CALENDAR:
Change Management Committee (CMC) meeting:
16th April
Regional
CMC meeting hosted by MS Zambia:
11th -13th May
MS-Zambia
is part of the Danish Association for International Cooperation
(MS) and an associate of Action Aid International
Our vision is a world in peace where co-operation between people
promotes global equity and ensures improved conditions for poor
and marginalized people.
The main themes of MS-Zambia’s programme strategy are Building
Local Democracy and Land Rights.
MS-Zambia aims at defending and enhancing popular participation
under the assumption that strengthening democracy at local level
will help fight poverty.
CONTRIBUTIONS/COMMENTS:
For contributions to the newsletter, further information,
or to unsubscribe, please contact Lena Vind-Andersen at
lena.vind-andersen@ms.zm
cell: +260 (0) 976 645193
CONTACT DETAILS:
MS Zambia
5011 Los Angeles Boulevard
Longacres, Box 35788
Lusaka
Office cell: 0977 77 02 92/ 42/ 09
Office land: 0211 25 26 05/ 51/50
or 0211 25 56 43/30
Lusaka fax: (0211) 25 55 93
Guest House: (0211) 25 51 32 |
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MS
PARTNER NEWS
Farming
is not only for men
 Female
farmers of the Lukafi Farmer's group have doubled their yields by discarding
traditional farming methods. But it is not only farming traditions, which
have changed. Other traditions, which discriminate women, are now being
questioned.
”Before,
we used to think that farming was only for men, but now we see that women
can also be good farmers,” says Irene Chileshe. She belongs to the
Lukafi Farmer's Group in Mansa District in northern Zambia. And a new
found sense of confidence is not the only benefit reaped by the members
of the group: ”Before we would get 45 kg of beans out of 10 kg of
seeds on this field, but now it yields 90 kg and we´re able to make
a profit and save sowing seeds for the next year,” explains Martha
Nakasote, another member of the group. Apart from these more tangible
benefits, the female group members have, however, also noted a change
in the attitudes of both themselves and the men: ”Being equal members
of the group, has taught the men a lesson to be more fair to us, so that
we get more of the profits. They are even changing their attitudes at
home, treating us better than before. And we, on the other hand, have
also become much better at telling them what belongs to us,” Matilda
Nyanja reflects.
While Lukafi Farmer's group has definitely changed the livelihood of it's
members to the better, these attitude changes will conceivably bring about
more profound changes in the long run, than the men were bargaining for..
Click
here to read full story on our webpage
Traditions
are hard to beat
 Many
parts of Zambian life are influenced by tradition. In some cases, however,
Zambian traditions are in direct violation of women and children’s
rights.
When
Mansa District Women’s Development Association (MDWDA) carry out
their sensitisation workshops in the rural areas of Mansa, they are often
confronted with examples of how women and children, treated according
to tradition, have had their rights violated. One such example is the
story of Kabange.
During one of their sensitisation meetings, MDWDA was made aware of the
14 year old girl, Kabange, who had been chased away from home by her mother
and stepfather after getting pregnant two years ago. “We found her
and her 2 year old girl in a small deserted hut, with no one looking after
them”, says Elizabeth Mushili from MDWDA, “all she had was
a small pot for cooking, a mosquito net and a blanket to keep herself
and her baby warm at night”.Unfortunately, Kabange’s case
is not unique. It is not rarely seen, that the rights of women and children,
treated according to tradition, are violated.
Click here to read full
story on our webpage
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Decentralisation
means power to the people
 Efforts
by Area Development Committees (ADC's) to create awareness, increase participation
and ownership of the decentralisation policy and process is bearing positive
fruits in Samfya district as more people are able to see and criticize
the lapses in the current centralised system.
Wilbroad
Musaba has never been to a social science school to study, but nowadays
he is becoming a self styled social policy analyst. However, unlike social
policy experts, Mr Musaba does not search for text book theories when
outlining the disadvantages of the centralized control and management
of social service delivery.
