My Story

Zambia’s national poverty rate remains stubbornly high. Levels of inequality between rural and urban areas continue to rise affecting girls and women disproportionately. With the poverty rate in rural Zambia at 78%, women and adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable due to lower human capital accumulation. Rural Female-headed Household Empowerment project is female-focused model built on a globally validated proof of concept. The project will help ultra-poor female-headed households in rural Kabwe by mapping the barriers to overcoming ultra poverty and then implement a series of sequenced interventions with a well defined exit strategy. Qualified participants will be identified through community consultation, ranking and baseline surveys. During pilot the project will form and support 6 business women groups (consisting 10 households per group) in establishing pig rearing businesses by providing seed capital in form of 2 months old piglets, feed and vaccines, basic business skills & financial literacy training, 12 months’ mentorship and market linkages. It is assumed that, by implementing a series of sequenced interventions beneficiaries will build a path out of ultra-poverty, become self-reliant to meet their needs and build better futures for themselves and their children.