ADRA-UK News Update

One thousand chaka hoes*, 1,000 farmer tool kits and 50 treadle pumps for simple irrigation are just a sample of what ADRA will distribute in the project. Co-funded with the European Commission, the initiative starts on the Friday, 1 February and aims to provide three meals a day for the poor in the Senaga District of Zambia.

Pansi Katenga, ADRA-UK Programmes Officer, is in Zambia this week to help the local ADRA office launch a new poverty alleviation project.

Mrs Katenga reported, “This project will make a significant difference in the lives of many of the poorest people here. Just imagine what it is like to have only enough food for just half of the year. Most people have to survive on one meal of maize a day.”

Malnutrition in this Western province of Zambia is very high, 45% of the population do not have access to enough food with current farming methods only providing sufficient food for around 5 or 6 months of the year.

ADRA will enhance household food security among the poor people here by teaching better agriculture techniques and introducing better nutritional planning. Training will address the low agricultural yields and will allow households to produce enough food stocks to last them a whole year. Introducing alternative crops, more suitable to the arid climate, will also help to address the problem.

Due to the close relationship that exists between food insecurity and HIV/AIDS and gender, the project will mainstream HIV/AIDS in the project focusing on increasing awareness of the public at large on the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The project will benefit more than 6,000 people and will last 24 months. ADRA-UK is providing 10% of the 600,000 Euro budget. Mrs Katenga is very positive about the project: “Our work will bring hope to these people and give them opportunities to escape poverty.”

*A chaka is an improved hoe for Africa.