Three months ago I made a decision to start rearing 'village' chickens at my home. This decision was compelled by the fact that even though I had no chickens of my own, chickens in my neighbourhood were always spending most of their day in my yard. These chickens would feed on my vegetables making it impossible for me to grow certain types of vegetables in my garden. I therefore bought two hens during one of my frequent visits to rural Zambia. I brought the hens home. As anyone who has ever reared chickens on free range will know it is not easy for 'village'chickens to be accustomed to a new environment. You have to give chase several times to make them adapt to their new home. Once they have adapted they will always come back home regardless of the endless movements to several places in the neighbourhood.
It was therefore surprising that the hens one day did not return home in the evening. One hen was nursing 5 three day old chicks. She disappeared with 3 chicks. 2 chicks were found in our garden anxiously looking for their mother. When asked one of the neighbours living next to my house said she had found a hen with chicks on her yard. She had asked another neighbour if she knew who the owner could be. Thereafter the two neighbours decided that the hen could below to a woman in the neighbourhood living 6 houses away. One of them approached her. According to the woman who first found the hen and her chicks the woman living 6 houses away came and collected the chicken. She further said that she did not know that I was keeping chickens at my home that is why she had not bothered to find out if the hen belonged to me. I visited the women who was said to have collected the hen to inquire about my chickens. She denied taking the hen saying that she had left the hen in my neighbour's yard after realising that it did not belong to her. Up to now I can not find the nursing chicken. This development has really saddened me because I am now stuck with 2 week old chicks without a mother's care. My other hen is also missing up to now.
This has really made me reflect on how much I know about my neighbours. Knowing a little more about the people living around you is important and in some cases can even be necessary. You never know when knowing your neighbour could be a life saver or prevent unnecessary loss. If only my neighbour had taken a little interest in my hobbies and looked at what was happening in my yard she would have known that I reared chickens and she would not have gone round the neighbourhood looking for the owner for the hen she found in her yard. How well do you know your neighbour?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Convicted Murderer turns Evangelist: Trevor Mwape's Story
Introduction
It is not often that 'free' people think about life behind bars and when they do, what first comes to mind are the deplorable living conditions in Zambian prisons. However, one seldom thinks about the inmates and what sort of people they are, their fears, needs and triumphs. It is not a secret that life in Zambian prisons is very hard for the inmates. There have been several media reports of crowded cells, shortage of bed spaces and inadequate food. These inadequacies have resulted into prisoners taking turns to go to bed in some prisons or even starvation in other prisons. In June, 2011, Trevor Mwape, a former prisoner, now turned evangelist, shared his life story at Chelston's "Our Heavenly Father' Catholic Church. Trevor Mwape
Trevor was born in 1972 in Zambia's Copperbelt Province. He had 11 siblings. His family relocated to Northern Province in his early childhood where he completed his secondary education. His ambition was to join the Zambia Army. Meanwhile, his father preferred an engineering career for him. The different career preferences between father and son tore the two apart and eventually drove Trevor to run away from home. He went to live with his elder sister in Chingola on the Copperbelt.Estrangement from family and becoming a paramilitary policeman
After secondary school Trevor attempted to join the Zambia Army. However, due to unforeseen circumstances he was not selected by the Army. Eventually, he joined the Zambia Police . His intention was to become an ordinary police officer. However, at the time the only available training in the service was paramilitary. He therefore enrolled for this training. After 2 years he graduated from the police academy at Lilayi in Lusaka and was employed as a paramilitary police officer by Zambia Police. His family, particularly his father, was not happy about Trevor's career and he didn't hide his disappointment after learning that his son was a policeman . Trevor therefore decided to cut ties with his father and mother.Marriage
After serving as a policeman for sometime, Trevor took his leave. He planned to spend time with his elder sister in Chingola. He stopped over in Kitwe, on the way to Chingola, where he engaged in heavy drinking. During this time he became involved with a married woman whose legal husband was serving a jail sentence. After spending some days with this woman he continued his journey to Chingola promising to come back for her on his return trip. Trevor and this woman later travelled to Lusaka where they started living together as man and wife. Trevor had no clue that his wife was already married to a convicted criminal. He discovered this later from the woman's relatives. At this point it was too late for him to break off the relationship. Drug Abuse and womanising
