With only being in existence for the past seven months, the LETS program has already significantly impacted 3 of the largest communities in Livingstone: Linda, Dambwa, and Nakatindi, respectively.

The Gender Equality program educates adults and youth in local communities on sexual reproductive health. Through proven education and tools, these LETS sessions empower women, couples, and young people to make informed choices about their reproductive health and prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Disrupting the cycle of poverty one bracelet at a time

Using the LETS bracelets, many have learned how to track their menstrual cycle and to know when they will be most fertile. This knowledge has empowered women to make informed decisions on when to have sex, depending on whether they want to start a family.

The education LETS provides helps students make positive choices about protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and deciding when to have a baby – provided they can support their child.

Eagerness for knowledge

Several program members walk long distances to learn about reproductive health and teach their communities about it. The students are very enthusiastic, want to discuss these topics, and are incredibly willing to learn more.

Since the program’s inception in Livingstone, we have had over 90 participants graduate from the short training with certification.

African Impact Foundation ended 2022 on a positive note as we celebrated the graduation of the second group of our Gender Equality, LETS project, which consisted of 57 members. 

Some of our community partners from the District Health Board in Livingstone were in attendance.

Livingstone’s Mahati Maghandi Health Centre chairperson, Catherine Njamba, commended the project run by African Impact Foundation during the graduation ceremony and highlighted the importance of including men in matters of reproductive health. 

It has been a fulfilling year for the foundation in terms of Youth empowerment. We  championed the rights of youths in Livingstone, to access education and life skills, through youth peer to peer community education.

In February 2022 we launched our Youth Insaka project in three schools around Livingstone. This project aims to connect young people to share challenges, discuss solutions and support each other.

Through this project, we reached about 120 individuals, navigating various topics that border on improving their lives.

By December 2022, the project expanded to three additional schools.

With 24 trained youth ambassadors, we are equipping over 300 young people with the necessary tools to make informed decisions regarding their wellbeing – enabling them to grow into confident young leaders.

In June 2022, we introduced to you Sheila Hamuchemba, who joined our Skills Development Internship, under the Youth Insaka project.

The time now has come to bid her farewell and good luck as she embarks on a new and exciting journey to University.

This is a bittersweet moment for the African Impact Foundation as Sheila  has made a phenomenal contribution throughout her internship. Sheila is a great inspiration to many young people in the program.

It’s been so heart-warming and heartbreaking all at the same time!

What hit me, even more, was the determination and drive of many young people I met to overcome these challenges, especially students on sponsorship programmes. Girls truly want a good education, to build confidence, and to avoid pregnancy so they can become young women with more choices and dreams for their future. The boys I met are driven to finish grade 12, explore career options and learn how to navigate the many challenges that come their way, including substance abuse.

It’s been so heart-warming and heartbreaking all at the same time!

The addition of the LETS project to our Girl Impact project will drive the programme to implement a project that will entirely focus on sexual reproductive health rights within our focus communities and targeted groups, where we have already established partnerships.  The overview of the LETS program states that it is a revolutionary education initiative aimed at empowering families in crises worldwide by addressing the universal root cause of poverty and abuse, unplanned and unwanted children born into a household that cannot support them. This is already in line with what has already been implemented on the ground, and the addition of these LETS will be an added advantage to the individuals and the community.

Through the LETS curriculum, we will implement reproductive health and basic health and well-being training to empower women and girls to make more informed choices in these areas. The LETS initiative will introduce workshops solely devoted to sexual reproductive health within our focus communities and targeted groups where we already have partnerships in place.

I am convinced that by the end of this programme, I will be able to make more sound decisions on childbearing matters and pass the knowledge to my partner in order to better our living standards as a family.

We are going into our 6th week of LETS with our beneficiaries and there is already a positive impact on participants’ lives.  Participation numbers have risen steadily each passing week, from 6 participants in the first week to 19 participants in the 6th week. This is indicative of progress toward our Gender Equality program. The participants are eager to gain more understanding and information on reproductive health and the tools to prevent unplanned pregnancies.  

On 16th September 2022, Timothy Graduated with Merit and attained a Certificate in Basic Firefighting in Kabwe, Zambia. He is currently applying for internships in various organizations in order to gain work experience.

Despite the obstacles, Timothy maintained his perseverance and determination to further his education. 

Timothy, 25 years old, was mostly raised by his grandmother in Livingstone and has been on the African Impact Foundation Sponsor a Child program since Grade 6. Timothy has always been determined to perform well academically in order to have a better future and be able to support his family. After completing his Secondary education, Timothy was supported by the Foundation to study Power Electricals, a course offered at the Community Development Centre in Livingstone; however, due to Covid-19 challenges, he could not finish the program.  Despite the obstacles, Timothy maintained his perseverance and determination to further his education.