Thursday, October 13, 2011

AUGUST ACTIVITIES 2011

YOUTH SATURDAY MEETINGS:
The youth department had one youth Saturday meeting on the 6th August 2011 where Eric Sakala talked about the new program called Speech Mastery. Speech mastery is a new program that will be implemented in the youth department to aim at training the youths with leadership skills and presentation skills. Interested youths are free to register.

AGRICUTURAL SHOW:
The youths participated in the exhibition at the Agricultural show with partnership with Action Aid under Activista program. Astecy Chilongo, Raymond Havwala, Shekinah Mutiti, Christine Mwila and Brenda Mwiinga Chishala were on the exhibition table during this activity.
Brochures’ and fliers were distributed during this time.
Information was collected from Zambians on what Zambian Women Farmers want.

 WORLD HISTORY MARKERS:
YWCA went to give a talk on Child Abuse cases at fly angles community school in Ngombe which is under World History Makers Organization. This is an NGO that aims at building capability in children to take up leadership roles. Brenda and Astecy gave a presentation and after that children opened up and reported a total number of five cases of child abuse.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

YWCA Lusaka Branch Youth chairperson Esther Shawa and National Youth Chairperson Nancy Kapembwa also shared about their trip to Switzerland. Esther Shawa was nominated to represent YWCA Zambia at the world council while Nancy won a Mary Ribbons award. The two youths thanked YWCA for the support and encouraged general membership to start applying for the next world council which will take place in 2015
ALL YOUTHS ARE FREE TO COLLECT FORMS AND APPLY FOR INTERN PROGRAMS


FACILITATION: 4TH – 5TH August 2011
Brenda Mwiinga and Debbie Kangombo facilitated a two days workshop on Advocacy at SOS Village from 4th August to 5th August 2011. The workshop was very successful and SOS wrote to National Office to thank YWCA for the good facilitation and requested for certificates.


 YOUNG WOMEN LEADERSHIP TRAINING: 7th – 13th August 2011
Youth Vision Zambia conducted training for feminist from 7th to 13th August. Astecy Chilongo, Nalwende Namfukwe and Biance were the three youths who were selected to participate in this training that took place at Roma Lodge. The training helped them learn about young women taking up leadership roles.

 PARA – LEGAL REFRESHER TRAINING: 8th – 12th August 2011
Cindy Mwila, Eric Sakala, Richard Nawa and Brenda Mwiinga attended the refresher training for para legal which took place from the 8th to the 12 th August at  Blue Crest lodge. The training aimed at sharing experiences from various organizations and new information on the laws. One common challenge raised was on the adjournment of cases in courts which is due to a number of factors such as the witness not appearing before the court, the prosecutors also having their own programs as a result they adjourn cases.
The other common issue was about the challenges organizations are facing in handling cases of early marriage especially when the child was married off under customary law, the Customary  laws continues conflicting with the statute laws.

 EXCHANGE PROGRAM: 9th August to 29th August 2011
Shekinah Mutiit was nominated to participate in an exchange program to Denmark on youth leadership. She travelled on the 9th August for this program.

SAFE SPACE TRAINING: 10th – 12th August
Esther Shawa, Lizzie Chihana, Alita Banda, Celina Gwaba, Inu Nonse Ngwenya, Barbra Chiko, Anastacia Konga and Gladys Mupemo attended three days refresher training on Safe Space program which is being implemented at Kamwala. This was an opportunity for mentors to share their experiences and challenges faced during the implementation of the program and identify areas that needed improvement.

Brenda Mwiinga, Mubita Simonda, Mrs. Irene Nkhunda and Mrs. Lucy Lungu and Mr. Daniel Mwansa facilitated the training.

JUNIOR MENTORS TRAINING: 15TH – 18TH AUGUST 2011:
 10 new junior mentors from Kamwala were trained in Safe space program from the 15th to 18th August at YWCA.

YOUTH RECRUITMENT BRAII:
Youths had a successful recruitment braii which took place at YWCA on 27th August 2011, where 100 youths attended. National Office Programs Manager   Mrs. Royter Phiri gave a word of encouragement to the youths. The senior regional coordinator also attended this braii, which was very encouraging to the young people.
The braii was under the theme” Create an economy, successful and empowered Zambian Youth”
It aimed at recruiting new youth members, sharing experiences and interaction.