Trevor started abusing alcohol and marijuana while still at school. He used to drink and smoke heavily. This became worse after he got employed as a paramilitary officer. He also picked up prostitutes from night clubs. This behaviour continued even after his marriage. In order to support his drinking, smoking and illicit sex habits he often engaged in corrupt practices.Career as Paramilitary Police Officer
Trevor was a very courageous police officer. Í had no fear...even guns did not scare me, ' he said as he shared his story at Chelston Parish. As a result of his courage he served in some of the specialised crime units within the police service and other government security wings. However, his corrupt tendencies continued and this resulted in his eventual demotion. He was reassigned to general police duties and later transferred to a rural posting.Life at home
At home, life was extremely disorganised. Trevor and his wife had 1 child together, a boy. Trevor abused alcohol and often deserted his home sometimes for as long as two weeks. He used to spend time away from home with his girl friends. After his demotion Trevor was transferred to Mumbwa, a rural town. In Mumbwa, his wife became a Christian. She started praying for him and inviting pastors to their home so that they could assist her husband to change. However, Trevor was not ready to reform and in fact his drinking became worse.Murder
One fateful day, Trevor started a fight with his wife after returning home at 02:00 hrs in the morning following a heavy drinking spree at the local Police Club in Mumbwa. He beat his wife excessively until she died. After realising that he had killed her, he left the house with the intention of committing suicide at his work place.Arrest, conviction and sentencing
Trevor was arrested at his work place by his fellow police officers after a failed attempt to commit suicide. He was charged with murder. His family was deeply disappointed when they heard about Trevor's fate. His father said úmukulu tapusa akebo abusa kabwe'. This famous Bemba proverb means án elderly person will not miss the mark with words of wisdom but may miss the mark when he aims a stone at it.'
Trevor was remanded in custody at Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe during trial. He was tried in Kabwe Magistrate Court and Lusaka's Supreme Court. He initially denied the murder charge. After several court appearances, he was eventually charged with murder and given the mandatory sentence for murder-hanging until pronounced dead. A defence lawyer however pleaded with the judge to reduce the sentence given that the accused was drunk when he committed the crime. Following this plea the sentence was reduced to 20 years with hard labour.
Life at Mukobeko Maximum Prison
After sentencing Trevor was imprisoned at Kabwe's Mukobeko Maximum Prison. According to Trevor life was very hard for him and other inmates. They often lacked adequate food and used to rely on help from well wishes especially a Catholic Jesuit Priest known as Fr. Ben Bowen. Fr. Bowen was a Prison Chaplain and he would often bring some 'good' food and medicines to the prison for inmates. According to Trevor food ( mainly nshima, beans and Kapenta) provided by the prison authorities was 'not well prepared'. He described his life in jail as 'hell' saying that 'some inmates died from various illnesses or starvation.' His family especially his parents visited him in prison. His father and mother both died while he was serving his sentence.
Becoming a Christian
During his early days in Prison, Trevor refused visits from Christians preferring to drink beer and smoke marijuana. However, during one encounter with a church elder who shared Is 1:13 with him he confessed his sins and surrendered his life to God. His faith in God helped in making life more bearable for him in prison. After becoming a Christian he confessed to killing his wife in court against the advice of his defence lawyer. He also stopped drinking and smoking marijuana.
While in prison he was involved in a terrible road traffic accident. He was admitted at the University Teaching Hospital (U.T.H) where he stayed for 9 months because of his critical medical condition. He was paralysed and could not walk without help. As a convicted criminal he had very few visitors while in hospital and often starved because of lack of food. He relied on prayer for strength and well wishers for food. After several months his mother visited him at hospital.
Transfer to Lusaka Central Prison (Chimbo-kaila)
Upon his discharge from U.T.H, Trevor was transferred from Mukobeko Prison to Chimbo-kaila in Lusaka. At Chimbo-kaila, he had to share a prison cell with more than 100 inmates. Again he relied on prayer for strength. While he was still in prison he learnt about the deaths of some of his brothers and sisters. Some of his siblings left behind children who were now destitute. Despite discouraging remarks from some fellow prisoners he did not give up his Christian beliefs. Instead grew stronger in faith and he helped to lead other inmates to Christ.
