November 17th-23rd
Last Saturday began with an early phone call from Mathias – he had just received an email about a water and sanitation proposal that had to be submitted very quickly. It meant that most of Saturday was spent completing the proposal which was base on the Needs Assessment that Ketan carried before he left. Zambia has a UN Human Poverty Index of 45.6 and a ranking of 87 among 102 developing countries, making water and sanitation access a major issue across the country. Vast numbers of people are without access to clean drinking water within the recommended walking distance of 500 metres and are forced to walk long distances, in extreme heat, to access the nearest water source. Many water wells are in need of urgent rehabilitation as they have become dilapidated and the water contaminated. In terms of sanitation, some rural communities do not have access to a latrine and often only a few exist in each village. Moreover, many communities have constructed latrines in close proximity to their water points which poses obvious health and hygiene hazards. Exposure to these circumstances can lead to potentially fatal diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea which puts improving water and sanitation access as a top priority for RFDP and made completely the proposal all the more important.
It was late afternoon by the time I returned home and as Melina and I were preparing dinner something blew in the fuse board leaving us without light in the communal areas of the house. On Sunday, all the electric was off, along with the water, as is expected every second weekend so repair work can be carried out. It was Tuesday evening before an electrician arrived to fix the problem. By that stage we had got used to cooking and eating in the dark – we had even baked some bread the previous night by candle light! On a serious note though, the whole episode enforced the importance of improving water and sanitation access. In Zambia it is a luxury to have running water and electricity in your home and you don’t appreciate how difficult life is without them until they are gone.
On Monday we visited Kanele Middle Basic School to continue the programme of distribution we had initiated in the Valley a few weeks previously. I had visited the school on my first week in Lundazi so I was looking forward to going back. As usual, we received a warm welcome from the staff and pupils with performances of songs, dances and poems to greet us. We distributed pencils and books to twenty orphans and asked them to design Christmas Cards for our sponsors. With the help of a very artistic teacher, the enthusiastic children made beautiful cards with Christmas trees and jingle bells on front. At the end of the activities, Panji Chibeyo, a grade six pupil, read a vote of thanks on behalf of the school:
“The Director, The Head Teacher, our sister Jeannie, Pastor Chipeta, teachers and my fellow pupils, on behalf of my fellow pupils, I would like to thank RFDP for adopting Kanele MB School. Lundazi District, like other districts in the country, is badly hit by HIV/AIDS, which has claimed so many lives of our beloved parents, leaving us as orphans. Your help has come at the right time. We have really learnt a lot from the previous lessons, only to mention a few, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation and also to love one another by sharing gifts as you have shared today. As orphans we are really suffering and are in need of help and love. As Kanele pupils, we are not going to entertain early marriages, just as you taught us. We wish you a long life and God’s guidance as you do your work in Zambia. Continue visiting us. In all I say thank you.”
I found the thanks very poignant. I’ve read many devastating statistics – 5000 men and women aged 15-59 die from HIV/AIDS every twenty-four hours in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Report, 2003), or that 71% of Zambia’s Eastern Province’s 1,440,604 people are poor, 49% extremely poor. But these are just statistics. The pupils of Kanele are the human faces and stories behind the statistics. So too are the people who we work with in the Valley or the people who ask me for a job in the market. HIV/AIDS and poverty are so widespread that few escape here. It affirms the need for the work RFDP does, and the many other NGOs, CBO’s and FBO’s do in the area – but also how much still has to be done.
Much of the remainder of the week was spend in the office working on other proposals and preparing activities for World AIDS Day on December 1st. Mr. Leonard returned from Malawi on Wednesday after travelling there to buy some timber which RFDP will now sell in the market as part of Income Generating Activity (IGA). It is hoped that this scheme will develop and enable the organisation to continue to work when waiting for funding to come through.
In all, it has been another busy week, with lots to think about and contemplate. Just as we were leaving Kanele on Monday, the Headmistress thanked me for coming as their enrolment numbers were increasing because the mazungu came. At least I know I am making a small difference on some level here. It’s all part of my experience as I continue on my journey in Zambia. J
