From crisis to classroom

CHIPATA, Eastern province, Zambia - December 2024 - Life became even harder for Caroline (20) when she became pregnant at 18, adding to her family’s struggle to meet basic needs. Her family of five, relying on odd jobs and piecework for income, had always found it difficult to make ends meet. Living in Msekera (Community Welfare Assistance Committee), CWAC in Chipata, Eastern province, Zambia, Caroline’s journey took a tougher turn while she was still in grade nine.  

“I was very afraid of what motherhood would be like at such a young age and I was in grade nine,” Caroline recalls. “I was still a child myself, and I didn’t know how I was going to support a baby.” The uncertainty of her future weighed heavily on her, leading to poor academic performance. In the end, Caroline did not pass her Grade nine exams, and the stigma from her peers only made matters worse.

“They would tell me to get married to the father of my child,” she says. “It was hard to focus on school when I was always worried about what others thought of me.”

For many young girls in similar situations, financial constraints and societal pressures often lead to child marriages, seen by some families as a way to secure stability for a young mother and her child. However, Caroline’s story took a different path.

Her grandmother, Beatrice, a 64-year-old woman with a strong resolve, became her unwavering support system. Instead of pressuring Caroline to marry, she encouraged her to continue pursuing her dreams. 

With support from the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) programme—a drought-response initiative assisting over 950,000 households nationwide—Caroline and her grandmother have been receiving the financial support they desperately needed since June of 2024.

The programme’s Case Management system identified Caroline’s situation as needing targeted support to ensure her return to school. The cash assistance of ZMW 800 bimonthly (USD 29) provided by the ECT enabled Caroline to meet her and her child’s basic needs as she resumed her schooling. “I can now buy books for school and even soap and lotion to keep my baby clean,” she says. 

The support has also transformed her household. Her grandmother used part of the cash transfer to purchase maize seeds for subsistence farming and mealie meal to ensure the family could eat regular meals. 

Returning to school, Caroline started afresh from grade seven and has successfully written her exams. With unwavering determination, she is focused on achieving her dream of becoming a nurse. “When I complete primary school, I want to go on to become a nurse because I want to help people get well,” she says with a coy smile, as she plays with her two-year-old son.

Her message to others in similar situations is one of hope and resilience: “I encourage my fellow girls to return to school and not to give up, no matter what happens.”

What could easily have been a hopeless situation was turned around through a combination of Caroline’s strong-willed spirit, her grandmother’s encouragement, and the support of a lifeline programme that gave her a second chance at life. 

The ECT programme, implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) with technical support from ILO, UNICEF, UNDP, and WFP, offers critical support to mothers and children during Zambia’s drought across all 116 provinces.

As part of the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s response to the 2024 national drought emergency, the ECT programme is supported by cooperating partners, including the governments of the Republic of Ireland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Swiss Confederation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.