Imagine that you are visually impaired, living in an impoverished area with few monetary resources, and have little access to education.  How would you learn to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS?

The Kondwa Children’s Foundation is supporting the HIV/AIDS Infor-Tech Africa (HAITA) project in its efforts to educate the visually impaired populations of Zambia.  A Lusaka based NGO, its mission is to “provide adequate support, awareness, and bridge the gap of unequal distribution of HIV/AIDS literature…particularly the visually impaired community”.

HAITA is seeking a braille printer to produce HIV/AIDS educational literature for the visually impaired. With your help, KCF intends to purchase a printer and ship it to Zambia by October 2008.  Every dollar you give will be matched (up to $3,000) thanks to a recent grant we received from the Tides Foundation. 

There are many ways you can help:

• Run a race and donate the proceeds.
• Hold a yard sale
• Hold a bake sale
• Ask a local band to donate proceeds from their next concert
• Set up a donation jar at your local grocery store or eye doctor’s office
• Make a donation to KCF earmarked for the Braille Printer Project.

by Marie Vagedes, LCSW
A little less than a year ago, I had the opportunity to join with a group of primary school teachers working in Lusaka, Zambia through the Kondwa Children’s Foundation volunteer trip.  This opportunity for connection took on the form of a 6-day workshop that my dear friend and colleague Leah Berger and I facilitated at the Kondwa Day Centre for teachers working at area schools within N’gombe compound. 

The workshop focused on grief and loss issues in children.  The material for the workshop was drawn from our combined personal and professional experiences. By drawing on my past work with Hospice, and Leah tapping into her expressive arts training, we were able to develop a well-rounded and culturally-sensitive workshop that surprisingly benefited not only the Zambian teachers, but ourselves as well.

Grief and loss are universal.  I believe this is why whenever discussion is opened on this topic that people begin to relate on a deep and intimate level with one another.  I have seen this to be true no matter the culture, religious belief, gender, ethnicity, or age.  Of course, just as anything in life, there are many individual differences in the human response to grief. 

Just as we can say that a leopard and a tiger are both cats, it is also true that there are many differences among them.  Similarly, all people of the world experience grief and loss, however, the expression it takes on can have many distinctions.  Because of this truth, Leah and I were able to connect with our group of teachers on a deep and meaningful level.  And although much of the material was intended to be educational in focus, it was not surprising that the emotions of joy, sorrow, anger, and fear were to some extent felt and expressed throughout the workshop.  With our words, we were able to elicit the deep emotions of grief and loss and then to normalize these emotions by offering healing and understanding.

Leah and I balanced traditional classroom teaching with experiential activities.  The teaching topics included wanted and unwanted changes in life, our reaction to change otherwise known as grief and mourning, developmental stages of children and how this affects their experience of loss and expression of grief, and practical interventions that can be used with children. 

One activity that stands out in my mind took place near the end of the workshop.  We split the larger group of forty people into smaller groups of about six people.  Each person was asked to think of an issue that the workshop material brought up for them, particular issues faced in the day-to-day life of each participant.  Then one by one each supporting member of the group was asked to provide feedback about how they would handle the situation.  Each supporting member would begin by stating, “If I were in that situation I would . . .” and then offered his or her suggestion.  The small group discussions were very interesting but they also served the purpose of letting the teachers know that they were not alone in the challenges they faced and that by coming together and talking of the difficult situations, they could help and support one another.

I was so very impressed with the dedication and commitment the teachers displayed.  After working their regular school day, each would arrive at Kondwa Day Center with smiles and a readiness to learn.  Through their willingness to take this time and to be open to listening to what is a difficult topic for most of us, they showed strength and courage.  I am confident that because of these qualities, they will be able to take what they learned and give understanding and hope to the children with whom they work in the community.  I saw not only an intellectual understanding of grief and loss occurring, but also an emotional learning.  Through their willingness to talk about their own experiences with loss and death, they begin to give children the permission to speak of it as well.

Knowing and accepting that “change is truly the only constant” is the only thing we can count on happening in life.  As long as we tip toe around the topic of grief and loss, we are not accepting life on life’s terms.  We are not accepting ourselves.  Alternatively, when we can face it and accept it with courage and strength, we learn how to take care of ourselves and to support each other through life and death.  It is my wish that this message is being spread through the teachers of Ngombe compound that attended the workshop.  I thank the Kondwa Children’s Foundation for providing me with this awesome opportunity to join with them.  I thank also the teachers and ask them to remember, “Laugh when you can, cry when you have to”.

