ZAMBIA: Caritas –Zambia Prepares Communities on Disaster Preparedness
By Mwenya Mukuka; Communications Office ZCCB
Caritas Zambia has started implementing a 2-year project aimed at strengthening community capacity in Emergency Preparedness and Response.
The project being implemented in the out skirts of the Capital of Lusaka in Mumbwa and Sibuyunji districts will see 300 people benefit from this programme that has been supported by Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) to a tune of more than 41,000 US Dollars.
This is with background of building community capacity to engage in advocacy aimed at building climate change adaptation initiatives that will assist the communities to build resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts.
“This project aims to build the capacities of the communities to learn to reduce risks in their localities even before disasters occur rather than waiting to manage disasters after they have already occurred,” Caritas -Zambia Head of Programmes Eugene Kabilika has said.
One on the project activities is to facilitate trainings for the communities on Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration as one of the measures for enhancing resiliency in the wake of forests depletions with the objectives of the training including involvement of the communities in developing forests that meets their needs, to motivate them to conserve it and equip them with a skill on performing cultural techniques to encourage natural regeneration that will assist in restoration of lost forests.
“We are training communities to prepare for any disaster be it drought or floods by giving them seeds that may stand any of the two. We are also giving information on how to grow crops using natural agricultural practices without depending on chemical fertilisers,” Mr. Kabilika said.
“Our approach is to mobilise all farmers on the catchment to look at all their resources and the biodiversity that supports them as a whole. This makes it easier to understand how the nature of each part works and how to maximise growth and profit. Growth starts with soil improvement,” He said.
According to Zambia Metrological Department, Zambia is expected to experience flash floods in the 2016/2017 rainy season.
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