Christmas 2024 Newsletter
Drought
During the 2023/2024 ‘rainy season’ Zambia experienced very little rainfall and hence is experiencing quite a severe drought now. Although there has been some rain in the last few weeks, it has not been very significant.
In Lusaka there is still water for domestic use from boreholes like the one the Chimwemwe Home has, but the water table is getting very low. Due to the subsequent problems with growing crops many food items have significantly increased in price – the price of mealie meal, the staple food, has more than doubled in price in the last year.
Most electricity in the country is produced by hydroelectric power, so this has been severely limited for a number of months, although there has been some power imported from other countries recently. Supply was down to 3 hours every other day, and probably at its best is 7 hours a day. With businesses having to rely on generators for power or having to fork out for solar panels etc the price of all goods and services is increasing. As you can imagine much of everyday life is affected by all of this. Cooking in the Chimwemwe Home is now nearly all done on charcoal braziers, and the vegetable garden that the houseparents and children cultivate is more important than ever.
Chimwemwe Home
Memory (aged 5) is the latest addition to the Chimwemwe family. She is a single orphan. Her father died in a road traffic accident whilst cycling home from work last year. Her mother was pregnant at the time, eventually having a difficult birth, and now continues to suffer from both physical and mental health issues. The mother and the youngest child are being looked after by a ‘cousin’ from the extended family. Memory was being looked after by her grandmother, alongside her 3 other siblings plus 4 young cousins, in a 2-room house and surviving on very little food.
Memory is now the third girl of that name to have lived in the Home!
With both Memory’s arrival and that of the other most recent additions the average age of the children in the Home is probably the lowest it’s ever been. Taking in children when they are relatively young has the advantage of giving the houseparents plenty of time to help shape their characters and behaviour, and the children get a consistent long-term education, etc.
Schools closed in Zambia on 6th December for the long holidays - school years run from January to December. 5 children in the Home sat national exams during the last few weeks of term. Three were sitting grade 9 – Mwenda, Nkisu and George. Two were doing grade 12 – Gideon (right) who wants to go to university and study physics or something similar and Godwin (left) who wants to study civil engineering. Obviously, attendance at university is dependent on the grades they obtain. These 2 will both do all the courses at the computer school as the next stage of their education.
Harrison, who left the Home earlier in the year, has now got a job as a shelf-packer in an outlet in the middle of town. This is great news as finding a job in Lusaka is really difficult particularly for those like Harrison who have no formal qualifications.
What has now become an annual swimming trip took place last week, at the beginning of the school holidays. A new venue had to be found as there are now so many little children and there was no shallow water at the old venue. The whole family posed for the above photo before swimming!
Computer School
The computer school has suffered greatly because of the power cuts. Although there is a generator on site it is only used infrequently due to the cost of providing fuel for it. However, there are still some students attending. Below is a testimonial from a graduate of recent times called Jane:
‘Before joining Enterprise College, I felt completely lost when it came to using a computer.
Even basic tasks like typing or sending emails seemed impossible. But after completing the Computer Literacy program, everything changed.
I can now confidently create documents, manage spreadsheets, and navigate the internet with ease. This course didn’t just teach me skills, it gave me the confidence to embrace technology and opened up new opportunities in my career.
I’m so grateful for the transformation!’
All those running both AETZ and AETUK wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! And say a big THANK YOU for all your support over the past year.