Grappling for survival on the frontiers of climate change

By Derrick Silimina

In the face of prolonged droughts due to the effects of the El Niño weather pattern, the agriculture sector in Zambia is battling for survival on the frontiers of climate change. 

Recently, the Zambian government even had to declare a national state of emergency.

Braving the sweltering afternoon heat, Adrian Munsanje walks for about ten kilometres every morning in search of pasture and water – a journey his herd of cattle must cover to avoid starvation. 

Munsanje, 50, has seen four of his cows slowly die because of the recent droughts ravaging across Zambia which also left more than 4.4 million people in the southern African country without access to food and clean water.

“This drought is more severe compared to a few years ago, when we could see green pastures nearby for our animals to graze, but that's no longer the case this year,” Munsanje told Rural 21. 

He noted that in his home area of Gwembe district, southern Zambia, local people’s entire way of life revolved around rearing livestock. They were dependent on them for money, for food, for labour and even for paying dowries.

National disaster and emergency declared

 Over nine million people are suffering from an El Niño-induced drought that has crippled the country since late 2023, according to the Zambian government’s crop assessment data. 

For this reason, in the face of prolonged droughts, the agriculture sector in Zambia is battling for survival on the frontiers of climate change – a crisis that has made farmers' way of life increasingly difficult, leaving little food and water for their animals.  

“With heavy hearts, we’ve declared a national disaster and emergency as our country faces severe drought, caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, influenced by climate change. The prolonged dry spell has impacted both Zambia’s food & energy security,” Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema said recently during a national address. 

The Zambian government affirmed that the country had gone without rain at a time when farmers needed it the most as the drought hit 84 of the country’s 116 districts, affecting more than a million farming households. 

Zambia’s most cultivated and thirsty cash crop – maize – is one of the hardest hit. Others include cotton, soybeans, tobacco, groundnuts and peppers.

Oxfam warns that over six million people from farming communities in Zambia are facing acute food shortages and malnutrition until the next growing season, which is twelve months away. 

Environmental experts say Zambia’s once vibrant agriculture sector is falling victim to rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall that are threatening crop yields and livelihoods. 

Ironically, Zambia’s rivers, lakes and underground reserves account for 40 percent of southern Africa’s water resources, but the water is not always available in the right place or at the right time.

“With this crop failure, I am really in trouble because I have a family of ten people, and I depend on farming to maintain them. I support my children’s education through agriculture and my little children need food the most, for their nutrition,” says Mable Mwanza, a smallholder farmer in Kafue district.

Irrigation systems should be prioritized

 

It is therefore emphatic that more needs to be done to serve smallholder farmers in Zambia. Moreover, this southern African country is only a minor emitter of the gases that drive global warming. 

With steadily rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall threatening crop yields and livelihoods, Zambia’s once vibrant agriculture sector is falling victim to climate change. 

Agronomists say it's high time to prioritise irrigation in order to boost yields to between two and four times the levels of rain-fed agriculture, which could be an important part of the solution to a shortfall in productivity in the sector. 

In particular, drip irrigation is to be promoted because it is particularly affordable and effective. Even though drip irrigation is relatively inexpensive, small farmers still depend on government agricultural programmes and NGO programmes to help finance the systems.

Constance Mulenga, a smallholder farmer based in Chibombo district, central Zambia emphasises that with the onset of climate change, she is now eager to invest more in irrigation systems as a way to improve crop yields and enhance her household food security. 

“I cannot imagine how I would have managed to earn income without irrigation,” says Mulenga.  “It keeps my horticulture business running all-year-round.” 

Mulenga has been irrigating her winter maize crops with a combination of underground water sources and irrigation equipment for several years, as the impact of climate change has become increasingly clear.

Zambia's liquid gold

 Notwithstanding being stung by drought, some smallholder farmers in the patched dry lands of Kazungula District, Southern Zambia, who had recurrently suffered poor harvests of maize (Zambia’s staple food) due to unpredictable rainfall, have turned to beekeeping as an alternative source of income. 

“Despite the challenges of droughts, I have seen firsthand how honey harvested from my beehives supports my family’s well-being. I use some of the honey for home consumption and sale, while the surplus is exchanged for maize, providing enough food for my home,” says Ronica Himambo, a full-time honey producer from Kabwe district in central Zambia.

