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.

Veggies producers winning in Kalumbila

By Derrick Silimina

An FQM Trident-backed scheme is uplifting more than 150 vegetable producers in Kalumbila and strengthening the local horticultural value chain. 

The Ndimi vegetable aggregation and supply programme has continued grooming new agripreneurs since 2019 when Trident Foundation through the FQM Trident mine opened the Ndimi Vegetable Market Shop. 

This was an initiative for an immediate market enabling local farming communities to sell their vegetable produce and generate income for their families. 

“We help our local farmers grow any type of vegetables, then we collect their produce and supply it to the mine. At the end of the day, we make an income for them out of the aggregation program,” Ndimi Project Coordinator Teddy Sakala says. 

Sakala states that the response from local farmers in the last five years has been overwhelming, considering that most of them never even thought of earning monthly income from selling vegetables. 

The Ndimi Vegetable Market Shop has in the last five years educated the local farmers on how to manage their agri-business. According to the Trident Foundation, the Ndimi project services farmers within a 50km radius of the FQM Trident mine’s catchment area in Kalumbila District. 

“We are supporting over 150 farmers that do supply their various vegetable produce including rape, eggplants, cabbage, tomatoes, spinach, and onions among others to nine designated collection points within our catchment area.” 

He notes that moving forward, the initiative plans to open up several vegetable outlets in a bid to meet the growing demand for both traditional and English high-value vegetables through several markets such as All Terrain Services (ATS), the catering company that feeds thousands of staff who work for FQM Trident mine. 

In addition to the local supply chain, Sakala highlights that the Ndimi Vegetable Market Shop also supplies Choppies supermarket, the Clubhouse at the Kalumbila Golf Estate, and catering companies that service various companies around the mining town. 

“In the next five years, we see Ndimi growing to higher heights. We intend to do massive works and our target is to supply vegetables to several companies here and out of Kalumbila because what you see here is what remains after we are done with supplies.” 

One of the local beneficiaries of the Ndimi programme is Bernard Katoka from Kalumbila’s Kansanji area. Katoka, 39, pays glowing tribute to FQM Trident for coming up with a sustainable initiative that has provided a ready market to local vegetable producers. 

“Many thanks to the mine for the Ndimi vegetable project which has improved our lives for us local vegetable farmers. I can now afford to take my children to school, and buy food especially because the drought has affected maize yield in this year’s farming season,” the father of eight quips. 

Katoka has since 2015 been a consistent supplier of cabbages, green pepper, tomatoes, lettuce and rape among others to the Ndimi Vegetable Market Shop and earns approximately K5000 income per month. 

Due to an unmet demand for vegetable supplies in Kalumbila District, he plans to increase the production of veggies on his farmland from the current two lima to five. 

“Before I was introduced to this supply chain, l used to struggle a lot in life; but with this vegetable aggregation and supply programme, I now plan to build a family house and also buy a car to enable me to ease my mobility challenges.” 

Mervis Mutonge, another local producer of horticultural products from Kalumbila’s Kisasa area echoes Katoka reminiscing how it was previously hard then to survive in the horticultural sub-sector. 

Mutonge affirms that the Ndimi veggies programme has since positioned and taught her to turn agriculture into a real business. 

“Before this programme, I used to struggle a lot with market availability in the district as my vegetables then would go to waste but now, I am grateful to Trident Foundation for empowering us with this profitable horticultural value chain off-take linkage.”

Up-close with FQM Trident first female Technical Manager

By Derrick Silimina

Working in a man’s world, women are much less likely to end up in key leadership positions than their male peers but their dash to climb the ranks early takes a toll.

For this reason, the transformative power of FQM Trident Limited is a testament to the mining giant’s faith in its workforce. The company’s first-ever female Technical Training Manager Mulenga Tembo is the proof. 

“When I came to Kalumbila, I knew that mining is not for the faint-hearted. So, it’s rough and tough, but I think women still have a place in mining and we belong here as well. Therefore, being in the Training Department is something that I’ve always been passionate about,” she explains. 

Tembo’s academic journey started at Lusaka’s Mary Queen of Peace Primary School, then called St. Mary Primary School, before moving to Kabulonga Girls Secondary School where she completed Grade 12. 

She later obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Zambia Insurance Business College Trust (ZIBCT). Having started her employment journey with an international firm, Tembo was placed in the Training Department, an area she had always been interested in. After she studied the world of Human Resource generalists, Tembo then discovered that her first and only true love was training and development. 

“My first job post-qualifying was actually with a multinational company and I was placed in the Training Department. From there, as we tend to do when we are young, I started hankering for greener pastures and a little bit more of expanding my career in the HR field,” Tembo recalls. 

