Winnie Miti

For the city-dwelling Zambian, the village is a pilgrimage into a world where mornings are communal alarms, meals are negotiated family events, and social bonds are woven from earnest questions and shared chores.

By March, our New Year's resolutions likely get abandoned—not because we lack discipline, but because we lack systems. Most people set goals that look perfect on paper but crumble when life gets messy: when tired, distracted, or just plain bored.

In Zambian communities, folktales aren't relics of the past—they're living wisdom passed down through generations. These tales reveal how communities understand danger, recognise hidden value, and maintain sacred bonds with the land. More than entertainment, they remain vital guides for navigating modern life whilst honouring cultural memory.

History rarely remembers the women who built kingdoms, but Lueji wa Nkonde's legacy is impossible to erase. In seventeenth-century Central Africa, she inherited a fractured kingdom, united competing factions, and established governance structures that still shape the DRC, Angola, and Zambia today. She chose a political marriage that brought military strength, but ended it when her husband became a tyrant. She prioritised her people's welfare over personal loyalty.

African stories are everywhere now—on Netflix, in international campaigns, and across global media. But who's actually telling them? Whilst global platforms offer reach and funding, local African creators are asking a different question: why are our stories still being filtered, reshaped, and simplified for outside audiences?

A young girl learns her worth through comparisons to fairer skin. A boy laughs at jokes about his complexion whilst something tightens in his chest. These aren't dramatic moments—they're everyday occurrences that reveal how deeply colourism has woven itself into Zambian society.

Most teenagers worry about exams and weekend plans. Lydia Mabuya is building a machine to save lives. At just nineteen, this Lusaka-based innovator is designing the CrowBot—a robot meant to enter dangerous underground mines before human workers risk their lives.

Forget what you know about Zambia's well-trodden paths. Journey to Mbala, the nation's oldest district, where the echoes of history are still palpable. This is where the final surrender of World War I took place, where colonial ambition met African resilience, and where a quiet town today guards secrets of a dramatic past. From weapons lost at the bottom of a lake to the stoic elegance of century-old architecture, discover the untold stories of Mbala—a place where history isn't just remembered; it's felt.

That initial motivation for our 2025 goals can wane as the year progresses. But the calendar is just a guide, not a deadline. This article offers a compassionate and practical guide to rescuing your year, helping you sit with what went wrong, redefine success on your own terms, and rebuild momentum with small, sustainable steps.

There’s a constant communicator within you: your body. It doesn't use words, but instead whispers, flares, sighs, or glows to get your attention. If you want to truly know yourself, start by listening to what it’s been saying all along.

There was a time when Zambia not only imported cars, but also built them. In the glow of post-independence ambition, factories in Livingstone and the Copperbelt hummed with the sounds of assembly lines piecing together Peugeots, Toyota Hilux pickups, and Scania trucks.

Long before mobile money and microfinance became buzzwords, Zambian communities were already revolutionising how money moves. Through chillimba, village banking, and grocery pools, everyday people—especially women—are buying land, funding education, and launching businesses without ever stepping into a formal bank.

The Copperbelt region has long been the engine of Zambia's economy, with copper mining providing over 70% of the nation's export earnings. Yet this prosperity comes with environmental challenges that affect local communities.

Every year, the national budget is announced, and most of us scroll past, thinking it's only for politicians and economists. However, the reality is that the budget affects everything.

Picture this: A young professional woman in Lusaka earns K12,000 monthly but watches her salary vanish into two invisible taxes that no government ever imposed.

When the first rains hit Zambian soil, something magical happens. Children run with basins held high, catching protein-rich insects that seem to fall from the sky.