Christine Kaluba Sikateyo is a 32 years old house wife of Choma District’s Chandamali compound, married to a Mr. Sikateyo, together they have two (2) children, one (1) boy ten years old and one (1) girl two years old.

Christine’s first child is enrolled at a community school and is in grade five while the other one is enrolled at a private school and is in baby class.

Before joining Madaliso yatu Women’s club, Christine and her family had no reliable source of income or assets. They worked as laborers just to get food and cloths. In 2017 Christine joined Madaliso yatu women’s club where the main engagement was village banking with little success due to lack of training on record keeping and entrepreneurship.

Choma District Women Development Association linked Madaliso Yatu women’s club to We Effect Zambia in 2020 after paying the affiliation fees to the District Association.

Choma DWA and partners such as We Effect Zambia, Heifer International Zambia, Zambia Land Alliance, Women for change with support from SIDA trained Madaliso yatu Women’s club members through the District Women Association on Land ownership, entrepreneurship, Leadership, village banking, Agriculture value chains with an emphasis on including women and children as equal partners in decision making.

Christine managed to buy 75 improved village chicken commonly known as Sasso chickens for raying eggs, meat and chicks after a success sharing from the village banking where she is village banking agent and was given a bicycle which she uses to follow up members and remind them on the need to invest in village banking and pay back loans.

Christine sales Sasso hens to raise the much needed income to take children to school, buy clothes, buy vaccines for chicken and feed, buy solar system for lighting, entertainment and news.

“My vision is to raise the number of chickens from 75 to five hundred improved village chickens and become one of the major suppliers of eggs, improved village chicken, day old chicks and Sasol chickens in Southern Province in general and Choma District in particular.

Her family has been using resources raised from the sale of improved village chicken to also buy food following the devastating effects of climate change that left many households struggle to feed their families especially in Choma District.

“I am grateful to my father and my mother Mr and Mrs Kaluba for been supportive to my family because they allowed my family to build a poutry house at their yard where access to water and land is free. It would have not it not been their generous support it would have been difficult to start the business of keeping chicken.

Christine is a living testimony of We Effect Zambia and partners’ focus on bridging the gender gaps by socially and economically empowering women which is essential in fostering sustainable development in the Southern Province and in Zambia.