Building Cultural Accountability Mechanisms

In Mukuni Village yesterday, we held an impactful Training of Trainers session under the project “Building Cultural Accountability Mechanisms.” This program brought together women and youths, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to drive accountability, promote human rights, and take an active role in community development.

What We Covered?

1. Human Rights:

We explored fundamental rights like the right to life, education, and association, with a special focus on the rights of women, children, and persons with disabilities.

Participants discussed how community leaders can play a role in safeguarding these rights and how education can enhance human rights awareness.

2. Public Funds:

Participants learned about Constituency Development Funds (CDF), bursaries, school grants, and other public resources.

Group discussions focused on how these funds can be accessed and monitored to ensure they are used wisely for community development.

3. Social Accountability Tools:

Participants were introduced to tools like the Community Scorecard, Service Charter, and public hearing to address local challenges such as poor roads, shortage of teachers houses, inadequate water access, poor network coverage, and limited communication from leaders. They developed an Action plan to address these issues, including applying for CDF funding, and fostering community involvement. The session emphasized transparency, participation, and answerability, empowering participants to hold leaders accountable and actively contribute to governance processes.

The commitment of the participants stood out throughout the training. Women and youths demonstrated their readiness to be agents of change, creating actionable solutions to address local challenges while advocating for transparency, accountability, and equal access to resources.

This program was made possible through the generous support of GIZ, German International Cooperation, and co-funding by the European Union in Zambia under the Enabling Access to Justice, Civil Society Participation, and Transparency Programme.

Together, we can build stronger, more inclusive, and accountable communities.

#TheHealingBalmFoundation #GIZ #EuropeanUnionInZambia #CommunityEmpowerment #HumanRights #SocialAccountability #Transparency #CivilSociety #MukuniVillage #SustainableDevelopment #WomenAndYouthLeadership #AccessToJustice