Parole and freedom
After Trevor had served his sentence for close to 10 years, President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa decided to use his presidential discretion to pardon some prisoners. Trevor did not think that he would be eligible for pardon. However, he prayed that he may be among the 824 prisoners that the Officer-in-Charge at Chimbo- kaila Prison said would have their sentences commuted from life sentences or receive absolute pardon. Trevor was anxiously waiting to hear his name on the day prison authorities announced the names of the prisoners to be released . After a long wait his name was called out. He was very excited that God had answered his prayer to be released. However, after walking to freedom he found that there was no one to receive him.
His former mother-in-law in the company of other relatives to his murdered wife paid him a visit while he was behind bars. They told him that they had forgiven him for killing his wife. Trevor was grateful to them for forgiving him and thanked God. The family did not however bring Trevor's son along and they asked him to respect their decision to keep his son away from him.
Destitution
Life for Trevor after prison was not any easy. He was homeless. Initially he spent nights out in the cold at the Lusaka Inter-city Bus Terminal. Later, he was offered a job at a farm in Chisamba by a clergyman. He was responsible for herding cattle and working in a banana plantation. He was dismissed from this job a few months later and became homeless again. Eventually, he met a former convict, Kwacha Mvula, who provides assistance to former inmates. He stayed with him for a while and with his support Trevor secured accommodation in one of Lusaka's high density townships. He is staying with 5 dependents (his brothers and sisters). Together with other former inmates, he features on radio programmes called 'Turning Point' and Ífya nchitila Lesa' on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) radio 2 and 1 respectively. He has also become a full-time evangelist.
Conclusion
Trevor laments that there is a lot of stigmatisation against former convicts. It is not very easy to be re-integrated into main stream society after serving a prison sentence. It is extremely difficult to earn a living because most employers will not give a job to a former convict. He however said that he is comforted by the scripture that says that 'there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' He urged Christians that attended the service where he shared his life story at Chelston Parish to 'put love first'. He also urged them to learn from his mistakes and to avoid indulging in alcohol and drug abuse because they could have dire consequences on someone's life.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Sexist Language against Women
Normally Sundays are quiet days in my neighbourhood. Most people relax at home or go to Church to worship their God. Like many people on Sunday my day starts by going to Church and ends with relaxation at home. Last Sunday, I however had an interesting day. After the Church Service I lushed to a local butchery at the market. Surprisingly, there was a long queue of people at the butchery. I quietly joined the queue which extended outside the butchery's main entrance to the street.
Now a bit of background information is necessary here. Most people in my country are not very patient with queues. There is generally a tendence that if a person knows someone at the place where they have gone to seek something then they would not need to waste time in the queue but simply speak to the person they know and get served. So jumping the queue is commonly practiced. I have always wondered where this bad practice comes from in our culture. Being a frequent traveller abroad I have been exposed to other societies and cultures and seen how other people respect and appreciate queuing at shops and other places e.g. Airports, banks e.t.c..
Back to my Sunday butchery incident. Standing patiently in the queue I saw a number of people walk into the butchery and ignore the queue and go in front as though waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the queue. However, after realising that they had no chance of jumping the queue they would walk out of the butchery. As it was getting closer for me to get served, a young man of around 25 years old walked into the butchery. The butchery attendent was about to receive an order from a male customer that was immediately in front of me. However, the young man that had recently arrived in the butchery stepped forward and started giving his order. I quickly pointed out to the attendent that it was time for the person in front of me and not the new arrival to be served. Seeing that I had fouled his plan the new arrival insulted me using very abusive language. He wondered why a woman should accuse him of jumping the queue when there were men in the butchery.
I was really taken aback by this sexist language. Growing up as a girl and woman in Zambia, I have always been aware of gender imbalances in my society but never had anyone used such sexist language against me. It therefore hurt and shocked me that a male stranger should use abusive language towards me simply because of my sex. Strangely, none of the other women present in the butchery dared to confront the man about his language againt me or women in general. The men in the butchery were also silent. I was however happy that after this incident the abusive man did not stay and get served. Instead he walked out of the butchery shouting unprintables about me.
