I have just returned from a trip with the charity Village Water to Zambia.
I’ve seen the charity pics but actually being taken by a villager to be shown the scoop hole they use for their drinking water is a whole different experience.
Village Water works in western Zambia providing safe water and hygiene and sanitation education for rural villages.
Three amazing ladies run the Mongu office – Clare, Precious and Albertina. I’m in awe of their strength, energy, optimism and dedication. They often work for 6-7 days a week. They think nothing of working long days going out to remote villages miles from electricity, mobile phone coverage or even tarmac roads.
They work with the villagers cajoling and teaching them, so that the villagers really own the wells put in by Village Water – they make a financial contribution to the cost of the well, someone in the village is trained to make repairs, and a village water committee (5 men and 5 women) ensures that the villagers put a little aside each month so they have the money to repair the pump when they need it. They build latrines and install simple hand washing facilities. Construct high tables so that pots and pans can be kept out of the reach of animals.
Since Village Water worked with them, many of the villages have started growing additional vegetables for sale and for consumption. One village got so excited by the water pump project they’ve now built a village community school and persuaded the Zambian government to provide them with a teacher. Another village has started pressing the government to provide a rural health centre close to them. All the villages reported that diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases had been virtually eliminated. Women are clearly empowered by the whole process.
Village Water funds are naturally concentrated on the water, sanitation and hygiene program, but at the end I asked the ladies what they needed to make their work easier. They said more office furniture and two more laptops. They already have one.
So here’s my questions: does anyone have a laptop they could donate (not more than 3 years old) or would like to buy a new one for these amazing ladies? Can anyone help with shipping them out to Western Province, Zambia?
If a laptop is beyond your means, you can still donate to the work of this amazing charity http://www.villagewater.org/home.html
I’m attaching a pic so you can see the ladies who would use it – Albertina on the left of the pic and Precious on the right of the pic.
Thanks
Jane Thurnell-Read
