Ireland has been providing development support to the people of Nothern Province since 1982. The way we work has evolved over the years, from the early days when teams of Irish and Zambian Development Specialists provided technical support to intergrated rural development projects to the supporting the Government’s own capacity for planning and development in the districts. Currently, Ireland’s programme of support amounts to €12M from 2012- 2017.
The Irish NGO, Self Help Africa works in partnership with the District Local Authorities to assist communities in Luwingu and Mbala districts to improve the livelihoods, food and nutrition security of 16,000 farmers. On 23rd November 2016, His Excellency, Séamus O’Grady, Ambassador of Ireland to Zambia visited the Province to attend the Annual High Level Consultative Meeting with senior Government Officials. The meeting took place in Luwingu district. During the meeting, the Ambassador empasized the need to ensure that the positive achievements bring recorded in the Local Development Programme are sustained beyond the current Irish Aid support.
Official Opening of District Planning Offices in Luwingu
On 23rd November, 2016, Ambassador Seamus O’Grady officially opened and handed over a newly constructed District Planning Unit office block to the Northern Province Permanent Secretary, Mr. Hlobota Nkunika (above). The office block was built at a cost of K512, 000 (€50,000), with Irish Aid funds, as part of the Local Development Programme. The office will accommodate half of the Council staff, alleviating pressure for space in the old building. Irish Aid expects that future Development Planning in Luwingu District will benefit from the improved work environment.
Mumba Clinic
Later that day, Ambassador O’ Grady visited Mumba clinic and the adjacent nurse’s house, constructed by the Ministry of Health, using Irish Aid funds. The clinic which cost K300,000 (€29,000) provides services for more than 6,800 residents of Kampemba area in Luwingu district. The clinic was completed in 2015 and is now fully operational. Prior to that, people had to travel up to 30 kilometres to the nearest hospital in Luwingu town. During the visit, the Ambassador met the health staff and the Village Health Committee (below).
Laura Girls Secondary School
On 24th November 2016, Ambassador Seamus O’ Grady visited Laura Girls Secondary School in Kasama town, the Capital of Northern Province. The school is run by the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco. It has close to 500 Secondary school pupils, 90 of whom are boarders from rural communities in the province. Irish Aid provided a grant to the Sisters in the mid-1990s when the school was just being founded. The Ambassador interacted with pupils (below) and encouraged the girls to be disciplined and work hard. Despite notable developments, particularly in the area of access to education, there are an estimated 700,000 children aged 7 – 18 years who are out of school in Zambia, of which the majority are girls. Laura Girls School provides an opportunity for girls to continue and progress from primary school to full completion of their secondary education.
The Ambassador was also shown by Sr. Maura Hickey around the food production unit at the school which is used for learning and demonstration purposes for the students as well as producing vegetables such as cabbages and pigs to supplement the food needs of the boarders.
Ambassador Seamus O’ Grady Radio Mano interview
On the same day (24th November 2016), Ambassador O’ Grady also visited Radio Mano, a popular community radio station in Kasama with a listenership of over 800,000 people. The construction of the radio station and the equipment were funded by Irish Aid in 2004, as part of the Governance programme then. The radio station has since become very popular with the local residents. The Ambassodor was featured on a special 30 minutes magazine show and gave an interview (above), where he shared his experinces of working in Zambia in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. He also shared Ireland’s 34 year aid legacy in Northern Province and generally what Irish Aid is doing to support the poor community members in Zambia. During the interview, the Ambassador used the opportunity to promote Irish culture by playing on air some of the traditional Irish music and encouraged the Radio Station to promote indigenous Zambian music.
