Our African Project Update, from Darrell

I arrived in Livingstone from Lusaka on October the 8^th and settled in. The next day Chita, African Community Projects Out Reach Coordinator and I visited Makumba village to formally meet with the community committee set up by Chita on his previous visits to the community.

We met under a tree at the school where I was introduced to the committee that consisted of our appointed facilitator, Mr. Mufaya, a teacher, the Community Development Chairman and the Headwomen of the village. Chita on his past visits to the community had explained the project to the committee and I was able to review things with them and to explain that the funding for the improvements were coming from the Brentwood Bay Rotary Club in Canada. They are most grateful to the Club for their help.

We then did a walk around the community, visiting inside the school, the latrine site beside the school, tree nursery sites and the wells. We then set out a plan to move the project forward. The community will start preparing the various sites (new latrine and nursery sites). ACP will coordinate getting the material needed to keep the project on the move.

Chita has made a good choice of communities for the project. The community is very poor and their reliance on charcoal and firewood not only for their own use but for revenue has almost completely deforested the areas around the main village. The introduction of fuel wood plantations has not come at a better time. I found the committee very conscious of this problem and are motivated to start working toward improving their environment, both social and environmental.

My best regards

Garry