Instead he ferrets out vivid images of projects that have failed because
they were controlled and managed through the current centralized system
in Lusaka.
“In Masonde area, ‘experts’ came from Lusaka to sink
a well. Without consulting the local people, they sited and sunk the well
in an old graveyard. People do not drink from that well,” he says.
For Mr Musaba, the inappropriate sighting of the water well project and
resulting wastage of resources goes to show how centralized decisions
made by “those people in Lusaka, are out of touch with the wishes
and needs of the Masonde community.” As a zone trustee for Chifunabuli
Area Development Committee, he is being kept abreast on social policy
issues through a good governance and democracy programme run by Samfya
District Council under the support of MS-Zambia. While the funding for
the programme came to an end in 2008, the resulting creation of 22 Area
Development Committes is still paying off. For the members of the ADC's
in Samfya have learned how to voice their complaints and are very busy
trying to influence the development decisions in their areas.
Click here to read the
full article by Innocent Daka, published in Samfya Newspaper The Fisher
Women
win the day in Luangwa
 Women
do not traditionally decide much. But things are changing in Luangwa,
where a concerted effort to include women is paying off.
In
the previous year Luangwa District Farmer's Association (LDFA) has been
promoting women in decision making. As a start, they decided to focus
on their own decision making structures at both zone and district level.
Furthermore they have held sensitisation workshops in all the zones to
explain about gender equality and equity to the communities. And the workshops
seem to have worked. One tangible result can be seen in the election results
for LDFA's executive committee, where there are now 50% women represented.
Before the sensitisation, the level was only at 20-30%. Another good sign
is that more women than before the sensitisation workshops are believed
to be influential in the societies, where they live. According to Mr.
Munkombwe of LDFA the message of gender equality is now spreading gradually,
and even reaching people, who are not members of LDFA.
Click here to read full
story on our webpage
More
land for women in Chipata
 In
Chipata, the District Farmer’s Association has come up with a new
and innovative way of ensuring equal and equitable access to land for
women.
Chipata
District Farmer’s Association (CDFA) has gone an extra mile to ensure
that rural women can access and control land by using innovative lobby
ideas: The Association designed a project, which would empower rural women
to produce traditional, highly nutritious crops on loaned land to feed
orphans and women living in HIV/AIDS affected households. The message
from this project to the world is…’we can sustainably produce
crops to feed the vulnerable in the society if we have the land’.
To help the women deliver the message, drama performances and music were
used. In one such meeting, village headmen joined in the singing &
dancing in agreement to the project idea. During the community sensitization
meetings for this project, traditional leaders in areas where the project
is being implemented confirmed to CDFA that they would give land to the
women. CDFA welcomed this move and continues to encourage other traditional
leaders to do likewise.
Click here to read the
full story on our webpage
YWCA
opens new center for battered women.
 With
a new center for battered women , women can now access help more easily.
In
its effort to increase service delivery to the community, the Young Women
Christian Association of Zambia (YWCA) has launched another Sexual Gender
Based Violence centre in Lusaka’s Mtendere Compound. This brings
the number of centers to two in Lusaka Province. The inaugruation of the
center comes at a time when YWCA is seeing an increase in Gender Based
Violence cases. The Centre offers survivors of violence comprehensive
and coordinated services that meet their medical, psychological, legal
and safety needs through YWCA, Victim Support Unit (VSU) and Women in
Law in Southern Africa (WILSA). ”It is cardinal for these services
offered by the center to be closer to the community for easy accessibility,”
YWCA Executive Director Chilufya Siwale explains.
MS
GLOBAL NEWS
MS Nepal: Securing Rights to Land for Peace and Food Security
 The
International Land Coalition Conference and Assembly 2009 takes place
from 21-24 April 2009 at the Yak & Yeti Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal
The international conference, titled Securing Rights to Land for Peace
and Food Security, will bring together some 150 stakeholders from 40 countries,
including policy makers, technical experts, practitioners, activists and
researchers. The Conference and Assembly comes at a critical moment in
the global land context. The ways in which land is accessed and used are
rapidly changing around the globe. Increased demand for agricultural commodities
and ecosystem services including carbon sequestration are driving significant
and sustained increases in land values.
