The Lutheran Development Services is a development arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) born out of the withdrawal cum localisation of the Lutheran World Federation, Department for World Service Program (LWF DWS) that started operations in Zimbabwe in 1980 responding to post war relief and rehabilitation needs in the country. LDS is a member of the ACT Alliance and a former associate program of the LWF DWS. The LDS has more than 16years of experience in rural development, humanitarian and advocacy work. The focus on relief, rehabilitation and development over the last decade has been achieved through the rights based approach; facilitation; partnership and networking as well as advocacy and influencing whereby LDS recognizes the structural and systemic causes of poverty and therefore advocates for policy and practice change through learning and adaptation. The LDS implements an Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP) in 8 districts spread over 3 provinces of Matabeleland South, Masvingo and Midlands.
