BBC 100 Women spotlights CAMFED Association climate leader Naomi Chanda from Zambia

NewsPublished on: Dec 3 2024

The 2024 BBC 100 Women list, released today, features some of the most inspiring and influential women from across the globe.

This year it spotlights CAMFED Association climate leader Naomi Chanda.

Once supported through school by CAMFED in rural Zambia, Naomi became one of CAMFED’s first Learner Guides in the country, mentoring and supporting vulnerable girls at her local school and delivering life and learning skills.

She rose through the ranks of our CAMFED Association of girls’ education leaders to become the elected District Chair in 2019 and the National Chair from 2022 to 2023. Today, Naomi is a leading expert in sustainable farming, sharing climate-smart techniques with smallholder farmers and other young women in our leadership network. She has also supported the introduction of our youth-led climate sessions in schools, in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Zambia.

Keeping girls in school by improving food security and climate resilience

The climate crisis has had a devastating impact on smallholder farmers in Naomi’s district in north-east Zambia. Prolonged droughts and big seasonal changes have destroyed crops and livelihoods, leading to hunger and food insecurity. This, in turn, means that families cannot raise money by selling surplus crops, and therefore can’t afford to send their children to school.

To address this issue holistically, CAMFED graduates like Naomi are training as Agriculture Guides, practicing and teaching sustainable crop cultivation, agroforestry, intercropping, beekeeping, poultry, fish farming and more, all in a bid to support school graduates to develop secure livelihoods, provide nutritious food to their local community, and keep vulnerable children in school.

Discover Naomi's story