Youth NGO Saves Over 200 Chibombo Kids From Child Labour

Some of the children helped by Youth First Foundation

By Paul Shalala in Chibombo

A Youth-led non-governmental organisation in Central Province has saved over 200 children from harmful child labour practices and taken them back to school for further education.

Youth First Foundation (YFD) has supported 237 children who it has sent back to various schools in Chibombo District since 2013.

The children will continue being supported and mentored for as long as the organisations donors keep offering their help.

Through a grant of US$10,000 (K100,000) from the Global Fund for Children, YFD has helped children who had lost hope on school, get a second chance in life.

Recently, the organisation hosted a public event where 50 of the children gathered to share their experiences on how the project had made an impact in their lives.

Through the Stay In School (SIS) initiative, children who had dropped out of school and started looking after cattle or selling by the roadside, or carrying heavy loads for business, were brought back to the classroom to continue literacy and numeracy lessons from where they had stopped.

At the event, their parents signed contracts which committed them to making sure that they allow their children to attend classes when school is in session.

During the event held at Nachibaya Primary School last week, Youth First Foundation Founder and Board Chairman Cooper Chibomba said the organisation was aiming at empowering children and changing lives.

Parents signing contracts

“Now, in advancing the education of our children, Youth First Development has committed itself to a number of life changing things and one of them is to work closely with the government in ensuring that children access education and to partner with every school to track the progress of children in their education. Its not enough to just send them to school, we must educate them. We are also entering into a binding social agreement with parents to ensure that NO CHILD is Left Behind, said Mr Chibomba, amid ululations from the parents.

He also announced that 50 orphans and vulnerable children would be given education support in the coming years to ensure that they continue furthering their education adding that empowering such children with education would help in improving quality of life and creating a bright future for them.

Mr Chibomba, a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow, revealed that the children will not only get education support but other support necessary for improving life.

“The children will continue to be reached with information and school programs on access to sexual reproductive health and rights, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, defilement and all forms of physical abuse,” he said.

And Chibombo District Commissioner Barnabas Musopelo commended Youth First Development for giving hope to the many children its working with.

Mr Musopelo said the Zambian government was happy that the local NGO is implementing its project through young people who live in the community especially that 80% of its board members were local villagers.

Some of the parents who attended the meeting

“I know that resources sometimes can be very difficult to mobilise but I am encouraged by the fact that the investment we are making today in our children through the Stay In School program will help make Chibombo a better place,"said Mr Musopelo.

He added that educating children is a direct way of fighting poverty, injustice, all forms of discrimination and giving equal opportunities to girls.

"I urge other NGOs working with children to learn from Youth First Development on how best they can tackle harmful child labour practices and how to work with children at risk of early marriage, teenage pregnancy and children that are at risk of dropping out of school due to poverty. I find that their model of rescuing, supporting and coaching provides long-term support to the children and their families is effective. Government alone cannot do these things, this is why Youth First Development has partnered with government to ensure that our children go back to school, stay in school and are progressing in their education".

In Zambia, a person under the age of 16 cannot be employed.

According to the Employment of Young Persons and Children Act, employing a person under the age of 16 is illegal in Zambia.

Despite this law and similar others like the Employment Amendment Act of 2015, child labour is still a major problem in the country.

For example, the 2015 Child Labour and Forced Labour Report by the United States Department of Labour reveals that children in Zambia continue to engage in labour practices in the production of tobacco and commercial sexual exploitation.

The Zambian government has been placing billboards and running TV adverts to fight child labour.

Further, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has also been implementing several projects aimed at withdrawing children from labour across the country.

Through its Achieving Reduction of Child Labour in Support of Education (ARISE) Project, ILO withdrew 575 children from child labour and a further 4,327 were prevented from engaging in child labour.

The biggest challenge to fighting child labour in Zambia is the deep rooted culture were children are supposed to help their parents do house chores.

This ends up taking the children to full time jobs and activities which are meant for adults.

To win this fight, stakeholders must engage chiefs and other traditional authorities to try and change people's day to day way of life.

