Our journey began in Ndola, Zambia . . .
About Zambia
Zambia is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, formerly known as Northern Rhodesia. It is home to the mighty Zambezi river and breathtaking Mosi-O-Tunya (The Smoke That Thunders), or as we know it as Victoria Falls.
Zambians are known for their friendly, peaceful nature, having avoided internal conflict since independence and being home to thousands of refugees from bordering countries. Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world, having suffered dramatically after the last copper boom of the 1970s. Unemployment is running above 70% and most workers are earning less than a US$2 a day.
Our Project
Who We Worked With
We worked with a U.S.-based organisation called Courage To Be You, where their African coordinator and one of the founders, Theresa Grant, has been living and working to help the children of Zambia for the last few years, and is doing some amazing work!
Projects
Youth Microloan Project | St Anthony's Orphanage | Ndola Street Children
The Youth MicroLoan project was based in the northern region of Zambia in a town called Ndola. This was a 4-week project where we worked closely with Courage To Be You and YMCA Ndola. Our objective was to empower youths through the establishment of sustainable, micro businesses that could be managed and run by the youths. We hoped to invoke a sense of hope, aspiration and responsibility through these businesses.
We worked with a group of 10 youths, between the ages of 18 and 26, most of whom have completed at least a short course and/or secondary schooling. In 4 weeks, we turned conceptual SWOT (Strength Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) and financial analysis to two micro-businesses, which were launched in Jun 2007 with the help of subsequent volunteers of Courage To Be You:
The Hot Spot Café serves a mixture of Zambian and Western food and drinks. Apparently milk shakes are a seller!
Learning Centre/Future Internet Café using 4 laptops donated by an Australian Bank. The learning centre offers courses such as tailoring and basic computer skills. Unfortunately a lack of telecommunications infrastructure means that internet setup remains highly expensive for a small establishment such as this, but is definitely still on the cards.
Here are some comments from the youths.
Please stay tuned for future updates on how the youths are going with the businesses.
St Anthony's Orphanage & Hope House Orphanage
As part of our 4-week placement in Zambia, we also spent time with orphans at St Anthony’s Orphanage and Hope House.
St Anthony’s houses 108 children starting from as young as a couple of weeks old to about 15 years of age, most of whom have lost both parents to HIV/AIDS and malaria. Some have sadly also contracted HIV themselves. There was also a small group of children who have lost the use of their limbs due to cerebral palsy, who are orphaned or have been abandoned by their parents due to their deformities. Most children at St Anthony’s fall between the ages of 2 and 6, with about 20-30 children between each carer.
Hope House has 15 children, the youngest is 4 and oldest 15. The children are cared for by a local couple.
We were very privileged to get to spend time with the children. We would always be greeted with the biggest grins and a bunch of 50 children bolting towards us screaming ‘mzungu’ (meaning white person), little hands raised up in the air ready to be picked up, wet bottomed and all! Others have mastered the art of climbing all the way from our legs up to our shoulders! We spent as much time as we could playing, talking, telling stories, feeding, and cuddling the children, who loved every little minute of it. There were of course some very difficult moments.
We also spent time with a smaller group of children with cerebral palsy. We would carry them from their cots/beds out to the lawn where they could enjoy the sun whilst we learnt to massage their limbs, helped some of them walk (which they get very excited about), feed them, or simply talk with them.
We experienced some heartbreaking moments too. In the 4 weeks we were there, St Anthony’s lost 3 out of 5 infants to AIDS and pneumonia. They haven’t even had a chance in life yet….
Leaving the children was the most difficult thing to do.
Zambia's poorest families cannot afford education, basic health care, or a nutritious meal for their children. Government services are minimal and difficult to access. Education is not "free" in Zambia, so the poorest often must choose between feeding their children or sending them to school.
In conjunction with Courage To Be You and YMCA Ndola, we worked with the street children to determine their circumtances and needs, most of whom having lost their parents are cared for by their ailing grandparents. We also worked on educating the street children on HIV/AIDS and protection. The program is tailored to children as young as 6, where we taught them about good touch and bad touch. Children who are twelve and above are educated at length from causation to prevention.
There is much to be done to help these children, they are our next generation . . .
We continue to work with Courage To Be You to assist the street children of Ndola.
OTHER PROJECTS | Uganda | Cameras for Kids
Sapphire skies, roars from beyond, countless soul searching moments, all that were promised.... we are just smitten by Africa . . . March 2005.
We finally returned to Africa in 2007, our trip marked by the same splendor as before, but much much more.
The children, their laughters, tears, cuddles, wet bottoms, their little hands gripping tightly, their big brown eyes gazing back with unspoken gratitude and their beautiful beautiful smiles.
The youths who have so much to give, their creative minds ready to conquer that rare opportunity that comes their way, their amazing personalities and their ability to dream big even in a land of so little.
'Smitten' isn't a strong enough word . . .
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The unemployment rate in Zambia exceeds 70%. That's right, 70%!!
Not many children have the luxury of a proper education. Those who are lucky enough to attend school face the harsh reality of a non-existent formal employment sector. They all have a dream: leave the country to secure their future.
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The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Ndola is 26%. Getting accurate statistics is difficult in Zambia since a large part of the rural population does not get tested. One thing we did witness was every second child we met had lost one or both parents to AIDS, or very sadly, have themselves contracted HIV/AIDS.