CHILD HEALTH WEEK

Today sees the start of Child Health Week in Zambia. To mark the event, we had a march round the Mission and Chikankata area of breastfeeding mother and the Primary Health Care Team, followed by an opening ceremony outside our Mother and Child Clinic. We then sent our Under 5 Mobile Clinic to dancing and singing. These clinics are fantastic. They leave Chikankata four days a week and mothers walk for miles to be at the designated village or health outpost.

(Photo to follow - the blooming thing won't upload!)

In Zambia:

over 30% of all children under the age of 15 are orphans

• 80% of the people in rural areas live below the poverty line

• half a million young children are living on the streets, with no one to look after them

In Chikankata:

1 in 5 children don't reach the age of 5

80% of households have an orphan living with them

Finally, the five main cause of deaths of the Under 5's in Chikankata are

• Malnourishment
• Diarrhoea
• Malaria
• Respitory Infections
• HIV/AIDS

Most of which is preventable and/or treatable in the developed world.

One of the great things about Chikankata is our Orphan and Vulnerable Children's Programme. Our catchment areas is one of the few (if not the only) in Zambia where all the orphans are registered and there are no child-headed households! I want to say a special thank-you to The Salvation Army in Worthing and Central North Division (UK), UNICEF and the many individuals who support this work. This week, I have just taken on Francis - an orphan at the age of 12. Chikankata OVC Programme paid for the last 4 years of his schooling and this year paid for him to go to college. He is working as a cook here while also studying to gain a Diploma in Catering. It's a great project!

However, I want to tell you about some of the children I have met in Zambia. First of all, our cleaners little girl, Tawanda. Every morning she runs in and gives Reechard a big hug and smile. She has really melted my heart. It doesn't matter which question you ask her, she just says "I'm fine". She's brilliant.

I want to tell you about Chilufia, who is the son of our friends Martin and Bertha. Without saying much, he is the funniest person on the Mission. He makes me laugh alot.

On Friday, I had lunch with one of the workers from an organisation in Lusaka working with street kids called Action Zambia. Together with Chikankata, they have built a little village in nearby Nanzele and regularly bring the kids there so that they have a village and idea of what it's like to live in rural Zambia. They are great guys. Anyway we visit one of the children's homes and met four month old twins abandoned by their family. They were called Mary and Joseph. Fantastic! We played with them for a while. They were brilliant too.