Reflecting on this incident later I was saddened at how much women are still regarded as second class citizens in our society. Yes, there has been a lot of gender sensitisation and awareness raised among many people in formal and informal institutions about gender issues. But generally people's attitudes towards women are still very negative and abusive. Society has not really come to see as shameful sexist language as long as it is used against the female gender. As a result, most women still suffer abuse at home and in public. It is therefore important that more is done to educate boys and men that girls and women should be respected and seen as equal partners rather than second class human beings. I am also urging women and girls not to be intimidated to keep quiet when they see something wrong because of fear of verabl abuse from the 'stronger sex'.
Now a bit of background information is necessary here. Most people in my country are not very patient with queues. There is generally a tendence that if a person knows someone at the place where they have gone to seek something then they would not need to waste time in the queue but simply speak to the person they know and get served. So jumping the queue is commonly practiced. I have always wondered where this bad practice comes from in our culture. Being a frequent traveller abroad I have been exposed to other societies and cultures and seen how other people respect and appreciate queuing at shops and other places e.g. Airports, banks e.t.c..
Back to my Sunday butchery incident. Standing patiently in the queue I saw a number of people walk into the butchery and ignore the queue and go in front as though waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the queue. However, after realising that they had no chance of jumping the queue they would walk out of the butchery. As it was getting closer for me to get served, a young man of around 25 years old walked into the butchery. The butchery attendent was about to receive an order from a male customer that was immediately in front of me. However, the young man that had recently arrived in the butchery stepped forward and started giving his order. I quickly pointed out to the attendent that it was time for the person in front of me and not the new arrival to be served. Seeing that I had fouled his plan the new arrival insulted me using very abusive language. He wondered why a woman should accuse him of jumping the queue when there were men in the butchery.
I was really taken aback by this sexist language. Growing up as a girl and woman in Zambia, I have always been aware of gender imbalances in my society but never had anyone used such sexist language against me. It therefore hurt and shocked me that a male stranger should use abusive language towards me simply because of my sex. Strangely, none of the other women present in the butchery dared to confront the man about his language againt me or women in general. The men in the butchery were also silent. I was however happy that after this incident the abusive man did not stay and get served. Instead he walked out of the butchery shouting unprintables about me.
Reflecting on this incident later I was saddened at how much women are still regarded as second class citizens in our society. Yes, there has been a lot of gender sensitisation and awareness raised among many people in formal and informal institutions about gender issues. But generally people's attitudes towards women are still very negative and abusive. Society has not really come to see as shameful sexist language as long as it is used against the female gender. As a result, most women still suffer abuse at home and in public. It is therefore important that more is done to educate boys and men that girls and women should be respected and seen as equal partners rather than second class human beings. I am also urging women and girls not to be intimidated to keep quiet when they see something wrong because of fear of verabl abuse from the 'stronger sex'.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Chicken rearing is a viable income generation activity
Introduction
Many people living on the margins struggle to find an income generating activity that could assist them in providing for themselves and their dependants especially in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Life is extremely hard especially when you have to depend on your self to produce enough food for your family and at the same time engage in some economic activities that will provide some cash that can be used to pay for education and health care. Recently, I met a self-trained, charismatic chicken farmer who believes that chicken rearing is a profitable income generating activity that can assist in improving the living standards in his family.
Feeding, disease and pest control
Timothy Hampuwo, a senior Zambian citizen living in Mulongo Village, Chief Hamaundu's area in Pemba, Southern Province, started rearing chickens in March 2009. Before leading life as an ordinary villager Mr Hampuwo was employed as a government teacher. His stock of birds is made up of indigenous breeds that are managed under a semi-controlled system. The chickens feed free range but in order to ensure that they have adequate nutrients their feed is supplemented their with organic food e.g. maize bran (which is sometimes mixed with sunflower cake or soya beans). In order to ensure that laying birds, which are housed in laying compartments on a raised grass and poles structure, have access to live ants (which are a major source of protein in the free range management system) Mr. Hampuwo has developed a very clever way of attracting the ants to the bird's cages. He puts dry or wet grass sprinkled with water in each laying compartment and this attracts the ants making them climb into the compartment to feed on the grass. In this way the laying birds have easier and adequate supply of ants. When it comes to avian disease and pest control, Mr Hampuwo relies on herbal drugs e.g. day old chicks are given a herbal mixture as vaccination against diseases.