NEW HORIZONS 

In 2017, attracted by the promise of new horizons and fresh challenges, Tembo joined FQM Trident as HR Superintendent. Little did she know that her arrival would set the wheels in motion for a pivotal moment in the company’s history. 

Tembo’s professional excellence, marked by her determination and commitment to problem-solving skills did not go unnoticed and later caught the attention of her supervisor at Zambia’s largest copper mine. 

Fast-forward, a couple of years later, Tembo’s HR Manager recognized her strengths and assigned her to lead one of the Centre of Excellence units at the mine site. 

The units focused on resource and talent management development. She affirms that in 2022, her expertise earned her promotion to Technical Training Manager at FQM Trident.

“Working in a male-dominated industry, there’s always been a feeling or thought that training or mining is not for women. This is not the case. I think women have a place in mining and we belong here as well.”

 INITIATIVES 

After a year in her current portfolio, Tembo has spearheaded initiatives to revolutionize employee development at the mine, setting new industry standards and enhancing the company’s reputation for nurturing local talent. 

For Tembo, 45, becoming FQM Zambia’s first female training manager was not without its challenges but rather than being deterred, she was even more determined to make it work. 

She emphasizes that being knowledgeable about one’s field and having data on hand helps one to contribute effectively to the team. 

“Training a diverse workforce is very challenging but meeting these diversities needs a training platform for everybody. We have on-the-job training, we have classroom training, we have infield training that offers practical application of the training. We also have simulator training by way of our simulators, all of which help to address the need of a diverse workforce that has diverse learning skills,” she stated. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Highlighting one of her greatest achievements thus far, Tembo has been formulating a comprehensive training strategy aligned with FQM’s vision and objectives and has spearheaded initiatives that empower employees to enhance organizational capabilities. 

“I’m proud of the fact that when I came into the department one of the things that we embarked on was coming up with a training strategy. We based our training strategy on our CEOs, people first strategy—a strategy that helped us as a Training Department extrapolate what it is that we needed to do. We came up with a robust training strategy that is going to be running for the next two to three years,” she notes. 

Asked how she strikes a balance between work and home life, Tembo chuckled, “I am so blessed that I have a great husband and a lovely son who supports everything that I do. I’ve got sisters who listen to me, a great housekeeper assisting me at home when I get overwhelmed, and one or two friends who keep me sane. They allow me to laugh at myself and encourage me through some of the mistakes that I make on this journey.” 

DEVOUT 

Growing up in Lusaka, Tembo is a devout Christian by faith who draws her inspiration from Jesus Christ through her father who was a colonel in the Zambia Army, and a mother who was a secretary. 

She is the youngest in a family of five sisters. In her spare time, Tembo loves cooking, gardening, listening to Gospel music and a wide array of podcasts. 

Driven by her unwavering pursuit of excellence and a deep-rooted desire to make a difference, Tembo looks to the future with steadfastness as her leadership philosophy is anchored on a fervent belief in service and selflessness. 

“Leadership is not for the faint-hearted, leadership is also not for the selfish, it’s also not for the self-centered or the self-serving; leadership is an act of service. If you want to be a good leader, you need to be somebody that is service-oriented. Every day, when I wake up, one of the first questions that I ask myself is how can I do my job better to ensure that my people can do their job better. I need to be a vision carrier that my team can look up to and be proud of.”

Pumping Relief

By Derrick Silimina

When Monica Jiwani relocated to Arusha, the third-largest city in Tanzania, she was dreaming of a happy life in a scenic area. Instead, she was immediately confronted with a harsh and painful reality - scarcity of clean water. 

The thought of using contaminated water became a constant source of headache.  

Arusha is at the foot of the volcanic Mount Meru, and is a gateway to safari destinations and to Africa’s highest mountain, the 5,895-metre-high Mount Kilimanjaro, located 100 km away in the northeast. 

As people flock to this city in the hope of a better life, they are shocked to find that there just isn’t enough clean water for everyone.  

“Many people are getting sick here from water-borne diseases. We have young children in this community and I’m really worried about their safety,” Jiwani told ChinAfrica while walking with a baby strapped on her back and a bucket in hand in search of fresh water. 

During times of water scarcity, Jiwani has to walk for about an hour from her place in the Njiro suburbs of Arusha to fetch water from a neighbouring place.  

The 30-year-old mother of two revealed that due to the need to fetch water, many girls are forced to drop out of school and most women are left with fewer options to earn an income. 

Disproportionate burden  

In Sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water, a colossal waste of their valuable time, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. 

Attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal for water and sanitation, which calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030, seems far-fetched on the continent. 

“Having our own borehole is the best solution for my family. I am tired of hoping that one day we will have piped water,” said Cathy Ndagala, a resident of Arusha’s Arumeru District, adding that she knows the pain of water shortage as she is used to walking long distances to find safe water.  

Ndagala, 35, stressed that fighting and quarrels at water points in her community are rampant as women, men and children battle for the scarce water.  

“We even go for three days without having a shower due to lack of water here,” said Ndagala, who is among the majority of residents in the Arumeru who have to use the little water they get for cooking, and forgo other tasks like washing clothes.  

A recent United Nations study of 24 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa showed that when water is not piped to the home, the burden of fetching it falls disproportionately on women and children, especially girls. In Guinea and Tanzania, women spend twice as much time as men on collecting water on average.  

Timely help 

However, the residents of many areas in Arusha no longer need to spend sleepless nights over the access to clean piped water for their household needs, thanks to a new water supply system project built by Chinese construction firm PowerChina International Group.  

PowerChina recently signed the contract for the construction of the new Arusha water supply system project, which is owned by Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (AUWSA). 

PowerChina Project Manager Jin Denghui said that the project involves fetching groundwater at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro and supplying it to the targeted households in Arusha every day. The project mainly consists of a major water pipeline of about 176 km, a water supply network of about 400 km, 10 reservoirs, five transfer lift pump stations, 43 deep well pumps and 29 water hammer tanks, among other facilities. 

“I can now access clean and safe water just a stone’s throw away from my home,” said Jiwani, who is now one of the beneficiaries of the water project financed by the African Development Bank and the Africa Growing Together Fund. 

The state-of-the-art water supply facility is indeed a game-changer for the local community in Arusha’s catchment area in terms of sanitation. In addition, the project has provided more than 4,000 jobs for the local people during the construction, organised professional training on welding, and trained a group of technical and management staff. 

“The project has improved the living conditions of residents and has helped to expand the local economy through job creation,” Jin noted. 

“Approximately more than 1 million citizens have benefitted from the project, including an average of 250,000 people who enter and leave the city every day, 143,770 citizens from Arumeru District, 9,049 citizens from Hai District in Kilimanjaro Region, and 6,529 citizens from Simanjiro District in Manyara Region,” AUWSA Director Justine Rujomba said. 

Rujomba thanked the government of Tanzania for facilitating the implementation of this project, which has solved the water challenges in Arusha and some other areas.  

The Tanzanian Ministry of Water formally conveyed its appreciation to PowerChina for the company’s significant contribution to completing the Arusha water project in a letter sent in January 2022. 

Tausi Kida, permanent secretary in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, disclosed recently that from January 2021 to December 2023, the Tanzania Investment Centre registered 256 Chinese projects worth about $2.5 billion, and the top five sectors for these projects were manufacturing, commercial building, agriculture, transportation and services. 

The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation has since noted that the country is making significant strides in improving the investment climate, which has shown tangible results, including $11 billion in projects led by Chinese investors, creating more than 114,726 jobs.  

Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian said China has emerged as a leading source of foreign direct investment in Tanzania, significantly contributing to the country’s development. 

The Chinese envoy commended the Tanzanian government’s determination and proactive measures in attracting investment and promoting economic development.  

“We are confident in Tanzania’s future development prospects,” she stated during the China-Tanzania Investment Forum and China-Tanzania Trade and Investment Promotion Conference held recently in Dar es Salaam.  

Girls at risk find residency, skills training

By Derrick Silimina

As Rejoice Banda walks back home into Chibolya - the most feared slum in Zambia, young boys share a joint of marijuana through a bumpy track giving way to lined-up shacks, while the smell drifts through the township.

Nestled 4.5 kilometers southwest of Lusaka, Zambia's capital, the notorious township is renowned as a hub for drug trafficking, alcohol abuse and burglary, among other illicit activities, where even the police and other law enforcers do not dare to tread.

For Banda, 28, her binge drinking and all-day craving for cannabis was a daily battle. She started smoking in eighth grade, and by the time she was 18 years old, she smoked every day. Over time, her addictions crept into every corner of her life, nearly leading to her dropping out of school.

But after social welfare programs led her to the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco's Home for Girls at Risk, part of what is known as "City of Hope," Banda now considers herself a transformed person, having survived bouts of alcohol and drug abuse, thanks to the sisters' program.

In a bid to promote the orphans and vulnerable children through education and skills training, City of Hope (founded in 1987) consists of the Home for Girls at Risk, the Auxilium Skills Training Center, and the Open Community School. 

