Plan Zambia Annual Progress Report 2009

A YEAR IN

ZAMBIA SUMMARY REPORT

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Livingstone BOTSWANA

• OnlyR 4% of families have adequate food stocks to last from one harvest to the next • Just 17% of Zambian boys and girls complete their primary education

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GOOD REASONS why Plan works in Zambia

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• More children die in Zambia from preventable diseases and malnutrition than in any other African country.

Our priorities in Zambia • Helping to source quality healthcare services for children and their mothers • Improving food andMaincome security in households nia • Helping children, families and communities to take charge of their own development Mangoky

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Picking fresh beans for the family.

• Supporting improvements to schools

“With a little support from Plan, children blossom from shy, quiet bystanders to be enthusiastic and confident agents for change in their communities” – John Morris, Plan’s Country Director

ZAMBIA FACTS Capital: Lusaka Population: 611.7 million Language: There are seven official languages.

Bemba and English are commonly spoken Climate: The climate of Zambia is tropical modified by elevation. In the Köppen climate classification, most of the country is classified as humid subtropical or tropical

wet and dry, with small stretches of semi-arid steppe climate in the south-west and along the Zambezi valley.

There are two main seasons, the rainy season (November to April) corresponding to summer, and the dry season (May/June to October/ November), corresponding to winter.

Economy: About 68% of Zambians live below the national poverty line,

with rural poverty rates standing at about 78% and urban rates of 53%. Per capita annual incomes are currently at about one-half their levels at independence and, at US$395, place the country among the world’s poorest nations. Social indicators continue to decline, particularly in measurements of life expectancy at birth (about 40.9 years) and maternal mortality (830 per 100,000 pregnancies).

The country’s rate of economic growth cannot support rapid population growth or the strain which HIV/AIDS related issues (i.e. rising medical costs, decline in worker productivity) place on government resources.

Students in the schoolyard.

A YEAR IN

ZAMBIA 09 SUMMARY REPORT

COMMUNITIES TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR OWN DEVELOPMENT The more local people take part in development projects, the more sustainable they are. If communities themselves, including their children, take charge of a project improving their lives, they can develop the skills to make sure those improvements last in the long term.

So Plan promotes the total involvement of children, their families and communities by organising community groups, including children’s groups, and training them in children’s rights, equality between the sexes, leadership, and the skills they need to lobby local and national government bodies.

PROTECTING CHILDREN IN LOMBWA

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Lunch is the result of a Food Security project.

The Bigger Picture Plan is working with children, families and whole communities to address the problems that Zambia faces. This report can only tell a small part of that story. As a further insight, last year we also: • Helped to vaccinate two million children aged between nine months and five years against measles, plus giving them vitamin A supplements, and de-worming treatment • Helped 35 communities set up 43 water points, bringing safe water to 13,500 households. 71 community management committees were organised to maintain them • Supported construction of additional classrooms and teachers’ houses, leading to enrolment rates increasing by 20% • 5,000 farmers participated in interest groups to diversify their skills. These included vegetable growing, livestock keeping, conservation farming, bee keeping and fish farming.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

“Before, it was difficult to report things to the police because the nearest station was 40 miles away, and if I told an adult they preferred to keep quiet” To learn more about Plan’s work in Zambia visit plan.org.au/ourwork/southernafrica/zambia

Produced for Zambia by the Australian National Office.

ntil recently, children’s rights didn’t count for much in Lombwa, a province of eastern Zambia. Cases of physical, emotional and, in some instances, sexual abuse were hushed up, leaving children vulnerable and unwilling to talk about issues affecting them. When they did speak out, adults seemed to be uninterested in their concerns.

But this has been changing. To tackle the problem, Plan began by training children to raise awareness amongst other boys and girls, and encouraged them to talk about any abuses they encountered.

As a result, children began to gain the confidence to stand up to behaviour which harmed them emotionally or physically. But the scheme did not receive total support from the grown-ups in the community. It’s something we often see: unless whole communities get involved, sustainable progress does not happen.

Including adults in the fight against abuse Clearly, more work was needed to raise adults’ awareness of these problems, so in December 2007, Plan helped to set up the first Community Crime Prevention Unit (CCPU). The unit was made up of 21 members from across the community, including children, women, men, traditional leaders, teachers, and Neighbourhood Watch committee members. Once established, the CCPU was trained by the Zambian police, the YWCA, the Drug Enforcement Commission, with financial support from Plan.

child marriage, child labour and other forms of abuse have changed greatly. “Parents are now part of the CCPU, and they’re making sure that all these things are dealt with legally,” says Sylvia.

“Recently, two children who had been forced into marriage have been rescued and taken back to school.”

The CCPU counsels families where cases of abuse are suspected. If the case is serious, they report the incident to the police. Chiko was molested by her father when she was 15. “When it happened I asked my mother to help,” she says. “But she was afraid that if Dad went to prison, we would all suffer.” Chiko talked to a friend in the CCPU and was counselled by the Victim Support Unit of the police. The YWCA gave her somewhere to live and supported her to continue with her education.

“I’m very grateful to Plan and the YWCA for helping me escape the situation,” says Chiko, who is now 18, and will complete her secondary education next year.

Iverybody’s children The CCPU is working closely with schools, talking to children and teachers about how to avoid risk, and the legal procedures that are there to protect them. Teachers have also been raising child protection issues at teacher meetings. Plan continues to ensure all members are kept up-todate on legislation, so that work is not jeopardised by inadequate knowledge of the law.

Once trained, the CCPU moved through the community, spreading awareness and establishing village-based crime prevention units. Now, every village has one, and a total of 200 members are preventing and reporting cases of child abuse.

Each unit works closely with the Zambian police to reduce crime, and to enhance child protection in its local area.

The people of Lombwa now do not hesitate to condemn any form of child abuse. Children talk openly, and adults are taking necessary steps to address children’s issues.

The welfare of the child is a priority. As one teacher told us: “In our community, one person’s child is everyone’s responsibility.”

Involving the police, understanding the system

And making the welfare of children a priority is helping to build community solidarity. By coming together over this issue, the community has found a way of working together which will enable them to tackle other challenges together too.

Sylvia, a 14-year-old CCPU member told us: “Before, it was difficult to report things to the police because the nearest station was 40 miles away, and if I told an adult they preferred to keep quiet.” Now, though, people’s attitudes towards

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

“People’s attitudes towards child marriage, child labour and other forms of abuse have changed greatly”

plan.org.au