By ANN ZULU
A WORLD where women are empowered to improve
themselves, their families and the society as a whole, is a kind of world that Patriotic
Front (PF) Matero ward 23 in Matero Constituency Councillor Annie Chinyata
envisions.
Councillor Chinyanta handing over a bag of mealie meal
Ms Chinyanta, who is also the only female councillor
in the constituency has sacrificed her monthly salary towards women empowerment
in her ward.
Matero ward 23 has a population of about 60,000 and
majority of the population are women.
Most of the women in area are widows and single
mothers, who struggle every day to sustain themselves and their families.
Earlier this year, Government raised councillors’
allowances from K700 to K3, 000 to enable them discharge their civic duties
efficiently and effectively.
But Ms Chinyata told this reporter that she thought
extending this good gesture to her community and to women in particular who
were in need more than she was, was the best thing to do.
She said she had decided to use her monthly salary to buy
rice from Kasama and distribute it to women in her ward to sell as a way of
empowering them.
“I have seen how women are suffering in my ward, most
of them are widows, single mothers and for some who are married, their husbands
are not doing anything.
“So when Government decided to start giving us
salaries, I thought as a Civic leader it was my responsibility to try and do
something for the women in my ward that would help them in improving
themselves, their families and the country at large.
“I recently discovered that we have very good rice
growing in Kasama, so I thought of bringing it on the market and distribute it
to women to sell,” Ms Chinyanta said.
She said so far 30 women had benefitted from the project
and intends to extend the number.
Ms Chinyanta also wishes to partner with the corporate
world in the project, as she believes that the corporate world plays a vital
role in uplifting the livelihood of the people.
“I have started with 30 women, but the number will
increase as we go on with the programme. I am also looking forward to engaging
the corporate world but I thought I should first lead by example by sacrificing
my salary,” she said.
Ms Chinyanta noted that lot of women in her ward were
uneducated due to lack of finances to access education.
She said the project would also help the women to take
themselves to school.
“As I go round interacting with women in my community,
I found that some of them have the zeal to go back to school but they have no
means of financial support. So I thought by empowering them they would also
take themselves to school,” she said.
She further urged people in her community not to be
too reliant on Government, but instead find ways of empowering themselves.
“A word to my community is that Government will not do
everything for us, and as much as government is creating jobs, it cannot cater
for everyone.
“So I feel as community, we should be hardworking and we
should stand up on our two feet’s and see what we can do to sustain ourselves
and develop our community together,” she said.
And one of the beneficiaries Alice Tembo, who had been
looking after her two grandchildren since her daughter died, thanked the councillor
for initiating the empowerment project.
She said even though the project looked small, it
would help her to provide for her grandchildren.
“The councillor has really come to my rescue by
introducing this programme, because since I lost my daughter in 2014, I have
been struggling with my grandchildren. I have pay for their school feels and
provide food and clothes for them, so for me this will go a long way,” she
said.
Another beneficiary, Mr Mary Sampa implored other civic
leaders in the country to emulate Ms Chinyanta.
She noted that a lot of women in Zambia were suffering
and needed empowerment.
Truly, there is no doubt that if all women in Zambia
were empowered, a lot of can be achieved because they are agents of change.
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