But the honey sector is also increasingly suffering because it is being affected by charcoal burners cutting down trees to meet the ever increasing demand for charcoal. 

Moses Chishala is a small-scale farmer in Mkushi district of central Zambia. Additionally he has been trying to grow his honey business for years. 

“Every day, piles and piles of trees are cut down and transported to make charcoal, an industry that is depriving bees of their natural habitat and threatening the production of honey,” Chishala says. 

This is because Zambia, which is heavily reliant on hydroelectricity, is currently experiencing a power shortage such that the widespread drought which hangs over much of southern Africa has left water levels in dams worryingly low, and charcoal is the cheapest energy alternative available, but the bees need the trees.

According to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), Zambia loses between 250 and 300,000 hectares of forest every year to charcoal burning, and the government is heavily investing in energy alternatives such as solar, whilst preserving the honey sector.

In view of these challenges, it is clear that only a decisive change in agriculture and the sustainable use of natural resources can enable the people of Zambia to have a resilient future that can meet the demands of climate change.

Chinese holistic healing

By Derrick Silimina

When Tom Dambudzo was bedridden due to ill health in his rural village, taking painkillers was the only option for him to relieve pain. “I couldn’t walk properly when I had severe backache for six months and my dependence on anaesthetic drugs was quite stressful,” Dambudzo told ChinAfrica. 

Dambudzo's decision to relocate from his rural home on the outskirts of Bulawayo to Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, in search of quality health care turned out to be a roll of the dice that would eventually pay off in spades.  

“I visited a local traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. He pricked me with small needles, which were removed after 30 minutes. After 10 days of treatment, I feel better now!” he said. 

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Zimbabwean and Chinese governments on cooperation in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), thousands of Zimbabweans have turned to the ancient Chinese therapy to get their ailments treated. 

In 2020, the Zimbabwe-China Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Centre at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals was established in Harare and the facility, which houses the country’s largest TCM training school and research centre, has treated more than 150 people suffering from various ailments such as hypertension, lumbar pain, diabetes, and hernia. 

Local medical practitioners are enthusiastically studying the healing power of the ancient Chinese therapeutic technique, a medical system that has been used to diagnose, treat, and prevent illnesses in China for thousands of years, which is proving to be a beacon of hope for access to quality health care in a country grappling with obsolete medical facilities.  

Affordable alternative 

A group of 10 Zimbabwean medical professionals graduated as TCM practitioners in 2022 from a TCM training programme offered by Chinese doctors, the first of its kind in Zimbabwe. Their training comprised theory and practice including acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as diagnosis and treatment of diseases. 

After graduation, some of them started private practice to provide alternative medication at a lower cost, after witnessing the wonders of ancient Chinese medical treatment. 

Tatenda Chimbunde is among the 10 Zimbabwean licensed acupuncturists who got the skill to fulfil her passion for relieving others from pain. Chimbunde started a mobile clinic to provide acupuncture, a component of TCM. 

“I have seen in my practice that after I administer acupuncture, where one had to depend on taking a painkiller every 4-6 hours needs to take those drugs once in five to seven days, and with more acupuncture sessions, some of the patients can completely go off these painkillers, as acupuncture therapy would have helped in treating their ailments,” Chimbunde told ChinAfrica. 

The 26-year-old pharmacist who also works at a private clinic in Harare noted that TCM is more cost-effective than Western medicine, and it does not discredit the value of Western drugs as they work as adjuncts to enhance treatments. TCM also does not have side effects like Western medicine does,” she said. 

“In my own experience as a certified acupuncturist, where cost is concerned, I have observed that there are certain ailments like arthritis, back pain, and knee pain for which patients would spend a lot of money on buying different painkillers. The painkillers would relieve the pain just for a while, with no long-term cure. But with acupuncture, the recovery is quicker and the ailment is cured, which cuts the cost of medication.” 

Richard Mutingwende is another certified Zimbabwean acupuncturist who runs a private clinic located in the Stoneridge suburb of Harare, where he receives about 20 patients each day, and hopes to raise the number to 50.  

“Acupuncture works wonders, especially for conditions that cannot be treated using other systems of medicine,” Mutingwende said.  