By Laurie Holland

After my first trip to Zambia in 2006, I observed a great number of orphaned children grieving the loss of loved ones who had died from HIV/AIDS. Upon my return to San Jose State University, I devoted my graduate thesis research to “grief intervention for AIDS-orphaned children in Africa”. When I returned to Zambia in the summer of 2007, I had the inspiring opportunity to implement many of the creative arts activities from this research with two groups of young Zambian girls ages nine to fourteen.

Laurie with the girls in the grief workshop.

Memory Books & Psychodrama

I found memory books to be by far the greatest tool in assisting the girls to process their pain and loss. A memory book is a book dedicated to a loved one that provides the space for the surviving relative or friend to relive many happy memories about that person. The girls were encouraged to write about as many memories as they could remember about an important person in their life who died. This was most often an immediate family member.

She feels happy when her mother hugs her.

It was important to respect the needs of those who didn’t feel comfortable sharing very much, as oftentimes evoking such memories can create discomfort. Imagine not just one parent dying, but both; not just both parents dead but an uncle, cousin, and brother or sister, too. It was a great privilege to offer the girls the space to feel safe and encourage them to feel - to feel sadness, to feel the pain, to feel the loss – and to encourage them to know that it is okay to feel these emotions that are often labeled “bad” or that feel uncomfortable.

After completing their memory books, the girls moved on to an activity known as psychodrama, which is mostly used as a group work method in which each person in the group can become a therapeutic agent for each other in the group. The girls took an active role and acted out their “regrets” for one another. One girl wished she would have told her mother that she loved her before she died. So she chose a girl to play the part of her mother and another to play the part of her grandma. They ended the drama with the girl telling her mother that she loved her before her mother died. They did such a great job!

Finger Puppets, Finger Paints, Stuffed Animals, Drawings, and Sock Puppets

The girls participated in a number of projects that, like the memory books and psychodrama, helped to facilitate the identification of their emotions. The girls utilized finger puppets, finger-paints, some stuffed animals, sock puppets and drawings to express what it feels like to be sad, scared, and happy.

Girls finger-painted “People in My World.”
In one activity the girls were requested to draw a picture of a tree with each part of the tree representing the following: roots to identify the tribe(s) they are from; a tree trunk labeled with the people or things that have helped them become better people (i.e. parents, or school); branches for positive attributes about themselves; fruit symbolizing their accomplishments; insects representing problems or challenges they were facing; and fallen leaves identifying people in their lives who have died.

The tree trunk represents people/things that influence them in a positive way.

The leaves represent people who have died.

The girls were anxious to show me their drawings and receive praise from me. They openly shared the loss of their family members. Additionally, they drew pictures of a person they consider to be their hero. It was no surprise that two girls drew a picture of Angela Malik, the Director of Kondwa, who always has the best interest of the children in mind. They also drew how they deal with a wide range of emotions (sad, lonely, excited, depressed, happy, angry, etc.). We ended the session with the girls making their own sock puppets. These puppets were used to allow the girls to project their various emotions onto the puppets and learn appropriate ways to deal with those emotions; for instance, what to do when you are angry.

Each girl made a sock puppet to assist in expressing their emotions.

Saying Good-Bye

The last day together with the girls was a difficult one. I shed a few tears that morning knowing that it would be the last day of the workshop with them. The girls had all made cards and drawings for me. “Teacher Laurie,” one girl wrote, “I love you, teacher. I love my mother, and my mother is dead. I now love you as my mother.” Gasp!! Another girl drew a picture of me and titled it “My Second Hero”.

Another girl stated in a note to me (word for word), “don’t you know that it’s easy to buy anything in the shop but it’s not easy to buy people like you. You are so difficult to find. So I am asking if you can continue with your kind heart.” I gave out many hugs that day and told each girl individually at least once or twice that I love them. I asked each girl to write down their prayer requests so that I can pray for their specific needs until we meet again.

One young 9-year-old who lost both parents and now resides with her grandma wrote, “Please pray to send someone to love me when my grandmother dies.” Please keep these young precious girls in your hearts and thoughts, as well as all of the beloved children at Kondwa!

The girls each made cards for Laurie on the last day.

Laurie and the girls on the last day of the workshop.

