The Ubumi Children's Project is a Christian NGO established in 1997, with the aim of addressing the plight of orphans made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and other social economic problems in Zambia. Their main objective is to improve the living standards of orphans and vulnerable children by helping them to become self-reliant - through skills training, health education, working on female empowerment in the community and a nutrition programme.
Working with children in the orphanage
- Teaching and creative work with the children
- Fundraising and income generation activity
- Capacity building
- Helping with the nutrition programme
- Assisting HIV/AIDS education
March 2007 - Living with the Orphans
I arrived in Lusaka, the capital, in the early hours of January 30th, and was met by Eddy, the Executive Director of Ubumi, and Richard the program manager. They took me to the United Nations office where I met with the woman responsible for NGO funding. As we drove around, I was amazed by how green everything is. I knew I was coming in the rainy season but I'd imagined it would be far more desert-like; probably because of all the pictures of famine we see in the media back home.
We drove through one of the poorer areas where there were all sorts of animals and children roaming around. The highways are pretty well maintained but the back-roads and suburbs are terrible. After a five-hour drive to Kitwe, Eddy took me to his home where his wife Simone had cooked us a meal. I was introduced to nshima (pronounced she-ma), which is like a cross between porridge and mashed potatoes.
I am staying at the orphanage. There are 15 children here (eight boys and seven girls aged three to thirteen) and Linda, the live-in caretaker. The boys share one room and the girls another, while I share with Linda and her young son. I have been very impressed by the manners and respect of the children. Everyone knows what they should be doing and when. There are two toilets and one shower here - but it is only cold water.
I haven't been out very much - I spend most of my day at the orphanage, which is within a gated lot. However some days I walk to Musonda compound (about 20 minutes away) where Ubumi have community support programs. Musonda is a very poor area of about 8,000 people, and few of the homes have running water or electricity.
Ubumi do a nutrition programme and provide schooling up to Year 5. Unfortunately though, due to their home situation many children are unable to attend school regularly as they need to care for younger siblings while the parent goes out to find work. The impact that HIV/AIDS is having on the community here is staggering. Of the children at the orphanage, seven are double orphans (meaning both parents have died) while five others have lost their mother and have no one else to care for them. Most of the children were found begging on the streets.
I have not been told who, if anyone, here at the orphanage is HIV+ and I have not asked. The statistics for HIV/AIDS in Zambia, as in many other southern African countries, is shocking. There are an estimated 650,000 orphaned AIDS
children in Zambia alone and that is increasing every day. The disease has had a major impact on the productivity of the country and structure of families. Because so many people live in poverty the illnesses that we have little problem with in the west (TB, malaria, common colds) are often life-threatening to someone whose immune system is weakened due to HIV/AIDS. The children learn about HIV/AIDS at school as part of their curriculum, although many have had first-hand experience prior to that. Many of the TV shows involve a storyline based around someone being infected.
The preschool children at Musonda are rather unsure about me. They stand back and watch until the teacher says they can shake my hand, which they then eagerly do. Some are getting brave and will touch my arm or hair and then giggle.
For food, in the morning we have tea with either bread and butter (some days jam) or scones that the girls have made. Lunch is nshima, vegetables and fish, chicken or beans; and dinner is rice. It is the same almost every day although we have made pizza twice. The YMCA brought us 75 loaves of bread one day so I made everyone French toast.
There is one baby called Sarah that I have met at Musonda. I had thought that she was about seven months old (and small for that age) but it turns out she is 15 months. Her mother died when she was eight months old and she is cared for by her father who does some work for Ubumi. She has been sick and coughing a lot. She was admitted to the hospital and is on TB treatment - she was born with TB and HIV as her mother had both when she was pregnant.
I have been to the church that the children go to and that was an experience. It is so lively with people clapping and cheering throughout the service.
I was the only white person I saw there - although now Kari, a volunteer from Norway, comes as well. Everyone goes to church and it is the social setting for most people.
Kari arrived a week ago, and we get on really well. We are planning to go to Victoria Falls near the end of March and I'm quite excited at the thought of that.
So that's pretty much been my first five weeks, just getting used to things here and hanging out with the children. We are going to venture to a pool with the children on Saturday. There will be 18 children and just two of us adults - but none of the children can swim. We are already planning a few bottles of wine for that evening and skipping church in the morning!