Chris Chatunga, a teacher from Mashonaland, said he recently travelled to receive treatment at Mutingwende’s TCM clinic and the trip was worth it as he got cured. “Despite spending a lot on painkillers, my chronic headache continued. After hearing about TCM, I tried acupuncture therapy and it worked like magic,” Chatunga said. 

With TCM techniques including moxibustion, cupping, acupuncture, herbal products and mind-body practices, local patients with conditions such as arthritis, sciatica pain, back pain, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and even infertility and digestive disorders have received treatment.  

Among the wide range of Chinese ancient cures on offer, acupuncture has received maximum acceptance. In this traditional Chinese therapy, needles are inserted onto affected points on the body to relieve pain and cure illnesses. 

Cooperation with China 

According to the World Health Organisation, TCM has a long history of contributing to conventional medicine and continues to hold promise, and in most developing countries, herbal medicines are the first line of treatment for more than 60 percent of children with high fever. 

Arguably, some advocates of TCM say the Chinese therapeutic practice saves more lives compared to modern medicine as it avoids many side effects associated with modern medicine. 

Zimbabwe and China recently committed to increasing cooperation on the use of TCM to give people more medical choices. 

Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora recently expressed appreciation for China’s technical support which has greatly enhanced Zimbabwe’s health care footprint, adding that there was more that Zimbabwe could learn from the Chinese in harnessing traditional medicines. 

“We are also making strides in strengthening traditional medicine and we now have a council to regulate this sector,” Mombeshora revealed. 

Indeed, China’s ancient healing arts are gaining a strong following in the Southern African country as patients are increasingly flocking to local TCM clinics offering a variety of cures. 

Brighton Chiwenga, a truck driver from Harare’s Arlington suburb, was full of praise for the effectiveness of moxibustion - a Chinese medical therapy which brought an end to his unbridled fatigue whenever he took a long drive. 

“After I drive hundreds of km every week, I get stressed and fatigued. I tried modern medicine but it didn’t help much. But moxibustion therapy worked perfectly,” Chiwenga affirmed. 

Chimbunde, the TCM practitioner, said acupuncture has been a game changer for many. “In cases like stroke for example, some patients lose their mobility and cognitive abilities, but with the help of acupuncture and physiotherapy, I have seen lives change and people who had lost hope experience a renewed life.” 

Laughter, singing reverberates through a girls' orphanage

By Derrick Silimina

As laughter and singing reverberates through a girls' orphanage in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, the surge in orphans is adding to the hardships of a population already struggling with an economic crisis.

"Not that I am not affected by being a double orphan, but I feel safe and secure being here," Anita Kachinga, a 15-year-old resident of Home of Joy orphanage, told GSR.

Kachinga vividly recalls her depression and anxiety after losing her mother to illness after a stay at Lusaka's Mother Theresa Hospice.

Narrating her ordeal, Kachinga disclosed how she got abused by her mother's relatives, an experience that traumatized her and robbed part of her childhood. "I found myself living on the cold streets of Lusaka until I took refuge at the Home of Joy orphanage."

In 1999, Archbishop Medardo Mazombwe, at the time head of the Lusaka Archdiocese, saw an urgent need to help the vulnerable children found dumped at the Marian Shrine Campus. 

The Congregation of the Immaculate Conception sisters from India who were in charge of the facility took up the challenge to establish the Home of Joy, also known as Nyumba Yanga Orphanage, on Aug. 7, 2000.

In the face of poverty and the untimely death of parents due to HIV/AIDS, among other maladies, nearly one-fifth (18%) of children in Zambia aged 0-14 years are orphans, one of the highest orphan rates in the sub-Saharan Africa region, according to the World Bank.

For this reason, Immaculate Conception Sr. Theresa Kulandai, director of Home of Joy, works to provide education, food, clothing and shelter among others to double-orphaned girls nestled within the Marian Shrine Campus, 15 kilometers east of Lusaka city.

_____

GSR: Tell us about yourself and the work you do.

Kulandai: Initially, I was sent to Zambia as a missionary from India in 2015, after completing my final profession. In 2020, I was moved and assigned at our other foster home called "Future in My Hands" which is based west of Lusaka, where I also helped to teach vulnerable girls at our school, called St. Joseph's Future in My Hands.

Professionally, I studied engineering with a major in electronics and communication back in India. While I was working at the children's home, I pursued a primary teaching career at Kasiya College of Education because of my passion to impart knowledge to the children.