By Adam Hardin

On a dusty mid-July day, three plumbers who have placed a water valve in the wrong location are dealing with one very determined nun. Sister Helen Scully is the director of the Little Assisi, a school for children with special needs, in N’gombe compound in Lusaka Zambia.

Today, for the first time, Assisi has running water, but the plumbers have mistaken placed the valve directly in the front yard where the children play.  They are reluctant to move it, and for that they are being sternly re-directed.

The Assisi school serves 26 children who exhibit characteristics of mental retardation, autism, and various other disorders that impede their learning in more traditional educational settings. Sister Helen and her staff spend their days feeding and educating these children who would otherwise have no place else to go.

 
Sister Helen Scully outside Little Assisi School.

I visited Little Assisi in July 2007 along with Kathy Allen, a school psychologist, and Phoebe Goodwin, a teacher.  Sister Helen introduced us to the children and her assistants.  We discussed possible diagnoses of some of the children, and asked them about the resources and training they need.

Sister Helen and her staff often rely on their wits and energy to take the place of the supplies and resources that should be available to these children. Rocks and old tires are used for exercise while homemade flash cards are used to teach numbers and letters. In addition, while the Assisi staff is energetic and eager to learn, they haven’t received any formalized training.

 
Violet (middle), a hearing impaired student at Assisi, and three of her friends.

During the past year, KCF has begun to provide financial support and gifts to Little Assisi through the Holiday angel project and is currently working on plans to provide teacher training in the summer of 2009. Specialists in Autism and Mental Retardation can provide specialized training on structured teaching, the use of visuals, and other techniques. By providing educational training and funding to the staff of the school, Sister Helen and the teachers will be able to provide the children with training and the prospect for a better future.

By the way, the water valve was moved, the children played, and the educational works and dreams of Sister Helen and her staff continue to flow.

~ Article author Adam Hardin is a behavior specialist in Kentucky working with children and adults with Mental Retardation.     

Our Kondwa Fundraising Experience 
Submitted by the Huron Centennial School

Our school raised money for the Kondwa Children’s Foundation and we found it to be a very successful experience. It felt good to raise so much money for such a good cause.

Our school, Huron Centennial Public raised a grand total of $1000.92 which reached well above our goal! We had hoped to raise $500 but our school was so willing to give generous donations that we raised twice our goal.

With the information that we had on the Kondwa Foundation, we explained to our students how to “be an angel” at Christmas. Our school was so happy to know that we were helping these children with school and supplies that were so desperately needed.

We would like to continue our involvement with the Kondwa Foundation in the future and help those who are less fortunate.

Sincerely,
Ben, Shannen, Lydia, Magnus, Sydney

In late February, the children at the Kondwa Day Center for Orphans and Vulnerable Children celebrated the beginning of the new school year by opening Holiday Angel gifts! The little boys in the Baby Class received matching sweaters in blue, gray, and white, while the girls received lavender dresses with embroidered flowers.  Their teacher, Mr. Pritchard, passed out gifts of clothing, toothbrushes, school supplies, toys, and candy to the 25 happy three to five year olds in his class. 
 
All 90 children currently attending the Kondwa Day Center received gifts, from the baby class of 3-5 year olds to the Pre-primary school class of 7-9 year olds.  In addition, the four teachers and six staff members of the Kondwa Day Center were sent gifts of clothing and toiletries.  Thanks to the dedicated leadership of the school director Angela Malik, this school offers the hope of a bright future for these children, and KCF is passionate about assisting Mrs. Malik in her mission.
 
This year, we were delighted to also give gifts to the 25 children attending the Assisi School for Children with Disabilities, led by Sister Helen Scully.  Some of the children are deaf, some are mentally retarded, but all benefit from the love and care provided to them at Assisi!  We are proud to be partnering with Sister Helen to help these children.
 

Thanks to your generosity, more than 115 children received gifts this year as part of KCF’s Holiday Angel Gift Project!  More than 50 individual donors from across the United States and Canada, banded together to share gifts of holiday spirit with children in Zambia. 
 
Thanks to Laureen Ayers and her students at Huron Centennial School in Canada who raised more than $1,000 to support the Angel Project.  Thanks also to the folks in Cincinnati for the Holiday Angel fundraiser which raised more than $200! 
 
Each donation included a $10 gift toward the construction costs of the new primary school for the graduates of the Kondwa Day Center, and totaled $1,230.  These funds will be put directly to use this spring to build the first classrooms for the new school.
 
