Projects
Zambia
The Republic of Zambia is landlocked and sparsely populated by more than 70 ethnic groups (with an overall population of 13.2 million), many of them Bantu-speaking. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west.
The capital city is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of the country. Zambia has moved from being a major copper producer and potentially one of the continent’s richest countries at independence in 1964 to one of the world’s poorest. World copper prices collapsed in 1975 with devastating effects on the economy and a colonial legacy, mismanagement, debt and disease are also said to have had contributed to the country’s tribulations.
Woodford and their local partners have only just begun work in Zambia and have recently conducted a community awareness survey in Copper Belt region of the country. This was designed to gauge the perception of deafness and disability across various levels of the community and to aid understanding of some of the cultural and personal feelings that people in Zambia have towards them.
Following analysis of the results, we are now working closely with our partners to develop new projects that will help to mitigate any negative perceptions and improve general awareness of deafness, which were highlighted during the survey.
Our partners are Zambia Deaf Youth and Women (ZDYW), a registered Non Governmental Organisation and Disabled People Organisation working from Kitwe in the Copper Belt Region. Their mission is to advocate for equal opportunities for deaf youth and women in all walks of life through awareness campaigns and legislation.
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