Zambian farmer Joyce Mwanje landed in Japan after a long journey across half the globe, leaving her husband and seven children to tend to the fields where they till the land with hand hoes to grow maize, soybeans, vegetables and other crops.
But Mwanje is not in Japan for sightseeing. Rather, she has come with the important mission of representing fellow African peasant farmers to make their voices heard by the leaders of the Group of Eight countries who will meet in Hokkaido from Monday for their annual summit.
Mwanje, 47, who heads her community's farmers development club in the rural area of Chibobo in Serenje, central Zambia, wants to ensure that the G8 nations not only live up to their aid pledges, but also realize Africa's true needs.