They trekked with gorillas, saw wild lions and experienced Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls, but few experiences from Dennise and Peter Rossetti’s trip around Africa were as memorable as their visit to a small village in Zambia.
There, the Aussie couple from Victoria met the family of Ericah, who has been a part of their lives since they decided to sponsor a child in Africa a decade ago.
“We have supported Ericah for almost 10 years and seen her grow into a beautiful young woman and the opportunity to visit her was overwhelming,” says Dennise.
The couple and their children had been exchanging letters with Ericah since she was a child, and in Zambia they saw firsthand the impact they have made.
Dennise and Peter spent more than two hours catching up with Ericah – meeting family members and neighbours who have benefitted from their monthly donations.
As the future of children is ultimately linked to the situation in their community, ChildFund Australia sponsorship contributions are pooled with funds from other sponsors to help meet the individual and group needs of all children in the program and to benefit the entire community.
Active community participation and empowerment is encouraged within ChildFund project areas. Although children are at the centre of the locally developed initiatives, the emphasis is on encouraging self-help by providing families and communities with the means to reshape their future.
“The dedication of everyone to provide the communities with meaningful support was evident and we came away knowing that our money was not just assisting Ericah but other members of her community.”
Peter and Dennise’s trip to Africa included stops at Kruger National Park in South Africa, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and gorilla trekking in Rwanda. She said sponsoring a child in Africa, gave the trip more meaning.
The couple visited many African communities throughout their trip, but Zambia was the biggest standout by far.
“Our visit to meet Ericah was more than we could have ever imagined,” she says.
“We’ve been with ChildFund for almost 25 years as we’ve always wanted to provide other children with the opportunities that we’ve given our own. It was so wonderful to hear about Ericah’s dream of becoming a nurse and be able to support and encourage her face-to-face.”
On the night of 14 August, extreme flooding in Sierra Leone caused a devastating mudslide to sweep down the steep hillsides of the capital Freetown, engulfing the homes of thousands of families who live in the city’s most densely populated areas.
The estimated death toll is around 400, with that number rising daily as more bodies are discovered beneath the mud and debris. Around 20,000 people have been displaced from their homes, and as rescue efforts continue there are real fears that entire communities may have been wiped out.
Approximately 75 percent of those affected are women and children, including 150 sponsored children who are enrolled with ChildFund. We are relieved to report that all children living near the affected areas are safe and accounted for.
ChildFund is coordinating with other humanitarian organisations on the ground to assess the most urgent humanitarian needs, with a particular focus on child protection. Emergency assistance is already being provided in Regent, one of the areas most impacted by the landslide, and includes:
- Establishing Child Centred Spaces at displacement shelters, where children can gather to play and receive trauma support. These spaces also provide parents with a safe location to leave their children as they begin to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
- The provision of non-food items (NFIs) such as blankets, mosquito nets, water purification supplies, and scholastic materials so children don’t fall behind in their education.
- Cash transfers to the most vulnerable families, such as female-headed households who have lost their homes and are now without shelter and other basic necessities.
As time passes, there is increasing concern that waterborne disease may become widespread in Freetown due to the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, and contamination from bodies still lost under the mud.
The growing risk of diarrhoea, malaria and other diseases, compounded with poor access to adequate food, increases the potential for significant malnutrition, especially for the youngest children and lactating mothers.
Although Sierra Leone is prone to flooding annually, the country was not prepared for a disaster of this magnitude. As the country is only halfway through the rainy season, there are real fears of a second mudslide, with satellite data and radar imagery indicating a new fault line in another section of a Freetown hill. This situation will be monitored closely.
