News from Zambia

For more information about our programmes in Zambia please see our What we do and to hear how your support is helping individual children go to Stories from Zambia

July 2010

Peer Health Educators' Field Trip

This year’s 50 Peer Health Educators (PHE) took a day trip to another organisation which carries out similar outreach work with young people. This was an opportunity for them to look at their work from another perspective, and in particular look at using non-formal approaches to engaging youths in health education – demonstrating that it doesn’t just have to be in the classroom or in school time. 

In the afternoon the group went to Mindolo Dam to discuss what they had learnt from the day and how it could be incorporated into their programme. One of the ideas was to get PHE out into the community during the school holidays and in particular to host a football tournament. This would create an opportunity to tell youngsters about the dangers of HIV and how to keep healthy, whilst enjoying themselves in a comfortable and fun environment. We look forward to reporting back on the event which is planned for August.  

A PHE told the programme co-ordinator at the end of the day “I enjoyed myself at the Mindolo dam; that moment gave me time to forget about my worries of my mum who just died a few months ago.I danced to some songs and felt I was among people who love me.” This brings home the importance of what this programme means and provides to these young people.

Careers Advice

73 pupils in grades 10, 11 and 12 from our Bwafwano programme recently attended a talk about careers advice and guidance, presented by Junior Achievement Zambia.

Mr Kataso, the Headteacher of Bwafwano said "It is important for them to understand their career choices and also to receive encouragement in taking them". Some of the questions being posed by students were: Is it ok for someone to plan for two careers?; and How can I set my goals to achieve my ambition? Since the presentation Mr Kataso has witnessed many pupils seeking advice at school about which subjects are suited to the career they wish to take.

The relationship between Bwafwano and JA Zambia will certainly continue and students are planning to attend their careers fair in October.

JA also inform young people about how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. These types of skills are so crucial for young people in Zambia who are the future for the country and it's development.

June 2010

The Lazarus Effect

A short film about HIV in Zambia shows the positive effects of Antiretroviral treatment (ART) on HIV sufferers, focusing on people in Zambia. Though there is still no vaccination against HIV, ART works to enable people infected with HIV to live long and normal lives. The difficulty in developing countries is accessing the treatment and costs.

>> The Lazarus Effect Film

Community Links at Hodi

As well as managing and delivering our primary and secondary school programme, recently appointed Programme Manager Caroline Talabuka, will be strengthening links with the community to ensure the children on the programme have maximum support around them and are utilising local resources. Hodi is also looking to do more outreach work with parents and guardians, ensuring that they are aware of the importance of education so that they are encouraging and supportive towards their children going to school.

Report on the need for Teachers in Zambia

This report looks at the fertility rates in Zambia and how the future development of Zambia could be effected by them. The projected increase in population suggest a great increase in the need for teachers. According to this report 46% of Zambians are under 15 years of age!

>> Zambia Population Factors & National Development (January 2010)

This year we are supporting 40 young people in either their first, second or third year of teacher training.

Counselling for Peer Health Educators

Although the young people recruited for the CHEP programme are there to take on the role of being a leader, they are still from vulnerable backgrounds and potentially facing challenges in their own lives. Therefore part of CHEP’s strategy this year is to encourage openness amongst peer educators, and to provide guidance and support for them. CHEP now provides a trained counsellor and nurse Grace, every Friday for the peer health educators to talk to.

Prestigious scholarship to a bright young Zambian supported by Cecily's Fund

One of our peer health educator group leaders has come out at the top of his country and been awarded a scholarship to study in the UK. Joseph Zimba won the award at a national competition amongst other young Zambian engineers and scientists. When Joseph was younger he was sent away from school because his family could not afford school fees. Cecily’s Fund supported him back into school and now as a peer health educator. Joseph said “This is one of the biggest things happening in my life because I have seen my life being transformed from vulnerability to viability. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making me be who I am today!”

The basic cost of living in Zambia

It is difficult to guage the level of need in a country without knowing how much basic living costs come to. A Zambia-based organisation produces a very useful tool to assess this; they call it the Basic Needs Basket. It is updated every months with prices of food, education, housing, water and other basic needs. For more information visit their website.

December 2009

Positive news about the Zambian HIV epidemic

The United Nations AIDS organisation (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have published their latest (November 2009) update on the global HIV epidemic. Once again many of the figures are encouraging, showing that the epidemic is stabilising (albeit at high levels) in many countries.

The report says that the number of new HIV infections have come down by 17% over the last eight years and that the greatest progress has been seen in sub-Saharan Africa. It says that, “Evidence suggests that HIV prevention programmes may be having an impact on sexual behaviours in some African countries. In southern Africa, a trend towards safer sexual behaviour was observed among young men and women between 2000 and 2007. “ It also makes special mention of the fact that “Drops in HIV incidence were reported among women in Zambia between 2002 and 2007." Education plays a critical role in HIV prevention, as explained in our page on Education and AIDS.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO said “We cannot let this momentum wane. Now is the time to redouble our efforts, and save many more lives." If you would like to join these efforts by supporting our work, please see What you can do

>>read the full UNAIDS/WHO update