Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in central-southern Africa, full of dramatic natural beauty and astonishing wildlife. Most visitors would come to see the majestic Victoria Falls but leave with new insight into another of Zambia’s true wonders – the resilience and strength of a people grappling with extreme poverty.

After a period of steady economic growth in the early 2000s, Zambia’s economy came under strain during 2015 and 2016, largely due to a combination of falling global copper prices, severe power outages, and low rainfall. As the economy contracted, the already low average wages of workers fell, with the gross national income per capita reported at just US$3,960 in 2020. Economic conditions worsened in 2020-2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Of the country’s 20 million people, more than 58% live below the income poverty line, with this figure rising to 78.8% in rural areas. These figures are expected to worsen due to the 2023-2024 drought in many parts of the country.

Many of the poorest people live in households headed by women. Women experience high degrees of domestic violence, and child marriage is still commonly practised, especially in rural areas. Customary land tenure and inheritance can also disadvantage women. Yet women are largely responsible for food production and many other income-generating activities and household duties, while men often migrate to urban areas in search of employment.

Our Partner

The five Anglican Dioceses in Zambia (the Anglican Church in Zambia) are currently part of the Province of Central Africa. They are applying to the Anglican Consultative Council for recognition as an autonomous province.
ABM partners with St John’s Seminary in Kitwe through our Church to Church work. AID partners with the church’s development and social service arm, Zambia Anglican Council Outreach Program (ZACOP) in two dioceses – Eastern and Luapula.

The Zambian church is strongly committed to advocacy about Zambia’s pressing social issues. They work from the pulpit and in the communities to improve outcomes for children and women and to address environmental degradation.

The Work We Support

1. Zambia Anglican Council Outreach Program (ZACOP)

To read about the Sustainable Communities work supported by AID in Zambia, please click here.

2. St John the Evangelist Anglican Seminary, Kitwe

Two young priests, Austin Ng’andwe and Timothy Njovu, are recent graduates from St John the Evangelist Anglican Seminary in Kitwe, Zambia, having been ordained to the priesthood almost four years ago. Fr Austin is now on the staff at Chongwe Parish in the Diocese of Lusaka, and Fr Timothy is working at St Stephen’s, Livingstone West in the country’s south.

Fr Austin remembers his time at St John’s with affection. His favourite subject was Dogmatics, that is the systematic study of the building blocks of theological thought – concepts such as the Incarnation and the Trinity. He writes, “Being at St John’s, I was privileged to be spiritually and professionally well equipped with pastoral tools for ministry.” He notes, however that despite these positive experiences, the college faces ongoing challenges: “St John’s has only six staff members (the Rector, three permanent teachers, a cleaner and a driver). God willing, if the school finds support, it would be of help to increase the staff members. The students’ hostel needs to be increased too, as the school can only train up to nine students every four years. The library is another area that needs an upgrade from having outdated books to something that would help the students improve on their academic performance.”

He also notes that St John’s is “the only seminary school in Zambia, where all the five [Anglican] dioceses send their students for priestly training. It’s located in the Copperbelt Province [of the country]”.

Fr Timothy’s favourite subject was Missiology, the study of mission both historically and in the current day. He writes of his time at college that “the best thing was to be among the good people who greatly helped me to gain knowledge, skill and be transformed as a priest.” He notes that “St John’s helped me to understand ministry holistically. I am able to build good teamwork through good relationships, using my knowledge and skills to influence other to join me to fulfil God mission”.

Like his classmate, Fr Austin, he has some ideas that would benefit the college and its students as they step out into professional ministry. He writes that more explicit teaching about “leadership, and the financial aspects of running a parish needed more time because as a minister you are more like a CEO. You need such knowledge in all fields”.

St John’s continues to operation thanks to a large input from overseas donors, particularly from Australia. Fr Timothy writes that sometimes it is a struggle for the students and staff to provide themselves with blankets and food. He says that your donation will help the college to run more effectively so that staff and students do not lack the necessary material things that go into teaching and learning.

“Though we may have challenges here and there, I appreciate that through St John’s God enabled me to become who I am today.”

Your gift will both encourage St John’s staff and students as they strive to overcome challenges and provide the materials needed to train more spiritually and professionally well-equipped leaders.