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The United Nation’s International Women’s Day (IWD) takes place annually across the globe on March 8th, and at Self Help Africa it is an opportunity for us to both celebrate the successes, and highlight the challenges and obstacles that remain for millions of women in sub-Saharan Africa.

IWD is an occasion when women are recognized for their achievements. It’s a time also to highlight the struggles, and look ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women across the globe.

This Valentine’s Day, why not give that someone special a gift with a difference – by giving one of our ‘Bee Mine’ bee hives or ‘Give us a Peck’ pair of chicks, you can show your loved one how much you care as well as helping an African family to eat better and to make a living from their farming.

Profit earned from trading vegetables that she produced on her small farm has allowed widowed mum-of-four Shifine Mamo to send all of her children to school. And following the recent graduation of her son from technical college, she is determined that her other children will too finish their education.

It was a proud day for 45-year-old Dorothy Sijambo Habat when her daughter came home with a university diploma. Unable to finish high school herself Dorothy has made it her life’s work to ensure her children get the opportunity she missed out on.

He was one of the world’s most famous sports superstars. His story of recovery from cancer to even greater triumphs on his bike captured the public’s imagination. But Lance Armstrong’s 7 Tour De France wins were based on a lie… Now meet the man who unmasked Lance and knocked him off his bike and help raise some money for Africa.

The UN has declared 2014 to be the ‘international year of family farming’. Here at Self Help Africa, every year is all about working with smallholder and family farms. However the formal recognition and backing from the UN will help to refocus the minds of policy makers on the key role family farms play in the world economy.

2014 marks an important milestone in the history of Self Help Africa. 3 decades ago , at the beginning of 1984, few in the West were aware of the looming famine in Ethiopia and other food security problems across Sub Saharan Africa. By the end of the year, the plight of so many starving families, had made a major impact on public consciousness. Emergency and humanitarian efforts were mobilised , getting badly needed supplies to those most in need.

Self Help Africa says a big seasonal ‘thank you’ to our incredible supporters. This Autumn alone, in excess of 1,500 friends lent us their support – attending and participating in events and challenges – and in so doing contributing almost €1,000,000 to support our work in Africa.

For 60-year-old Nelisi Tembo, her vegetable garden is a place of hope. She has used money earned from the small plot at her homestead in Mwachilala village in Southern Malawi to construct a new tin-roofed home, to buy a treadlepump for irrigation and to pay school fees for her children and grand-children.

School gardening is a time-tabled activity for the children attending Siamatika Primary School in Southern Zambia. And why not? – virtually all of the kids in the 510 pupil school come from farming backgrounds, and those that don’t usually have some land at home where their family grow maize and other crops.