Third Grade
Worksheets
Crisis in Zambia: Mulindwa's Story
Mulindwa lives in a country called Zambia. Zambia is in Africa. About 14 million people live there. Zambia only became independent in 1964. Since then it has been basically a peaceful nation with some changes in government.
When Mulindwa was growing up, her family did well for themselves. Zambia had been known for its copper mines. Then the price of copper dropped, and the country became poorer and poorer. With help from other countries, the government of Zambia is trying to get out of debt. Mulindwa sees those changes in the government. However, Mulindwa sees incredible challenges for the people of Zambia.
First of all, there is an epidemic of HIV/AIDS. According to UNICEF, one out of five pregnant women is HIV positive. Of course then, the number of children with HIV is also huge. More than 30,000 children are born HIV positive in Zambia each year. Because so many parents have died of AIDS, many children have lost one or both parents. Around 12% of the adults suffer from HIV/AIDS.
