International Vegetarian Union (IVU)
IVU logo

Reports from Botswana & Zambia

from EVU News, Issue 2 / 1996

Report from Botswana

The Vegetarian Society of Botswana is a secular, non-racial, non-political, charitable organisation concerning itself with matters relating to vegetarianism. The Society was formed on April 13, 1995, and registered under the Societies act of the Republic of Botswana on November 13, 1995. There are a total of 30 paid-up members of the Society which include Family, Individual, Corporate and Associate members, although the meetings of the Society are attended by many more vegetarian and non-vegetarian individuals who are interested in the matters of the Society.The Society is managed by an elected Executive Committee made up of of : Dr.P.K.Jain - Chairman, Mr.K.C.Jain - Vice Chairman, Mr.M.Phiriyane - Secretary, Mrs.F. Horenburg - Treasurer and Mrs. S. Vashi - Executive member. The Committe is assisted by a number of co-opted members who include: Dr. V. Tondon, Mrs. C. Ndhlovu and Mr. P. McCowen. All Committee positions are honorary and voluntary.

The aims and objects of the society, to quote from the constitution are:

  1. To create public awreness of the vegetarian way of life.
  2. To liaise with local hotels, restaurants, tour and safari operators, air lines, food suppliers, organisers of major conferences and like events, so that the dietary needs of vegetarians are catered for, and the integrity of vegetarian food is maintained, i.e. there is no mixing of non-vegetarian products with vegetarian food directly or indirectly.
These objectives are to be realised through organising lectures, seminars, discussion sessions, displays at national fairs etc., workshops on vegetarian cooking, publication of relevant material, and dissemination of information on nutrition and recipis etc. Besides the Founding members, the Society offers four categories of membership.
  1. Members: for vegetarian individuals above the age of 21 years,
  2. Family members: for families with at least one member being a vegetarian
  3. Corporate members: for companies involved in the food and catering business, and
  4. Associate members: for vegetarian individuals below the age of 21 years, or a non-vegetarian with an interest in vegetarianism.
As the Society is relatively new, it is going through a phase of slow development in its ventures and activities. Several General and Committee meetings have been called to discuss and plan for the activities. Among their current ones are:
  1. An International Vegetarian Evening is planned for September 1996 to be held in the natural surroundings of a Tea Garden in Gaborone.
  2. There is a plan to put a vegetarian fast-food-stall at the National Trade Fair in Gaborone in August 1996.
  3. The first issue of the Societys Newsletter was produced in April 1996.
  4. The Society has established contacts with similar organisations in South Africa, the UK and India, and the International and European Vegetarian Unions from whom some valuable literature has been received.
As we lack resources, manpower and ideas which could be implemented within our limitations, sister organisations from the region and elsewhere are requested to assist us in whatever way possible.

Dr. P.K. Jain, Chairman, VSB, P.O. Box 2178, Gaborone, Botswana, Africa
Tel.(Res) +267 356171, e-mail: jainpk@noka.ub.bw

Report from Zambia

The Zambian Society of Vegetarians communicates from the heart of Africa:

Considering those who are paid-up, our membership is very small: 35-40. Other members aren't paid-up. The members are drawn from the low income group, who have perhaps been forced to become vegetarians due to the exorbitant prices of meat and the high rate of inflation. The others come from among those who have been advised by their traditional, or medical doctors against eating the flesh of certain species of animal, and the natural vegetarians who are allergic to most, or all meat diets. Also among them are the religious Seventh Day Adventists and those who feel compassion for animals.

Currently, the most important activity is publicity: when funds are available, we intend to hold public meetings/lectures at some schools, both in urban and rural areas, to explain the meaning of vegetarianism with a view to recruiting new members. For the urban-area audience we are convinced that the use of video and audio equipment such as a secondhand VCR/RCR with tapes obtained from NAVS or AVS could prove to be very effective, as experienced by some Christian churches based in Zambia.

So, help in the provision of such equipment would be greatly appreciated. For your information, Zambia covers an area of 290587 sq. miles and is said to be greater than the combined area of France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland, with many animal sancturies. In these places poachers go to hunt and kill the elephant, the rhino, the lechwe and many other species for various reasons. We therfore feel that with a strong vegetarian movement, Zambia could be educated enough to appreciate the importance of animal rights and again become one of the largest and most beautiful game sancturies in Africa. However, what we need is assistance in every way possible.

Ernest M. Chacanga, President of the Zambian Society of Vegetarians, P.O. Box 40728 Mufulira, Zambia, Africa