 DROP IN CENTRES:
The centre continues offering peer to peer counselling services and legal advice to boys and girl between ages of 17 – 25years. Some of common cases reported in the month of August are:
       Relationship Problems
       Drug Abuse
       Rape
       Child Support


 DIVERSION:
The centre has continued offering counselling services of juvenile sexual offenders referred by the Courts.




CHILDREN IN CRISIS CENTRE:
The centre has continued with the provision of shelter to children who are abused and in danger, and providing psychosocial counselling to the abused children and preparing them for court sessions. This centre receives cases of ages 0 to 16.
The common cases recorded in August were:
            Incest
            Defilement
            Early Marriage
            Domestic Worker
            Abandoned by Parents





EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY


YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION

BRIEF BACKGROUND

The YWCA Zambia is a Christian, Non partisan, non governmental membership organization dedicated to the empowerment of the community especially women and children to realize their potential as human beings with a view to contribute to a just society. YWCA envisions a peaceful and gender sensitive Zambia with opportunities for a better quality of life for all and has four programme areas: Women’s Human Rights, Economic Empowerment, Youth Programme and Organisational Capacity Development Programme.

POSITION: REGIONAL COORDINATOR – SOUTHERN REGION

MAIN RESPONSIBILITY
Membership mobilisation, Programme planning, implementation and management including monitoring and evaluation of various YWCA programmes in the region.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
         i.            Minimum of Diploma in development, gender studies or any social sciences. A degree or higher will be an     added responsibility
        ii.      At least 2 years in similar position working in gender, human rights, Sexual Reproductive Health and economic empowerment programmes in an NGO.
      iii.            Experience in areas such as fundraising, Monitoring and Evaluation, Report/proposal writing, and needs assessments.
      iv.            Must be a team worker, willing to work with people of diverse backgrounds and with minimum supervision
       v.            Computer literate in Word, Excel and others..
      vi.            Must be above 25 years of age and must be in possession of a valid driving licence
Reporting to: Executive Director

Application Procedure: Send application letter and CV to:

The Executive Director,YWCA, P.O Box 50115, Lusaka, Email: ywca@iconnect.zm




Wednesday, July 27, 2011

SCHOOLARSHIP AWARD

Edward Tembo aged 20 was also awarded a schoolarship in Diploma in Social Work Course at YWCA

SCHOOLARSHIP - AWARD

Naomi Chama, aged 20 was awarded a schoolarship in Diploma in Social Work at YWCA.


Friday, July 22, 2011

SECOND MEMBERSHIP MEETING – SATURDAY, 13th AUGUST, 2011

Dear Members,
YWCA – Lusaka Branch is once again inviting you to the second quarter membership meeting to be held on Saturday, 13th August, 2011 in the YWCA Main Hall. 

Below is the agenda for the day:-

09.00 hours      -           Registration

09.30 hours      -           Devotion by Worship Committee Chairperson, Mrs Ireen Nkhunda

10.00 hours      -           Welcome Remarks by Mrs Ireen Mulaisho, Acting Branch President

10.15  hours     -           Update on Lusaka Branch Activities by Ms Marjorie Tembo, Senior Regional
                                       Coordinator

10.45 hours      -           Update on the Outcome of the National Council by Mrs Lungu, National 
                                       President

·         2011 National Council Officer bearers
·         Amendments to the YWCA Constitution
11.30 hours      -           Update on the 2011 World YWCA Council held  in Switzerland by
                        Ms Esther Shawa, Youth Chairperson


12.00 hours      -           Update on the 30-30-30 Project by Mrs P. Ndhlovu, Executive Director

12.15 hours      -           Announcements by Youth Member

12.30 hours      -           Refreshments and End of the Programme



Thursday, July 21, 2011

workshop for mentors - SAFE SPACE

Numerous commitment have been made by stake holders towards attaining gender equality in all aspects of life so that as many girls as boys can enjoy the rights, opportunities and resources available. Regrettably, violence against girls both in schools and home continues to be among the major factors denying girls access these opportunities.
 Zambia‘s National Gender Policy, Article 2.18.5 categorically states; “Acts of gender violence in the home or community instils fear and insecurity in persons, especially women and children.” The fear of violence and other forms of harassment are permanent constraints on the abilities of the victims, particularly women and girls. This further limits their individual development and affects the victim’s ability to contribute towards national development. More so, this violence is also extended to girls’ homes which are ideally supposed to be safe haven. What is more worrying is the increases in sexual abuse cases in communities.
 The project aims to address injustices faced by the girl child in Zambia and this is being done holistically taking into account the millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with reference to 3 that is; women and men having equal opportunities in life which are to be attained by 2015.  It also empowers the girls with provision of psychosocial support and life skills in order to give them a platform to be aware of their rights, be assertive and be able to make sound decision
YWCA will be conducting a workshop for youths on Gender based violence on the Safe space Program from 8th to 12th August and 22nd to 26th August 2011 at YWCA. The topics to be covered are; Human Asset(Sexual reproductive health), Legal asset, Financial Asset, Human Rights and GBV.

