By ANDREW PHIRI? –

A NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisation (NGO), Home for AIDS Orphans, based in Mwandi Western Province, has built 140 houses for orphans and vulnerable widows in the area.??Home for AIDS Orphans coordinator Paula Vanzyl said her organisation, which is run by volunteers, had been taking care of orphans and vulnerable mothers in Mwandi by building them houses.
Ms Vanzyl, who came into the country as a missionary, said she was compelled to start this project after realising the growing number of orphans and widows in the area as a result of HIV/AIDS.
In an interview in Mwandi on Monday when Ms Vanzyl hosted a party for about 200 vulnerable village women, she said the organisation was working closely with Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta to identify the vulnerable orphans and widows in the area.
She said such vulnerable women and children in rural communities were not supposed to be left out when celebrating events like Women’s Day, because they also needed to feel part of the global village.
“And this year in the16 years that I have been here, I decided to do something for the vulnerable women by organising a party for them to also celebrate Women’s Day,” Ms Vanzyl said.??Another Women organisation, Naleli Initiatives, which joined in the village celebrations, said such celebrations were not only meant for the elite in urban set ups.
Naleli Initiatives director Namakau Sianga said Mwandi had a lot of vulnerable women who needed to be recognised and empowered.
Ms Sianga said her organisation had embarked on an entrepreneurship empowerment programme for vulnerable women who had an interest in starting their own businesses.
She said that it was important for the grassroots, especially women to be considered in all national events and empowerment activities if poverty levels are to be reduced.
Ms Sianga said Naleli Initiatives had so far trained about200 women in various communities of Livingstone and Kazungula in entrepreneurship skills and was hopeful that more women would be trained by the end of this year.