Established in May 2005, the first community school moved to the new site and was meant for children over the age of 9 who had not been going to school but were old enough to attend government schools.

"I am blessed to be among the youths awarded a bursary through the Constituency Development Fund, [a scholarship] to enable me acquire a skill at this training center," Banda told GSR. "My focus on studies has really kept me away from engaging in illicit activities."

She is upbeat about pursuing studies in hotel management at the sisters' Auxilium Skills Training Center, located 10 kilometers south of Lusaka city in the suburb of Makeni. 

While the sisters' residency is for at-risk girls, the center caters to a broader population and is renowned for rebuilding young people's lives through training in skills such as general hospitality, information and communication technologies, hotel management, tailoring, and general agriculture, among others.

The religious sisters at the training center also counsel young people about the dangers of engaging in illicit sexual activities and gender-based violence.

"We educate youths, especially the vulnerable in society, to become better citizens," Sr. Margaret Mutale, principal of the Auxilium Skills Training Center, told GSR. "Apart from skills development, we also provide them with lifelong moral guidance to ease their stable lifestyle. Our aim is to usher young people into the job market or become self-employed."

Like Banda, more than 150 other at-risk girls have been introduced to stay at the City of Hope by stakeholders who are in charge of taking care of the needy in society. The home aims for the girls to feel secure and loved, to grow in self-esteem, and to rejoin society.

"The sisters' mentorship has transformed me," Banda said. "I can't wait to establish my own restaurant once I graduate. Thanks to school management and tutors for reshaping my life."

One of the leading providers of technical, vocational and entrepreneurship training to young women and men in Lusaka, the Auxilium Skills Training Center is rated among the best in the country by Zambia's Technical Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority. 

The center collaborates with the government, along with community and development organizations, to address problems of poverty, lack of skills training, and high unemployment in the Southern African country of about 20 million people.

Based on their charism — "to promote education for underprivileged young people and women by uplifting their standards of living" — the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco have over the years built strong ties with the local community. 

With the motto "sure successful future through skills," the skills training center aims to move the youth out of poverty and help them provide for their families, who live in the most severe poverty-stricken areas of Lusaka and beyond.

For this reason, more than 150 vulnerable youths have been enrolled for the 2024 academic year to pursue various skills at the center, thanks to the Salesian sisters' commitment to realign young people's future aspirations.

While there has been some progress toward job creation in Zambia in recent years, unemployment remains deeply rooted within the social structures of most communities. 

Childhood marriage, lack of access to education, and barriers to economic emancipation are some of the daily realities for many youths in the Southern African country.

Mutale is optimistic about the effectiveness of giving youths the option to be self-sustaining and to contribute to an important aspect of a healthy city, instead of engaging in illicit activities that may endanger their lives. 

Since its establishment in 1995, the Auxilium Skills Training Center has continued to yield hundreds of graduates per year who, upon graduation, mostly rely on the training to get employed in restaurants, hotels and lodges, while others become self-employed.

The center is also renowned for providing education and women development interventions (such as counseling and business cooperatives) for vulnerable people, not only in Lusaka but in other districts, including Luwingu, Kasama, Mansa and Mazabuka.

Mutale expressed joy that the positive response from her learners is overwhelming despite the financial challenges to pay for their tertiary training, as the school depends on their tuition fees to operate.

She bubbled with conviction and shared how her missionary work started from humble beginnings in Kasama district in the northern province of Zambia where she grew up.

"I was inspired by the Salesian sisters' passion to uplift young people's lives, and since I share the same desire to help young people thrive, I ended up joining them so that I can equally contribute effectively to the sisters' charism," said Mutale, who has been at the helm of the institution as the school's principal since late 2023.

"Each time I see young people succeed in whatever skill of their choice, I feel happy because what drives me is the desire to serve souls," she continued. "It's humbling to see many youths look forward to becoming self-reliant upon graduation in readiness to take care of themselves and family members."

Bupe Kalumba, one of the students pursuing general hospitality at the center, said getting trained for the fashion and hospitality industries in the country is exciting.

Kalumba, 25, said sisters are leading the way on journeys previously unimaginable, as serving souls is not only preparing someone to go to heaven, but also to prepare someone now to contribute to their own livelihood, she said.

Meanwhile, Ruth Mukuma, 24, one of the students at the training school, said her dream to one day become a fashion designer is slowly unfolding as she takes a tailoring course at the skills training center.

"I can't wait to finish my course because my passion has always been to become a fashion designer," she said. "Thank you to this institution for adding value to what I want to become, as I can't wait to live my dream and lift myself out of poverty."