Zambia project profile

Nakonde ADP

Education
Classrooms and teachers’ houses are in dilapidated condition, and teaching materials and furniture are inadequate or non-existent. The poor facilities make it difficult to attract teachers to the area.

The ADP pays for school uniforms for families who cannot afford them, equips schools and helps the community build or repair school buildings and teachers’ houses.

Health
Less than 70 per cent of Nakonde’s population has access to health facilities or water all year round. Pregnant women rely on untrained traditional birth attendants to assist them in childbirth, exposing them and their babies to the risk of infection. HIV/AIDS is second only to malaria as a cause of adult death, while diarrhoea is the main cause of death in children under five years of age. Malnutrition and skin and eye infections are also common.

World Vision drills new wells and sets up and trains committees to take responsibility for water and sanitation facilities.

The ADP trains traditional birth attendants and community health workers and provides them with delivery or first aid kits. It helps schools establish anti-AIDS clubs and trains volunteer community HIV/AIDS counsellors. Anti-malaria campaigns include education on prevention and distribution of subsidised mosquito nets.

Agriculture
Most people make their living by small-scale farming. Maize and cassava are the staple crops in the area, but few farmers can grow enough to feed their families. Infertile soil, low productivity, the high cost of chemical fertilisers and poor farming methods have contributed to low production.

World Vision works with tribal leaders to allow women to own land. The ADP provides farmers with seeds and fertiliser and trains them in improved agricultural techniques, such as using organic fertilisers to improve soil quality and building grain storage bins. It trains nutrition facilitators, forms nutrition clubs and promotes the use of locally available vitamin-rich crops such as soya beans. Agricultural groups are linked to government support services.

Conservation
Ninety-eight percent of Nakonde District has been deforested through land clearance for agriculture, firewood collection and charcoal production, the latter being a major income-generating venture.

World Vision teaches people about the effects of deforestation and helps them establish tree nurseries and plant seedlings. Fuel-efficient stoves, which use less firewood and retain more heat, are gradually being introduced. People receive training and loans to start up environmentally friendly small businesses such as bee-keeping and fish farming.

Community leadership
A community-based organisation called Tulemane Development Trust has been formed and registered with the government. The ADP trains trust members to plan and manage development projects. The trust will facilitate development activities in Nakonde after World Vision has left the area.

Sustainable development
World Vision and the people of Nakonde envisage that by 2009 the community’s capacity to access resources for ongoing development will be at a level that no longer requires World Vision assistance. We will keep you regularly updated on their progress.