Report from BHW Zambia Partnership Facilitator Following Visit

Key people: Roy and Sarah Mwansa

Recent Events

General

Roy and Sarah have still been having health issues. Roy has suffered from Covid very badly, as well as several of the children. Whenever Covid entered the house Sarah had to vacate quickly to go stay with her sister or mother as she is immune compromised due to other health issues. Roy has also had an issue with his eye, a piece of wire pierced it, and he has 22 stitches inserted for a year. Currently he cannot see much out of the eye.

Covid has also affected their donors with funding having been reduced from many sources. It has meant they are living day to day trying to house, feed, and school all the children.

The house has had some extension work to provide more space for all the vulnerable children. They have replaced the stolen solar pump from 3 years ago with a worm type pump, that fills two tanks giving them 10,000 litres capacity. 

Beneficiaries

Currently the number of vulnerable children helped by the Ukusenaminwa is 52. Of these 17 are at university or at boarding schools for the deaf, who come back for holidays. In the house permanently are 35 children. Roy and Sarah have realized they are at capacity, so now are only taking in those that really have nowhere else to go. Even so, there are another 50 to 100 vulnerable children who come most days just to be at their place as it is a safe place in the community for them to go. 

Community Development Programmes

Farming:
The community continues to be encouraged from the families who have received some farming training as their yields have been increasing. There has been less begging for funds by the community recently and Roy says the farming trainings have had a huge impact. They currently have 8 trained people in the community who continue to teach others farming and making compost to reduce fertilizer use.

Three youths were sent to the Foundations for Farming training at GLO bible college in March 2022: Robert, John, and Barnabus. These men have planted some banana plants just four weeks ago as they were instructed at the course and have made compost to plant cabbages. They are going to plant their own fields this year and have requested a follow up to the training where Edwin Chama from GLO will come and visit them in October or November to encourage them.

Sports:
There are two football teams that Roy manages, not just playing football but mentoring and discipling them in the word of God. The football team managed to win many games last year, meaning they have moved up a league. This is great, but also now presents the challenge that they must pay higher fees and find funds for transport to play teams that are far away. The team has asked Roy and Sarah not for money, but for a field to plant a crop that they can sell to raise funds.

At the house there are many games and board games for the people to play which has given the community other things to focus on rather than getting into trouble.

Income Generation:
They have continued to plant many crops and vegetables that mostly are used in the house for food. We saw many fields of onions, tomatoes, rape, cabbage, and fruit trees.

They planted a crop of maize on 1.5 limas and harvested 40 x 50 kg bags (5.5 ton per ha) that they have used to provide food for the house. They planted 1 ha of soyabeans as a cash crop that yielded 25 x 50 kg (1.25 ton per ha) which was a low yield due to some drought periods. They sold the soyabeans very early in the season at 13.5 ZMK, a great price giving them income of 16,875 ZMK (US$1,054).

Currently they have five milking cows that they own that are managed by another local farmer. This provided them with milk for much of the year for the house.

The goat herd has been increasing, with over 50 goats being keep in a pen overnight and let to graze the pasture fields each day. They use the goats as meat, and to sell if they are short of cash for household goods.

They have an idea of a piggery that they have started by moulding their own blocks. They have already created a small structure just to learn about keeping pigs and this has helped them to know what not to do. The new structure that is pictured below under construction has been on a slope so they can catch the pig manure and liquid to use on the garden. Two of the original deaf boys that they looked after, Mubita and Kabaso, have been working for a Chinese company in Ndola that commercially rears pigs. Both men are now married with children and have held the same job for 6 years now. They are going to come back and help train the older boys who stay at the house how to rear pigs.

Personal Stories

Abby and Michael (names changed due to personal security)

Abby was a young girl who suffered some abuse while she lived at home which meant she ended up coming to live with Roy and Sarah when she was 8 years old. She did very well at school and had excellent results in grade 9 at school. When the family heard how well she was doing they requested for Abby to come home, and she agreed.

Unfortunately, things had not changed, and another family member abused her. The family has been protecting the man saying he has gone to the Congo, so he has not faced any consequences. Abby was impregnated and wanted to take her own life. Roy and Sarah heard of what had happened so have taken Abby back in. She has now given birth to Michael, and he is doing very well, with many children in the house looking after him. Abby intends to go back to Grade 10 next year once she can leave the baby each day in the care of the others in the house.

Partnership's Influence within the Community

The community has been responding very positively to the partnership. Sarah tells us the story of one lady who used to come begging every day for food. After being trained in some farming, she made enough to start selling some fresh cobs of maize and some vegetables. She now has a little shop at her place where she also sells some other small goods.

Plans for the Future

Roy and Sarah are working on the budget for the piggery and will present it in the near future.

In the interim, I would like to increase the general budget here by $2,000 per year, but then look to reduce that when the budget for the piggery is presented, and that is generating income. 

Prayer and Praise Points
Peter and Martin were some of the first two boys that Roy and Sarah looked after. Peter, who now owns two grocery shops, is doing well in business. He is married with two children who go to Lamasat school.

Martin, who is a schoolteacher, is married and now not only has his own children but is looking after another deaf boy through adoption. A couple of months ago he even came back to Ukusenaminwa with a financial gift.

Comments

It was great to see these amazing people again, just loving on the community around them and all the vulnerable children that they look after. Times have been quite tough, with Covid, other health issues, government requirements (even though they still bring vulnerable children to the home), and donor support dropping. Roy has now retired from Zesco which allows him to be around more. They are consuming a good portion of Roy’s retirement allowance just to keep the home having the capacity to fund all the 53 children.