perseverance | JOURNEYS OF HER

*Tabitha Lilungwe, Project Director of Peoples Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia (PAAGZ*)

Tabitha Lilungwe, the Project Director of People’s Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia (PAAGZ,) has always been motivated by her drive to make a difference in the lives of others. She served as a Deputy Managing Editor for Lusaka Star, blogs about menstrual education and is a Human Rights Peer Educator. She understands the importance of making an impact, being impacted in her own personal experiences with others, and is always driven by the need to make a difference in everything she touches. Her story shows us that in our journeys, we meet people to inspire them and to be inspired by them and that to never take things for granted.

This is Tabitha’s story …

Born in 1996 in the Southern parts of Africa, in Lusaka, Zambia, I was always driven by my curiosity of the world but was never sure of the career path to take because of my diverse interests in law, medicine and the social sciences. However, being the second eldest of seven children, our financial resources were limited and this consequently narrowed my choices to what was made available, at the time, which was a government scholarship, to study at the University of Zambia. The secured government scholarship, though, did not enable me to study law. Thus, I selected to pursue a degree in Mass Communications but it later became transparent that it was the right choice as it set me on the path I was destined to pursue.

In 2015, I commenced my studies, and three years later, expanded my networks by joining the global Women in News initiative, provided through the university, which is dedicated to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion across the international news industry. Through this network, I became acquainted with female journalists and ventured into the civil society. Networking with civil society leaders, I developed an interest in community outreach and social justice. I collaborated with and volunteered for various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Bloggers of Zambia, Alliance for Community Action, and the Centre for Young Leaders in Africa (CYLA) Zambia.

After graduating with my degree in Mass Communications, in 2020, and officially entering the working world, I was approached by a colleague, a well-known Zambian rapper Pilato, to collaborate with him on his non-profit organization, People’s Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia and was subsequently appointed as the Project Director to facilitate the vision of the organization.

People’s Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia (PAAGZ) is dedicated to advancing governance and accountability processes in Zambia. It focuses on citizen-driven accountability, inclusive governance, and systemic improvements. The organization strategically positions itself to engage with communities, to encourage civic engagement, voter registration, and participation in general elections. The focus areas of the organization are community-led social accountability and public resource management monitoring, artistic freedom and freedom of expression, grassroots mobilization and community empowerment, promoting political awareness and participation and human rights advocacy.

Driven by its mission, PAAGZ also became involved in many campaign partnerships, including with Magamba of Zimbabwe and Selam of Sweden that have resulted in the defamation of the president law being repealed by the President of Zambia and the launch of the Pan-African Network for Artistic Freedom (PANAF) Zambia, respectively. Many of PAAGZ’s initiatives include projects such Activate, Meet my Debt and Ticheze Zambia. Activate focuses on mobilizing and empowering young people to register and vote in the general elections, Ticheze Zambia provides platforms for amplification of citizens’ voices and promoting government accountability and Meet My Debt is designed to bridge the information gap across, social classes, and to make the debt management discourse accessible to the general public.

Through these respective projects, 800 women and youths, across 13 rural constituencies in Zambia. were positively impacted. We have also successfully amplified the demand for social and democratic accountability. Notably, PAAGZ’s efforts had a tangible influence on political campaign messages for the August 2021 elections, with a substantial voter turnout of 70%, the highest since Zambia’s first multi-party elections in 1991. More than half of the 70% of voters were below the age of 35 and it shows the effectiveness of our projects but also highlights the growing role of young people in shaping the political landscape.

In addition to creating political awareness through PAAGZ, I am driven by my own personal experience of being a 15-year-old girl and not knowing how to manage my periods. Growing up in a conservative society, menstruation is a taboo topic, leading me to realize the prevalent issue of period poverty affecting many young girls in Zambia. As a result of it being a difficult topic to discuss, this inadvertently leads to teenage pregnancies, with approximately 30% of Zambian girls becoming pregnant at aged 18, resulting in higher high-school to university dropouts.

With this in mind, I created a blog Lilungwe Daily to create awareness among young girls but will extend my services from blogging to formally establishing a youth hub, the Harmony Healthy Club, in the near future. Harmony Healthy Club will focus on issues associated with adolescence, early marriages, teenage pregnancies and menstruation. It will also create a safe space, without stigma and discrimination, where sexual education can be discussed, especially in a society that encourages abstinence over comprehensive sexual education. It aims to focus on the well-being of young women and to provide them with sexual and reproductive health, with the long-term goal of reducing teenage pregnancies. Plans for its launch are underway, with the initial roll-out to be introduced in my community, Kanyama, with the aim of expanding to other areas in Zambia.

