By STEPHANIE KUNDA –
SUPPORT Our Zambian Game Association (SOZAGA), a non governmental organisation, has donated 100 kg maize seeds to 20 elderly women farmers from Kabushi and Mushili townships in Ndola.
SOZAGA Founder Daniel Banda said the donation was for women groups the organisation had been working with.
“We have been teaching the women from Kabushi and Mushili areas on life skills. So as we are in the rainy season, we thought we should appreciate them for being with us throughout,” he said.
Mr Banda said the seeds would encourage the women to be with SOZAGA even in 2018.
He said the women were expected to impart the skills in the younger ones within their communities.
SOZAGA also wanted to set up a mother and child training centre which would teach farming skills.
Mr Banda said SOZAGA wanted to partner with an organisation in Mushili that would offer proper farming methods to equip the women in farming skills.
He further added that the women once acquainted with the skills would impart the skills in youths and others in their communities.
Copperbelt Deputy Permanent Secretary Joyce Nsamba urged the women to keep working hard adding Government was grateful for SOZAGA to come on board.
Ms Nsamba said the elderly women needed to take care because the seeds would result into food at household level.
“This initiative is very good because it helps in eliminating the syndrome of begging. At least they will have something for their families to feed on to avoid the syndrome of begging which is not good,” she said.
She said seeing old women on the streets begging was not sustainable adding that it would be better for people to venture in to farming especially at a time Government is diversifying from mining to agriculture.
Ms Nsamba further urged the NGO’s to also look at the youths who were being destroyed morally because they had nothing to do.
SOZAGA chairperson for women Victoria Chikamba said they were grateful as women to receive the maize seeds as it would better their livelihoods.
Ms Chikamba said they would put to good use the maize seeds and ensure that they harvested to sustain themselves and their families