June 19, 2025
News
Monique is a single mother from Burundi who, like many others, fled violence and found refuge in Zambia. Today, in the Meheba refugee settlement, she successfully farms and runs a small business, with help from Caritas Czech Republic.
From butcher to farmer and entrepreneur
In 2015, Burundi was swept by a wave of violence and political unrest after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term—despite the constitution. Protests were brutally suppressed, armed clashes broke out, and thousands of people, Monique among them, were forced to flee.
Back in Burundi, Monique worked as a butcher. When she reached Zambia in 2015, she had to start over. In the Meheba refugee settlement she began cultivating a field of just half a lima (a Zambian land-area unit; 1 lima ≈ 0.25 hectares). “I had no other option, so I turned to farming,” she recalls.
The early days were tough. Climate change is hitting Zambian farmers ever harder: persistent droughts destroy harvests and threaten the livelihoods of thousands. Monique’s farm suffered losses too—until support from Caritas Czech Republic helped her turn things around. Now she is planning the next stage of growth.
“I want to reach four limas—one hectare. Then I’ll have enough food and income for my whole family,” she says with determination.
Grants and training put the farmer on her own two feet
Monique received a grant from Caritas Czech Republic that gave her the start-up capital for a small business. Caritas also provided her with chickens and, later, another grant with which she bought pigs. Beyond material aid, Monique values the regular Caritas trainings on entrepreneurship, crop production, and animal husbandry. Thanks to these, she has boosted output and expanded her farm.
A bicycle supplied by Caritas Czech Republic also made her life easier. For Monique, the bike is essential for transporting her harvest—especially beans. “As soon as I harvest, I load the crop onto the bike and can take it home or to market,” she says. Her son uses the bike too. After school he stops by the field, loads the harvest, and rides it home.
Monique hopes to enlarge her farm further, but the biggest obstacle right now is the lack of agricultural machinery. “We prepare the fields with hoes, and I have to pay many laborers. With a simple tractor I could get the work done faster and more cheaply,” she explains.
Caritas Czech Republic in Zambia
Zambia is one of the countries feeling the growing impact of climate change, which hits local farmers—whose livelihoods depend on agriculture—the hardest. We support farmers like Monique so they can keep growing crops despite the changing climate.
