Connecting with other people

There are networking opportunities that can help booster your resume and many other areas of your life. By helping communities get better as a volunteer, you are recognized as part of the much-needed glue holding the fabric of society together. This will help you make connections while boosting your social skills and adding contacts to your professional network. Whether you just want to connect with people, strengthen existing relationships, find like-minded individuals or make friends volunteering in Zambia is an ideal place for you.

Enhancing your skills and abilities

By volunteering in an NPO, you ‘ll be improving your existing skills while learning new ones at the same time. You will be exposed to new situations and areas that require a unique train of thought and problem-solving ability. This will not only boost your competency, it will also allow you to identify any personal points that you need to work on. Once you know where your knowledge or capacity needs change and improvement, you can start to do this developing new skills as you go along.

Increase Marketability

Volunteering will give you a chance to acquire new skills and experience you can woe employers with your updated CV. Not only are you likely to impress them with your array of skills, experience and social strength, you’ll also come across as a committed and passionate person. Volunteering shows you are willing to work hard towards your goals and that you have a purpose, which is a major strength in any career.

Try out career ideas

If you are interested in a certain line of work, but aren’t sure that it’s what you want to do for the rest of your life, volunteering is perfect for trying it out. If for instance, you think you would like to become a social worker, you could try out a safe home for women or work with street kids at a drop-in center where they get help with rehabilitation, family integration, education etc. This will give you an idea as to what your future prospects could be. Gain all the benefits of volunteering and help change lives for the better while you do so, in any NPO in Zambia.

Education

Zambia has made significant gains in increasing access to education, but the education system continues to have challenges like inadequate resources, poor education quality, access to education – some learners have to travel long distances especially in rural communities. NPOs intervene in many ways to address the challenges through advocacy, provision of scholarships for the vulnerable especially a girl child, learners with special needs, orphans and other learners from poor families. Other NPOs provide infrastructure and many other things to ensure quality education and opportunities for all.

Human Rights

The Republic of Zambia is a member of the United Nations and the African Union. It has ratified many UN Human Rights Conventions and has made binding international commitments to adhere to the standards laid down in the Universal Human Rights documents. Despite signing and ratifying all these documents Zambians’ rights to the 5 basic human right’s needs, freedom of expression, discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence etc. are not being enjoyed by all. NPOs advocate, educate and work on various intervention to achieve human rights for all.

Women

The demographics of Zambia constitutes of 9.411,000 women and 9,268,000 men which means there 985 men per 1000 women. Zambian women often experience discrimination in employment, education, land, property ownership, business opportunities etc. Employed women often experience unequal conditions for work including pay inequity. Gender based violence perpetuated by some negative cultural believes that if a man doesn’t beat then he doesn’t love you. Different NPOs intervene through advocacy, providing education, providing shelter and counselling, entrepreneurship skills and opportunities, etc.

Youths

The youths are the majority of the population in Zambia the current population in 2022 is 20,017,675, a 2.8% increase from 2021. Zambian youths face a number of challenges of inadequate employment opportunities, limited access to finance investment, HIV and AIDS, inadequate skills training opportunities, lack of support or a good environment for innovation. NPOs provide entrepreneurship skills, education, advocacy, education, sports, media skills, etc.

Children

According to UNICEF 40.9% of children in Zambia suffer from at least three deprivations or more (e.g. lacking access to nutrition ,education ,health, water, sanitation, adequate housing ).36 % of children in Zambia are both monetary poor and multi-dimensionally deprived .NPOs intervene by providing education ,shelter and outreach for street children ,orphans , children in prison (referred to as circumstantial children a term that describes the female prisoners’ children who come with their mothers into prison). They are not in conflict with the law but their mothers ‘circumstances place them in prison and Zambian prisons are overcrowded with bad conditions.

Agriculture

Agriculture cultivation in Zambia is mostly non-mechanized and the sector is overwhelmingly rain fed. The majority are small scale farmers who have challenges to cope with climate change, soil erosion and biodiversity loss. Meeting rising demand for more food of higher quality, investment in farm productivity, adopting and learning new technologies etc. NPOs provide education on best farming practices, information about climate change, etc.

Environment

Zambia has tremendous natural resource wealth but faces increasing threats to it ’s environment including deforestation, wildlife trafficking, the effects of climate change, pollution, overpopulation, waste disposal, climate change, global warming and greenhouse effect. NPOs encourages sustainable natural resource management and broad based, climate smart economic development that promotes resilience and curbs acceleration of green gas.