Poverty In America: Its Effect On High School Pass rate In Syracuse

Wayne O'Connor with some of the students at Hillside Center

By Paul Shalala in Syracuse, New York

The city of Syracuse in northern New York state has one of the poorest communities in the whole of the United States of America.

According to latest statistics from the US Census Bureau and the Onondaga County, Syracuse grapples with poverty which is mainly concentrated in the south of the city where African-Americans and Hispanics live.

This poverty has had a lot of impact especially in the number of criminal activities and gang related violence in the area.

Just in the past three weeks, three people have been shot dead and several injured, forcing the county officials and the City’s Police Department to hold a press conference to assure residents of their safety.

Poverty has also not spared the education sector.

According to the US Census Bureau’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Profiles, Syracuse has a high school pass rate of 80.1% which is lower than the national pass rate currently standing at 86.3%.

The civil society has joined county and state education departments in fighting the drop in the pass rate.

According to Wayne O’Connor, the Executive Director of the privately run Hillside College and Career Center, poverty has had a great impact on the lower pass rate among high school students in the city.

“Each year we enrol 1,000 high school students who we mentor and teach in various subjects in order for them to pass the exams. These are pupils who suffer poverty and have behavioural attitudes. They are brought here by their parents or they may come by themselves,” said Mr O’Connor.

He adds that apart from helping the students pass the examinations, his non profit which has been giving the service to students for over nine years, also helps the students get jobs and make rights career choices.

Several volunteer teachers and mentors operate from the center and help the students, mainly from poor families, prepare for exams.

The Hillside College and Career Center has an annual budget of $350 million and it works with students and parents to ensure that the students adequately prepare for the exams.

“Among the students who pass through our center, 98% progress to colleges and universities. We also offer scholarships to deserving students who come from poverty stricken homes.”

Mr O’Connor told a group of Syracuse-based 2016 Mandela Washington fellows that pupils usually come to the center in the afternoon after their regular classes in their respective schools and get coached by the youth advocates.

He said at the center, the students are given food so that they can concentrate on their studies and have a free mind.

“Our calendar year starts in September and ends in June. We also offer sports so that the students are kept busy physically,” said Mr O’Connor.

As part of the institution’s plan to motivate the learners, twice a year it organises events where parents come to celebrate the success of their children who are crowned as School Ambassadors based on their achievements.

According to Hillside College and Career Center records, 75% of the students are African-Americans, 12% Hispanics and the remainder is Caucasians.

The center plans to increase the enrolment to 2,000 in the coming years to help increase the pass rate in the city.

Some of the center's former students have even been engaged as mentors for the current students.

Part of the students at the center are sponsored by the Central New York Community Foundation through scholarships.

The foundation, which currently has assets worth $172 million, spends huge sums of money in literacy programs to help reduce the low pass rate in Syracuse.

"Half of the students in Syracuse do not graduate to college and this maybe because of poverty. So as the foundation, we give grants to non profits for literacy, we also fund institutions like Hillside to ensure that our students graduate and grab future opportunities," said Central New York Community Foundation Director of Research and Community Initiatives Frank Ridzi.

Speaking when he addressed Syracuse-based 2016 Mandela Washington fellows visited his office, Mr Ridzi said 14.1% of the foundation's annual grants goes for scholarships for poor students through programs like Say Yes To Education.

On other initiative the foundation has funded over the years to help poor black students is the Saturday Academy which brings together African-American students on Saturdays to be mentored by teachers and improve their literacy.

A civil society organisation called 100 Men of Syracuse won the $100,000 grant to execute the project which so far is proving beneficial to the learners.   

Poverty In America: Generational Hunger In Cortland County

By Paul Shalala in Cortland, New York

A street in Cortland City

Cortland County is located in the northern part of New York state and its population is predominantly white.

It was initially inhabited by Native Americans whose numbers now make less than one percent of the total population.

According to the 2015 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, Cortland County has a total population of 48, 494 people and 94.9% of them are whites.

In terms of minorities, the US Census Bureau’s 2015 estimate states that African-Americans make up 1.9% while the remainder is shared by Native Americans and Hispanics.