Throughout all my pursuits, over the years, I always think back to my university days, particularly my friendship with my former classmate, Matilda Chali, who impacted me deeply. We were two peas in a pod and did everything together, from our chosen modules to tutorial groups and even lived at the same student residence. Being 7 years older than me, Matilda inspired me with her story to reach university levels and we vowed and made a promise, to each other, that one day when we are “successful enough”, we would share our story, with the world, but she never got to share hers. Matilda unexpectedly died, shortly after achieving her life-long dream of a university education. At aged 32, she passed away, alone in another province in Zambia, where she was working, with cerebral malaria.

Her passing came as a complete shock to my system and deeply affected me, reminding me of the fragility of life and to share our stories, and experiences, with others. it made me realize the importance of not waiting on second chances because not everyone gets a second chance in life. Sometimes, as I go through my life, I have those moments where I want to call Matilda, to tell her of the latest developments in my life, then in that fraction of a second, I have to remind myself that she is no longer.

As humans, we tend to fool ourselves by thinking that we have time but the clock is always silently ticking in the background. Seize that opportunity that may never come again because while hardships may be temporary, the rewards of success are reverberating. Be present in everything that you do, for yourself and others, because that moment will eventually become a memory. Share the ebbs and flows of your life, the struggles and successes, with others, so that your story becomes your legacy that inspires others to succeed in their own paths. We meet people for a reason and often that reason is to show us how we are all interconnected and to also show us the importance and impact we, as individuals, can have on others.

If you are interested in learning more about Tabitha or would like to get in contact with her, please reach out via the Facebook page, Peoples Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia (PAAGZ) read her blog Lilungwe Daily, or email her at tabitalilungwe@gmail.com or tabitalilungwe@peoplesactionzambia.org

*In loving memory of Matilda Chali (right) standing next to Tabitha Lilungwe (left)*

*Rachel Affiong Umoh, founder of The Wonder In Me (TWIM)*

Rachel Affiong Umoh is a driven and ambitious young woman. She is a compere, has her own West African pidgin YouTube Channel called Psyche Special TV, which focuses on mental health wellness and special needs, and is a qualified psychologist with a passion to help the most vulnerable within her society. Her story shows us that the dreams we have may not always evolve as we anticipated but that we need to rise to the challenge that is presented to us because oftentimes, the challenge is the key to achieving our dreams.

This is Rachel’s story …

Prior to my birth in Kaduna State, Nigeria, my parents both emigrated separately from their respective Yoruba and Ibibio states in the South of Nigeria before meeting, marrying, and raising their three daughters, of whom I am the eldest, in the North. We grew up culturally aware of the different tribes in our families, switching easily between speaking Ibibio in Akwalbom State and Yoruba in Ogun State, when visiting our extended families. Being born into an intertribal family has been, and still is, both a source of pride and honour for me but it has also made me attuned to and impacted by the tribalism that is rife in Nigeria.

As a minority tribe in the community where I grew up in, certain access and privileges were denied not just to my family but also to certain other tribes. We were deprived of free mosquito nets and COVID-19 pandemic palliatives, denied applying for vocational training programmes and poverty alleviation incentives, such as agricultural loans and business grants, that were provided for by the government, but which were locally administered. Through the local management of such programmes, we were never timeously informed or even allowed to participate in such incentives. Recurring stigmatization and discrimination, both historically and presently, of tribes over the hierarchical access to privileges, at grassroots level, often causes rising tensions which leads to communal and tribal clashes and inter-religious conflicts in both Northern and other parts of Nigeria.

Growing up and witnessing such forms of oppression, injustices, and corruption within my region and across Nigeria and having seen, first-hand, the adverse effects it often has on the most vulnerable groups within our society, moulded my perception of the unfairness of the World surrounding me. It motivated me to want to become a lawyer and solicit for the rights of the vulnerable and the violated, to be able to provide them with the adequate support to live independent and self-fulfilling lives

As a top achiever and having been elected as the president of the press club and debate club at secondary school, I applied to study law at my chosen university in the hopes of fulfilling my childhood dream. However, despite my excellent academic record, I was denied admission because my parents did not hold high-powered positions in the country. My mother is a teacher, by profession, and a serial entrepreneur, while my father is a civil servant, but they were not connected to the crème da la crème of society, and this affected my prospects of becoming a lawyer. It felt like a gross injustice but an accepting reality and with this in mind, I proceeded to change university and course with the aim of studying mass communication because I felt that I can still advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable but using a different tactic, mass media.