Labour and capital requirements
Before seriously engaging in chicken rearing, Mr Hampuwo carried out an assessment to find out the advantages of chicken rearing as well as the requirements for a successful business. In his assessment he found out that chicken rearing does not require a lot of labour. The main tasks are feeding and giving water to the birds. The minimal labour requirements reduce the cost of production thus contributing to maximum returns on very little production inputs. According to Mr. Hampuwo it is possible even for those that do not have financial capital to start a chicken rearing business in the context of rural Zambia. This is because in the Zambian culture it is common for an individual to be given a chicken free of charge by a well wisher and this gift can be used to start a business. Another way is through borrowing a laying bird on condition that you repay by giving the lender an agreed number of chickens after a given period.
Egg/chick production
Mr. Hampuwo has observed that his laying chickens lay eggs 4 times in a year and therefore produce chicks every 3 months. Each bird lays 15 eggs. After the eggs hatch he puts 10 chicks on his income generating business while 5 chicks are reserved for home consumption. His stock includes 25 laying birds, 2 cockrels that service the laying birds and 23 male birds. He plans to increase the number of his laying birds to 50 by March, 2011.
Marketing
Birds are sold at 8 or 10 months. Initially, Mr Hampuwo was selling his birds in his village and surrounding communities at the cost of K25,000 (approximately USD 2) each. Realising that this price was low he decided to do a market research so that he could get a higher price for his birds. He now sells his chickens in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city which is located hundreds of kilometers from his village. Twice a year he travels to Lusaka's Chilenje Market to sell his chickens where female birds are sold at K45,000 (approximately USD 9) and cockrels at K50,000 (approximately USD 10).
Conclusion
Chicken rearing is a very good income generating actitivity for resouce challenged areas such as rural areas. It is not very costly to start especially where the stock is made up of local indigenous chickens commonly referred to as 'village or free range chickens' in Zambia. The minimal labour requirements make chicken rearing an appropriate income generating activity even for labour constrained individuals such as the elderly or People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Mr Hampuwo's experience with this income generating activity has been very positive and other farmers can learn from this especially in terms of management and marketing.
Many people living on the margins struggle to find an income generating activity that could assist them in providing for themselves and their dependants especially in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Life is extremely hard especially when you have to depend on your self to produce enough food for your family and at the same time engage in some economic activities that will provide some cash that can be used to pay for education and health care. Recently, I met a self-trained, charismatic chicken farmer who believes that chicken rearing is a profitable income generating activity that can assist in improving the living standards in his family.
 |
| Some of Mr. Hampuwo's chickens |
Timothy Hampuwo, a senior Zambian citizen living in Mulongo Village, Chief Hamaundu's area in Pemba, Southern Province, started rearing chickens in March 2009. Before leading life as an ordinary villager Mr Hampuwo was employed as a government teacher. His stock of birds is made up of indigenous breeds that are managed under a semi-controlled system. The chickens feed free range but in order to ensure that they have adequate nutrients their feed is supplemented their with organic food e.g. maize bran (which is sometimes mixed with sunflower cake or soya beans). In order to ensure that laying birds, which are housed in laying compartments on a raised grass and poles structure, have access to live ants (which are a major source of protein in the free range management system) Mr. Hampuwo has developed a very clever way of attracting the ants to the bird's cages. He puts dry or wet grass sprinkled with water in each laying compartment and this attracts the ants making them climb into the compartment to feed on the grass. In this way the laying birds have easier and adequate supply of ants. When it comes to avian disease and pest control, Mr Hampuwo relies on herbal drugs e.g. day old chicks are given a herbal mixture as vaccination against diseases.
