Zambia, Africa

ZAM07b - Chifundo Orphan Care

Partnership Overview

Lonard & Rosemary Daka have been church planting in this area for about 25 years. As they developed churches they were swamped by the needs of the vulnerable children and their guardians. They started 'Chifundo' to care for the children, to resource and encourage the guardians, to get the children into school and assist the community.

History Of Partnership

In 2003 Bright Hope World began to visit this area of Zambia at the invitation of Lonard and Rosemary Daka. They have been known to BHW for many years and BHW observed their church planting programme. They worked very hard to establish a number of small rural churches in this area. Their conviction is that local churches would be the most effective agents of change in the community.

In the village from which they operate, Mchacha, there is now a church of over 130 members. This is a large percentage of the population of the village. As the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic moved with full force into the rural village, the church was not able to cope with the numbers of orphaned children. They did not have the resources to deal with the numbers or the degree of poverty. This is also a drought prone area.

The Daka’s are also involved with a new school in the village neighbouring Mchacha called Zalani. The Daka’s son Steven is very involved with the Chifundo project and oversees the accounts for this partnership.

Chifundo has become recognized as the primary care giver in the community. The community leaders are constantly asking for assistance.

Beneficiaries

There are 55 children and their guardian families in the Chifundo catchment area who directly benefit from this partnership.

What We Like About The Partnership

There are many things BHW likes about this partnership. The Daka's are well known to us and are well regarded in the community. They are respected and the community leaders speak very highly of them. They have developed a strong team of people to work with. They genuinely care for people and constantly have people in their house seeking counsel and help. There are also good systems in place to ensure the smooth running of the project.

Key People

Leadership Profile

Steven Daka is 30 years old and is primarily responsible for accounts and purchasing for the partners. He has finished studying accounting and lives in the village with his parents. Every two weeks he visits the bank to organise funds for specific purchases for the partnership. He finds it quite difficult to coordinate the purchasing as there are always unexpected expenses and emergencies.

Steven spends about 5/6 days per month working on Chifundo accounts. He enjoys this kind of work and can see himself continuing doing this into the future. He wants to carry on the work of his father. Steven likes visiting people and preaching as well. He is a happy, outgoing person with a sharp wit; he is easy to work with and picks things up quickly.

Other People Involved

Steven Daka, Lonard Daka and Norman Tonga form the executive team that oversee the daily operation of the Chifundo partnership. This team also oversees the Chipata Rural OVC’s (ZAM23) programme.

Vision And Annual Strategy

Sending the children to school is the major component of this partnership. There are also small and irregular food and household supplements including blankets given from time to time to those in need. 
 
Three adults are being cared for too as part of the programme. They are elderly and are in need.

The leadership have started agriculture training based on the "Foundations for Farming" system. They have been achieving very good results by discipling people to improve yields. Lonard can often be seen bent over with his hands in the ground explaining farming principles.

They grow a field producing crops for the orphans programme, and use the produce for those in the community who are in need.

School leavers can find it difficult in the area as to what to do next. The leaders are developing a programme to help fund and train school leavers in a variety of activities from shop keeping, farming to small scale manufacturing of goods.

Annual Budget

The annual budget is currently $US9,152. BHW would like to double this as soon as possible as there are another 50 children who urgently need to be added to this programme.

The budget also needs to be increased because of the increase in transport costs, school fees and food costs.  Boarding fees at secondary schools have been increased by 30%, school development fees have been introduced in most schools and one community school has introduced compulsory uniforms. All these contribute to the costs.

Approximately 70% of the money that has been sent from BHW goes to schooling and the other 30% goes towards supplements for the children and adult clients. 

Personal Testimony

Real "Life Change" Stories

Vinya
Vinya is one of the earliest children to join Chifundo programme and has been involved since 2001. She has been helped with going to school and with books, blankets, soap and shoes. This has been a huge help. She stays with her grandmother and has a sister though she has never seen her. She goes to church with her grandmother at the local CMML church. She has a very clear Christian testimony and became a Christian when a child and is very clear that Jesus died for her and loves her. She goes with Gift Daka (Rosemary and Lonard's daughter) to teach the kids about Jesus and wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

The orphan children often get laughed at by their peers and cop a lot of criticism because they do not have a family. Vinya is hurt by this and feels bad, but just stays quiet. There are many others like her in the community. Many girls do not go to school; in fact there are only two her age at school. She helps at home with cultivating, cleaning and cooking. Vinya is an outgoing girl and laughs a lot with her friend Gift.