However, while I was accepted to study at the next chosen university and passed the qualifying exam to be admitted into the mass communication programme, when I received notification of acceptance, I discovered that instead of being admitted into the chosen programme, I was assigned to study psycho-social rehabilitation. While this may sound confusing to others, this is the norm across Nigerian society; you may apply for one course but might end up getting admitted to another course (that you never even chose as a second option!) but we take this either with a sense of humour or a pinch of salt.

Hence, my parents encouraged me to accept studying psycho-social rehabilitation, which would certify me as a psychologist, as God’s Will for my life and with this in mind, I made the intention to commit myself to this course chosen for me although I was, at the time, not happy with the choice as psychology was all new to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised because as I learnt more about psychology in the first few weeks after the commencement of the programme, I realized the level of impact I can leave in my wake with the exposure, skills and training I would receive during my studies. It made me realize that my childhood dream of advocating for women, displaced persons and the special-needs can still come to fruition through the tools of psycho-social rehabilitation. I took to learning with zest and learnt as much as I possibly could on rehabilitation, social violation cases, HIV testing and counselling and volunteered at relevant non-governmental organizations including a 6-month working stint at Kaduna State Rehabilitation Centre and a one-year compulsory internship at the Department of Social Welfare at a general hospital in Kaduna State. The theoretical and practical exposure has been tremendous, and I eventually qualified as a psychologist in 2020.

It was during my final year of studies that I reached out to individuals within the rehabilitation and counselling sector to form a team and established a non-governmental organization, The Wonders In Me (TWIM). TWIM is a state-registered advocacy organization driven by the mission of a “Better Me For Better Society” and the belief that mental health wellness and inclusiveness is integral to a well-balanced and functioning society. While we advocate against the stigmatization and discrimination of persons with special needs, we have also ensured that 50% of our organization’s executive members and 50% of our volunteers constitutes persons with special needs. Thus, with the current 20 executive members, on board, and 100 volunteers, half of this number represents persons with special needs.

We advocate in communities, at schools, rehabilitation centres, internally displaced (IDP) camps, prisons, and other relevant organizations. The organization’s activities includes both social media campaigns and event hosting. For the past two years, we have launched mental health clubs in 20 secondary schools across Kaduna State, provided relief support to IDP camps, orphanages and rehabilitation centres and donated wheelchairs, crutches and braces, special education training materials and other rehabilitation aids to rehabilitation centres and special education schools. We also organize training programmes for staff on the proper use of modern-day rehabilitation services for children with sensory impairments and learning difficulties and host outreach awareness programmes, which includes guest speakers and key stakeholders. The long-term vision and current challenge are to get TWIM nationally registered and to establish our offices so that we can offer counselling and rehabilitation services to more individuals and expand on the current work that we do.

I am often asked what triggered my interest in advocating for special-needs as I am not a special-needs individual, but the truth is I am part of a minority tribe within my community, and this has deepened my insights into their sense and reality of not being included and having access to an active society. Thus, I would never want any special-needs individual to ever feel like they do not belong or cannot participate. Furthermore, the beauty of having grown up in an intertribal family is that it has granted me the understanding into different worlds that may, in other instances, view each with disdain or hostility and the truth is the spheres within which special-needs and able-bodied individuals navigate tend to be two different worlds. It is important to realize that irrespective of our tribal and religious affiliations, our nationalities, our abilities, or limitations, we are all the same. We are all human and it is important that we represent or provide the vulnerable and the violated with opportunities and platforms to be represented not because of their weaknesses but because they are capable, strong, and willing to participate in society that sadly, often, forgets them. It is important that we reach within ourselves and find our humanity and work together towards a world that can represent all of us and not one at the expense of another. It is this passion that drives me, despite all my personal and professional challenges, and no matter the hurdles, my story is proof to every African woman that giving up on your dreams is not an option. Keep on striving for your dreams and utilize every opportunity that presents itself to you because all the small steps you take in your journey will lead to greater strides.

If you are interested in learning more about Rachel or would like to get in contact with her, please reach out via her Facebook page, TWIM “The Wonder In Me”, or email her at rachelumoh3@gmail.com or thewonderinme262@gmail.com