Labour and capital requirements
Before seriously engaging in chicken rearing, Mr Hampuwo carried out an assessment to find out the advantages of chicken rearing as well as the requirements for a successful business. In his assessment he found out that chicken rearing does not require a lot of labour. The main tasks are feeding and giving water to the birds. The minimal labour requirements reduce the cost of production thus contributing to maximum returns on very little production inputs. According to Mr. Hampuwo it is possible even for those that do not have financial capital to start a chicken rearing business in the context of rural Zambia. This is because in the Zambian culture it is common for an individual to be given a chicken free of charge by a well wisher and this gift can be used to start a business. Another way is through borrowing a laying bird on condition that you repay by giving the lender an agreed number of chickens after a given period.
 |
| Brooding hens at Mr. Hampuwo's village |
Mr. Hampuwo has observed that his laying chickens lay eggs 4 times in a year and therefore produce chicks every 3 months. Each bird lays 15 eggs. After the eggs hatch he puts 10 chicks on his income generating business while 5 chicks are reserved for home consumption. His stock includes 25 laying birds, 2 cockrels that service the laying birds and 23 male birds. He plans to increase the number of his laying birds to 50 by March, 2011.
Marketing
Birds are sold at 8 or 10 months. Initially, Mr Hampuwo was selling his birds in his village and surrounding communities at the cost of K25,000 (approximately USD 2) each. Realising that this price was low he decided to do a market research so that he could get a higher price for his birds. He now sells his chickens in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city which is located hundreds of kilometers from his village. Twice a year he travels to Lusaka's Chilenje Market to sell his chickens where female birds are sold at K45,000 (approximately USD 9) and cockrels at K50,000 (approximately USD 10).
Conclusion
Chicken rearing is a very good income generating actitivity for resouce challenged areas such as rural areas. It is not very costly to start especially where the stock is made up of local indigenous chickens commonly referred to as 'village or free range chickens' in Zambia. The minimal labour requirements make chicken rearing an appropriate income generating activity even for labour constrained individuals such as the elderly or People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Mr Hampuwo's experience with this income generating activity has been very positive and other farmers can learn from this especially in terms of management and marketing.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
PMTC- best way of protecting your child from HIV/AIDS infection
PMTC is Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS. In Zambia PMTC is available to all expectant mothers that attend Anti-natal Clinics. PMTC if properly adhered to highly reduces the risk of infection from an HIV positive mother to her unborn child and also during child birth. After the child is born, there is also a regime of drugs that are prescribed to the mother and child to prevent infection. PMTC has only became available to expectant mothers in recent years. Some mothers miss the opportunity to prevent infection of their child either because they do not know their status or because they are afraid to be on a PMTC programme even when they know their status. This is very sad because a decision to be part of a PMTC programme can be the greatest gift that a mother can give to her unborn child.
Last week I was extremely touched by a story of a 17 year old Zambian girl living in Mazabuka, a small sugar producing town in the Southern Province. This young girl was born in February 1993. She has 5 elder brothers and sisters and one younger sister. She is a double orphan. Both are parents died in 2003. She is living with her siblings in a house that they bought from their fathers' benefits in a compound known as Nakambala in Mazabuka. Gladys (not real name) found out that she was HIV postive earlier this year after a prolonged illness. She was diagonised with Tuberculosis (TB) in January, 2010 and was put on treatment. However, despite completing the TB treatment her condition did not improve and detriorated further. Medical officials at Mazabuka Hospital therefore advised her to take an HIV test. She was positive. The young girl said that she has accepted her status. She is still being treated for TB and she is not yet on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) because her CD4 count has not yet being taken. According to Gladys her blood levels are extremely low such that it is had not been possible for medical personnel to get a sample from her frangile body for a CD4 count. Sadly, at the time that I visited Glady at her home she had not been given TB injections for about 3 days due to shortage of TB drugs at Mazabuka Hospital. Gladys's elder sister Anna (not real name) explained that the shortage of TB drugs in Mazabuka's public and private health facilities as well as pharmacies was negatively impacting on the poor health of her sister.
Gladys could not sit for her grade nine final examination due to poor health. She attends school at a community school in Mazabuka where she has been absent for a long time due to her poor health. Gladys does not know how she became infected with HIV. However, her elder sister Anna suspects that Gladys may have acquired the virus from her mother. Gladys' mother become very sick after giving birth to her and Anna suspects that this may have been the time that Gladys contracted the virus. She narrated that Gladys' young sister Mable (not real name) aged 14 years old is also HIV positive and is on ART treatment. I met Mable. She is a shy, fine looking girl.