Thanks to all of you for a successful 2007 Holiday Angel Gift Project! In 2008, with your help, we will reach 150 children!
 
Please email angels@kondwa.org for more information.

Angela Malik, founder of the Kondwa Day Center in Zambia, was concerned for the well being of the widowed mothers whose children did not qualify for admission to the Kondwa Day Center and took it upon herself to do something about it.  She helped organize a women’s support group who meets periodically to learn and share about effective parenting skills and ideas on how to support their families needs. Together, they pursue various small business ventures like basket making, sewing, tie-dye and batik printing, and other crafts.  They share profits and losses, always reinvesting a portion into the business.

Although the immediate needs of the women are economic, they will tell you they gather for the spirit of oneness.  They acknowledge that they do get lonely and appreciate being with women who share similar burdens.  They call themselves Empowering Women in Development and their group currently numbers twenty-three.

EWD shares a small cinder block building with the Assissi Day School for children with special needs.  They meet together on Tuesday afternoons and Saturdays to work on crafts which they sell and then share the proceeds. The merchandise available during KCF’s Summer 2007 visit included beaded necklaces and bangles, tie-dyed and batik cloth in four-meter segments, beaded net table coverings, rag rugs, and coasters in the national colors of green, red, gold and black.

The primary source of income at this time, however, comes from two portable knitting machines. They are simple structures about four feet long, sit on a table and appear to be lightweight.  One was provided through the Kondwa Children’s Foundation and the second from another donor. One of the women received training on the machine from another agency and taught a second widow how to use it.  They can each turn out five school sweaters a day.

Sweaters (paid for by a donor to Kondwa Day Center) were made for all 90 Kondwa Day Center children during the Summer 2007 visit.  At that time it was winter in Zambia, which lies just south of the equator, and sweaters were definitely in season.  The sweaters included the child’s first name on the front and the words Kondwa Center on the back.  The names are there in order to identify the owner when the sweaters are tossed into a stack during recess!  EWD also makes bright maroon sweaters for children from Ngombe Basic School, the result of having a good relationship with the School Manager who refers guardians to EWD. They have also made samples of vests for government workers and are hopeful to generate orders as a result.

When asked about their Wish List the knitters were quick to respond that they need a yarn winder and would very much like a “pass up” machine, a device that enables them to change patterns. They also take special orders, so being able to make different patterns would give them a competitive edge over the knitters in the market stalls of Lusaka The Treasurer of EWD also expressed concern about cash flow, as the women cannot buy yarns or other raw materials on credit.

The widows of EWD are enthusiastic about their future as a cooperative, and the songs of welcome we received as visitors clearly conveyed their collective strength. They say that they come from humble beginnings but have the will power to succeed.

Original Article by Linda Hansen

Thanks to private donors, Kachele Primary School already has a home for its foundations. Below you can read an update written by one of our 1st session 2007 Summer trip volunteers. Trip participants also planted a living fence around the land perimiter.

Kachele – Gardens for a New School
July 2007

A plot of land, 1.7 hectares in size, awaits the trampling of 420 feet. Once the Kachele Primary School is built, 210 students will fill its seven grades. But while the planning for the school has started and the buildings will follow, the land itself has already been put to productive use.

As part of their school, students at Kachele will learn how to garden, so in laying out the site, space was set aside for the gardens and orchards. Already the garden plots are filled with the winter crops: Chinese cabbage, onions, rape, tomatoes, cabbage, maize, green peppers, an okra. The new trees planted, bananas, mangos, avocados, papaya, and lemons, will soon begin to bear fruit.

The process establishing the new gardens has also been important. While the Kondwa Day Centre for Orphans arranged for a tractor to roughly plow the fields and hired a caretaker, Hameja, to watch over the land; much of the garden work has been done by the orphans’ guardians and caregivers. With the assistance of Hameja, the guardians have been shoveling, hoeing, planting, weeding, watering – all hard work done under the hot African sun.

When harvest time comes, the produce is gathered to provide vegetables and greens for Kondwa, and the excess, especially tomatoes, is sold in the local markets to benefit the school and the garden.

It soon will be time for spring planting in Africa, and whether it will be the new school called Kachele, or more gardens, the little plot of land in Zambia will bear fruit.

Photo: KCF Board Member Shea Van Rhoads and Kondwa Day Center Administrator Angela Malik visit the site of the future Kachele Primary School. Summer 2007.