Here's the second part of the story of my investigation on Zambia's education system and the impacts of debt cancellation.
Chibombo is about 100 kilometers north of Lusaka, the capital. There is a good road that leads through rich farming land – much of it owned and farmed by white Zambians. At the Chibombo Secondary School Deputy Head Teacher, Mr. Nyirenda. proudly announced that they have parity between girls and boys at the school with three dorms for girls and three for boys. There are both boarding and day students at the school although the majority live on campus. Boarding school students pay $100 USD per term and day students pay $50-60 USD per term.
The Chibombo Secondary School is set off the main road on a small campus. There are 114 basic schools in the district, but they are the only government secondary school in the district. The Chibombo district is larger than the UK!, Mr. Nyirenda exclaimed. The school teaches industrial arts, home economics, music, fine arts as well as university preparatory courses.
As part of debt detecting, I arranged to visit with local Jubilee leaders in Monze, Zambia. Jubilee Zambia has five district groups working on debt, trade and aid issues. Monze is a small regional town center of thirty thousand residents, three hours south of Lusaka. Phoebe Moono is the lively facilitator of the group. They have 25 active members with four work groups on APRM (Africa Peer Review Mechanism), debt, economic and social rights and just wages as part of national projects on Trade, Aid and Debt.
Like many Jubilee USA local groups, they use a variety of outreach/organizing strategies to educate and raise awareness about these issues with various constituencies. Monze is surrounded by small towns and agricultural areas. They have a regular radio program and frequently participate in call-in shows. On the debt campaign, they organize public forums and workshops.
I'm here again to bring you part two of my investigation into the Millennium Development Goal of women's empowerment and equality. I want to introduce you today to Rev. Rose Nsofwa, an activist who spent a number of years working in the NGO sector of Zambian society on behalf of women. My sister Connie and I had the privilege of hearing her preach in her native language this week at St. Paul's UCZ church in Kabwata, Lusaka. She has such energy and passion even though we could not understand the sermon!
Debt Detective Reports on Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality By Pat Rumer, Jubilee Debt Detective
This is Pat, the Debt Detective in Zambia wishing everyone back in the United States a Happy Mother's Day this weekend. In honor of this day, I'm looking at Millennium Development Goal #3: promoting gender equality and empowerment. Look forward to two stories about two amazing women. First, I want to introduce you Emily Sikazwe, director of Women for Change (WFC), and whom some of you might remember as a featured speaker on a Jubilee USA tour in 2007.
Emily has served as Executive of WFC for twenty years. WFC is a gender focused organization whose primary agenda is women’s rights in rural areas. They are an advocacy organization and work with 120 women’s NGO’s in Zambia. In addition they work with the Tribal Leaders’ Council to introduce gender equality into traditional societies. They are active in monitoring the national budget from a gender perspective. Emily serves on the board of Gender Action, a member of Jubilee USA Network Council.
Zambian greetings or Muli Bwanji! This week I had the opportunity to meet with Suzane Matale, general Secretary of the Zambian Council of Churches. As you can see from the YouTube interview she is a vibrant person who is passionate about justice.
The Council of Churches is active on the issue of extractive industries - in particular, copper mining. Prior to the IMF privatization policies the copper mines were owned by the state who provided some support to the workers in terms of health care, education and food subsidies. The Council of Churches is looking at several issues regarding the mines and other extractive industries:
“LET’S FINISH THE WORK!” Is the Jubilee Zambia campaign to focus the government and public attention on implementation of debt cancellation goals. This is Pat Rumer, Debt Detective reporting from Lusaka, Zambia. I have spent this past week talking with people from churches, women’s organizations, an AIDS hospice and the World Bank. So what I have learned?
Certainly, the good news is that there have been benefits in education and health and even some in infrastructure (roads, water, etc) – most of these benefits came in the first year after the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (2005). But since then there has been a lack of progress to fully implement the promises made by the government at the time of the debt cancellation. Part of that is due to the death of President Patrick Mwanawasa in died in late 2008. The United Church of Zambia General Secretary Rev. Chrispin Mbalazi observed that “we were too trusting that the government would deliver on its promises and we did not have a strategy to work with the international community on post-debt cancellation implementation.”
This is Pat Rumer, the Jubilee Debt Detective, who is traveling to Zambia this next week to discover how debt cancellation has benefited people there. I will be talking with doctors, nurses, patients, teachers, parents, students as well as our global partner, Jubilee Zambia to learn how debt relief affects peoples' lives. Join me on this journey and post your questions and comments below. I will be doing a weekly blog and video uploads. Stay tuned for more!
ia has five district groups working on debt, trade and aid issues. Monze is a small regional town center of thirty thousand residents, three hours south of Lusaka. Phoebe Moono is the lively facilitator of the group. They have 25 active members with four work groups on APRM (Africa Peer Review Mechanism), debt, economic and social rights and just wages as part of national projects on Trade, Aid and Debt.