SCHOOLARSHIP ANNOUCEMENT

YWCA proudly announces 2 scholarship opportunities to the YWCA youths (members) as another way to empower youths. The scholarship covers school fees in any of the courses run by YWCA School as follows:
v  Diploma in social work
v  Diploma in Social Sciences
v  Psycho social counseling
v  Food Production
v  Community Development Studies
For application details come to the Youth Drop in centre at YWCA.
 
 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

YOUTH PARTICPATION IN ELECTIONS

Monday, July 18, 2011

YOUTH PARTICPATION IN ELECTIONS

Operation Young Vote gave a talk to the YWCA Youths on the importance of youth participation in the electoral process:
Outcome of meeting:
1.       Most youths do not participate in the electoral process/voting because they feel government has never and will never take their issues into consideration.
2.       Other youths felt participating in the electoral process is a right, therefore youths should be able to exercise their rights.
3.       Youths felt the reason why most young people do not participate in elections is because of the examples our leaders, (no mentors).
4.       Youths who are not affected e.g. by unemployment tend to be comfortable and do not want to support or speak for those who are not in employment.
Through the discussion and exchange of experiences, youths were able to realise that they are key towards National Development and as their right, they should be able to participate fully in the electoral process and not to be used as tools for violence.
CHILD ABUSE CASES

YWCA Youths are concerned with the high levels of abuse and child delinquency cases.
Studies carried out by YWCA in 1996 namely the defilement and incest study, it was revealed that Zambian children were not safe both in homes and on the streets.  Children have been sexually abused or forced to undergo other traumatic experiences like been withdrawn from school to marry them off.

According to YWCA statistics ending 2010 were 253 cases of defilement, 51 cases of rape 9 cases of incest and 1,707 cases of child neglect.  This presents an increase from 7,016 and 6,836 cases reported in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

It is a well acknowledged fact that children are the building blocks of any nation and the government attaches great importance to the right of children.  The orphan and vulnerable children in Zambia situation analysis conducted in 2004 revealed that the number of vulnerable children was rising.  In 1992 it was estimated at 720,000 orphans but has since risen to 1,100,000 and this figure continues to rise on daily basis. 
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been singled out as the biggest cause of orphan hood and vulnerability, poverty has also contributed greatly to children’s vulnerability and threatens their very existence.
Furthermore, the two twin evils of poverty and HIV/AIDS have completely eroded the socio-economic status of the country causing families breaking down traditional family support structures, breeding a hitherto cadre of children such as street children, child headed homes which has affected children’s full development into responsible adults.     
While the youths are the core of every nation as they hold the dreams and success of the future generation and as such should be enhanced by providing an enabling and user friendly environment. The youths and children have aspirations to be somebody in future. However, their dreams and aspirations are threatened because of HIV/AIDS which is eroding the breadwinners leaving the children with little or no support. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has disintegrated family units as many children who have been taken in by other relatives have found themselves reliving the trauma because that relative who took them in dies as well, living them to fetch for themselves.  This has traumatized the children who without any protection have suffered all forms of abuse.
It is estimated that there are around 920,000 people in Zambia living with HIV, with 94,000 deaths as a result of AIDS related sicknesses per year. According to Children on the Brink 2004 report, 19% of Zambian children under the age of 18 had been orphaned, totaling to 1,100,000 children. These figures suggest that Zambia has the highest proportion of orphans in Sub-Sahara Africa. HIV/AIDS continues to be the largest cause of orphans.


The YWCA youths recognizes the importance of a healthy childhood for it is the foundation that builds up the generation of tomorrow. It is in light of this foundation that YWCA has an intervention that protects children and continues to seek and establish a social safety net for children. However, the child abuse in all forms is on the increase and it is important that concerted effects are strategically put in place as children are the future leaders of tomorrow so we have a duty to protect and care for them.