[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4979-4980]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            THE VISIT OF ZAMBIAN VICE PRESIDENT INONGE WINA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAREN BASS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 2016

  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege and honor to welcome the 
Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, the Honorable Inonge Mutukwa 
Wina, to my Los Angeles district for a visit. Vice President Wina is 
the highest ranking woman in Zambian government history, and she brings 
a delegation of officials to the U.S. with the assistance of Robert 
Sichinga, Jr., Honorary Consul for Zambia in Los Angeles.
  A major purpose of Vice President Wina's visit is to raise awareness 
of the tremendous opportunities for economic investment in her home 
country. Some of the fastest-growing economies in the world are in 
Africa. In particular, Mrs. Wina comes to promote the Jubilee Women's 
Integrated Highway Markets Program as a support for entrepreneurship 
that will begin to build wealth among rural families.
  The Jubilee Women's Integrated Highway Markets Program is a three 
year program to transform makeshift markets along Zambian highways into 
thriving economic engines, run cooperatively by the women who make up 
the majority of businesses found in these locations. It aims to create 
modern, integrated economic hubs, one in each of Zambia's ten 
provinces. The markets would offer not only sturdy structures, plumbing 
and solar power, but would also offer literacy and skills training, 
banking and other services, and child care facilities.
  Women play an essential role in lifting families out of poverty and 
promoting a nation's fortunes. Studies show that investing in women's 
businesses correlates closely with better-fed children who stay longer 
in school, and women tend to reinvest profits in expanding their 
business, thereby building wealth for the longer term.
  I wish Vice President Wina and all of those traveling with her a 
pleasant, rewarding and successful trip, and I look forward to 
partnering with her in the future.

[[Page 4980]]



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