Social Work - Zambia
Since 2005, DMI has been empowering the marginalized and underprivileged women, children and youth communities through various development programs in Zambia. The DMI with its dedicated team successfully carries out socio-development activities to address key issues of poverty; illiteracy; child labour; trafficking; gender based violence; food insecurity, and unemployment.
Key Programs
DMI currently reaches out to over 9000 marginalised families in 45 rural and semi-urban villages in Lusaka, Central and Eastern Provinces. All programs promote community structures that support the program team to identify critical needs, participate in the implementation, and assume responsibility for the sustainability of the targeted communities beyond project term.
Women Empowerment
DMI introduced SHG, Federations, micro business, income generation activities, and group business through skill development and entrepreneurship training. DMI promotes women self-help groups (SHGs) and facilitates them to cultivate the practice of savings, internal lending and improve their group cohesion through orientation and seminars. These SHGs together have formed their own social networking platforms known as federations. Federations are formed with the members at village, ward and province level in 11 constituencies of eastern, central and Lusaka provinces.
Women members are capacitated to manage and run these SHGs with a proper direction. Women members are trained in micro-business, income generation and entrepreneurship to improve their knowledge and skills and further initiate income generation and small businesses to earn income and to improve their socio-economic status. Over 825 women entrepreneurs have sharpened their marketing skills and efficiency to market their products for their own empowerment. They are enabled to become powerful women in order to take their own decisions and lead their life with dignity.
Livelihood Promotion
DMI believes that to promote livelihoods is the belief in the essential right of all human beings to equal opportunity. Our target people do not have life choices nor do they have opportunities. DMI’s livelihood promotion helps the rural and the marginalised communities settled in the rural, sub-urban and urban areas to enhance their future prosperity by increasing their ability to successfully manage their own livelihood options: sustainable farming practices and livestock farming and improve their food and economic security.
DMI’s livelihood promotion is not only based on the principles of economic growth, but also on equity and human rights. DMI’s Sustainable agriculture and livestock programs support the poor farmers to shift their subsistence farming to sustainable farming practices. Farming families received agricultural tools, seeds, drip irrigation and promoted backyard vegetable cultivation. The intervention of livelihood program helps and makes them self-reliant and dynamic. Livelihood opportunities facilitate rural families to alleviate poverty and also have access to balanced diet in Zambia.
Vocational Training
DMI vocational training improves the capability, capacity, productivity and performance of young vulnerable girls and women. DMI offers a short term vocational training (VT) in computer, cosmetology, catering and tailoring for the underprivileged youths in Chipata and Lusaka, Zambia. DMI’ VT enables youths to acquire training and practical skills in a specific discipline or trade, vocation or occupation through practices.
VT improves their competencies and prepares them as skilled professionals to take up highly rewarding jobs and income. This helps them become independent at young age to earn regular income in order to meet their personal and family needs and address the issues of poverty, poor income, and hunger in the families. Currently, over 360 young girls and women have started earning decent income from their trades, cover their basic needs and support their families economically.
Child Development
DMI child development program helps the poor and the marginalised children to cherish their childhood and their rights. DMI noticed over time that children themselves rarely get the opportunity to share their views, thoughts, their desires, their likes, their dislikes, and their opinions on the things they believe to be pivotal to their own development. a lack of acceptance of children in the decision making process have hindered the development of their health, their education, and their ability to make their own choices. In this particular situation, DMI introduced the concept of children parliament (CP) platform for the most marginalised children to share their common concerns, debate over them and arrive at plausible solutions and improve their living conditions through decision making processes.
DMI children parliament (CP) program helps the children to understand about the country governing system in eastern, central and Lusaka provinces. Opportunities in schools are created to these children through leadership and CP related trainings in order to take roles similar to the government such as minister of education, minister of health and hygiene, minister of rural development etc. By taking up these common roles, leadership qualities among children are sharpened; the foundation is laid for responsible citizens and become future leaders of the nation.
DMI supports the poor and the needy school going children through education program. Education program supports children from resource poor families in villages to continue and complete their formal schooling and where possible to pursue college education. Children enrolled in government primary and secondary schools are supported with education materials. Education support helps them to improve their academic performance and continue their formal education.
Community Health and Awareness
DMI community health program supports the rural and the vulnerable community to have access to mental and physical well-being. Large population residing in rural areas of eastern, central and Lusaka provinces does not have access to proper care and treatments in the hour of their need. Elderly people, pregnant women, newborns, and persons with chronic illness residing in a distant location from a hospital are always at high risk.
DMI strongly feels that Community health is the convergence of health care services, economics and social responsibilities. DMI community health program focuses on people’s well-being that the DMI health team identifies and addresses issues related the public health such as social and environmental influences impacting healthy living. DMI informs people about the importance of medical treatment and safe lifestyles. DMI provides counselling services, health camps and organises awareness campaigns that help the community to protect and improve healthy living by preventing them from chronic diseases such as Cancer, TB, HIV/AIDS, Asthma, and COVID-19. DMI community health is a big hope for them.
Contact Details
Trust of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and Collaborators
DMI WOMEN’S WORLD
St. Eugene Campus
Post Box 330081, 9 miles, Great North Road,
Chimbombo, Lusaka, Zambia.
Phone: +260 975631321/ +260 950971790
Email: zambiaco.dmi@gmail.com
