THOUGHT FOR ZAMBIAS POOR
The spirit of ubuntu is under attack as most young people have developed an attitude of “me first”.
We know that many Zambians have been living under difficult circumstances but it is no reason to stop helping others.
The International Charity Day was commemorated at the weekend with very few groups or organisations taking advantage to promote phi-lanthropy- this is sad.
Marco Polo Tiles Company Limited celebrated International Charity Day by donating food stuff and sanitary pads worth thousands of Kwacha to children at Mothers Without Borders shelter.
The company also donated stationery and duvets to each of the 50 children. Mothers Without Borders country director Josephine Daka commended Marcopolo for the donation saying it ignited love and hope in the children. Ms Daka said Mothers Without Borders supports over a thousand children across Zambia aged between five and 17.
“We take up the holistic upbringing of a child. The 50 children here at the shelter are coming from different backgrounds; cases of physical and sexual abuse, orphaned while others have parents that are mental patients. We first offer them counselling because of the trauma they undergo. Basically we as much as possible toffer them a life equal to a home,” she said.
Marcopolo human resource manager Clare Moonga said it was their second donation to the shelter in an effort to provide necessary sup-port to the children to ensure they grow up into better citizens.
“We believe that empowering our community is both beneficial to us and the people we serve. As we commemorate International Charity Day which falls on September 5, we thought it was important to mark this day by contributing to our children who represent the future of this country,” said Ms Moonga.
The charity event was characterised by dancing and singing by the children.
It is important for Zambia’s youth to appreciate the spirit of helping.
There are too many people living in poverty, for us not to care about each other.
The latest IPC Acute Food Insecurity analysis results indicate that between July and September 2021, about 1.18 million people in Zambia are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). Flooding, high maize prices, and pests drive the country’s acute food insecurity despite a good harvest. The highly food insecure population requires urgent humanitarian assistance to reduce food gaps, protect and restore livelihoods and prevent acute malnutrition.
The situation has particularly deteriorated in the Western province, where five districts were classified in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
The projected period (October 2021 and March 2022, coincides with the lean season when the country’s food security situation is expected to deteriorate, with around 1.58 million people (13% of the analyzed population) classified in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). In the Western province, ten districts are likely to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) levels of food insecurity, as well as three districts in the province of Southern (Gwembe, Siavonga, Sinazongwe), two in Lusaka province (Luangwa, Rufunsa) and the districts of Lunga, Chavuma and Chilubi.
According to the United Nations, vulnerability in Zambia is characterised by a high incidence of poverty and exposure to several types of shocks mainly arising from hydro-meteorological hazards and their cascading effects, such as epidemics and periodic incidences of macroe-conomic instability.
According to the analysis, the key drivers for food insecurity are flooding experienced between December 2020 and February 2021, out-breaks of pests such as the African Migratory Locusts and Fall Armyworm (FAW) and high maize prices.
As the Bible says: ‘The poor, we will always have with us’.
It is prudent for individual citizens to constantly endeavour to think about helping others.
