From Tears to Joy: Success Stories of Supporting Women's Livelihoods

Zambia-Prisca Kakulwa, a 38-year-old widow and mother of four, sits outside her small shop in Chikunyu Village, Samfya District, Luapula Province, cutting fabric with fervour as her younger brother, Lazarus Mulenga, helps her organize the pieces, writes Annie Zulu.

Prisca is making school uniforms to sell to parents and guardians whose children have passed the Grade Seven and Nine Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ) exams in her village and nearby areas.

From the number of uniforms sewn, it is evident that business is booming for Prisca, and she is cashing in big. The village has a shortage of tailors with sewing machines, making Prisca's business even more in demand. She reveals that she makes over K2,000 every month from her tailoring business.

Prisca is one of the beneficiaries of the Supporting Women's Livelihoods (SWL) initiative, a component of the Girls' Education and Women Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL) Project.

The project is implemented by the Zambian government through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services with support from the World Bank.

SWL provides women aged 19–64 in rural areas with grants of up to K3,790, training in life and business skills, and mentorship, and helps them set up savings groups to improve their livelihoods.

It is through the SWL program that Prisca will be able to establish her tailoring business in 2022, earning a sustainable livelihood to feed her children.

Before becoming a beneficiary of the program, she was struggling to feed her family following her husband's death.

"My husband, who was the provider of the family, died a few years ago. I had no source of income and was struggling to feed my children. I was hurting, and I would sit alone and cry," Prisca said.

Thanks to the SWL grant, her whole life changed.

"Nobody has ever given me such an amount of money in my entire life. The SWL grant has really helped me a lot, and my life will never be the same again. My tailoring business is doing great, and I am now able to stand on my own and feed my children," she said.

In addition to the grant, she received training in life and business skills to equip her with the knowledge of how to run a successful business.

"We were taught how to use the money and save part of it, so I can now apply whatever I learned during the training in my business, and that has helped me," she said.

According to Lazarus, Prisca's empowerment story is proof that women have the potential to prosper and become breadwinners like their male counterparts when empowered.

According to Lazarus, his sister's business has created employment for him, as he gets paid for helping out at the shop.

"When a woman is empowered, everyone else around her gets empowered too. My sister is a great example of that. I was jobless, but I am now working. My sister is my hero,” he said.

For Norah Chilufya, a single mother of one from Chifunabuli District and another beneficiary of the SWL programme, the initiative has revived her dream of attaining tertiary education, which previously looked impossible.

She used her productivity grant to set up a restaurant in the main market of the district, earning a profit of not less than K3,000 per month. Part of her profit goes towards paying rent for her restaurant, buying basic needs for herself and her child, and saving the rest for her education, as she plans to attend nursing school.

"I didn’t do very well in my grade 12 exams, so I want to retake the exams so that I can have good grades and finally pursue my dream career—nursing. I also belong to a savings group, and I am saving part of the money I make from my business towards my tertiary education," Norah said.

She encourages other single mothers not to let having a child hinder them from becoming better people and pursuing their dreams.

"Even as a single mother, one can still achieve their dreams. I encourage fellow single mothers to grab every opportunity that comes their way. I am grateful for the grant I was given and the knowledge I have gained from the SWL initiative.”

Agness Chongo, 59, of Stadi Village in Kawambwa District, invested her grant in the poultry and livestock businesses. When business is good, she makes a profit of over K4,000 per month and has single-handedly sponsored her two children through college.

"My older son is now a graduate and a certified clinician; my younger son will also be going to college this year. I can sponsor my children through my business," she said.

Esnart Chansa, 30, from Lufubu village in Mwansabombwe District, said that ever since she got the grant and ventured into her second-hand clothes business, her husband treats her with more respect.

Esnart believes that the financial independence of a woman reduces the chances of gender-based violence (GBV) among women and brings peace to the home.

"Gone are the days when women would just sit at home and wait for their husbands to provide for them. Women must start engaging in income-generating activities and assist in providing for the family. This brings peace to the home and reduces unnecessary fights among couples. This empowerment has brought so much peace into my home."

According to the Zambia Statistical Agency (Zamstats), poverty remains predominantly a rural phenomenon, standing at 76.6 percent compared to 23.4 percent in urban areas, and it affects women and girls more than their male counterparts.

The high poverty level among rural women and girls has continued to deprive them of opportunities to participate in the development of their country.

However, to address this challenge, the Zambian government, in collaboration with the World Bank, introduced the Supporting Women's Livelihoods (SWL) component of the Girls' Education and Women Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL) Project in 2016.

According to Community Development and Social Services Minister Doreen Mwamba, in a recent interview, 91,474 women have received productivity grants since the inception of the project.

The minister also noted that the government aims to reach out to 129,400 beneficiaries by 2024, at a total cost of USD 71.8 million in 81 districts.

"Payment of the grant is being done in phases. Before receiving the grants, SWL beneficiaries are trained in life and business skills, the knowledge helps them run their businesses very well," Ms. Mwamba said.

The SWL initiative has also facilitated the formation of savings groups among SWL beneficiaries and non-SWL beneficiaries in all implementing districts.

"A total of 4,856 savings groups have been formed with a membership of over 52,000, all female," Ms. Mwamba added.

The SWL initiative responds to United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Gender activist Mary Mumba commended the government for prioritizing women's empowerment, especially in rural areas.

Ms. Mumba said the SWL initiative would go a long way in improving the economic lives of rural women and the well-being of their families and communities.

"Well done to the government and its partners for coming up with the SWL initiative. To empower vulnerable women and give them hope for a better life is indeed worthy of commendation," Ms. Mumba said.

Rural women are the backbone of rural societies, and the SWL initiative has proven that empowering them is key to economic development.

Therefore, they need more empowerment opportunities.