Caritas Czech Republic has been operating in Zambia since 2013 and with nearly 200 employees is our biggest mission abroad. We operate in five provinces - Lusaka Province, Luapula Province, Central Province, Western Province, and North-Western Province. In Zambia, we are also the main partner of UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees); however, we also collaborate with a number of other important organizations.
Our main activities are focused on reproductive health and nutrition, support of refugees, and development of economic self-sufficiency, primarily through sustainable agriculture.
Between 2013 and 2018, we focused on improving accessibility and quality of maternal and child care, and developing training of midwives in the Western Province. Currently, we focus on support for production and consumption of nutritious food.
In Zambia, agriculture plays an important role and represents a potentially sustainable source of livelihood. In our work to support agriculture, we focus on increasing profitability of farmers’ production, using agricultural innovations and efficient methods of farming. In collaboration with Mendel University in Brno, we are working to ensure that local farmers are able to adjust their farming in a way which will be sustainable, even in a changing climate.
In Zambia, we also support development of small businesses, financial literacy, and specialized training as part of self-sufficiency strengthening. However, we also focus on connecting producers and consumers, and we provide farmers with financial support and training in management and business development.
Zambia is home to over 90,000 refugees and internally displaced persons. Most of them have very limited options regarding their own livelihoods, either due to strict government restrictions or conditions in places where Zambian refugee camps are located. The Zambian mission is also the main partner of UNHCR in the country and supports refugees in three refugee camps and in the capital city of Lusaka.
Our work focuses on accessibility to education for refugees, including accessibility to university scholarships, and on support of self-sufficiency through farming, which is the only possible livelihood in remote areas without basic infrastructure.
Read more about the mission in Zambia
