Maravi

Fifteen years of Women for Change

Fifteen years of Women for Change
By Editor
Sunday September 30, 2007 [04:00]

As Women for Change celebrates its fifteen years of existence this Saturday, we join all those men and women of goodwill in congratulating and wishing them the best in the years to come. Truly, it is not a mean achievement for a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) in Zambia to reach 15 years and still growing stronger.

This is because most NGOs are not founded on noble causes and therefore their lifespan is usually short. They die as soon as they achieve or fail to achieve their objective. They are like dew that disappears at the feel of sunlight.

In most cases, these NGOs are selfishly sponsored by the powerful in society, including politicians. They are formed to deal with a particular situation, usually of no noble cause.

We have not forgotten a number of NGOs that were formed in 2001 when Frederick Chiluba attempted to manipulate the law so he could give himself a third term in office.

Millions, if not billions of taxpayers’ money were spent on sustaining these NGOs just to keep the third term agenda alive. But as soon as Chiluba’s third term bid was defeated, these NGOs also died. And the people who ran them became destitutes and lost credibility and reputation.

That is for those who had a bit of credibility and reputation before they chose to participate in those vain activities.

In the last few years, we have also witnessed the emergence of several NGOs whose only occupation is to issue meaningless press statements in support of some causes by their selfish sponsors.

This has not been the case with Women for Change and a few other genuine NGOs that are making a big difference to our poor and less privileged people, especially those in the rural areas.

From what we know, Women for Change was established to fight for women’s rights, including social and economic justice. But their work over the years has touched and benefited both women and men, the young and old.

This work by Women for Change has also benefited many of our people in urban areas, although their main target are the rural dwellers. Women for Change, under the leadership of Emily Sikazwe, has also proved to be a strong voice for the voiceless, a voice that many times has shut up pompous and arrogant politicians who tend to abuse human rights in general and women’s rights in particular.

That is why Women for Change has managed to grow for fifteen years and is still going strong. It is serving the purpose that a genuine NGO is supposed to serve. It has got a permanent and noble agenda. No wonder this NGO is always a perpetual thorn in the flesh of the powerful in our society.

Like Emily rightly observed, the last fifteen years for Women for Change have not been easy. Women for Change has been misunderstood several times, sometimes even by people we thought ought to have known better.

Women for Change has also been harassed in various ways; it has been intimidated, insulted.

In our view, all this is calculated to cow Emily and her comrades in Women for Change into silence on issues that affect the people they chose to serve.

That’s why we take this opportunity to encourage our brothers and sisters, our comrades in Women for Change to use this week of celebrating their fifteen years of existence to deeply reflect on where they are coming from and refocus on the future.

Reflect on the many trials, insults, accusations, harassments, intimidations and use these to strengthen your resolve to serve the underprivileged in our society.
Be encouraged by the realisation that those who say the truth always stand alone.

And so there will always be deliberate efforts to isolate Women for Change by those who see this noble organisation as an enemy for their political and personal survival.

Yes, Women for Change has been one of the few organisations in the country that are very critical to the government when the need to be critical arises. This criticism has sometimes, if not most times, exposed Emily to hatred and ridicule by those in government, those who do not appreciate the fact that NGOs exist to, among other things, offer checks and balances to the government.

Criticism, and not praise, is a very hard thing for many people to embrace. It is never pleasant. In most cases, it is very painful. But criticism is a necessary ingredient in the development of any individual or indeed a nation.

Criticism enables us to check what we have done and ensure that we are not carried away by pride, ego or personal ambition in our decision-making process, or indeed the various actions we take.

Once again, we congratulate Women for Change for all the achievements they have scored during the fifteen years of existence and encourage them to continue scoring more laurels.

Don’t let directionless people divert you from serving your people. These are men and women who only cherish praises and not criticism. They get choked even by the smallest of criticism.

As you well know, the battle will not always be easy. But use your experience to touch even more people with your noble work. And always remember that it is not everyone who will appreciate your work.

Labels: EDITORIAL, EMILY SIKAZWE, WFC

posted by MrK @ 5:12 AM