This dissertation seeks to address the issue of women, poverty and livelihoods in Ndola and how the Zambia Baptist Association, (the Z.B.A.) could implement development strategies in response to this problem. Through my field research, where I interviewed a number of poor women in Ndola, Church leaders at both local and national level within the Z.B.A, library research and internet search, I have come to realize that the problem of poverty among women needs addressing. I found out during my research that many poor women in Africa live in chronic poverty as a result of economic and social injustices they face in many societies. By virtue of their social status as females, many women are denied access to and control of assets that would enable them realize their development aspirations. I found out that many poor women in Ndola have come up with six key livelihood strategies for survival. These livelihood strategies being; selling food and groceries in shacks, subsistence farming, begging and sending children to beg, charcoal burning, formal employment and brewing illicit beer. Through this research, I was also made aware of the potential that the Z.B.A. has to help alleviate poverty among women in Ndola, despite some area of concern with regard to their patriarchal leadership structures at both local and national Church level and the patriarchal theology that restrict women's activities within the Church. This dissertation offers a number of development proposals based on the sustainable livelihoods framework which is a coherent and clear tool that is used to understand people's livelihoods. I propose in this dissertation that the Z.B.A. needs to respond to women's poverty in Ndola through three approaches, namely; transforming religion and culture, building poor women's asset portfolio and enhancing those strategies that could potentially become sustainable. When this is done, it would help to alleviate poverty among poor women in Ndola. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Women in the Mutima Church in Zambia have for some years had the highest HIV rate in the church, but because this is one of the African Indigenous Churches (AICs), not much is known about the behavioural and other risk factors that predispose these women to the virus. One of the reasons is that some members of the Mutima Church cannot make their own decisions when getting married. The church founder makes marital decisions for some of the church members. This problem raises serious questions for HIV health practitioners, activists and some of the church members. Informed by some of the Mutima Church members that HIV testing in their church is not considered a norm, this dissertation demonstrates theological teachings on polygamy and HIV and Aids employed by the church founder. In this dissertation, some church members from the Mutima Church were asked to describe and explain what polygamy and HIV and Aids meant to them and how they theologically perceived and understood them. While the major results indicate that polygamy in the Mutima Church contributes to the spread of HIV and Aids, the other new research findings are that the Mutima Church members' theological understanding on polygamy is that it is a blessing from God; and that HIV and Aids is a punishment from God. These responses are analysed and discussed in this dissertation. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

African widows experience physical, emotional and spiritual traumas induced by cultural/psycho-social factors, which are further exacerbated by environmental and socioeconomic determinants. These circumstances make both the mourning process and its aftermath - coping with life after the death of their spouses - extremely difficult. Oppressive cultural practices and perceptions can aggravate or intensify the suffering for many of these women. Certain rituals expose women to possible HIV infection, and in the case of Christian widows, are also incompatible with their faith. Compounding this is the cultural stigma attached to widowhood, and the added possibility of the AIDS stigma whether or not her husband did indeed die of HIV and AIDS. This dissertation examines the experiences of Christian widows from multicultural and multi ethnic backgrounds and proposes the way in which the Church can respond, given a context of African cultural practices and HIV prevention initiatives. It responds to the question of the implications of the transition into and the state of widowhood in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia. This is a church operating in an environment where African cultural practices are esteemed, and some widowhood cultural practices have turned out to be risky in a context of HIV and AIDS. Chapter 1 introduces the study giving the background to and motivation for the study. It discuses the feminization of HIV and AIDS in Zambia, and that situation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia which gave the impetus to undertake the study. It also elaborates on the methodology used to conduct this research. Chapter 2 reviews the literature on related research that has already been done on widowhood, showing the reason to study a subject that has received so much attention. It also shows how strands of African Christianity have contextualized the gospel in Africa. Chapter 3 describes Lutheran theology on widowhood and the theology that Lutheranism has developed from Luther's views on widowhood. Chapter 4 describes the methods used in collecting data from the sampled interviewees and informants. Chapter 5 presents the results of the research and these are interpreted in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 presents a proposed Christianized cleansing ritual, giving justification and the procedure for the ritual. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.