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Helping Orphaned Children in Zambia
Millions of African children are being orphaned by
HIV/AIDS. An estimated 1 in 5 people are dying of the
virus in Zambia. Poverty and malnutrition fuel this crisis
together with 80% of the people being unemployed. As
a consequence thousands of orphaned children are
having to survive on their own!
Five years ago Hands of Compassion set up a
community school for orphaned and vulnerable children
in Chipulukusu, a large squatter township where 62,000
people live in very basic mud brick houses, near Ndola
in Zambia. There are currently 500 pupils in this school.
One story: Lucia is 6 years old and is cared for by her
Grandparents. She gets up at 6am and has a cup of tea
and a bread bun, and leaves home at 6.30am to reach
school at 7a.m. Lucia is in the Nursery class, (her
favourite subject is English). After school she runs
errands for her Grandmother, fetching water, washing
dishes and sweeping the home. She eats nshema - the
local maize meal - and vegetables. Sometimes she is
fortunate to have a meal twice a day but at other times
through lack of money, there is no food. She goes to
bed at 8pm sleeping on the dirt floor with four other
children. 3 of the children share the same blanket.
Lucia says "I like going to school and I want to be a
teacher when I grow up."
It might have seemed as if there was no hope for
Lucia's future, but now that Lucia attends the Hands of Compassion School, life for her as for that of the other
children there is worth living again.
Life is tough for these children, but at the school, the
aim is to give a basic education and thus a better
chance in life. Pupils start in the Nursery and continue
to grade 7. It costs £2 per month to keep one child at
the school
Children in Grade 7 class sit a Government examination,
and if they pass, Hands of Compassion endeavor to
sponsor these children whilst they attend Grade 8 and
upwards at a Government School. This costs £100 per
year for every child to purchase uniform, books and pay
school fees.
Hands of Compassion provides hope for these orphaned
and vulnerable children through basic education and
training, enabling them to grow, become informed and
fulfill their potential. But above all to survive.
CAN YOU HELP TO LIGHT A CANDLE OF HOPE FOR
THESE CHILDREN OF ZAMBIA?
For more information, please contact by email: info@handsofcompassion.co.uk
Or visit the website at www.handsofcompassion.co.uk
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