Gladys' dream is to complete her formal education and to assist her family with financially. For now, this may be a very ambitious dream given her poor health. I hope that relevant authorities will come to the aid of this poor girl and others by stocking all health instutitions with adequate supplies of life saving drugs for TB and other infections. In the recent past, there has been diminishing focus and funding for TB and HIV/AIDS globally. Gladys' sad story reminders policy makers and development workers that perhaps it is premature to reduce funding to TB/HIV/AIDS because it still remains a very big health and development problem especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a wake up call for parents especially mothers to take an HIV test and also take appropriate action e.g. PMTC to prevent infection to their unborn child. Perfect health is the greatest gift that a mother can give to an unborn child and infant. It is indeed sad that Gladys has only discovered that she is HIV positive when she has already developed full blown AIDS. If this teenager's status was known earlier through appropriate action of her guardians the health problems are now affecting her may have been prevented or minimised. Mable whose status was known earlier is in better health because of ART treatment but her elder sister's life hungs in the balance given the current shortage of TB drugs in Mazabuka.
Last week I was extremely touched by a story of a 17 year old Zambian girl living in Mazabuka, a small sugar producing town in the Southern Province. This young girl was born in February 1993. She has 5 elder brothers and sisters and one younger sister. She is a double orphan. Both are parents died in 2003. She is living with her siblings in a house that they bought from their fathers' benefits in a compound known as Nakambala in Mazabuka. Gladys (not real name) found out that she was HIV postive earlier this year after a prolonged illness. She was diagonised with Tuberculosis (TB) in January, 2010 and was put on treatment. However, despite completing the TB treatment her condition did not improve and detriorated further. Medical officials at Mazabuka Hospital therefore advised her to take an HIV test. She was positive. The young girl said that she has accepted her status. She is still being treated for TB and she is not yet on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) because her CD4 count has not yet being taken. According to Gladys her blood levels are extremely low such that it is had not been possible for medical personnel to get a sample from her frangile body for a CD4 count. Sadly, at the time that I visited Glady at her home she had not been given TB injections for about 3 days due to shortage of TB drugs at Mazabuka Hospital. Gladys's elder sister Anna (not real name) explained that the shortage of TB drugs in Mazabuka's public and private health facilities as well as pharmacies was negatively impacting on the poor health of her sister.
Gladys could not sit for her grade nine final examination due to poor health. She attends school at a community school in Mazabuka where she has been absent for a long time due to her poor health. Gladys does not know how she became infected with HIV. However, her elder sister Anna suspects that Gladys may have acquired the virus from her mother. Gladys' mother become very sick after giving birth to her and Anna suspects that this may have been the time that Gladys contracted the virus. She narrated that Gladys' young sister Mable (not real name) aged 14 years old is also HIV positive and is on ART treatment. I met Mable. She is a shy, fine looking girl.
Gladys' dream is to complete her formal education and to assist her family with financially. For now, this may be a very ambitious dream given her poor health. I hope that relevant authorities will come to the aid of this poor girl and others by stocking all health instutitions with adequate supplies of life saving drugs for TB and other infections. In the recent past, there has been diminishing focus and funding for TB and HIV/AIDS globally. Gladys' sad story reminders policy makers and development workers that perhaps it is premature to reduce funding to TB/HIV/AIDS because it still remains a very big health and development problem especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a wake up call for parents especially mothers to take an HIV test and also take appropriate action e.g. PMTC to prevent infection to their unborn child. Perfect health is the greatest gift that a mother can give to an unborn child and infant. It is indeed sad that Gladys has only discovered that she is HIV positive when she has already developed full blown AIDS. If this teenager's status was known earlier through appropriate action of her guardians the health problems are now affecting her may have been prevented or minimised. Mable whose status was known earlier is in better health because of ART treatment but her elder sister's life hungs in the balance given the current shortage of TB drugs in Mazabuka.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Zambia's Maize Bumper Harvest-storage blues?
