Hello and you are welcome here this afternoon. This day two weeks ago I was in Western Zambia. It has been a life-changing experience. Every morning since I have returned from Zambia I have watched the water run from the tap into the hand basin and down the drain as I washed my teeth.
Concern is in Zambia since 2001 when we went there in response to a food crisis. This year we are spending €2.2 million in the country
In Mumbwa District we visited a village where Concern is working. Before we got up to leave we had a short question and answer session. I asked Monica Malundu what she would most like to have in life. “Water,” she said spontaneously.
Monica can do two round trips of six kilometres a day to get water for her family.
I got into the car and while driving on to Kaoma, passing people carrying water I was thinking of Monica’s answer to me.
But these days I’m watching the water we so much take for granted. How much water did you waste yesterday? How much food did we waste yesterday? How much food is thrown from fridge to bin.
I have no problem at all saying I have no answers to anything. But after my week in Zambia I keep thinking of the fortune of being born somewhere and the misfortune of being born somewhere else. Bono once said “Where you live should not determine whether you live.”
I stared into the eyes of beautiful children and wondered why. But every time I did that I also realised the amazing work that Concern is doing in Zambia.
Zambia is a large country. 753,000 Sq KM. Ireland is circa 84,000 Sq Km yet the population is only 13.5 million. Life expectancy is 49
English woman Danny Harvey runs the Concern operation from Lusaka. She remembered me from working here. Seemingly we often greeted each other at the bicycle rack. Typical of me I have no recollection of our close encounters.
Approximately 60 people work for us in Zambia.
We were sort of a VIP team, Frances O’Keeffe, Evanna Barry, who has just retired after 20 years on Council. She worked in Bangladesh in the early 1970s, Dominic MacSorley and representing the hoi polloi, myself. People often think the hoi polloi are the upper class, no, the plebs.
I was promised before leaving Dublin that I was going with the dream team, well almost. It was a great insight and also perfect advice.
I was told I would not be slumming it. True too. But I was greatly impressed with the accommodation we used. It was adequate, fine and no Radisons or Intercontinentals.
The work ethic of the chairperson and CEO is really spectacular. I have a fair good energy level but in Zambia I often found myself running fast to keep up with Frances and Dominic. And those of you who know me would never call me a sycophant.
We drove from Lusaka to Mongu with an overnight stop in Kaoma. The road from Lusaka to Mongu is a straight line for 600 kms built by the Dutch in 2005.
We visited Concern programmes in Kaoma. It was here I met village elder James Nsuuma.
He welcomed us in his native language Sala, and Annie Nyiremda translated. Annie works for a Concern partner. She is married and has two children. Her husband works with the Zambian forestry and part of his job is to protect trees being felled for charcoal purposes. All along the road from Lusaka to Mongu I saw felled timber for charcoal use.
James is the headman for 25 families and he in turn reports to a chieftain. His job entails implementing government policy in the village. “I have to make sure that there are no rapes or instances of child abuse. That is the most recent instruction I have received from the Government in Lusaka,” he said.
Innovative and exciting are the two words I’d use about the Concern programme in this village.
It is centred around helping pregnant and lactating women and children up to two years of age. The focus is on the nutrition of the mother from conception until the child reaches its second birthday. You all know that’s the 1000 Days concept.
On one occasion I caught Frances O’Keeffe asking the age of a child. She was told he was 10. He looked more like five. A clear example of stunting and of course but for Frances’ sharp eye I would never have spotted it.
It really is a brilliant programme to help in the fight against malnutrition and such a clever idea. It means the local people are cultivating all sorts of new crops with high nutritional value. At first many of the men were sceptical about the programme but now that they are seeing the results they are being won over.
Families are growing these seeds on small areas of land. I saw mbereshi, which is an iron enriched bean, soya beans and pumpkin seeds. I also saw orange fleshed sweet potatoes which have more vitamin A. Most of these are new to the area.
The programme, which is called RAIN - Realigning Agriculture to Improve Nutrition - a long handle but is saying exactly what’s on the tin, is funded by Irish AID and the Kerry Group and of course the Irish public. I wish Concern would try to use fewer acronyms. They really are off putting. But that’s I looking at things as a journalist.
The next time you see a Kerry truck, fry their sausages, eat their butter or drink their milk remember they are giving Concern €1.25 million over four years for this programme.
Indeed, today’s Kerryman carries a story on what Concern is doing in Zambia and how the work is being supported by the Kerry Group.
The villagers had a special programme prepared for us, which included dancing and a drama which explained how the initiative is improving life, and especially for women.
Accompanying us for the whole of our visit was Patrick McManus from the Irish Embassy. Patrick is head of development at the Embassy. He came to Mongu with us. It was his first time to see the Concern programmes supported by Irish Aid.
I sat in the back seat with Patrick for 600 kilometres from Mongu to Lusaka. I had never been so long in the back seat of a car. Actually I was dreading it but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable journeys I have ever undertaken.
Patrick worked for Concern in Belfast and Bangladesh and was country director in Haiti before moving to the Department of Foreign Affairs. In fact he set up the Haiti Concern operation in 1994. Kevin Byrne and Richard Dixon saw him off at the airport.
In Mongu we saw what the Concern Graduation programme is doing.
It targets people Concern believes can graduate out of poverty.
Some weeks ago Chris Pain gave an erudite talk on the workings of this programme.
I spoke to Mushimbei Mwendabai. Concern gives her 30 Kwachas a month - €3. It allows her build up a little head of steam, buy and sell her produce and send her older child to school. The money is transferred through a local bank.
Liam Kavanagh from Coolock works in Mongu. He is 28, did Development Studies in UCC and is a gem of a person. I asked him what he plans to do in the future. His reply – “Can’t see myself doing anything else”.
What a committed young man. Local people call him affectionately Mukavesa, meaning white man.
Liam is working on the graduation programme and keeps a close eye on those who are taking part in it.
The Herald in its national and city editions carried a story on him on Monday.
On our last day in Lusaka we were invited to the Irish Embassy and Ambassador Finbar O’Brien, no not from Cork, as you might think, with a name like that, but Athlone, received us with open arms and we were lucky to arrive the morning we did as they were having a special coffee morning for homeless children. We had to walk round the garden bare foot. It actually suited me because I was on my last pair of socks.
The ambassador filled us in on the current political situation in the country and it was most informative.
When I landed back in Dublin I made a promise that I would challenge anyone who would talk about Concern wasting money.
It was an incredible journey into the unknown.
I came home knowing so much more about what Concern is doing in far off Zambia.
I also came home a new man. Terribly proud to work here and to be Irish too.
Life changing.
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