Twenty-four years ago since the orphanage was established, we are still relying on well-wishers to feed, clothe and sponsor the children to school, among other needs, as we currently have no income-generating venture to sustain and manage the home. I am glad that other people, including Catholic Women's League from different parishes, do pitch in to contribute with groceries, clothing and foodstuffs, among others.

What does it take to manage the vulnerable and double-orphaned girls?

Obviously, it is not an easy task to take good care of young orphans from a diverse background, considering their different age differences being put in one place. It takes passion to take care of the orphans who mostly come from hostile environments.

We house a total of 35 girls from 5 to 17 years of age and they all attend school from baby class to grade 7. It is a complex duty to manage both young and older girls in one facility for a long time and this is why we have another home — "Future in My Hands" that was established in 2017 to cater for the matured girls above 18 years.

At Home of Joy, we only keep girls from baby class up to grade 7 and then we transfer at least seven girls every year to [the Future in My Hands home] after they write their junior school examinations in readiness to go to high school, from grade 8-12.

How does your charism line up with your humanitarian work?

Since our congregation's charism is to "help the poor people in simplicity and love," I got touched when I found little ones that are in need of care and love. In fact, after I came to Zambia from India in 2021, and upon seeing the vulnerable children, I really got the desire to offer my life for them and finally it became my passion to carry out this mission.

Further, we strive for the girls' integration with their relatives, such as uncles, aunties or grandparents, and during school holidays we allow them to familiarize with their extended family members before they get integrated after they graduate from our facilities.

How has your ministry evolved with time?

Since 1994 when our ministry came to Zambia to do pastoral work, there was no specific plan to establish an orphanage. But thereafter, a need arose and we took up the responsibility, since we also run several orphanages and other homes of poor people in India.

For this reason, our ministry is strategically positioned to take up orphaned children, especially from hospices that look after terminally ill and dying parents, especially from the Our Lady's Health Centre, Mother Teresa Hospice and among others, not only from Lusaka but from other towns countrywide where our ministry is serving. 

How many girls have benefited from the orphanage from inception?

So after 24 years of the orphanage's existence, we have supported over 160 girls into higher education. After they graduate, some have gotten married, some come back to work as "mothers" at Home of Joy [where two are now working].

Recently, after a realization of some of the big girls' poor academic performance, especially those that we took to government schools, we decided to establish our own school, St. Joseph's Future in My Hands school to cater for the primary and high school.

I am excited that most of our graduates are now well-established and doing fine in life. Others have pursued their academic journey through other donor sponsorship. Some have done medicine, teaching and engineering, among other careers. 

What challenges do you face in the daily operations of the orphanage?

It is evident that such an undertaking of managing an orphanage does come with its own prominent challenges each day. Before my current position, I used to be an assistant to my predecessor, but after she left, I had to get used to managing all daily duties seamlessly.

Since the facility is run like a family setup, with each house housing 10 children who are taken care of by a "foster mother," we have four mothers each taking care of around 8-10 girls.

Some of the challenges include lack of transport to ferry girls to and from school, inconsistent donor support, and limited supplies of basic needs to cater for the increasing number of girls annually.

Malawi Soybeans Solace

 By Derrick Silimina

Like many farmers, Monica Haraba wakes up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready to harvest her soya bean crop at her farmland located on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital. 

But like last year, she is expecting lower output due to adverse weather, especially drought. 

“Because of poor weather conditions, I managed to harvest only 200 bags of soybeans, each weighing 50 kg during the 2022/2023 farming season, compared to 600 bags in the previous season, on my 8 acres (3.23 hectares) of land,” Haraba told ChinAfrica. 

Haraba intends to sell her yield to local processing companies that process soya beans into finished products including cooking oil, soymeal and stock feed, among others. According to Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture, minimum farm gate prices for strategic crops such as soya bean for the 2023/2024 season is pegged at 800 Malawian kwacha ($0.46) per kg. 

In a country where more than 80 percent of the economy is based on agriculture, farming touches nearly everyone’s life in one way or another. 

Soya bean is one of the most important food and cash crops in Malawi as it is a good source of protein, vitamins and vegetable oils. 

