Women aiding Women campaign launched

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Sunday 12th April 2020

By Nsama Musonda Kearns
Campaign Coordinator

Zambian Women from various sectors across the country have come together to raise funds to help fellow women who are affected by floods and droughts to set up income generating activities through village banking.

This fundraising campaign called “Women aiding Women” is being spearheaded by women led NGOs that include Alliance for Nutrition and Reconstruction, Care for Nature Zambia, Save the Environment and People Agency, Shiwangandu Development Trust and Zambia Alliance for Women in collaboration with community activists, media and women from the private sector.

Currently more than 1 million households in 30 Districts of Zambia have been affected by severe floods and nearly 2.3 million people are facing starvation as a result of drought especially in Southern Province.

As you may be aware over 95% of rural and peri-urban households are highly dependent on agriculture for food production and income generation. They also mainly depend on charcoal and wood fuel to prepare their meals and they use shallow wells and pit latrines for water and sanitation purposes.

So in a case where there are floods and all the crops are destroyed and surface land, wells and latrines are submerged in water, it is the woman who suffers the most as she still has to find food and means of preparing it and also make sure that the family is well sustained by providing water for drinking and bathing and clean clothes.

Women throughout the country are charged with the responsibility of taking care of children, siblings, spouses, the old aged, the sick and those with disabilities and in a situation where they are faced with drought and floods, the burden may be unbearable especially if they have no one to help them, and sometimes failure to provide for their families leads to gender based violence.

As women, we understand the pain and suffering that other women endure which is why we have decided to come together to raise funds that will help ease the burden of our fellow women.

Donating consumable goods such as mealie meal alone may not be sustainable as they are other essential goods such as relish, cooking oil, sugar, salt and other daily needs, so through the campaign we are hoping to raise at least K10, 000 startup capital for 30 districts in Southern, North Western, Eastern, Luapula, Muchinga and Northern Provinces amounting to K300, 000 which will be donated to women groups to set up businesses to help sustain their livelihoods.

For a long time, Zambia like many other African countries has been dependent on foreign aid and this dependency syndrome has placed a limitation on the potential and capacity that we ourselves as Zambians have in solving our own problems. In the wake of the Corona Virus which has affected the entire world, it has come as an eye opener for us to rethink what we would do if there were no foreign countries to help us, would we sit back and watch others suffer when God has blessed us with a little more resources than others?

God loves a cheerful giver, no matter how little someone is able to give when put together those resources can help to save a life. Helping people in need should not be taken as a competition among givers, but rather people should give from the heart whatever they can afford. There so many people who want to help the needy but when they see donations being competitive they opt to keep the little that they have.

The women aiding women campaign is encouraging people to give freely and willingly anything they can afford from as little as K100 only to any amount that one is able to manage.

Because we cannot conduct social gatherings at this time and the campaign is being done at national level, we are going to work with the media and also use social platforms to disseminate information and launch the campaign. For now, we urge all the women who are listening right now to go to face book and join the women aiding women group.

On the day of the launch, we will all wear the campaign T. Shirts, change our profile pictures and do a one minute video of solidarity to our fellow women in the drought and flood areas. We are expecting solidarity messages from our very own Zambian celebrities in the film and music industry, sports, CSOs, Church, private sector and government.

Please join this noble campaign and make that order for your T.shirt now. We look forward to working with you all especially women. When you empower a woman, you empower the all community.

Thank you very much

Nsama Musonda Kearns
Campaign Coordinator