An Introduction to Zamaid's Work

Whenever anyone asks me what we do in Zambia, or what sort of charity we are, I find it very difficult to answer. Whilst most other charities and NGOs have a specific ‘label’, eg. orphans, AIDs relief, fresh water, education for the underprivileged or food distribution, we have no such single label. Often times, we have been urged by well-meaning people to ‘have a focus’, and we fully understand why they are of this opinion but, from the time we first arrived, we were faced with so many desperate needs that we found it impossible to turn them away. People came to us in dire straits of all kinds:

One man had Tuberculosis and had no money to buy medicines;
an old man’s 30 year old daughter, Doris, had HIV and needed help;
a 3 ½ year old was suspected (and later diagnosed) with Sickle Cell but his parents had no financial means to afford the initial tests and, if necessary, the ongoing treatment;
an old, partially blind man, John Mulenga, came asking for clothing and food for the numerous grandchildren he is caring for since he lost his children (their parents);
an old couple who live in our poor farming community and who have, for years, taken care of their two orphaned granddaughters, have had no running water for 7 years because their pump broke down and they have been unable to afford to get it replaced. They had, therefore, been unable to water their fields and just about everything had died;
a young woman had several lumps in her breasts which were causing her considerable pain; however, she had no financial means to remove them or determine whether or not they were malignant;
Felix, an old man who has a large extended family due to the loss of several of his children, wanted to raise chickens as a means of supporting himself and his dependants;
A small group of ladies in the nearby village of Maria Chimona had received tailoring training but hadn’t been able to buy any sewing machines.

As each need presented itself to us, we looked in the coffers to see what funds were available and, wherever possible, we met those needs, whether out of charity funds or, if necessary, our own personal ones:

the man with TB came to visit some weeks after we’d sent him for treatment – he came with a smile on his face to show us how strong and healthy he was;
Doris continues on anti retroviral drugs and we have her registered with a specialized clinic specifically tailored for HIV patients;
our little Sickle Cell patient has had all the necessary tests, was admitted for a blood transfusion (something which will almost certainly have to be repeated from time to time) and is currently on medication;
we gave a load of clothing to John Mulenga for his young family, and he comes from time to time to ‘top up’ with food;

the Ark church in the UK raised money for a new pump for the old couple and this has now been purchased - it will be installed in the next couple of weeks.

we admitted the young woman with breast lumps into a clinic where the lumps were removed, and cared for her during her convalescence. Laboratory results, happily, revealed that the lumps were benign, and this has lifted a terrible weight of worry off her shoulders.
we provided Felix with the funds to purchase the chicks and arranged for transport to collect the sacks of feed. He made a good profit from his first batch, and has now started a second batch which is doing well.
we managed to obtain two machines for the ladies in Maria Chimona and have given them one to start off with to see how they get on first. They are making baby clothes to sell.

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As well as all these individual needs, we continue to pay for virtually all the requirements of the Childcare and Adoption Society (CCAS) Transient Home (commonly known as ‘The Orphanage’) in Ndola, thanks to regular donations. We are almost entirely responsible for the day-to-day expenses and overheads of the children. At present, the home is operating at full capacity with 23 children, ranging in age from just 3 weeks to 4 ½ years.

The children at the home continue to do well, and we were encouraged when a visiting inspector from New Zealand reported that she found the children well cared for and the home to be well run, even by international standards.

We are happy to report that during the last year, one child was placed with a family for adoption and three others were reintegrated into their extended families.

In addition, my husband, Peter, has become closely involved with a number of the small-scale farmers in our area who have struggled for many years. With the help of a Methodist Missionary, he has helped them start up banana plantations and several of these are now producing.

We have also become closely involved with a number of teenaged orphans and deprived youngsters. We have arranged schooling for some of them, and are exploring opportunities to further their education and help them all become self-sufficient.

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These are just some examples of the never-ending stream of needs we meet every day. Zambia is a country which suffers from poverty, hunger, disease & sickness, lack of education and a huge orphan problem, exacerbated by the HIV epidemic which is killing off parents and other family members at a frightening rate.

Perhaps you now appreciate how hard it is to ‘have a focus’ or to ‘wear a label’. If we were to pour ourselves, our resources, our time and our finances into one specific thing, what would we do when someone came to us for help who didn’t ‘fit the criteria’? How do we turn the suffering away because they don’t meet our ‘requirements’? How do we refuse to help a tiny baby dying of malaria, for example, simply because he’s not an orphan? Or a hungry old man because he’s not HIV positive?

The answer is that we cannot … and, unless God says otherwise, we will continue to help wherever and whenever we can.

(“And the King will answer them: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40)

(Salwa Ravensdale)