Zambia

Our time in Botswana was well spent as we learned from the experts in the field. We were eager, however, to move onto Zambia where we would begin looking at possibilities for our own program. Catherine Mambwe, the summer host for the WSC volunteers and the incredible friend that helped us organize our trip, met us at the airport. We were also met by Mathew and Santha Mathew, the parents of Ron Mathews, a Graceland grad and enthusiastic supporter of HealthEd Connect.

Chipulukusu - The first visit Catherine had lined up for us was the Community of Christ Chipulukusu congregation. We had expected to meet with a few of the church leaders.

Only to be pleasantly surprised by over 150 children lined up in front of the church yelling greetings as they ran to our car. As it turned out, Pastor Dismas Mulenge and a couple of other church members organized a community school 2 months ago and already had 220 kids enrolled. As Dismas said, “We found most of the kids were just roaming about because they had no schools they could afford to go to. As a group we decided the name of the school should be Young Peacemaker School to show them the good things of being Christian.” The pastor and two other men are personally paying a modest salary for the two non-credentialed teachers. The school is open to all children. Even though government schools are theoretically free, families need to pay for uniforms, shoes, school fees, books, etc. It may only cost $10 but that’s totally out of the realm of possibility for many.

Three of the original Kafwa health workers I trained in 1992, Joyce, Grace, and Mary, (seated closest to me) continue to provide health care for the community. They have recruited 13 new Kafwa and regularly visit homes on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Most of the visits are to homes with orphans and people with AIDS. On Fridays they hold an under-five clinic to weigh the babies. One of their new responsibilities is to refer children to the school as appropriate. When necessary, they contact other church families to help provide food where they find pressing needs.

Luanshya - Our second visit was to the mining town of Luanshya where we met with Joyness Banda (a registered nurse) and her husband, Able, along with a small group of church and community members. The Luanshya group started an OVC program in 2004, funded by Global Fund, which they named Community of Peace. At the peak of the program over 60 OVC’s were supported with uniforms, books, school fees, etc. In addition home based care (HBC) was provided to the surrounding community. The Global Fund resources ran out last year, however, and the program has shrunk accordingly with only 30 orphans currently assisted on a minimal basis with school supplies. Joyness owns the house where the program is located and continues to make it available even though the rental income from Global Fund dried up. Four teenage orphan boys currently live in the house. The group tries to support the program by raising chickens, growing and selling Maize and growing a garden.

Lunanshya is where we met Miriam, our little boss. Miriam and her widowed mother live in the community and have received assistance with food, transportation to the hospital and clothing. Even though they are both on ART therapy for HIV, the reality of this treatment became clear in a new way. Joyness told us that patients must travel many miles to the clinic to obtain medication. If they don’t have money they don’t go. In addition, the medication on an empty stomach makes them quite ill. When they don’t have food they don’t eat and subsequently quit taking their medication.

Mansa – We had an all-day ride over rutted dirt roads across the pedicle of Congo to Luapula Province. Pastors from five congregations walked/rode bicycles for long distances to attend our meeting under a tree. Each pastor reported on the specific needs of his/her area. Some mentioned the need for women’s group uniforms, others mentioned literacy and recreational needs, while another mentioned the need for increased farm production. None mentioned the need to assist orphans. When we specifically asked about the OVC population, all admitted that approximately 75% of each of their congregations was composed of children in need. They saw no way they could assist the kids, however, without outside help and assistance. Catherine spoke up and said, “Everything mentioned does not always need money to start. Take a vacation from spiritual journey and see what you are doing for physical needs of people.”

Our assessment of Mansa is that the needs are probably even greater there than those in the Copperbelt area. The leaders, however, are feeling totally overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. As one said, “We have the passion, we just don’t know how to package it.” This group does not seem ready to launch into a program at the moment. They will need mentoring before they are ready.

We also had the opportunity to visit with two of the original Wasaidizi (health workers) from the Congo that traveled to Mansa to meet with us. Chola (on the right) had gotten up at 4:00 a.m. to walk 6 kilometers to meet Kipili. Together they then walked another 15 kilometers to Kaboka where they caught a canoe to cross the river. When they reached the other side they rode bicycles for several miles until they could catch a bus. Sounds like an iron-man race. Amazing ladies! They briefed us on the Traditional Birth Attendant training we had arranged for them and 18 other women last year. They said 9 of the women are now government employees (with the impressive pay of $15 - $20 a month) with possibilities for the others to be employed soon. Chola delivered 8 babies and Kipili delivered 6 babies – in the last two weeks alone! Chola said the baby she delivered during my last visit had been named “Sherri.” When we asked about OVC’s they didn’t seem to think there was much of a problem. The community is absorbing them.

Kasompe – Back in the Copperbelt Area we went to a gathering at the Kasompe church. We expected to meet with a few of the leaders and instead were greeted by over 150 people most of whom were widows and orphans. A group of 15 or so had organized a drama, complete with a little choir, to illustrate the plight of orphans. Most of the players were orphans and widows. We met a young widow, Clementine, who is 33 years-old and has 7 children (6 living). Her husband died 2 years ago just before her twins were born. When we asked about the adorable baby she was holding, she said that was her 3 week-old grandchild of her 15 year-old daughter. Wow! The needs are definitely there and the Kasompe leadership seems eager to provide a program but hasn’t yet gotten anything launched.

Chiwempala – A small group of 10-12 adults met with us at the church where Jenny Kumwimba and Dominick are co-pastors. They are situated in the middle of a large community with great needs. There are several Outreach International employees in this congregation with community development skills. To date no programs have been started.

Organizational meeting

On our final day in the Copperbelt we convened the leadership team to plan next steps. Margaret Chilolo agreed to chair the group which we named the Steering Committee. Others present included Dismas (Chipulukusu), Joyness (Luanshya), Jenny (Chiwempala), the Kasompe pastor, Catherine Mambwe plus Rachael, Ashley, Jac and Sherri. Jac worked over an hour before the meeting to scrub permanent ink off of the whiteboard so we could use it. We used the board extensively, however, so it was definitely worth it. We really felt positive about the meeting! There’s a great leadership base ready to organize and get things moving.

Lusaka - We took a bus to Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city, to meet with officials of various OVC-related programs. Upon arrival, the bus station was a zoo but we wiggled through the crowd, pulled our roller board luggage down paths with two-inch thick layers of dust, huffed and puffed up over a foot bridge and finally turned down Cairo Boulevard to our hotel. Jac was swarmed by a group of pickpockets on the way but managed to get through the crowd without losing anything but his handkerchief.

Contact Organizations - There are any number of organizations actively working on OVC programs in Zambia. We were fortunate to personally meet the directors of a number of the key programs such as CCZ, Save the Children, RAPIDS, USAID, World Vision, Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ), as well as a new U.S. friend, Dana Sandstrom-Keating, now living in Zambia. These contacts were extremely helpful and will undoubtedly prove to be invaluable.