Our History
our story
Our story starts way back, when three Sisters turned a global call into a national mission to end human trafficking.
key milestones
- 2020 - Talitha Kum International invites applications
- 2021 - Takuza was founded
- Grow to over 100 volunteers
- Became part of Women's Rights
- Became a global volunteer
At its inception, TAKUZA operated loosely as the TAKUZA leaders were in full- time ministries in their own Congregations and doing TAKUZA work in their free time. That said, the Religious Sisters of Charity offered an office in Ndola which provided a physical structure where TAKUZA could be located. Efforts to raise awareness through radio programmes and talks in schools and community were made by the TAKUZA Leaders in Monze, Lusaka and Ndola where they worked, respectively.
In March, 2021, the Conrad Hilton Foundation expressed interest to ZAS that they were willing to support the work on human trafficking among the sisters in Zambia. ZAS indicated that there was already a National Network, TAKUZA, working to stop human trafficking. Therefore, with financial support from Conrad Hilton Foundation, TAKUZA began to operate formally in May, 2022. It now has three full time employees at national level and Outreach Teams in the 11 Catholic Dioceses. The Project is currently being implemented by the Religious Sisters of Charity.
With financial and other forms of support from Talitha Kum International, the leaders began the formation of the Network by approaching different leaders of Religious women Congregations and individuals to assess the level of interest and commitment to the issue of human trafficking. These efforts led to the formation of the Network as Congregational leaders were keen to be members. By April 2021, the Network had 25 Congregations as members and by May 2022, membership grew to 45 after the TAKUZA leaders conducted a human trafficking workshop in Lusaka in which 34 sisters from different Congregations took part. The participants were drawn from 8 Dioceses.
Achievements
- Established a national anti-human trafficking network in Zambia in 2021
- Grew membership from 25 to 45 Congregations within one year
- Secured financial and institutional support from Talitha Kum International
- Set up operational structures
- Recognized by the Zambia Association of Sisterhoods (ZAS) as the leading national network on anti-trafficking efforts
- Conducted a national human trafficking workshop in Lusaka with 34 Sisters from 8 Catholic Dioceses.
