Equality in education

We’re committed to helping ensure women of all ages have access to education, whether at school or later in life. This extends from our literacy program in Mauritania to our Girl Child Mentorship Camp at Trident College in Solwezi. We’ve helped many women and girls get the education they deserve.

Supporting girls at school

Our Jimuka! program provides help in the form of packs of feminine hygiene products, coupled with motivational talks from female role models and education and information on women’s health, sexual health and the risks of early marriage and pregnancy. Our Girl Child Mentorship Camp at Trident College in Solwezi has helped hundreds of girls from Zambia’s north-western Province.

Aged between 12 and 18, the girls are empowered with entrepreneurship skills, mentoring and sexual reproductive health education. Menstruation is a major risk factor for school attendance for girls in Zambia, many of whom stay home each month, which can have a devastating effect on over a young woman’s educational years.

Jimuka is a word in Zambia’s local Kaonde dialect that essentially means “be sharper” or “be informed”.

Through the program, school-age girls receive information and education in their local language about how to manage puberty and have the opportunity to ask questions.

The five-person team who facilitate the program say adolescent girls often don’t fully understand the menstrual cycle, which means they never know quite when to expect their period. This leads to countless “accidents” at school, and the accompanying embarrassment keeps students at home when they suspect their time of the month is approaching. The program teaches students exactly how to count the days in their cycle, so they know when to come to school prepared.

Complimentary Stay in School Kits are a popular part of the Jimuka! initiative.

Access to sanitary products is a challenge for many girls in rural communities, and home-made solutions tend to be unreliable. Girls attending a Jimuka session are given a menstrual hygiene kit containing two well-made, washable sanitary pads with fastenings to keep them in place. Extra underwear, washing powder, washcloths, and soap are also included in the kits. The pads are made of familiar, brightly coloured chitenge fabric, which many girls use to improvise low-cost sanitary solutions. Kansanshi engages a local tailor to make the pads but, as demand increases, there are plans to hold sewing classes in which the girls can follow a pattern to make their own.

Only women need apply

In 2017 and 2018, women – and only women – were invited to apply for trade apprenticeships at our Kwambula center at the Solwezi Trade Training Institute. Unique in Zambia, and rare by world standards, our two all-female cohorts are preparing women for skilled jobs. We recognize that our most significant community benefit – the one thing people want from us more than anything – is jobs. And we absolutely do not see why women should be left behind in this.

Mining is Zambia’s second largest formal employer after government, but job opportunities are channeled disproportionately to men rather than women – only 10 per cent of mine workers are female. As a result, Zambian men earn 47 per cent more than women. Putting together these entirely female cohorts was a bold and potentially controversial move, but we support these young women to become leaders in the engineering trades – whilst making a dent in the vast numerical disparity.

The 42 women inducted in 2017 and 2018 are currently busy completing three-year qualifications in one of Kwambula’s four engineering artisan craft certificate programs: fitting and turning, electrical, metal fabrication and heavy equipment repair. The training is excellent, and the qualifications are highly sought after. 80 percent of Kwambula graduates find jobs with First Quantum, whilst the remainder are highly desirable across other industries. The women had to meet stringent entry requirements, including an advanced entry examination and a minimum of grade 12 mathematics and science.

First Quantum’s greatest strength and most important resource is our people. If we want our talent pool to include the very best, we need to ensure we have a pipeline of well-trained young workers. We launched Kwambula in 2012 in collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Education to train high school graduates into skilled jobs.

The all-female Kwambula intakes are part of our larger commitment to improving outcomes for women in Zambia.

Women’s literacy boost

An adult literacy program is helping Mauritanian women in the community of Akjoujt, where First Quantum has been operating since 2004, to build a brighter future. The program is designed to provide training and a pathway towards a viable livelihood for some of Mauritania’s most vulnerable people: women who could find themselves struggling to earn a living once the town’s main source of employment is gone and many mine workers – primarily men – leave to find jobs elsewhere. This is important because the mine is entering the second half of its operating life, with wind-down and ultimate closure projected for some time in the next decade.

More than 200 women have completed the program, of which 85 per cent reported significant improvement in their reading, writing and numeracy skills. With new confidence and a network of supportive peers, these women are building better futures – for themselves, their families and their entire communities.