Zambia suffers heavily from drought, causing crops to wither and die. Many remote villages can be half a days’ walk from a water source and carrying water to the fields can be back-breaking, exhausting and time-consuming.
ChildFund has constructed ten boreholes in the Chibombo and Kafue districts of Zambia and they have literally changed the lives of communities. The distance covered by children and youths in search of clean water has been greatly reduced and mothers have more time to take care of their children. For school-aged children and youths, there has been a reduction in absenteeism, which is expected to result in increased performance and pass rates.
Mother of six, Grace, says her role has been made much easier by the instalment of the boreholes. “The best way I can say thank-you is to take good care of the boreholes”.
Many farmers in Uganda rely solely on the sale of their crops and if erratic weather causes a poor harvest, they simply cannot provide for their families. ChildFund has worked with communities to help diversify their income sources and animal husbandry has proved to be a great success.
As part of the ChildFund Livelihoods Program, Peter was identified as one of the community members most in need of animal husbandry training and techniques. He was provided with male goats which are drought-tolerant, fast breeding and great milk producers.
These he-goats have been cross-bred with local goats which enables not only Peter, but the other members of the community to grow their livestock numbers and potential earnings. Goats are an amazing resource for impoverished families and malnourished children and Peter told us:
“Goat farming has enabled me to even pay school fees for my children better than I was doing before. Also the family enjoys milk, which has improved our nutrition”.
