Our Inspiring Visit with a Community Based Organization in Malikha

World Camp Country Manager Michael Kumwenda, Program Coordinator Karen Clark, and Professional Capacity Building Intern Rufus Faggons ventured to meet with the leadership and members of Kasumba CBO (Community Based Organization) near Liwera Full Primary School in the Malikha Primary School Zone.

We were warmly welcomed by the staff, who had arranged nametags on our seats. They dove right into sharing with us the meat of their efforts. The Kasumba CBO membership hovers around 30 and they serve 58 villages! There are over 200 orphans living in their catchment area, but the number is increasing at an alarming rate.

The CBO has been serving the Kasumba area for five years, and when asked why each member joined, they all provided different and very personal responses. One woman’s sister-in-law was handicapped and she wanted to provide support not only for her sister-in-law, but for everyone in her area who faced physical handicaps (both women are pictured right). One man, frustrated that his children couldn’t go to school during the rainy season because the road washed out, has personally vowed to plant 1,000 trees during the year 2012 to combat deforestation and preserve his environment. Another man observed the human rights of youth being abused in his community.  He joined the CBO to learn more about child rights and use the group as a way to educate and sensitize the community to the fragility, resilience, and potential of youth. One woman noticed the growing number of orphans in her community and the fact that they weren’t getting the support they should from their extended families. She’s been at the forefront of Early Child Development Centers and Orphan Support Units in the area.

The main room in the CBO’s office. The sign reads,
“2010: HIV and AIDS Outside the Box: Living Positive with HIV and AIDS.”

So far, the CBO has realized amazing success: they have set up and sustained seven Community Based Childcare Centers, supported school drop outs and orphans through the donation of school uniforms and feeding programs, held weekly after school athletic events and tutoring sessions during the school year, handed out five wheelchairs for those with disabilities, and sensitized the community to the benefits of education and the risks of early

marriages. But there’s still a long way to go. HIV rates are rising, the Home Based Care group lacks adequate training, the CBO shares a building with all other community groups and the church, some of the husbands of the female members don’t like when they go to meetings, adult literacy is low, and funding is a large problem.

Two CBO members show a map and posters
used to log information

Despite the future struggles of Kasumba, we were struck by the members’ openness, articulation of past success and future objectives, complete commitment to positive growth and development, and passion for those living in their communities. Kasumba Community Based Organization is a forum for activists in Liwera to plan and accomplish their dreams for community improvement, and with the passion we saw this week, we have no doubt they will!

Week 1 Concludes at Mchezi!

We have finished our first week of assessments and are feeling right at home here. Our week was busy meeting community members and assisting the Mchezi CBO staff through some housekeeping affairs and we are looking forward to our schedule for this week! Exciting reports should be coming in daily as we begin our training with CBO staff and helping with various outreach projects. Check back each day!

This week we experienced our first Mchezi CBO executive meeting.







Pictured above (from right to left) is Christopher the MCBO Director, Jordan the Youth Coordinator, William OVC Coordinator, and Mackenzie the Vocational Skills Leader.
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The agenda included:

1. "How/where are we going to sell 256 chickens and at what price? They have been growing for the past six weeks and are now plump enough to have their heads chopped off. Every day they aren’t sold we lose money on their feed and security."
2. "Prices for school uniforms that have been made by the tailor workshop. Selling them is not a problem. They are in high demand throughout the community."
3. OVC Sundays. We had a few simple ideas that could improve the efficiency and order of registering the orphans we didn’t get to. Yesterday was kind of mayhem with some kids running around, some filling out forms, and some getting pictures taken. It’s going to take a few days of shuffling through papers to match all the info up.
   
   

Molly working with William, the OVC Coordinator, compiling the information we gathered yesterday about each orphan. This is the lone computer for the CBO at their satellite office across town.

This was their first introduction to Excel and we think that it will make their lives a lot easier if they stick with it.
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We had our first experience making and eating Nsima (pronounced ‘n-seema’) which is pretty much papp, or maize flour and boiled water. Bland but filling. Gotta learn to love it. It’s all we have out here in the bush.
EDUCATE.INSPIRE.CHANGE.