International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8. The focus of the day is different in each country and people commemorate the day in various ways. To celebrate this day, the Response Network staff traveled to the Kazungula District to participate in the festivities that were being conducted there.

The day kicked off with a march in which schools and various organizations took part. People were in high spirits as they marched to the Kazungula Rest Stop singing and dancing the whole way. No one seemed to mind the sweltering sun as they sang songs in vernacular and some even had some choreographed dance moves that they showed off. Indeed it was a day of celebration.

Upon arrival at the Kazungula rest stop there was a moment of silence as a prayer was said and the National Anthem was sung, after which the crowd was directed to take their seats. The master of ceremonies was a charismatic man who kept the crowd laughing and amused during the ceremony. Group after group was introduced to perform and entertain the crowd with poems, dances, play re-enactments and even educational talks on the importance of getting tested for cervical cancer and HIV. The crowd remained in high spirits for the duration of the celebrations and the performers were never short of cheers from the crowd and some impromptu background dancing by some hyper spectators.

For videos and more pictures of the RN team and the festivities, view our Instagram and Facebook pages.

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