Zambia's 2009/2010 maize harvest is a record 2.8 million metric tonnes (Zambia Daily Mail, 2010). Over 80% of this maize was harvested by small scale farmers. From the above figure of 2.8 million metric tonnes, one deduces that this is very good news in terms of national and household food security because maize is the main staple food for the majority of Zambians.
Government has purchased most of the harvested grain through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA). FRA is the official government mandated agency that purchases maize from farmers all over the country. FRA stores the purchased grain at various satellite and main depots dotted around the country. Sadly, in the recent past various print and electonic media have been reporting on poor storage facilities at the FRA depots resulting in soaking, germination and rotting of some of the stored grain with the falling of the first rains in most parts of the country. On 16th November, 2010, Muvi TV main news reported that several 50 kilo gramme bags of maize have gone to waste in Central province. The station reported that some maize grain at storage sheds in Serenje and Chisamba have either germinated or rotted due to exposure to rain water.
Given the huge efforts that farmers, government and several other stakeholders have been making to improve maize production and ultimately food security it is indeed disturbing that poor storage facilities will result in loss of substantial amounts of grain. FRA and all relevant authorities have the moral responsibility to ensure that they move in quickly and secure the remaining grain before it is too late and that in future proper storage mechanisms will be put in place.
Government has purchased most of the harvested grain through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA). FRA is the official government mandated agency that purchases maize from farmers all over the country. FRA stores the purchased grain at various satellite and main depots dotted around the country. Sadly, in the recent past various print and electonic media have been reporting on poor storage facilities at the FRA depots resulting in soaking, germination and rotting of some of the stored grain with the falling of the first rains in most parts of the country. On 16th November, 2010, Muvi TV main news reported that several 50 kilo gramme bags of maize have gone to waste in Central province. The station reported that some maize grain at storage sheds in Serenje and Chisamba have either germinated or rotted due to exposure to rain water.
Given the huge efforts that farmers, government and several other stakeholders have been making to improve maize production and ultimately food security it is indeed disturbing that poor storage facilities will result in loss of substantial amounts of grain. FRA and all relevant authorities have the moral responsibility to ensure that they move in quickly and secure the remaining grain before it is too late and that in future proper storage mechanisms will be put in place.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Independence day, are all workers free?
In the past few days, I have been reminded by notices from my kids' schools that Zambia
This years' celebration will be overshadowed by the recent shooting of 11 miners at Chinese owned Collum Coal mine situated in the rural district of Sinazongwe in Southern province. The 11 miners were shot by 2 Chinese mine managers following a protest over low wages and poor working conditions. The shooting was followed by ugly scenes on local television stations of law enforcement officers stopping 2 youths from 2 opposition political parties from entering the Chinese embassy to officially protest over the shooting of the miners. The 2 youths were not allowed to see the Chinese Ambassador at the Embassy despite having an official appointment by the law enforcement officers.
Labour conflicts over low wages and poor working conditions have become common place in our country. High in-flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the Zambian economy, especially the mining sector, have not always boosted morale and inspired pride in miners. In the past, working as a miner was regarded with nostalgia and prestige. Miners had some of the best working conditions in the country and were highly admired by employees in other professions. In the days leading up to independence day, mine townships would come alive with national colors- red, green, black and orange- and everyone was in high expectant spirits as independence day drew closer. Poor working conditions under some new mine owners and other investors have taken away some of the joy of independence leaving many people wondering whether the clock is ticking back to pre-independence days when Zambian workers were poorly treated by their colonial masters.
On Friday 22nd October, 2010 yet another sad incidence happened adding more injury to the lot of Zambian workers. An adult male employed by a South African construction company as a casual worker at a construction site for an ultra modern shopping mall in Lusaka owned by South Africans was crushed to death while on duty. According to Muvi Tv main news, the casual worker met his fate when a pile of heavy fibre glass he was tasked to off load from a container fell on him instantly crushing him to death. ‘Casualisation’ is a big problem affecting workers in Zambia. Casual workers are not entitled to retirement or terminal benefits after leaving employment and are usually not paid a decent living wage. It is doubtful whether the surviving relatives of the person that was crushed to death on Friday will be adequately compensated for their loss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)