Therapists trained in this program are now equipped to:
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Help couples recognize and interrupt negative interaction cycles (pursuer–withdrawer dynamics).
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Teach couples how childhood attachment influences adult connection.
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Show how emotions drive relational distress.
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Guide couples in creating corrective emotional experiences.
These four core EFCT principles are key to community interventions, whether in churches or local gatherings, and vital to combating marital distress in Zimbabwe.
The ZPA extends heartfelt gratitude to Mark Maxwell and the Conexa team for their generosity in bringing EFCT training to Zimbabwe. This initiative will have a lasting impact on building stronger, healthier, and more peaceful families in our country.
Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy Externship
A Four Day Training that changes lives
Background of Project Tariro/Ithemba:
Coming to Zimbabwe was a major milestone, but this milestone came after the success of earlier projects in Uganda (2023) and Kenya (2024), where regional leaders trained in EFT committed to expanding the movement across East and Southern Africa. Inspired by these efforts, Zimbabwean professionals, led by Dr. Julia Mutambara and supported by EFT Trainer Dr. Elmien Lesch, worked alongside Conexa East Africa to launch Project Tariro/Ithemba, meaning “Hope” in Shona and Ndebele.
The four-day EFCT training was held in Harare from August 4th to 7th, 2025. It was facilitated by a multicultural team of EFT trainers and supervisors from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, and the United States, with additional contributions from colleagues across the growing East African EFT community.
Dr. Ronald Asiimwe
Director Conexa East Africa
Goal of the Training:
Zimbabwe, like many African countries, faces significant gaps in access to effective family and couple therapy training. While there are growing numbers of psychologists and counselors, few have had access to specialized relational therapies such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). In Zimbabwe’s context, marked by economic hardship, intergenerational trauma, intimate partner violence, HIV/AIDS, and widespread family stressors, there is a critical need for therapeutic approaches that strengthen bonds and heal relational wounds.
The main goal of this externship was to equip Zimbabwean mental health professionals with advanced experiential and practical counseling skills to support couples and families struggling with relational and emotional challenges. A second goal was to empower local leaders in the mental health field with tools to mentor emerging practitioners, ensuring the growth of a sustainable EFT community in Zimbabwe.
Participants: We extended invitations to mental health practitioners and students across the Southern African region. A total of 57 participants attended the externship training, all of whom were from Zimbabwe, the host nation. The externship was further supported by 11 facilitators, including 3 from Uganda, 5 from Zimbabwe, and 2 from South Africa, with an additional trainer from South Africa.
Location: Mana Resorts and Conference Center, Harare
Financial: Conexa discounted registration to $130 USD for ZPA members and $140 USD for other members (early bird rates), and $140 USD for ZPA members and $150 USD for other members (late registration). Scholarship funds were also awarded to participants, with the exact total to be confirmed. Conexa additionally provided financial support to cover [meals/volunteer support, etc].
Testimonies:
"For me I found the training to be very transformative and I gained some new insights… I got refreshed on some of the concepts that I had forgotten about. The trainers were very knowledgeable and they allowed us to open up about our personal experiences.”
“It was really insightful… I grew as a professional. I grew in my skills, I grew in the way that I see people and see clients, especially for couples. It was really an eye opener… the training on itself, it was perfect. I went from knowing zero to knowing somewhere around ninety percent.”
What I found rewarding was seeing how through the exploration of emotions, you could see a person who was withdrawn and defensive being able to open up… to soften up and be able to express their emotions, to become vulnerable.”
“The whole concept is empowering. It’s not only empowering to the counsellor, it’s empowering to the couple themselves… EFCT helps you dig deep, to the core, to the root of what could be causing problems in their marriage.”
“Having undergone the training of EFCT, I would say it was an eye opener… I enjoyed the approach that concentrates on the emotional side of human beings. It emphasised what is not usually emphasised by other approaches.”
The most difficult thing with EFCT is to successfully de-escalate when you happen to meet clients who are escalated… People don’t always open up easily, especially when those emotions are buried beneath defensiveness, anger, or withdrawal.”
“Opening up about personal experiences was the most challenging part for me, because you find yourself reliving sad moments, reflecting on your own attachment dynamics and relationships.”
“On attachment, we had trouble coming up with vernacular words, but even if we couldn’t find a word, the concepts were the same. The way it uses attachment theory to explain most of the components is just brilliant.”
“Coming from a CBT background, the challenge was slowing down with EFCT. Clients here often expect quick fixes, but EFCT requires patience to explore deeper emotional issues.”
“Now I’ve got the confidence because I now know one or two things on how to help couples and even families… In the past I would turn them down and say I’m not good in this area. But now I feel capable.”
“Being part of EFCT has definitely increased my understanding of attachment theory. I now understand how couples long for secure attachment, and how childhood experiences shape adult relationships.”
Meet The Team
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Our Partners
Fiscal Report
The overall final cost of Project Tariro/Ithemba Zimbabwe from the final expense report was $23,866. This included (but was not limited to) flights and hotel expenses for the trainer and group leaders, the venue including catering and A/V system, as well as costs for branded lanyards and name tags, facilitator excursions and meals, local transportation for facilitators and volunteers, photography, photocopying, facilitator honoraria, fundraising platform and bank charges.
Unlike previous immersion projects in Uganda and Kenya, the Zimbabwe event was focused solely on the four-day EFT Externship, keeping costs relatively contained. The coordinating team, including Dr. Ronald Asiimwe, Dr. Elmien Lesch, and Dr. Julia Mutambara, worked largely in a volunteer capacity, highlighting the dedication and sacrifice of those committed to building the EFT community in Zimbabwe.
The total income for the project was $15,814. The Externship took in $8,299 in registration fees. Conexa raised $1015 from general donations and received generous donations of $2000 from the Minnesota EFT Community and $1500 from ICEEFT. Conexa also received $3000 from a fundraiser event organized by Nancy Knudson with Rebecca Clark, Virginia Walls and Mark Maxwell.
Conexa is deeply grateful to all donors, participants, and volunteers whose contributions made this historic externship possible.
