The COINS Foundation is engaging with community development projects with the people in Kawama in Zambia. We recently met Mr Alfred Chapi, the local councillor for the Kawama ward.
In Zambia it is considered polite to write down in ‘long hand’ and read out your address to visiting guests. Here is Cllr Chapi’s “address” to us:
ALFRED CHAPI
AREA COUNCILLOR
KAWAMA WARD
NDOLA – ZAMBIA
ADDRESS 5TH APRIL, 2009-05-13
On behalf of the people of Kawama and the Residents Development Committee and indeed on my behalf, I would like to welcome you to Kawama in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are very, very happy to see you.
I would like to commend Madam Elina Mukokili who is the Managing Co-ordinator for Kawama Widows and Orphans Project for the effort she has made of you paying a courtesy call to my office. The organisation in partnership with the local Leadership has made a lot of achievements.
Mr. Ric Law, when you came last year in 2008, with Mr. Derek, we never met due to the fact that I was committed with other civic duties. Today I have the privilege to see you and also to see Mr. Sullivan who is the chairman of COINS FOUNDATION. It is a great day. However, I was informed by madam elina and RDC Officials that last year, you came on a mission of helping the people of Kawama in one way or another. Mr Ric, your mission should be commended because the government needs another extra pair of hands to be able to mitigate the plights of more than Ten(10) Million Zambians especially the less privileged.
Kawama is the second largest ward in Chifubu Constituency with plenty of Land. We would like to be with you in the Area for Fifteen (15) years. We have a lot of problems in my ward. Therefore, we are appealing to your Construction Company to come to our aid and under take some of our priority projects. They are as follows:-
1. Extension of the Community School by 2 Classroom Blocks.
• We feel that the school must be extended so that the children will have adequate time as stipulated by the Ministry of Education. So far the school has two classes and it is catering for seven (7) classes from Grade 1 – 7 which is not good.
2. Skill Training Institute
• In order to empower the people of Kawama. They need to be empowered with a skill, a life that will sustain their lives. As the case may be we feel that a Skills Tarining will greatly improve the people’s livelihood in the community
3. High School
• We do not have a high school in the Area. Hence, many children walk long distances to other schools
4. Recreation Facility
• Youths are engaged in illicit behaviours. As you may be aware that most of the people who are infected with HIV/AIDS are youths due to lack of recreation facilities. We feel a recreation facility will help them to desist from indulging in behaviours that endanger their lives. For this project, the land has already been secured.
5. Library
• We have many school going children but we don’t have a library. We feel this is need to help children and adults in the community to be informed and have wider knowledge about things.
6. Health facilities
• The government clinic which we have in the area was not planned for a big population but for a small population. Our community is growing. So far we have over 22,000, being the second largest ward in the constituency. We need another clinic with a mortuary and an ambulance. Our cemetery is only 150 metres away from my office. But due to lack of a mortuary and an ambulance at the government clinic, it costs the people of Kawama when a relative dies at home or at the clinic to transport the dead body at their expense to the main hospital for refrigeration at the cost of K200,000 and the day of burial to transport back the same body to the cemetery at another cost of K200,000 of which the less privileged do not afford.
7. Income generating Activities
• Our people in Kawama are creative people in terms of business and farming. If empowered in these areas, they will do wonders. We feel if you can have a programme to empower them, many people will be self reliant in the community.
It was recently pointed out to me that there are many who could benefit from Community Development projects here in the UK. The statement was followed by the short question, “Why Africa?” It is an excellent question which affords the opportunity to make a point which is fundamental to the thinking of the COINS Foundation.
Whilst he doesn’t specifically talk about the effect of substituting paid workers for volunteers, his arguments have compelling implications for this trend. I am interested in this because right now we are trying to engender a ’spirit of community’ in a region of northern Zambia where we are attempting to research the needs of the community and motivate them to form and engage in voluntary groups to debate the needs of their region and help develop a prioritised plan for sustainable community development.