The estimate further discloses that Cortland County has a poverty rate of 13.8% which is slightly below the national average of 14.8% but is one of the highest in the country.

And according to a 2015 report published by Seven Valleys Health Coalition entitled Cortland Counts: An assessment of Health and Well-Being in Cortland County, 20.7% of children live below the poverty line and 8.4% of them live under foster care.

Poverty here is mainly caused by unemployment which currently stands at 6.4%.

Cortland even beats the national average of unemployment which is 5.4%.

Most of the poor people in this county live in Cortland City, the county’s headquarters and largest city.

Poverty in this county is not new.

According to official county records, civil society organisations have been fighting poverty in Cortland for over a century.

YWCA of Cortland, a not for profit organisation dedicated to fighting poverty and mentoring children from poor homes, even runs safe homes were children are fed and educated for free.

Civil society organisations, which include non profits like the Salvation Army and Catholic relief agencies, have even formed a Hunger Coalition in Cortland to pull their resources together and fight poverty as one team.

Sara Earl 

Sara Earl, the Program Director at YWCA of Cortland, has 30 years experience in working with children living in poverty in the city and she says the problem is generational.

“Poverty in Cortland is unique and generational. You have children who live in homes where there is poverty. Their parents lived with poverty and their grandparents also had poverty. So its generational,” said Ms Earl when she briefed Mandela Washington fellows who were on a tour of the city on Friday.

She said due to the high poverty levels, half of the school going children in the county receive free lunches at school.

“We run a scholarship for children with poverty and we also have one thousand children in our child care centers. We offer them with mentorship and once every week, volunteer parents come over to mentor and make the children feel loved.”

When asked which race is more affected by poverty, Ms Earl said Caucasians were worst affected since the population of minorities like African-Americans and Hispanics is very minimal.

But unemployment is not the only contributor to poverty in the county.

According to Ms Earl, there is also inadequate housing and many people who have no homes live in mobile trailers.

This situation has forced civil society organisations to form another coalition focusing on housing.

“We formed the housing coalition in order for us not to duplicate interventions. So we plan and agree how to intervene and work towards housing for all,” she said.

And according to the report Cortland Counts: An assessment of Health and Well-Being in Cortland County, 9.8% of the population in Cortland County live in mobile homes.

This shows that the county has a higher percent than the whole of New York state which has 2.4% and the national average of 6.4%. 

Namakau Siyanga: Mandela Washington Fellow With Presidential Ambitions

By Paul Shalala in Syracuse New York

She has a commanding voice and looks like a person who has no fear.

When she finds herself in a place were there is no coordination, Namakau Siyanga takes charge and makes sure order is restored.

When i first met her at Protea Arcades in Lusaka in May this year, it only took me a few minutes to realise that she sticks to time and works strictly to schedules.

On 11th May, all 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows based outside Lusaka met at the hotel to prepare for the following day's Pre-Departure Orientation at the American Embassy.

As a handful of us gathered at the lobby and looked confused, Namakau seized the opportunity and asked all of us to start introducing ourselves since we all had been quiet for at least 20 minutes.

She took charge of the meeting until an official from the embassy's Public Affairs Section came to officially address us.

Namakau being interviewed after mentoring Girl Guides

That is Namaku for you, a 34 year old Livingstone based female enterpreneur and gender activist who aspires to be Zambia's first female President.

But who is this Namakau am talking about?

Well, if you listen to her without seeing her face, you maybe mistaken that she is a man.

She speaks with authority and her voice is horse.

Namakau is one of the 44 Zambians who are currently attending the Mandela Washington Fellowship in the United States.

She is studying Business and Enterpreneurship at the University of Wisconsin - Stout.

Namakau (right) with former US President George Bush

Back home, Namakau is not just a business lady, she is also a family person.

She is married to Mr Siyanga and they have six children.

Namakau owns NAS Glass and Aluminium which is a holding company based in Livingstone.

One of its subsidiaries NAS Industries, which is a construction company, has so far done works at the Livingstone General Hospital and at the ultra modern Intercity Bus Terminus in the tourist capital.

Apart from business, Namaku is also a women's rights advocate who heads Naleli Women's Initiative.