But low commodity prices have hit the farmers hard who are already struggling with drought. In this context, the recent agreements with China to export Malawi’s soya beans to the country has been cheered by Malawian farmers and traders. China’s huge demand for soya beans can significantly lift the incomes of the producers.  

Positive development 

On average, the Southern African country produces 400,000 tonnes of soya beans, and plans to raise the figure to 1 million tonnes by 2030 in line with Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy, to increase demand for exports. 

During the China International Import Expo held in 2023 where Malawi showcased its products and services, over 39 Chinese companies expressed interest in buying Malawian agricultural commodities including soya beans.  

“The mission to China was extremely beneficial for Malawi. We attracted over $140 million in export inquiries from 39 potential buyers who are interested in buying soya beans, cassava and groundnuts,” said Deliby Chimbalu, a public relations manager with the Malawi 

Investment and Trade Centre 

In 2023, Malawi exported $6.9 million worth of soya beans, a rise from $2 million the previous year, according to the Malawi Government Annual Economic Report 2024. 

In this context, China and Malawi have signed export deals on soya beans as well as other commodities such as macadamia nuts and dry chillies. Negotiations are underway to sign protocols on tobacco, tea and ornamental fish. 

The Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) described the export deal for agricultural commodities with China as a positive development. 

“The farmers are definitely very happy because we know now that after working hard in our fields and after harvesting, we won’t have challenges with marketing our produce,” FUM President Frighton Njolomole said, adding that the agreement will play a critical role in boosting the country’s agricultural sector. 

The efforts culminated in the approval of the export of a trial consignment of 240 tonnes from Paramount Holdings Ltd. “This is the beginning for Malawi, and with high demand for soya beans from China, this opens doors for local soya bean farmers and traders,” Paramount Managing Director Mahesh Ghedhia said recently. 

Ghedhia disclosed that his company signed a contract for exports of 20,000 tonnes after it emerged successful in the accreditation process by the Chinese authorities to ascertain the quality of the product for export to China. 

Lucrative market 

As the second-largest economy in the world, China is the largest importer of agricultural produce and is one of the most lucrative export markets for Malawian agricultural commodities such as soya beans.  

“This shipment opens a door for Malawian farmers and we plan to increase our volumes because the Chinese market is looking for 100,000 tonnes of soya beans,” Ghedhia was cited by the Xinhua News Agency as saying. 

According to Paramount, the exports are subject to waivers that Malawi’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture would give to exporters as the produce is under export restrictions. 

Chinese Ambassador to Malawi Long Zhou recently highlighted achievements made between China and Malawi through the Preferential Trade Agreement and presented a roadmap for enhancing relations. 

“The deal aims at cementing the partnership between the two countries,” Long said recently. 

The Chinese envoy lauded the success scored in the area of agriculture, particularly Malawi’s ability to start utilising the duty-free and quota-free export market access of soya beans with the first consignment shipped to China.  

The Malawian government has since described the deal as a game-changer that will transform Malawi’s export base currently dominated by tobacco. 

Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe recently indicated that the Chinese authorities were doing their accreditation of individual exporters of all the accredited commodities to ensure they meet standards. 

“Those exporters that have been accredited will be given waivers on the export restrictions because they ought to fulfil contracts they signed with the Chinese importers,” he said. 

Agricultural experts believe that China has untapped potential for soya bean exports, stressing the need for Malawi to exploit this market opportunity that could increase its forex earnings by 20 to 30 times if more commercial farmers with large landholdings enter the industry and access the Chinese market. 

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, soya beans are in great demand both for the production of protein-rich meals and for livestock feed.  

With the high demand of soya beans in the international market, especially in China, Haraba and other local farmers are optimistic about the future for the soya bean farming.

“I want to ramp up production in the next farming season so that I can supply at least 1,000 50-kg bags of soya beans to firms linked to the lucrative Chinese market,” Haraba said.

Holy Cross girls cherished milestones

By Derrick Silimina

From humble beginnings to cherished milestones, Christabel Songiso's academic journey at Holy Cross Girls Secondary School has been extraordinary.

In 2012, before her midterm grade nine examinations, Songiso's schooling almost came to a halt after she learned that her biological mother was terminally sick, a crisis that made her fail to concentrate on her studies or prepare for final exams at the Catholic-run facility which is nestled near the Barotse Floodplain on the Zambezi River in the heart of Mongu town, about 580 kilometers west of Lusaka, Zambia's capital.

