Auchterarder farmer sows seeds of hope for African girls

Zambia mission will help teenage mums

A Perthshire farmer is travelling to Zambia to visit a ground-breaking project which supports teenage mothers.

Helen-May Bayne of Auchterarder said she was looking forward to seeing first-hand the “inspirational and empowering” work being carried out in Kanyama, a district on the edge of the African nation’s capital, Lusaka.

Mrs Bayne, session clerk at Muthill Parish Church, is a member of the Church of Scotland Guild which has donated more than £40,000 to the ‘Journeying Together’ project.

Run by the United Church of Zambia (UCZ), it supports 50 girls who live in a densely populated area which is often struck by severe flooding during the rainy season.

Poor drainage and sanitation – very few homes have toilets - can lead to outbreaks of cholera and dysentery with babies and small children most at risk.

The project, run by Deaconess Mable Sitchali, provides core training in essential skills like nutrition, parenting and sex education, and works to build confidence in the girls and challenge social injustice.

They are given the opportunity to return to school to finish their education or provided with vocational training in a skill to enable them to make their own money.

More than 50 per cent of the population in Kanyama, around 365,000 people, are under 18 but there are only five primary schools and one high school.

Helen-May, a past national convener of The Guild, is set to travel out to Zambia for a week at the end of the month to aid the effort.

She said: “I’m looking forward to meeting some of the young mums the Guild is supporting through this project and, as we spend the week together, gain more of an insight into their lives and the issues they face.

“I’ve been to Africa but I have never been on a trip like this before.”

Scotland’s links with the country can be traced back to the 19th century to the days of missionaries like David Livingstone.

The trip to Zambia is being organised by the Church of Scotland’s Faith Impact Forum - the department formally known as the World Mission Council which has partnered with UCZ since it was established in 1965.

Karen Gillon, associate secretary of the Guild, said: “UCZ is doing fantastic work to tackle the vicious cycle of poverty by providing opportunities for people who simply want the ability to help themselves.

“Some of them are victims of domestic violence, victims of rape or sometimes they just fell in love with a boy, got pregnant and he then disappeared.

“It is about giving young women a hand up, not a hand out because what they really want is the chance to finish their education, get a job and give their child the best possible start in life.

“Whatever their circumstances, the project is about showing these girls that they are valued and loved by God and equipping them with the skills they need to thrive.”