In her native Lozi language, Naleli means a star.

Part of the works at Livingstone General Hospital 

Naleli is involved in a lot of advocacy and skills training among women and girls.

"We empower women with enterprenueral knowledge. We realise that since independence, there has been a stagnation in women run enterprises due to lack of finance," said Namaku.

She says she works with over 250 women and girls in some of the poorest suburbs of Livingstone.

Due to her success in business and women empowerment, Namaku has been invited to give presentations in places like Ghana, South Africa, The Netherlands and South America.

One of her greatest achievements was been honored with the Woman Enterpreneur of the Year Award in 2014 by the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

And early this year, she added another milestone to her rich CV: she got elected as President of the Livingstone Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Namakau (right) with other fellows in Wisconsin

In that election, she beat two male contenders and pushed herself into the annals of history as the first female President of the chamber.

But this is not all, Namaku dreams big.

On 12th May while we were at the US Embassy in Lusaka for a briefing, she told the US Ambassador Eric Shultz that her eyes were set on the republican presidency.

"Am Namakau Muyangana Siyanga........ i plan to stand a President of Zambia. One of my goals during my presidency will be to increase women participation in decision making, I will ensure women are empowered to run businesses," said Namakau as all fellows clapped for her.

She is so serious with her presidential ambitions that she has since devised a plan which will see her run for Member of Parliament in Livingstone before she can aspire for State House.

"During the adoptions in May, i was approached by two major political parties to stand ni Livingstone but i refused. My time will come and when it does, people will see that i mean business."

They say everyone has a right to dream, but its only courageous people like Namakau who can turn those dreams into reality.

Her idea is great and she needs everyone's support if she is to one day be referred to as 'Her Excellency The Republican President.'

The Jury System And Democracy Inside The American Court

By Paul Shalala in Cortland, New York

Judge Rumsey takes a selfie in court with Fola of Nigeria

Picture this: a Supreme Court Judge taking a selfie with a visitor inside the courtroom, the judge laughing and smiling inside the courtroom while giving a lecture.

Did you hear it right? Yes i said inside the Supreme Court.

I guess you are already saying 'What went wrong? Are you sure it was a judge?'

Well, that is not all: the Judge later joins you for dinner and interacts with everyone as beers, food and drinks are served.

Is that in Zambia? No sir!! Not at all.

If its in Zambia, that judge would be on the front page of daily newspapers the following day.

It can never happen in our conservative country because we have decided to maintain the decades old English style of a judiciary even after London has moved on and reformed its judiciary.

Remember the recent case were Zambia's former Chief Justice Ernest Sakala was publicly condemned for shaking hands with former President Frederick Chiluba at a funeral service?

Any way, the scenario above actually happened in my own eyes.

It happened inside the Supreme Court in Cortland City, New York state.

By the way, judges in the United States of America are as free as any other member of society.

Take for example, Justice Phillip Rumsey of the Supreme Court in Cortland County, he is a simple and down to earth man who at first impression does not look like a judge.

He is so common that he mingles with everyone without a problem.

Judge Rumsey addressing the Mandela Fellows

Probably its because of the mode of his ascendance to the office.

He is an elected official.

Judges in Counties are publicly elected and they are very popular in the communities were they work from.

Cortland County has been electing its judges since 1846.

On Friday, Judge Rumsey hosted the 25 Mandela Washington Fellows who are studying Public Management at Syracuse University in the neighbouring Onondaga County.

The judge opened his courtroom to the fellows so they could understand how the American judicial system works at county level.

He explained that the history of the court system in Cortland Country stretches back to 1691, way before the US got its independence from England in 1776.

"After our independence, we adopted many English laws....... But the jury is a unique feature in our legal system...... It is important and has a long history," said Judge Rumsey.

The jury is a group of people who are selected to analyse a court case and decide whether an accused person is guilty or not.

As opposed to the Zambian system were a judge or judges hear a case and find a person guilty or not, in America the jury does the job.

"The jury system is a unique process. It is a hallmark of our society. It has helped us avoid having violence and protests in society."

Judge Rumsey says the jury helps because it is composed of people from the community who know the people accused or the institutions and can give an objective decision on a particular case.

