Mpika District Administrative Officer, Steven Mulenga, has praised Learn to Share Mining Cooperative for empowering four women groups with over K20,000 each as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiative to help the women venture into poultry business.
‎Mr Mulenga said the four women groups were recently selected by Learn to Share Mining Cooperative in the district to benefit from a gold-based income-generating initiative.
‎He said the beneficiaries had been allowed by Learn to Share to mine and process gold for one day from its mining operations, from which they raised over K80,000 from the sale of the mineral to establish poultry businesses in their respective areas.
‎Mr Mulenga said Corporate Social Responsibility remains key in building a strong bond between companies and the communities they serve, as it increases a company’s visibility and brings benefits to those communities.
‎He disclosed that the four women’s groups that have benefited from the initiative are drawn from five wards across Mpika District.
‎”This gesture is designed to empower the women financially so that they can become economically stable,” he said.
‎Mr Mulenga has since urged other mining companies operating in the district to emulate Learn to Share Mining Cooperative by investing in similar community empowerment programmes.
‎And Learn to Share Mining Cooperative Board Chairperson, Ronald Mwenziko, said the cooperative would continue helping women to become financially stable in Mpika District.
‎Mr Mwenziko said women play a critical role in providing for their families and must therefore be financially sound.
‎He said his cooperative would continue supporting women in the district, noting that most women are disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts.
‎Mr Mwenziko said empowering women economically has a ripple effect on household welfare, as women who are financially stable are better placed to meet the needs of their families.
Meanwhile, Mpika District United Part for National Development (UPND) Women Chairperson, Grace Chewe, has thanked Learn to Share Cooperative for supporting them, saying the initiative will go a long way in helping them establish sustainable poultry businesses.
‎”What Learn to Share has done must be emulated by other companies in the district,” she said.
