Zambia

There is a high level of poverty in Zambia. Over 60% of the population lives below the poverty line. Combined with a high birth rate, an extremely high HIV/AIDS burden and a low level of education, daily life is a struggle for millions of Zambian families. The rapid population growth poses serious problems for the country’s poverty levels and resources.

*Billy’s father died from HIV/AIDS when he was six, and his mother died a year later. He and his five siblings were left in complete poverty. Relatives took them in, but needed help to support them all.

The family asked our partners in Zambia for help – and they could. We found Billy a sponsor, and one year on his life is completely different. He has clothes, shoes, school uniform, blankets, books, pencils and food packs. What does this add up to for Billy? A brighter future.

What are the challenges?

Many communities in Zambia’s North Western Province are known as “dark villages”. This means they have little or no contact with government services, and limited infrastructure. Families  survive on subsistence farming.

The spread of HIV/AIDS has devastated communities. Around two of every five families here live on less than $1 per day, often surviving on just one meal a day.

Accessing education in this region of Zambia is difficult for many children, as families often cannot afford fees or related costs. Travelling long distances to school is often problematic, especially for younger children.

What is Global Care doing about poverty in Zambia?

Our local partners, New Life Action Foundation Trust, aim to create “a community which is able to educate, clothe and feed its children.” Global Care is supporting their work in Kabompo, the poorest district in the poorest area of Zambia.

Through a sponsorship scheme, 31 of the most vulnerable children from the “dark villages” now access education, and receive support with feeding and medical care. A local committee selects the neediest children. A further 33 children are on our waiting list for sponsors – can you help?.

We know that education for Zambia’s poorest children is the best way to lift them out of poverty. In 2019 Global Care built permanent classrooms, pit latrines, secure storage and a headteacher’s office for M8 Primary School in Makayi village, a community school started by parents. The buildings replaced temporary thatched shelters, which frequently leaked, providing secure teaching space for classes which previously met under trees.

The opening of the new school had a huge impact on the community. In 2019 M8 school had just 58 pupils taught by community members. By late 2022 over 500 students were enrolled, taught by 11 qualified teachers. We have also built accessible latrines, improving access to education for disabled children – the first accessible school latrines in this region of Zambia – and connected the school to a clean water supply to improve hygiene and sanitation.

However there is still much to be done, to enable children and their families to break free from poverty in Zambia.

How can you help?

Can you sponsor a child in Zambia? We have seen the difference sponsorship makes repeated in thousands of children’s lives over the years. Sponsorship enables education, which ultimately releases whole families from the poverty cycle. £25 a month gives a child all they need to enable them to learn and succeed.