Sewing Team Member Maureen Banda

Maureen Banda is a mother of three children and she was born in 1968 into Chief Nsefu's chiefdom. Maureen is a grade nine drop out who couldn’t continue with school due financial challenges. Just after dropping out of school Maureen was married off which was a very common tradition then. During her marriage, she had three children, a girl and two boys. Unfortunately her husband passed away when the children were very young, leaving Maureen a widow and her family's financial burden on her shoulders.

Maureen has struggled to raise her children as a single mother without the support of a husband. Maureen depended on subsistence farming and through farm produce managed to put her food on the table, though it has been extremely hard to manage decent meals as farming was done on small scale.

Maureen was a member of a women's group and when Nsefu Wildlife Conservation Foundation established the Sewing project, she was seen as a potential trainee because she had shown a willingness to commit to the project. In 2018, a team of women were recruited to be the pioneers of the Sewing Project, which Maureen was now part of and she had become an instructor who was responsible for training the other women in tailoring skills. Maureen took this chance seriously and showed her skills and potential in team work. Maureen proved to everyone that indeed she was the right woman for the project. Maureen underwent a six months of training and undoubtedly became one of the top students in the program.

In 2018 the organization had found it fit to put the sewing team on Nsefu Wildlife Conservation Foundation payroll. This good news helped Maureen to finally have the ability to afford education for her children as well as be able to put food on the table and also meet up daily needs for the family. From what she now gets from the Sewing Program has allowed her to build two bedroomed house and be able to pay for her children's education. Maureen has also improved her farming through her salary she is able to buy farming tools and can get some helpers for the farm.

Maureen is indebted to Nsefu wildlife Conservation Foundation directors, both USA and Zambia for making her a trained skillful tailor, which is a valuable skill she can use anywhere. Maureen is now able to train other potential team members and can inspire other women in the sector! Maureen also thank the fellow team members for support and encouragement during her time with the organization.