VIOLET MENGO, Luangwa

YOUTH unemployment is one of the biggest challenges faced by many young people in Zambia today. According to the International Labour Organisation, youth unemployment rate in 2020 stood at 22.63 percent. Formal employment, especially for young people in Zambia, has been a challenge, with many youths that have graduated from universities and colleges being unemployed. The situation is even worse for youths that dropped out of school and those that did not attain any education at all. Government has recognised the challenge that youth unemployment places on broader economic development.
While effort is being made by Government to address youth unemployment through the introduction of the Youth Empowerment Fund, among other initiatives, such funds are not easily accessible to youths in rural areas due to various reasons. Some youths end up being involved in vices such as drug and alcohol abuse, but others are using their skills and talents to eke out a living. Anthony Chibwenda, 28, of Luangwa district, is making a living from packing fish in huge bales, which are transported to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Chibwenda, who was born on the Copperbelt and settled in Luangwa district, is determined to change his life for the better through hard work and perseverance. “Since I did not go far in my education, there are limited opportunities available for people like myself. However, as the adage goes, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’, I have to do what a man got to do,” he said as he CLICK TO READ MORE