Click here to read full
story on MS Nepal's website
MS-ZAMBIA
NEWS
ActionAid and MS merger news
 Merger
moves ahead step by step
A new Change Facilitator has been employed jointly by MS Zambia
and ActionAid. Mwila Chikwekwe has been contracted on a part time basis
and began working on the 10th of March 2009. Her contract runs until December
2009 and she is for now based at the Action Aid office.
A tentative schedule has been developed to achieve the most important
benchmarks of the merger process.
As per now, the plan involves the following:
June 2009: A human resource policy will be ready
July 2009: Joint office premises ready at Los Angeles Boulevard.
August 2009: AA board in place
August 2009: Joint programme strategy in place
September 2009: Associate status of AA Zambia achieved
Between September and December 2009 the benchmarks of a common organisational
structure and common salary schemes should be resolved in readiness for
one merged organisation with one director in 2010. 1st of April could
be the cutting date for this, but is still subject to change.
It has been agreed that no staff member of either organisation will be
dismissed within 2009 on grounds of the merger.
An information sheet detailing questions on why MS and ActionAid are merging
and how it will affect our programmes in practical terms has been produced
and can be seen on the MS website.
Click here to access it.
MS
Annual Meeting 2009
The
possibly last ever MS Annual Meeting was carried out in good spirits of
cooperation and participation and provided a much needed forum for discussions
on the merger process.
The most appreciated subject at MS Zambia's annual meeting on the 11th
- 12th of March was without doubt the sessions on the merger with ActionAid.
"It has cleared the air on fears we as partners have had surrounding
the merger," stated Robinson Mboloma of Mansa District Farmers Association,
while William Chilufya of CSPR commented that the session provided a welcome
forum for asking questions. It was stressed during the session that all
commitments to present partnership agreements will be kept. Lucy Muyoyeta,
Country Representative for ActionAid Zambia, attended the meeting for
the first time and commented: "The meeting was a fantastic opportunity
for me to meet so many of MS's partners and to know their issues and concerns
both about the merger and beyond. The participation of rural based partners
was particularly impressive as were the discussions on the various topics.
The meeting provides a good opportunity for shared information, lessons
and ideas."
During the sessions on the second main theme of Gender and Youth empowerment
strategies, several interesting examples were given on how to achieve
solutions that work, among them the idea of encouraging women to earn
their own money through schemes that emphasise growing less labour intensive
crops, such as sunflowers for instance. This strategy has been successful
in several of the District Farmer's Associations.
As was mentioned several times during the meeting, this might have been
the last ever MS annual meeting to take place in its usual form, because
of the upcoming merger process.
However, Lucy Muyoyeta is assured that it will not mean an end to experience
sharing among partners:"I cannot conclusively say whether this is
the last annual meeting or not, because a lot of issues with respect to
the merger are still being negotiated. However, within ActionAid the scope
for spaces to share information, ideas, lessons etc. is immense. We are
obliged to deepen our accountability to all our stakeholders and ensure
the creation of spaces for innovation, learning and critical reflection.
We are also committed to applying participatory planning and addressing
rights at the heart of all of our processes. Practically, this means that
every year we must carry out participatory review and reflection processes
involving partners and other stakeholders. Furthermore, as we move towards
being an associate member of AAI, we can begin to have a general assembly
that meets yearly."
New
Policy Advisory Council members
The
annual meeting is the yearly occasion for new elections for the MS Zambia
Policy Advisory Council (PAC). This years outgoing partner member is Ignatius
Nyasulu, who is replaced by Mike Chungu from AZIEA. New partner substitutes
are Doreen Mwanza from Chongwe DFA and William Chilufya from CSPR. The
development workers have three new representatives to replace Søren
W Johannsen, Dorte Tietze and Malidadi Langa. New DW members will be Sharon
Ndlovu, Norman Rigava and Lena Vind-Andersen and new DW substitutes are
Anders Lundt Hansen and Rose Adoul.
