A case for Zambia

We are all familiar with the Oxfam adverts on billboards of young starving children with the look of despair in their eyes. We know about the latest celebrity endorsed campaign by Sir Bono to Make Poverty History. But what happens when you come face to face with a starving child?

Welcome to Zambia. Full of mineral rich copper and David Livingstone’s famously named Victoria Falls after the Queen, this landlocked country is one of the most impoverished countries in the world.

With a population of just under 12 million, HIV, AIDS, and alcoholism are only a few increasing killers in a country at the centre of Africa’s horn.

The average life expectancy is 38-years-old and there is only one doctor to every 3,000 people. A UN survey of 2006 showed that 78% of the country is living on $1 a day.

Alcoholism is also on the rise. The alcohol most Zambians drink is not like the average pint we have here in the UK. Commonly found in rural tribal villages, is home made and often contains poisonous lead along with other deadly chemicals.

After the death of President Levy Mwanawasa this year, Zambia tried to remain positive in tackling its political and social issues. The problems faced by Zambians don’t stop at HIV and alcohol abuse but become more complex with the aftermath of families losing their dependants and ending up on the streets. The most vulnerable group are children.

Some children as young as four are left without parents and end up begging on the streets. Along with various dangers faced, many of these kids are forced to join gangs.

There are lucky ones who can escape this life and are taken in by orphanages. The majority of orphanages in Zambia are independently run. The Mthunzi Centre, for example is a charity set up by Scottish journalist Marian Pallister who has been travelling to Zambia for the past 12 years.

When you first walk into the Mthunzi Centre, you feel the warmth and hospitality of all that live there. Yet this orphanage is in one of the most poorest districts of Southern Lusaka.

The most unforgettable aspects of this place is on the large sign outside the compound which reads the words ‘We belong together’.

This centre homes roughly 50 former street children and teenagers. Their ages vary from three to 21. Most children in this orphanage spent a difficult times on the streets and have changed their lives by getting an education and proper medical care.

A Mthunzi boy does tribal dancing

Jackson Chisenga is just one of the boys who has lived in the Mthunzi Centre since he was ten. Now aged 21, Jackson intends to come to university in Scotland to complete a degree in music.

Both of his parents died when he was younger and he was forced to live in the streets of Lusaka. Jackson survived by stealing scraps of food and then eventually joined a criminal gang. His life was turned around when he was spotted by the Lusaka director of the Mthunzi Centre and was immediately taken into care.

He says: “I had a hard time on the streets of Lusaka. I got involved with crime and violence just to keep alive. Sometimes at night, it was so cold. I used to sleep anywhere that was safe.”

Jackson found it difficult to adjust upon his arrival to Mthunzi but started school and changed his attitude and way of thinking.

“I learned to play the piano, I learned tribal dancing and this made me want to do the best I can,” he says. “I want people to think about my country as a good place and not just full of dying people and HIV.”

With 1 in 5 Zambians suffering from HIV and AIDS, there is a stigma that surrounds the disease. It is deemed as unclean which is why many Zambians don’t admit get medial attention for fear of being outcast by their community. It is very rare to find someone that will openly admit they have the virus.

HIV is commonly contracted through unprotected sex. It is familiar for a man or woman to become infected with the virus with another sexual partner, then to infect his or her spouse.

Travelling to a nearby village Chikondano is where the serious problem of HIV and alcohol abuse can be looked in the eye. Small huts surrounded by human waste and rubbish are basic standard of living if you are lucky.

A young girl from Chikondano

 Children in this village are severely malnourished and don’t get access to any education.

The village is set at the forefront of small sandy hills. There is only one well for around a population of 1,000 people that provides sustainable water for the entire area.

People in Chikondano can go without food for days. The only escape for the majority of villagers is the local pub which consists of a small hut in the centre of the village.

One villager blames the lack of money and resources for the alcohol problems:

“Alcohol is the biggest problem here,” she says. “The beer is homemade and is bad. People get addicted to it then get violent and angry. They don’t work either and it effects their children. Many of them end up on the streets.”

Zambia is a long way from tackling the poverty and HIV epidemic but smaller initiatives like the Mthunzi Centre are making a big difference. The orphans that were taken in by this place are getting educated and have big prospects ahead of them.

Jackson wrote a song in memory of his mother called ‘Aids in Africa’.  

“I really hope people will take more notice and action against world poverty. People need to take action and help those that are in need. I was very lucky to be taken in by an orphanage, but there are so many children that are less fortunate.”

Zambians are proud of who they are. They may be living in one of the poorest countries in the world, but this doesn’t prevent them from being the most hospitable people you could ever meet.