Chibolya is a small village located in Mazabuka district, which is 125km south of the Zambian capital, Lusaka. Chibolya has a population of 10,750 and comprises of 1,792 households. The average monthly income is ZMK120, 000 (USD 30) per family. In order to survive, nearly every member of the family needs to work.
Chibolya has a very weak economy. The majority of Chibolyan residents are unemployed or underemployed. Many residents work in the nearby sugar plantation, which also attracts newcomers to the area, only to find little or low paying jobs. A few people engage in small business ventures, such as selling fruits and vegetables or selling cooked food but this usually brings in less than $1 per day while others brew and sell beer illegally. Girls work in saloons or occasionally accept money in exchange for sex.
Like many other villages in Zambia, Chibolya faces poor sanitation and housing facilities. Diseases such as malaria, cholera,and dysentery are very common among villagers. Sick and injured people go to a nearby clinic, which is poorly equipped and is not capable of handling the disease outbreaks that occur regularly and as a result death rates are high in the community (about 1.3%).
Many young boys and girls in the community are involved in drugs and alcohol use, which contributes to higher rates of unwanted, teenage pregnancies, and the spread of HIV/AIDS, which has an infection rate of about 5% in the community. Moreover, the rights of children are often not recognized and young girls are forced into marriage, shortly after their initiation ceremony.
Education is neither encouraged nor easily accessible to the community. The number of children dropping out of school is very high and this happens fairly early: usually between 5 – 16 years. A number of reasons that contribute to the high dropout rate include: a poor economy, inability to pay for school fees, early marriages, misconceptions in the community about education and various cultural practices. As a result, very few children make it to higher grades, thereby resulting in more and more young people with lack of education and skills needed for employment, thus leading to the vicious circle of poverty.
The government school is located very far and the children in Chibolya have to travel up to 3 kilometers to attend. Also, many schools in Zambia charge fees that the majority of residents can’t afford. The government requirement that all the children must buy a uniform to attend public school is a further hindrance for the poor families in Chibolya to educate their kids.