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Canadians help give Zambian girls a better education
Aug 18, 2007 By: Crystal Crimi(Originally published May 8, 2006)
While waiting at a UNICEF reception desk in Zambia, Josephine Muchelemba reads aloud a sign on the wall in front of her.
“Childhood should be happy,” she says in her thick accent. “It should, but for most children here, hmm,” she shakes her head.
Mrs. Muchelemba, the education coordinator for the Zambia-Canada Support Unit, a project of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), was waiting for directions to Pawan Kucita’s office, chief of the education section for the United Nations Children’s Fund.
UNICEF received $2 million from Canada to implement the Program for the Advancement of Girls Education (PAGE) in Lusaka and Zambia’s Eastern province. PAGE was a ministry of education program supported by UNICEF, and sought to increase quality education and improve enrolment, retention and completion, especially for girls.
The CIDA contribution allowed for research studies that influenced education policy to be gender-sensitive, the development of PAGE interventions and more.
Retention of students, especially girls, is a big issue in Zambia.
Michael Banda, UNICEF project officer, education, said an educated woman will have a healthier baby because she’s taught the importance of diet, immunizations and the transfer of diseases such as HIV to children after birth. They also teach families the importance of education.
Some challenges with girls begin when they start puberty -- some are married off by their families for the dowry, get pregnant or are uncomfortable using improper school toilet facilities, which some schools are now improving.
When kids start school, the enrolment ratio is almost one boy to one girl, but by Grade 4, the girls start to drop out, said Mr. Kucita.
