Things to celebrate...

We’ve had quite a few visitors to Zambia over the past couple of months - it’s been great to have them with us! Not only do they gain insight to what Beyond Ourselves do in the communities we partner with but they then share their wisdom and experience with us to help us do what we do better! Works out well for us ;-)

It’s always amazing to me how every individual reacts differently to their visit; to being in Africa, to seeing the schools and meeting the children or to being confronted with poverty for the first time. I always find it’s a reminder to me what it’s like to see with ‘fresh eyes’ and to look at the bigger picture of Zambia, to look at facts like these:

1. 60 percent of people in Zambia live below the poverty line and 42 percent are considered to be extremely poor.
2. The number of HIV/AIDS orphans is estimated at 1.5 million which means that 1 in 3 children in the country is an orphan.
3. 15 percent of children in Zambia are underweight.
4. The prevalence of stunting in children – low growth for age - is 40 percent.

Sources: Zambia Demographic Health Survey, Cost of Diet by the National Food and Nutrition Commission, World Bank, Country Analysis Report, 2013/14 Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report

When we look at stats like these from WFP we could let the enormity of poverty overwhelm us, to allow the task that lies ahead to shadow the journey... 

Or we could look and see where we are working to make a long-term sustainable difference to the people and communities we work alongside, and celebrate all that is happening to change these stats…

I choose the latter! 

I celebrate the schools, Kawama Kraft and the beginnings of other new social enterprises provide employment and income to people in the community.

I celebrate that the community schools we partner with offer education to many of the orphans and vulnerable children in their surrounding area.

I celebrate that the children at our partner schools are given a meal every school day and that the majority of them are a healthy weight. That year on a year we have seen a steady increase in height, weight and BMI.

And I expect to celebrate more transformation in the years ahead and playing our part in seeing more of the stats changed.