He says once the jury decides whether the accused is guilty or not, they are not obliged to explain why they arrived at the verdict.

When asked whether members of the jury can be in danger of reprisals if they arrived at a guilty verdict for a member of society, Judge Rumsey said jurors are generally safe.

"We advise the jurors not to disclose how they arrived at the verdict though they are free to do so. But usually they do not. But if we learn that a juror maybe in danger, we can then ask law enforcement to protect them," said Judge Rumsey.

South African fellow Luyolo Mpithi taking a selfie in court

He also said the jurors are expected to base their decision on information given in court and not research on social media.

Judge Rumsey was first elected as Supreme Court justice in in 1993 and was re-elected for a second 14 year term in 2007.

However, judges at the state appellate level are appointed by the Governor while those of the US Supreme Court are appointed by the US President.

Judges are not the only ones who are elected to work in public offices in the US.

Sheriffs, who enforce court orders and civil law in a county, also go through public elections despite being uniformed officers.

Now this is people power and democracy at its best: electing judges and Sheriffs.

Poverty In America: How The Church Is Feeding The Poor

By Paul Shalala in Syracuse, New York

John Stopper

It is real, it is there and people are going hungry every day in America.

Every time we think about the United States, we imagine a society where everyone has food, everyone drives and everyone is enjoying life.

But that is not the case, there is poverty in the United States of America.

But not everyone agrees that some people in the richest country in the world, go to bed on an empty stomach.

Even well known researchers and pundits deny that poverty exists in the country.

Writing in Forbes magazine on October 3, 2015, Tim Worstall, a fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London said: “"Paul Theroux’s latest book is a travelogue across the Deep South. And in it, according to his introduction to it in the NY Times, he asserts that said Deep South has been impoverished by the capitalist plutocrats offshoring all the jobs. That this isn’t in fact how an economy works is easy enough to forgive, for many people hold the same, incorrect, opinion. However, the other part of Theroux’s argument, about the existence of poverty in America, is less easy to pass by. Simply because he is a well traveled man, he has seen real absolute poverty up front and personal. And he should indeed know that nothing like that at all actually exists in the United States."

However, the reality on the ground is that there is a silent minority of beggars, homeless people and those doing what Americans call ‘minimum wage jobs’ who cannot manage to support themselves.

According to a report entitled Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014 by the U.S. Census Bureau, 47 million people in the USA were living with poverty in 2014.

This means that the poverty rate for that year was at 15%.

The report further reveals that among those hard hit in 2014, people with disabilities accounted for 29% (4 million people) while 16% of women lived in poverty.

To get first hand information on poverty in America, this blogger decided to research and analyse the situation during his short stay in the country.

In the USA, Syracuse city is now ranked the highest metropolitan area with poverty among African-Americans and Hispanics.

The city is located northern part of New York state.

According to the 2015 estimate of the United States Census Bureau, out of a total population of 144, 142 of Syracuse, 35.1% live in poverty.

The report states that of that population, 56.% are whites, 29.5% are African-Americans while Hispanics make up 8.3% of the city.

According to an article published by syracuse.com on September 5, 2015, “"Syracuse is at the leading edge of a disturbing national trend in which the number of people living in extreme-poverty neighborhoods nearly doubled from 7.2 million in 2000 to 13.8 million in 2013, the highest on record."

“The trend reflects a sharp reversal from the progress reported in the 1990s, when the number of Americans living in such concentrated poverty fell by 25 percent by 2000.”

The article states that the data is based on a 2015 report by Paul Jargowsky, the Rutgers University-Camden professor who published the study with The Century Foundation.

Coincidentally, this blogger is in Syracuse for six weeks and is investigating and writing a number of stories on poverty in America.

At Syracuse University, there is a famous street where beggars and homeless people are found.

On Marshall Street, both white and black beggars are found and Police keep an eye on them because sometimes they can be aggressive in their pursuit.

The image projected by Hollywood movies and TV channels that there is no poverty in America is totally different from what one can see if they venture out of these big US cities.

Like many other small cities reliant on industries, Syracuse has seen several plants closing and people losing jobs over the years.

