Friday 20th November - A trip to the compounds of Chipata.
on A Zambian Experience (Zambia), 30/Nov/2009 09:36, 34 days ago
Today I’m shattered. I walked for 2 hours in the heat with my colleague Mr Zulu to visit one of our projects in the neighbouring compound, called New Jim. I'm not sure what the official definition of a compound is, but from what I've been told by local Zambians, a compound is a residential area within atown which has been created by an unexpected migration of people to a specific area. Some compounds appear to have administrative services e.g provision of water and electricity, but very limited resources/development and area planning.In the compound of New Jim, we were met by one of the organisation’s Care Givers who is a volunteer for Dzithandizeni and she helps to promote good nutrition for people living with HIV/AIDS. That day some members of the community came to hear the latest on nutrition advice and we all gathered onto the porch of a community member’s house to listen to the organisation introducing the importance of having good nutrition whilst living with HIV. Some of the things mentioned were obvious to a person fortunate enough to have access to the latest health information, education and support, but in New Jim, there is very little access to health support and from what I could see many members of the community rely on the Home Based Care services offered by Dzithandizeni. Even the presence of a group gathering was enough to show to the community that nutrition is important, so it was great that we had such great attendance.However the challenge for me is to ensure that when the funding for the Home Based Care Programme comes to an end in March next year we are able to have access to funds/resources elsewhere which will help to sustain the programme in the future. I will therefore be working with my colleagues back at the centre to develop a donor map and start working on some project proposals.Finally on my way back into Chipata town, we passed through the markets of the neighbouring compound Njvatika, which is one of the largest compounds in Chipata and is so big they had to split it into two areas Njvatika A and Njavatika B. There were all types of shops and services from Barbers, to bike repairs, to people selling hair extensions ! What an intersting morning! By the time I got back into Chipata town with it’s Barclays Bank, BP and golf club, I felt like I was back in a different world.Thanks to the people of New Jim for being so welcoming. I will ensure I’m back soon.