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Misisi |
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The Misisi Compound is a township on the outskirts of Lusaka. It is home
to an estimated 80,000 people, most of whom live
on less than a dollar a day. Misisi has been
dubbed the 'Cholera Capital' of Zambia due to a
lack of basic amenities such as running water
and sanitation provision. HIV, Aids and TB are
rampant in the compound, leading to a very high
infant mortality rate.
These people are dying of poverty because they
are not deemed as important enough to receive
medical care. To western governments, these
people are not even humans. They cannot
participate in a free market economy and hence
do not matter. Project Zambia believes in the
value of all life and is working to give the
people of Misisi a sense a dignity and to show
them that they have not been forgotten.
Below
are some of the Projects inside Misisi that Project Zambia is working
on. |
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St. Catherine's School |
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 St. Catherine's is a community school right in the middle of Misisi. It has a pre-school class and now goes up to grade eight. The school has recently received Government recognition as a legal Basic School, and the inspectors informed Mr Tembo that it is one of the best schools in the area. The school now hosts a computer suite.
In the summer of 2007 our volunteers helped with the toilet block which is now complete. Volunteers in the summer of 2009 team helped to create a block-making business which will generate income to help pay for teachers and on-going costs. Most recently volunteers aided in the painting of classrooms please view our gallery. |
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Misisi Home Based Care |
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The Home Based Care Project is based in the St.
Lawrence Centre, but is active in Misisi.
Medical and Pastoral staff visit ill people in
their homes and provide very basic medical care
as well as advice and prayer.
In the HBC offices
there are facilities for testing for Aids and
giving some immunisations. Some of our
volunteers have had the privilege of working
alongside the HBC staff and participating in the
home visitations. A moving and humbling
experience. |
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St Lawrence's |
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 St. Lawrence Community Centre contains some of
the first projects that Project Zambia began
working with.
The centre is a walled enclosure beside the
Misisi compound in Lusaka. Project Zambia works
alongside the St. Lawrence development committee
to develop and expand the education, training,
community and income generation projects in the
St. Lawrence Centre.
Below is a list of the
projects with which we work in the St. Lawrence
Community Centre. |
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Community School |
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 St. Lawrence Community School serves the
neighbouring Misisi compound, as one of the few
schools available for children to attend.
The
school contains grades 1-9, with four new
classrooms having been funded by Project Zambia,
along with funding for teacher's salaries. PZ
has also funded the building of accommodation
for teachers in the St. Lawrence Centre, so that
they do not have to travel large distances to
school each day.
In 2006 a new clean water
system was installed by PZ for the School
canteen. Future plans for the School include the
building of a Library and an IT resource centre,
within the next three years. Our Volunteers
enjoy teaching in the school and working with
the pupils each year, many of them forming
friendships with the pupils and teachers, who
enjoy seeing them come back each Easter and
Summer. |
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Special Needs School |
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 St. Lawrence Special Needs School contains five
classrooms, catering for children with various
degrees of Special Needs.
Project Zambia has
funded a major extension to the the Special
Needs School over the last few years, including
a new classroom and toilets, to improve the
health and hygiene and health in the school.
In
Summer 2007, our volunteers helped to paint the
classrooms in this school, to make for a more
pleasant educational environment for the
children there. |
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Community Projects |
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 Project Zambia has funded the building of a
Community Hall, which is used for community
meetings and doubles as a Church. It is
important for the community to have a space
where they can come together to meet and discuss
the issues that effect them.
We have also funded
a new ablution block, which was opened in July
2007. This contains Male and Female flushing
toilets and showers, with wash hand basins and
is open for anyone in the vicinity to use. It is
hoped that the ablution block will help to
improve health and cut down on diseases such as
Cholera and Dysentery, through the promotion of
good hygiene. |
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Income Generation & Adult Training |
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 A Bakery, with a Maize Grinding Mill, is now up
and running, funded by Project Zambia, with PZ
volunteers helping with construction. The bread
is sold to the community and the profits all go
back into the Community Centre. So far, this
Social Economy project is proving to be
extremely successful and our volunteers love to
taste the bread when they go there!
St. Lawrence
Centre also contains a brickworks for income
generation. The blocks are made on site and sold
from the St. Lawrence Centre also. Project
Zambia has also funded a Joinery Workshop for
adult training. This gives members of the
community essential skills with which to seek
employment. PZ has supplied new tools and
equipment for this project and St. Lawrence
Committee are planning to expand the workshop,
to incorporate an income generation aspect,
which will also create jobs for those completing
their training.
In the summer of 2008, we have
funded a new generator for the St. Lawrence
centre, to avoid the problems causes by power
shedding in Zambia. This will allow all of the
projects in the centre to continue as normal. |
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Agriculture Projects |
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 St. Lawrence Centre contains a large garden for
various Agriculture projects. Many different
vegetables are growing there, which are used for
food for the pupils and teachers in the school
as well as the many other members of staff in
the centre.
The Agriculture project now also
contains two chicken runs, funded by Project
Zambia and a Piggery is currently under
construction, which is being built with the help
of our volunteers this summer. |
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Home Of Hope |
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 The Home of Hope is a centre where street kids
from Misisi live.
In 2003, it was simply two
cargo containers. With help from Project Zambia,
there are now three dormitories with bunk-beds
and a new kitchen. |
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Development Plans |
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Project Zambia's immediate goal in the St.
Lawrence Centre is to fund a Medical Centre.
Aids, TB, Cholera and many other deadly diseases
are rampant in the Misisi compound and the rate
of mothers dying during giving birth is
scandalously high. A new medical centre, with
adequate staff and equipment will greatly help
to combat these problems. If you wish to help,
or find out more about our development plans in
the St. Lawrence Centre, please email us at
info@projectzambia.com |
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