Wilderness Zambia provides vital food aid amid historic drought

The people of Zambia have been severely affected by the country’s worst drought in decades, with children particularly vulnerable to malnutrition as a result of food shortages. In response to this emergency, Wilderness Zambia has delivered over 1,500 food parcels (weighing almost 40 tonnes) to its partner schools since November 2024.

 

 

The initiative, aimed at addressing food insecurity in some of the communities that Wilderness Zambia and Children in the Wilderness (CITW) Zambia support, has benefitted 3,000 primary school learners from seven schools across Western and Southern Zambia, giving them access to much-needed nutrition every month between November 2024 and January 2025 – the peak of the drought. 

 

“We must acknowledge the generous donation from the Michael and Karen Stone Family Foundation, which enabled us to move fast in response to the food crisis. With their support, we were able to provide essential sustenance to children in some of our hardest-hit partner communities in Zambia”, said Cynthia Ndiweni, CITW Zambezi Co-ordinator.

 

Wilderness Zambia consulted with local community headmen and school development committees, with whom they have long-standing relationships, in order to understand their needs, before agreeing to direct their support at schoolchildren. “Many children were battling to walk to school each day, and a child who is hungry cannot focus on learning”, Cynthia explained.

 

 

 

 

The seven schools which received food parcels each month are located in and around the towns of Livingstone and Kazungula, in regions that have been devastated by the drought. They include Lupani Primary School; Ebenezer Trust Primary School; Simoonga Thandizani Trust Primary School; Twabuka Primary; Simoonga Primary School; Nalituwe Primary School; and Holy Cross Primary School.

 

Wilderness also helped these schools prepare in advance for the crisis: “We distributed seeds to our seven Zambian Eco-Clubs in April 2024, and worked diligently on our school gardens to ensure a reliable supply of vegetables – to add to the 10 tonnes of maize and 2 tonnes of sugar beans included in each month’s food-relief parcels”, added Cynthia.

 

While many Zambians are rejoicing over the recent rains, Cynthia says that it will take some time before farmers and communities are able to reap the rewards: “We join our partner communities in celebrating the arrival of some much-needed rains indeed, as this will allow farmers to plant and livestock to recover. However, we also know it takes time before a significant harvest is possible, making our most recent delivery of food staples, and last year’s work on the nutritional gardens, that much more important”.

 

“At Wilderness, we know that the communities we partner with are deeply connected to the land and wildlife that, together, we are trying to protect. The people living in these drought-stricken areas are our staff, colleagues, neighbours, family and friends. We remain committed to helping them when they need us most, and are glad we could do our bit to bring some relief to them and their children; the next generation of conservation and community leaders”, concluded Cynthia.