Strengthen capacity of WDC's to increase people's participation in governance and civic matters, urges FODEP

THE Foundation for Democratic Processes (FODEP) has called for the strengthening of Ward Development Committees (WDC) to increase people’s participation in governance and civic issues.

FODEP programmes manager Gilbert Chisenga said in an interview that there is a need for Government and stakeholders to build capacity for WDCs, especially in rural areas so that they can be effective in their contributions towards the bottom-up approach as desired by the government.

Mr Chisenga explained that in addition to funds, there are a lot of things most of the WDCs need to be empowered with such as basics in project planning, monitoring and implementation.

“The challenge is that little funding goes into the local authorities in most districts where we are operating from. In some districts where these structures are established already, they are not fully oriented whereas you find that in other districts such as Zambezi, they totally don’t have a WDC system,” he said.

FODEP is one of the 14 civil society organisations implementing the Strengthened Accountability Programme (SAP II) across the country with funding from Swedish faith based organisation Diakonia.

Mr Chisenga said the development of an integrated district council is based on the fact that there must be a wider consultation.

“So you need to consult the local people who are the right holders at zonal or WDC level. So it becomes a challenge for people's participation in such processes without such structures in place. So in districts where they have been established like Chavuma, Mushindamo and Kalumbila, we have actually facilitated a full orientation of such structures so that they are fully functional,” he said.

He however, commended the government for its commitment to the bottom-up approach to development as it offers an opportunity for community members to choose projects which urgently need attention.

Mr Chisenga said that there is also need to sensitise the people and let them know that these structures are not political.

He said as much as the process to set them up is done using the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) systems, WDCs are not a preserve of the political party that is popular in an area.

“...so by doing that, you deter others who may want to offer a service. There are people who are non partisan and if their wisdom and brains are embraced, you will find that these structures function in a very proper way away from politics,” he said.

Don't send your children abroad if you haven't saved up enough money to see them through their studies, advises AWF

Joseph Moyo

THE African Woman Foundation (AWF), a Livingstone based non Governmental organisation has advised parents and guardians against sending their children abroad to study if they have not saved sufficient funds to see them through their studies.

AWF founder and director Joseph Moyo said the organisation has since December last year assisted 30 students with financial aid while it has facilitated the return of six others after their guardians failed to sustain their studies leading to their various colleges and universities in India and China revoking their student statuses.

Speaking at a press briefing recently, Mr Moyo said sending children without sufficient funds to see them complete their studies puts them at a risk of engaging in illegal and illicit activities such as prostitution and drug trafficking.

He said it is always important to plan ahead and save enough money for children to access education.

“Once a parent sends their children outside the country without catering for them that is not education, they are only sending their children into harm's way because once these children go there and their parents cannot send money for upkeep, the universities simply revokes their status or threatens to revoke it and in a desperate attempt to avoid that, these young people end up doing illegal activities,” he said.

Mr Moyo said his organisation has come across many young people in the diaspora who have resorted to vices such as prostitution and homosexuality for the sole purpose of survival.

He said across Africa, the organisation has come to the aid of a total of 172 students in the form of air tickets or upkeep to see them through their studies.

“Don't send the children out there speculating that everything is going to be alright along the way once you come across some funds to send to them. Better only send the children when you know you have saved enough money for them to complete,” he said.

Mr Moyo who also thanked the Government for coming up with educational policies that encourage girl child education said his organisation will continue sensitising people on the true value of a woman.

He said women should be empowered and educated in order for them to benefit towards the development of the country.

Talk to your children about sex, Mama Nyongo urges parents

VETERAN musician and marriage counselor Mary Miti popularly known as Mama Nyongo says parents should not feel shy to talk about sexual and reproductive health with their children at an early age.

Ms Miti has also advised parents to give accurate answers when quizzed by their children on where babies come from as opposed to lying that they are bought from shops or picked from the river.

Speaking in an interview recently, Ms Miti said children first need to be told the correct names of their private parts and how they are not to be shown to anyone.

She said that way, it will lessen the chances of children being defiled, raped or taken advantage of by anyone.

“Immediately they start talking, they should know the right names of the vagina and penis, not names like doyo and they should be told that a private part is not to be shown or touched by any one because it is a private part. As they grow older, they can also be told the disadvantages of showing their private parts and people touching them as some people are wicked and can end up raping or defiling them,” she said.

She said when the topic is introduced early to them, children will be able to distinguish between appropriate touch by specialists such as doctors and inappropriate touch by anyone.

Ms Miti said discussing sexual reproductive health with children allows them to open up and be free enough to tell their parents in case anything inappropriate was to happen to them.

She said parents should not wait for a child to be 16 before introducing them to sexual reproductive health education.

“Children are going to hear about sex from elsewhere. By getting in first as a parent, you are making sure that they receive the right information and more importantly, that they know how you feel about it. That way, a parent is influencing their child on what they will one day do about sex. Children that receive good sex education are more likely to delay having sex and when they start, they are more likely to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted illnesses,” she said.

She said parents should not pretend or think their children are too young for sexual and reproductive health education,

She said if they are not told early enough, children may easily access the information from what they see, watch and hear and lead them to trying it to satisfy their curiosity.

“I know some children may be stubborn even when preached to, but as parents, we shouldn't give up. The little ones should be taught on what we call safe touch and unsafe touch. Let them be aware of a bad touch because some people may not be raping them but molesting them, let's make our children our best friends so that even when they are threatened, they know they can still count on us as parents,” she said.

She said sexual education should involve small, frequent and repetitive conversations with their children.