"A day before my midterm exams, Mum became very sick, and she got admitted to the hospital. I had no choice but to take care of my 1-year-old baby brother, and that really disturbed me a lot," Songiso told Global Sisters Report.

Songiso said she broke down considering other financial burdens her parents were grappling with, and she gave up on the crucial examination preparations. 

The Sisters of the Holy Cross discovered Songiso's potential when she lost hope in life. Songiso acknowledged that what brings school-going children down, especially girls, is not having support from their families to pursue their education.

Songiso paid a glowing tribute to the sisters from her family boutique business, Maycorn Fashion and Business Solutions, for enabling her to complete her high school education at the Catholic-run girls' school despite losing the desire to step foot in a classroom.

"In 2012, the religious sisters placed me under the care of a Catholic family where they sponsored my schooling until I completed high school in 2015 at the Holy Cross School. So they [sisters] knew my story and saw the need to help me. They paired me with the Catholic family that took me up, and I'm still with them. I am very grateful! They're very good people. 

Yeah, so you can imagine without the Holy Cross Sisters, I couldn't have been where I am today," she said.

Songiso learned more about the sisters and how they effectively assisted students who had challenges paying school fees. The sisters also monitored girls' educational challenges and moral behavior. Sonsigo felt inspired by the Holy Cross Sisters' zeal for girls' education in Mongu. 

Sonsigo, 26, narrated with nostalgia how her foster family sponsored her from grade nine until the completion of the 12th grade and her degree in literature at the University of Zambia. 

Against all odds, she graduated in 2022 and is pursuing her master's while helping manage Maycorn Fashion and Business Solutions with ease.

"I am waiting for the government to deploy me in the civil service since I applied this year and hope to be considered in the government teacher's recruitment drive." 

Clara Chama is one of many other girls who sought help at Holy Cross Girls Secondary School.

Sitting outside her new workplace in Lusaka, Chama is grateful to be among the girls who pursued their academic dream at Holy Cross Girls Secondary School. 

Chama later got a bursary (monetary grant) at Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka to study psychosocial counseling.  

The 33-year-old mother of two said, "My father died while doing grade 10 at Holy Cross School, and my life was shuttered knowing that my pillar of strength was no more, but thank God the religious sisters knew my predicament and they came to my rescue through their moral, spiritual and financial support which saw me up-to my final grade." 

Sr. Bibian Mbao, today the head teacher at Holy Cross Girls Secondary School, grew up with the Holy Cross Sisters. While in grade 12 at St. Mary's Secondary School in Livingstone, Zambia, Mbao was inspired by the religious sisters' noble cause to transform young people holistically through education. 

Later, after her formation into the sisterhood in 1992, her first mission was in the Lukulu District in 1997, where her drive for girls' education became a reality.

"What motivates me to attend to the girl child is, first of all, I am part of this history of girl child education in Zambia," she said. 

Driven by her passion for education, Mbao added that after her short stint as an untrained teacher of grades eight and nine at Lukulu Basic School, she enrolled in Kwame Nkrumah University, then Kabwe Teachers Training College, in central Zambia.

"All along, I wanted to be a nurse, but when I saw the suffering of the children in Lukulu and how they walked long distances to access a school facility, I felt moved to become a teacher. After my diploma in teaching, I came here to Holy Cross Girls Secondary School in 2002," she stated.

The sisters' commitment to supporting girls' education in line with the school motto, "for God and country," has over the years churned out graduates, with many of them now holding influential positions in society. One of them is Zambia's current speaker of the National Assembly, Nelly Mutti.

Mbao disclosed that with a total of 42 teachers teaching over 600 students, the school is grappling with obsolete infrastructure and a poor science laboratory facility, among other factors that compromise the girls' education, adding that there is a need to reintroduce boarding facilities and help avoid early pregnancies.

Against all odds, the sisters' holistic approach to girls' educational empowerment and the facility's excellent pass rate have sustained over the years, and the school is one of the leading girls' high schools, offering quality education in the southern African country.

"The rate of pregnancy incidences among our girls has since reduced because five years ago, we would record five pregnancies per year, but now there are none due to our spiritual and moral guidance as our aim is to provide a holistic education to the girl child," Mbao concluded.