The town has recorded an increase in unemployment which has resulted in poverty increasing in the southern part of the town which is mainly inhabited by blacks (African-Americans).

In the northern part of the town is a growing community of mainly Asian and Hispanic immigrants and a small but increasing population of Congolese.

Syracuse Deputy Mayor Bill Ryan concedes that his city has one of the country's highest poverty levels and he blames the trend for the increase in crime and the abuse of drugs in the city.

Bill Ryan speaking at City Hall

Mr Ryan, who is also the City's Chief of Staff, says shootings in the city where three people lost their lives in the past three weeks are as a result of poverty and increase in gang activities.

"Because they live in poverty, these criminal gangs are now resorting to drugs and crimes. We are doing everything possible to ensure we find the people involved because in the area where these shootings happened, we never had such incidents," said Mr Ryan when he addressed Mandela Washington fellows who visited City Hall recently.

On Tuesday, this blogger joined other Syracuse University-based 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows to help in making sandwiches for poor people at the Bishop Harrison Center which is run by the Catholic Church.

The trip was arranged by the university to help the young African fellows appreciate the challenges Americans in poor communities face on a daily basis.

The center, which is located at the All Saints Parish of the Catholic Church, hosts volunteers who make sandwiches twice a week to feed poor people who cannot afford to buy food for themselves.

“"The sandwich program started in 1990 and we make one at least a thousand sandwiches per week to feed people in need. We make them here at All Saints but they are transported to Assumption Parish in the north where they are given to people who cannot afford to feed themselves,”" said John Stopher, a volunteer who coordinates the program.

Fellows making sandwich

A former science teacher, Mr Stopher says he works with mainly volunteers who give their time to help feed the homeless, poor and needy.

“"Per day, we feed about 500 with lunch and supper. People who receive our sandwiches are those who are unemployed, those who are doing minimum wage jobs and those who cannot manage to feed their families. Sometimes we even have parents coming with their children," he added.

Mr Stopher, who gave a 30 minutes briefing to the visiting Mandela Washington Fellows, said he has a heart for volunteering and his Catholic faith has helped him spend a lot of time helping the needy since he retired.

“"I no longer work and I have a pension. I now volunteer here at the center. I also volunteer for the blood bank and the Red Cross. This spirit of volunteering is very common in our city and we have a couple of people coming down here to help out with sandwiches every week.”"

In the past 26 years the program has been running, church members and food companies have sustained the sandwich program by donating food stuffs to feed the needy.

When the meals are ready, those in need are fed irrespective of their religious affiliation and are not obliged to be registered.

“"We feed whoever shows up at our window. We do not care where they come from or which church they go to……. Usually we receive a huge number of people towards the end of the month when pay cheques run out,"” said Mr Stopper.

Schedule of meals at the Samaritan Center

Another church-run feeding program is the Samaritan Center, a former church building which is now the only hope for hundreds of people who cannot to feed themselves.

The center was established by seven local churches and it receives donations of funds and food stuffs from restaurants and several other donors.

It offers breakfast and supper to between 150 and 400 people on a daily basis.

According to officials at the Samaritan Center, about 150,000 meals were saved last year.

Most of the people fed are African-Americans but there is also a significant number of white people who receive the meals.

Just a few kilometers away from the Samaritan Center is the headquarters of the Salvation Army, another religious center where poor people are housed and fed for free.

The place offers free lodging for individuals and families who have been evicted or are homeless.

They are fed, given life skills and helped to get jobs.

On average, the homeless are given shelter for 20 days and there after they are expected to find a job or a new home.

"We are located in the southern part of Syracuse because this is where poverty is. We serve over 38,000 people through 41 separate programs, catering different groups of people," said Andrew Sabbaghzadeh, Resource Development Director at the Salvation Army Syracuse Headquarters.

Mr Sabbaghzadeh talking to Mandela Washington fellows

He said Salvation Army was working hard to fit into the US federal government's plan to eradicate poverty by 2022.

"Syracuse is nationally recognised because of its poverty. We are doing our best to cater for the poor through our programs."

