Education leader & Agriculture Guide, Zambia
7 minute read
I’m Cleopatra, from Mpika district in Zambia. I live with my mom, my dad and my two younger siblings. My older sisters live with my grandparents in another district.
My parents are small-scale farmers, and my father is also a painter. There were not many opportunities for paid work in our rural area, so my life was difficult. My parents grew maize, and then would grind the maize at the mill to get our own mealie meal — the staple food in Zambia.
We rarely used to have good harvests because seeds and fertilizers were so expensive, and there was often a shortage of food.
Sometimes I used to go to school without eating anything. If we did have extra maize to sell, we could buy some of the things that I needed for school, but this money didn’t go far. I used to be sent home from school due to missing payments of fees. If not for CAMFED, I wouldn’t have finished my secondary school.
I was supported by CAMFED from Grade 10 up to Grade 12. I was really happy to graduate from secondary school because I knew I would have better employment prospects and could help lift my parents up from poverty to somewhere better.
After school I wanted to follow my passion for food and farming. I had the opportunity to train as an Agriculture Guide through CAMFED, learning climate-smart farming techniques and training to launch a sustainable agri-business. I received a grant of 750 Kwacha (around US$27) from CAMFED to launch my farming venture and my business is going well. I’ve been teaching my family new farming methods, including new ways of cultivating, new ways of planting, and how to preserve crops seeds for the next season, which is really helping.
Here I am working in my garden. (Credit: CAMFED/Catherine Wood)
By implementing techniques like crop-rotation and water conservation – which improve yields and increase drought resilience, for example – food security in my family has greatly improved compared to some years back. Now harvests are good, and we sell the extra that we grow. We don’t often need to buy food staples like mealie meal or ground nuts.
Because of my garden, I can earn money to buy things for myself. I’m now financially independent, and able to help out my parents and my siblings if they have any problems with money. I’ve also gained respect in my community because of the work that I do.
This is my garden here in Mpika, Zambia. I’m fortunate that my garden is close to a river, so most of the time I don’t have to carry water a long distance to water my crops.
Farming has improved my family’s health and our livelihood, as any surplus food I grow we can sell at the local market. With these profits I am able to support myself and my family. As well as supporting my siblings’ education, I help my auntie’s child with school essentials like books and pencils.
My favorite vegetable to grow is okra because it’s very delicious! I practice intercropping — growing two crops together like cabbage and beans, to benefit both crops. The beans help to fix nitrogen in the soil, benefiting the nutrient-demanding cabbage and resulting in a better harvest. Climate-smart farming —it’s really working, I’ve seen a change!
Visit my farm via YouTubeClimate change is really affecting my community and my family, because we now have irregular rainfall patterns.
We used to receive rainfall starting from October or November, but now we don’t start receiving rainfall until late November. This is affecting the normal planting and growing seasons. We have also been experiencing dry spells and getting enough water can really be a challenge, especially in the dry season. Around here in Mpika, we collect water from streams, or we dig holes or drill for water. During the dry season, a farmer could walk over one kilometer to collect water for their garden. This is causing poor harvests, and many families are facing food insecurity. I’ve seen girls enter into early marriages because desperate families are hoping marriage is a way out, and will lessen the strain on finances.
Last season my crops did not do well because of a lack of rain, caused by the changing climate. To overcome the challenge of drought I used bucket irrigation and drip irrigation to water my crops. I also supported other young women in the CAMFED Association and farmers in my community who were affected by the droughts and subsequent floods — sharing information on water conservation and irrigation, and recommending crops that can withstand droughts like cassava, and those that do better on flooded land, like rice.
I’m volunteering as an Agriculture Guide because I want to teach people about building food security through sustainable agriculture.
As an Agriculture Guide, I’m leading learning sessions with 10 young women who are current or aspiring agri-preneurs. In addition to sustainable farming techniques, I teach them about climate change and after the training they have the responsibility to teach 10 more people, and so we are cascading information!
Here I am delivering a sustainable agriculture session to some of the young women I mentor. (Credit: CAMFED/Catherine Wood)
We also raise awareness of climate change in our communities, sharing information about the effects and causes. I’m championing tree planting and encouraging my community to explore alternative cooking fuels instead of cutting down trees for charcoal, in order to preserve the natural habitat. I explain that it’s really important to protect nature because nature is vital for agriculture.
These changes in farming practices are helping because the community believes in me. I feel grateful to have gained respect from village elders because of my knowledge. They consult me about farming, climate change and other things, it feels great.
We Agriculture Guides have recently started going to schools to speak with the children about the climate and make sure they understand how important it is to protect nature. When children hear something from their peers, they get it fast compared to when they hear it from their parents. So it’s really helping!
I encourage young women to learn more about agriculture, because agriculture links with food, and we all need food to live healthy lives.
I am a Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Youth Leader for 2025, using my experience and knowledge to advocate for change and dismantle barriers to education both in Zambia and around the world.
By participating in the GPE Youth Leaders program, I am:
Part of my passion for education comes from my experience volunteering with CAMFED for over a year as a Learner Guide (peer mentor) at my local secondary school. I supported learners using My Better World, CAMFED’s life skills and wellbeing workbook. My Better World helps students to build self-knowledge, discover their talents, set goals and achieve them. I really enjoyed supporting students to thrive in education as well as helping with their post-school pathways.
My favorite part of my role was seeing girls and boys put into practice what we learned — setting their goals, achieving them, and having confidence. They were really inspired by the topic of powers: the power of being courageous, the power of being confident, and the power of being open-minded. I knew that if I was to effectively deliver the sessions to the learners, I needed to develop those qualities too!
My newfound confidence encouraged the learners to have confidence in themselves — to have courage and be open-minded.
As Learner Guides, we act as ‘Big Sisters’ for students who might be struggling. If I ever found that a student in one of my My Better World sessions was lacking books or a pen, then I would help them out.
One example where I made a big difference to a student was when I noticed a girl who had stopped coming to my sessions. I discovered the reason was she didn’t have books or school uniform, so I spoke with the Teacher Mentor and we visited the girl’s home. We helped her with the uniform and school items, and encouraged her to return. Thanks to our teamwork, the student was able to come back to school, concentrate better on her work, and feel positive about her future.
My CAMFED Association sisters and I do lots of charitable activities together. We visit elderly people that are living alone, we go to schools to motivate students, we also visit vulnerable children and help them with school supplies.
It feels great because I know my community and I know how it feels to live with financial difficulties. I also love being part of the CAMFED Association because it’s a family. I’m bonded to my sisters and I feel really comfortable when I’m with them. They have helped me many times when I’ve been in need. We encourage each other — it feels amazing!
I chose to study public administration because I have a desire to make an impact on society by tackling real world problems such as poverty, climate change, and inequality.
I am currently studying public administration at tertiary level, with CAMFED’s support. So far, my time at college has been good. Though it has been tough learning how to manage my time effectively, I’ve been happy to make new friends and to learn new things. There are other CAMFED Association members who are studying here, so we meet regularly to support each other. I’ll be very happy when I graduate and can go into society, get a job and practice what I’ve learned.
Download this free resource to find out what problems girls, women, and whole communities in rural Africa are dealing with in the face of extreme weather; Discover a powerful solution and how everyone in CAMFED’s global movement plays a part; Hear from the students and entrepreneurs who are championing climate justice and sustainable futures.
CAMFED, in partnership with Ministries of Education in Zambia and Zimbabwe, has launched a new in-school climate education program, led by young women graduates.
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