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Zambia: Country Commemorates Family Day
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Ndola
ZAMBIA yesterday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Day of the Family.
The Government pledged to expand social safety net programmes in order to improve the living standards of vulnerable families.
Speaking in Lusaka during celebrations to mark the day, Community Development and Social Services Minister, Catherine Namugala, said the Government was committed to ensuring that social safety net programmes were expanded across various communities.
Ms Namugala said the programmes included micro-finance, public welfare assistance scheme, social cash transfer, food security pack and the social security schemes, which were designed to strengthen the vulnerable families.
She said the Government also appreciated the role that the Church, non-governmental organisations and cooperating partners were playing in strengthening the family.
The minister said International Day of the Family was important as it raised awareness on family issues and enhancing success of the community and national family programmes.
This year's theme was 'Fathers and Families: Responsibilities and Challenges'.
The day was first commemorated in 1994 after the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year 1994 as the International year of the Family. Since then, May 15 had been designed as the celebration day.
Ms Namugala said the day had provided an opportunity to raise awareness on the critical role of fathers and the challenges that surrounded their roles as heads of various homes.
She said the theme highlighted the importance of fathers in the context of development as they were critical in the establishment of stable families needed for national development.
"The institution of the family is the first and most important socialising institution where shelter and security are to be found when facing difficulties in life. Fathers are crucial to the family members integration into community life especially children.
"The presence of a father is a must for a stable family, just as their absence can often cause vulnerability and eventually unstable society," Ms Namugala said
Ms Namugala said although the role of fathers had been faced by numerous problems such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, there was need for all families to support them as they remained bread winners regardless of their status.
"Fathers have also continued to be challenged by unemployment leading to poverty and lack of access to some basic needs such as shelter and food. Everybody should therefore be concerned about the lives of these vulnerable people if our country is to develop," she said.
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In attendance to commemorate the celebrations were the Senior Citizen Association of Zambia (SCAZ), the Retirees Welfare Bureau of Zambia and the Care Ministries for the mentally ill.
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| Copyright © 2008 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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