The Salvation Army, which has been operating in Syracuse for over 100 years, has an annual budget of $20 million funded by grants from the federal and state governments as well as donors.

According to Salvation Army Onondaga County Chief Executive Officer Major Karla Clark, most of the money is raised during Christmas parties. 

"Despite being a church, the Salvation Army serves people of all races and religious faiths. Nobody is required to be a church member in order to receive our services," said Major Clark when she addressed visiting 2016 Mandela Washington fellows at her office.

Apart from offering shelter and food to the homeless, the church also runs the Therapy program which is aimed at helping youths break away from gangs and find alternatives like jobs and education to reduce the levels of violence in the city.

Syracuse is estimated to have over 100 gangs.

Apart from these church run initiatives, poor people in Syracuse, a town which falls under Onondaga County, have two other options of having a meal.

Firstly, the Onondanga County provides food and other supplies through a program called the Food Bank.

Here, those in need are registered by the county administration and queue up at centers to receive their meals.

According to Stopper, the Food Bank in a county benefits from US Federal funding.

Food banks operate like warehouses where food stuffs are collected and stored before being distributed to NGOs and food pantries which give food to the needy.

Secondly, the needy also receive meals from several centers called Pantries where free meals are issued at no cost.

The pantries survive on generosity from donors and other well wishers to feed thousands of people in Syracuse.

Apart from receiving donated food supplies, the pantries also buy cheap food stuffs from the local Food Banks.

Triple V Campaign Launched To Discourage Apathy In 2016 Polls

By Paul Shalala

B Flow performing at a Triple V event in Kabwe

A consortium of Zambian civil society organisations has launched the Triple V Campaign to encourage young men and women to turn up in huge numbers and cast their votes during the 2016 general elections.

Triple V is a short form for My Vote, My Voice, My Victory.

The campaign, which is being spearheaded by the Zambia National Women's Lobby, Operation Young Vote, Anti-Voter Apathy Project and the Young Women in Action, will see a series of countrywide public events such as road shows and meetings to encourage more people to vote.

This campaign comes at a time when Zambia has seen some of its lowest voter turn out in parliamentary by-elections held this year.

Macky 2 sensitising the public in Chipata

The donor funded campaign has so far held public meetings in Chipata and Kabwe.

On the official launch of the campaign in Chipata on 5th September, local rapper Macky 2 mesmerised the crowds with music which was punctuated by messages of encouragement for young people to vote.

 "Never take everything for granted. Appreciate every opportunity that you have in life. We are here to educate you on how to involve yourselves in the governance of the country. On 14th September you should register to become a voter. You should always remember that voting is your right and vote for whoever you want. Voting is a secret," said Macky 2.

Macky 2 was later joined on stage by popular comedian Bikiloni who charmed the crowds with his mouth watering jokes.

Bikiloni in action in Chipata

In his trademark Nyanja jokes, Bikiloni occasionally picked members of the crowd and asked them questions while hammering home the message.

And on 3rd October, the Triple V Campaign shifted to Kabwe where Comet Grounds in Africa's second largest slum Makululu was brough to a standstill.

Fresh from a three months stint as a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow in the US, B Flow sensitised the public on the need for them to register as voters and turn up in huge numbers to elect their new MPs, Councillors and President next year.

B Flow, whose real name is Brian Bwembya, is a musician who focuses on social issues such as Gender Based Violence and gender equality through his #Music4Change project which US President Barack Obama even acknowledged during his Town Hall with the 2015 Mandela Fellows a month ago.

B Flow charming the crowd in Kabwe

The Triple V Campaign has enlisted a number of famous comedians, musicians and personalities to attract more people to their countrywide meetings as they sensitise the public on the need to avoid apathy in 2016.


The campaign will in the coming months hold similar sensitisations in Kitwe, Choma and Mongu before the end of this year.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia is currently registering new voters and replacing voters cards for those who lost or damaged their previous cards.

The exercise, which commenced on 14 September, is expected to end on 11 November but it will continue at District Councils countrywide until end of March 2016.

Zambia is next year scheduled to hold a general election where Members of Parliament, Councillors and a President will be elected.