The new PAC
MS Annual report 2008 out now
 The
MS Zambia Annual report for 2008 has been finalized and is now available
for download.
The
annual report 2008 outlines the first evaluation of the new programme
themes of Building Local Democracy (BLD) and Land Rights (LR), which were
adopted last year. On the BLD theme is has been noted that a raised awareness
on democracy and good governance has given communities in the target districts
the impetus to demand for effective service delivery. While this is a
very positive outcome, it remains a challenge that the government's implementation
of the decentralisation strategy is lagging behind, thus obstructing full
and active participation of the citizens. With regards to the Land Rights
theme, many partners have managed to establish themselves in communities
and mobilised them to demand land reforms by raising the awareness on
the importance on land tenure security. Traditional beliefs regarding
gender and land distribution are however not easily changed and it is
vital to continue a targeted effort encompassing both vulnerable groups,
such as women and youth, as well as traditional leaders.
Click
here to download the report as a word document.
From development workers to advisers
New personnel categories have been adopted in MS Zambia.
Development workers are a thing of the past. As per 15th of March,
MS has created new job categories, which will be used from now on. The
three categories substituting development workers are advisers, senior
advisers and “inspirators”. In the two advisor categories,
emphasis will be on the academic and professional qualifications of applicants,
much like it is now with the present development workers. The difference
between the two are primarily that advisers can be placed with individual
partners and have either short or long term contracts, while the senior
advisers will principally work on thematic levels, covering several partners
working within the same focus areas. Given that more experience is required
for the senior advisor positions, this will be reflected in different
salary levels. Both types of positions will be advertised internationally
and can thus be filled by people from any country. The inspirator category
is conceived as being for people who could have extensive work experience
within a particular area, for instance women's rights, civil education
or the like, but not necessarily posses academic qualifications. Their
assignment will be on a short term basis, addressing particular needs
at partner level. The purpose is to inspire the learning and development
process between country programmes, so inspirators will primarily be recruited
from civil society organisations in neighbouring countries. It is envisioned
that the inspirators will be more numerous than the advisers.
PEOPLE
Appointments:
New Deputy Director in MS Zambia
Wih effect from April 1st 2009, Nachilala Nkombo has been appointed
as Deputy Director for MS Zambia. The position is a new one in MS terms
and has been created in response to the mulitple organisational change
processes currently underway in light of the merger with ActionAid. ”The
structure should ensure a smoothe handover when my contract expires in
2010,” states country director Finn Petersen. Nachilala Nkombo will
in the new position function as head of the programme team, but will for
the time being continue with her duties as Programme officer until the
workload increases under her new portfolio.
Leaving MS Zambia:
 Søren
Winther Johannsen, Development Worker with Zambia Council for
Social Development, has left MS Zambia at the termination of his contract
end March this year. He moves on to a position as Country Director for
the BBC World Service Trust in Angola.
 Frede
Hansen, Development Worker with Luangwa District Farmer's Association
and Luangwa District Council, has left MS Zambia at the termination of
his contract end March this year and has returned to Denmark.
Nathalie Cunin, Development worker with Chongwe District
Farmer's Association, has left MS Zambia at the termination of her contract
end March this year and has returned to Denmark.
Out of office:
Lena
Vind-Andersen, Information Officer, will be on leave and in Tanzania
from 6th - 20th of April.
Pia Owusu, Administrator, will be attending the administrator
meeting in Denmark as well as take some leave between April 16th –
May 6th
Nachilala Nkombo, Deputy Director, will be on leave and then
in Nepal, attending the Land Rights Conference and assisting in the review
of MS Nepal's Land Right Programme between 6th - 28th of April
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