Wednesday, May 10, 2006

The Zambian Alliance of Women


ZAW is a well respected and prominent NGO in Zambia. It's mission is to empower women. By empowering women ZAW also empowers the children of Zambia.

ZAW operates a number of projects that promote sustainable development. One such project has recently been undertaken in Choma in Southern Province. Representatives of ZAW visited a small village a few kilometres from Choma. They brought with them a few bags of seed and their own knowledge and expertise. Through a series of workshops the village women were taught how to cultivate the seeds to ensure a bountiful harvest. Each woman was then given seeds to plant at her own plot.

A year later the ZAW represntatives returned to the village to see the results of their labour. They found fields awash with Maize. In return for their help and support ZAW requested that each of the women whom had been assisted gave back a cup of seed to ZAW. This seed was then bagged and taken to another village where the same process took place.

ZAW operates on a shoe string budget. This particular project was funded by members of the Union of Catholic Mothers based at Christ the King, Childwall, Liverpool . The UCM raised £200 which Mrs Rosina Mhlanga, the treasurer of ZAW, collected during her visit to the UK in 2004.

ZAW exists on the smallest of budgets and only succeeds because of the determination of its members to empower their neighbours. ZAW has no full time staff and all the work carried out by ZAW is done by volunteers.