ABOUT US

In May 2018, out of the cry of some vulnerable widows, the Widows of hope Project was birthed in Chingola on the Copperbelt and in Solwezi in North Western provinces. The vision of the project is to expand to most parts of the country as the problems faced by widows are the same country wide. The harsh economic conditions make it very difficulties for our widows and orphans stand on their two feet after the death of their husbands/ Fathers, who in most cases were the only bread winners in the family.

Life expectancy in Zambia like in most African countries is approximated at: 60 for men and 64 for women. The rampage of HIV/AIDS and other illness has not helped the situation thus the growing of numbers of widow and orphans in the country. Source: ZAMBIA LIFE EXPECTANCY www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/zambia-life-expectancy.

Poverty and lack of social structures that help the vulnerable in society have left many widows to fend for their families. Those widows that are fortunate enough to inherit something from their late spouse are faced with another poverty and greedy related reality, property grabbing. The widows don´t only suffer the emotional loss of their loved ones but also financial, mental and sometimes physical and sexual abuse from society. Those suspected to be HIV positive are sometimes stigmatized.

In 2020 the organisation started growing fast from the number of 100 widows to 200, meanwhile it is supporting 415 widows and 555 orphans.From beginning on our widows have understood the principle of united we stand and divided we fall. Our widows have all different to desires to work in basketry, netting, baking, chicken rearing, candle-making and baking etc. We have our own land for vegetable growing and farming. Farming training is done by a volunteer who is a widower. Apart from widows we have about 555 orphans that are taken care of be the organization. We support the orphans in all school matters, university and college by paying their school fees and buy all school requirements needs.

Widows of hope is not only there to help the widows but also to help their children. Some of the children stopped schooling after the death of their fathers. The mother could not pay for the school fees and also school requirement needs. We looked at it and decided to take over the education needs of all the orphans from primary school up to the university level. This is to help and put a smile on both the widows and orphans. We want them to finish school and make their future bright. Widows and orphans deserve to smile and enjoy life too despite the lose of their beloved husband/ father.

These projects are not only a good source of food but is also to improve the nutritional value especially for the elderly, the sick and the young children as most widow’s struggle to make ends meet. The sale of the products provides a source of income to the widows.

Working together on various projects also serves as a sort of therapy for the widows.

The project helps individuals to pay for:

• Hospital or medical expenses
• Funeral expenses
• Rent and utilities
• Food and other household needs
• School fees, books, and school uniforms for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren 

The budget for the Widow Project includes resources for school fees and and all their school requirements, payments of the orphans, seeds and baking ingredients, candle-making supplies, transportation costs, baking, Sewing/knetting and chicken keeping, house renting, salary of the coordinators and care takers.the initial amount needed to cover all these expenses is estimated at, € 100 000 (Hundred Thousand Euro). This should sustain the Widow Program for 1 year.

The gifts help support the Widows of Hope Project in the following ways:

• purchase seeds for a vegetable garden and all requirements and equipment’s needed for gardening.
• Buy flour to bake bread and baking equipment’s
• purchase candle making supplies
• purchase farming tools 
• Order chicks and all the products and equipment`s needed to keep and rare chickens.
• Buy cotton, needles and wool for making netting also buy sewing machines.
• Pay Water and electricity bills
• Transportation
• Two office rents
• Salary for coordinators and care takers

The Widows Farm project is mostly comprised women but there are a few widowers that are interested to join the community project. The widows are divided into small groups depending on their interest, e.g , candle making, gardening, baking and jersey making and chicken keeping. Since the groups have different interests and abilities, and also the location of the group dictates what project is easier to be implemented.

Among the projects, gardening project is run in Solwezi and Chingola. The project is aimed at growing maize during the rainy season (November - April) And also all year-round maize growing for those who live near natural water sources. Vegetables are also grown in other seasons which are sold on the markets and they supply to different super markets and boarding schools as well as companies. The harvest provide food for the families, mealie-meal in particular which despite being the staple food, is beyond the affordability of most vulnerable families.

Candle making is one of the income-generating projects that is helping most of the widows. They have divided themselves in groups in order to keep transportation costs down. Each community makes their candles and sells them at the end of the month. The communities then meet to re-budget and share their profits. These profits help them pay fees, buy food, uniforms, medical expenses, and other costs they have in their homes.

Jersey (sweater) making. First knitted jerseys will be donated to the Centre in Chingola and Solwezi in charge of street or vulnerable children. The rest will be sold on the local markets.
Bun and bread making is another project for groups in the rural areas. The other project of interest is the pig/goat keeping project. Each household shall receive one female and one male goat it shall be a good source of milk. Goat milk is a good supplement especially the HIV positive mothers who do not breastfeed their babies.

To make the project manageable, it would be important to fence the project land to avoid thefts and damage to crops by animals.

A chicken run for broilers and layers is another attractive all year-round business. It is a good source of protein for the families.

With these projects and others in the pipeline, the Widows of Hope Project aspire to empower the widows so that they can live a dignified life again, free from stigma and discrimination. Dare these women to dream again, to be confident, to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives and to be self-reliant.

Structures like the widows of hope projects are needed now more than ever before. The widows need a voice, a face, hope and a new beginning as well as their children.

- 100% of donation is directed to Widows of Hope Project.

- Partners will receive updates on the work of the project as they become available.

- People or organizations are welcome to share in the vision of God’s abundant life for all people.

- We are also looking for volunteers.

All donation can be sent to the following account in Zambia

Widows of Hope Zambia
Barclays Bank Zambia
A/C No.: 160 3625
Branch Code: 020017
Swift Code: BARCZMLX