The Omprakash Foundation
Partnership with Lubangwe Village
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Project Profile
By working with a representative from the Abercrombie and Kent Global Foundation (www.akglobalfoundation.org), we hope to respond to the needs being voiced by residents of the Lubangwe area in rural Zimbabwe. Lubangwe consists of three villages with a total population of about 750. Recent droughts and severe lack of government support have left the children of Lubangwe at severe risk of malnutrition and/or starvation. We aim to provide emergency food relief and then work towards supporting the village school. We are very aware of the fact that this project may appear to be unsustainable. We recognize that these efforts to feed hungry children will not address the larger political and economic inequities in Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, we are glad to be tentatively moving forward with this project. Our hope is that the residents of Lubangwe will soon be able to grow more of their own food-- their water-pump and irrigation system has recently been improved-- and that in the meantime we can help encourage more children to stay in school and learn about their world. Partnership History Lubangwe Village has been an Omprakash partner since June, 2007, when we made our first site visit. -On November 5, 2007, we transferred $500 to our liason for this project. As the project moves forward, we hope to continue providing funds to jumpstart a school-lunches program that will guarantee a daily nutritious meal for each of the 200 children that live in Lubangwe. Need for Material Resources Please scroll down to read more about how you can support this community in Zimbabwe.
Below, please find some of the recent correspondence between the Omprakash Foundation and Yvonne Jandles, our liaison in Zimbabwe. De: Yvonne Jandles [mailto:yjandles@abercrombiekent.co.zw] Dear Willy, The villagers extend their heartfelt thanks for the donation.
At the handover ceremony we had representatives from the 3 villages as foll: Village Name
Number of Families Total number
of people Isla Village
45
409 Village 55
35
180 Village 56
50
343 We managed to distribute 1 x 10 kg bag of nutrimeal
to every family In
addition, all families with 6 or more people were given an extra bag (i.e. 20 kg per family) We then left 300kg (30 bags) for the school feeding scheme. This
will start tomorrow Once
again thank you for your kind donation. I have US$ 45 left over. I had intended to buy books/pencils/pens to give the children
today, but none were available locally. I will try to get these from Botswana and will then hand them over on my next visit Regards, Dear Willy, I have managed to contact the Acting District Nursing Officer Mrs Ngwenya – Ms Thuso is currently in New Zealand.
We have arranged to go to the village on Monday 10th March to distribute the food. I had US$ 85 left over from
the nutrimeal. I will use some of this to put fuel in the truck. I have managed to source a 3.5tonne truck at no charge but
I have to put fuel to get to the village and back. I will get some pencils/pens for the children with the balance. Regards, Dear Willy, The villagers extend their heartfelt thanks for the donation. At the handover ceremony we had representatives from the 3 villages as foll: Village Name Number of Families Total number of people Isla Village 45 409 Village 55 35 180 Village 56 50 343 We managed to distribute 1 x 10 kg bag of nutrimeal to every family In addition, all families with 6 or more people were given an extra bag (i.e. 20 kg per family) We then left 300kg (30 bags) for the school feeding scheme. This will start tomorrow Once again thank you for your kind donation. I have US$ 45 left over. I had intended to buy books/pencils/pens to give the children today, but none were available locally. I will try to get these from Botswana and will then hand them over on my next visit Regards, ------------------De: Yvonne Jandles [mailto:yjandles@abercrombiekent.co.zw] Enviado el: jue 3/6/2008 8:24 Para: William Oppenheim Asunto: FOOD DISTRIBUTION Dear Willy, I have managed to contact the Acting District Nursing Officer Mrs Ngwenya – Ms Thuso is currently in New Zealand. We have arranged to go to the village on Monday 10th March to distribute the food. I had US$ 85 left over from the nutrimeal. I will use some of this to put fuel in the truck. I have managed to source a 3.5tonne truck at no charge but I have to put fuel to get to the village and back. I will get some pencils/pens for the children with the balance. Regards, ----------------De: Yvonne Jandles [mailto:yjandles@abercrombiekent.co.zw] Enviado el: jue 2/21/2008 7:29 Para: William Oppenheim Asunto: RE: AT LAST Dear Willy, I am back from South Africa. I will be trying to secure a truck so that I can deliver the nutrimeal at the beginning of next week. I also need to liaise with the hospital so that they can have representatives from the various departments as they did the last time. The situation in the country is still peaceful. We have just over a month to go before the elections and there have been no signs of unrest. I don’t think the situation will have any bearing on the project as people will still need food. We have had excessive rains this season which means very little has grown. I will make an assessment when I go out as to whether they have received any other aid from donors as it has been some time since we last went out there. Usually in the run up to elections, rural areas receive food and or other donations I will send a full report once I have undertaken the trip to the village Regards,’ Yvonne Jandles From: William Oppenheim [mailto:woppenhe@bowdoin.edu]
Yvonne, I´m thrilled to hear things are going well! I look forward to hearing and seeing more details whenever possible. Also, if it is safe for you, I´d love to hear your thoughts on the current situation in Zim., and how this will affect our project. Fondly, Willy De: Yvonne Jandles [mailto:yjandles@abercrombiekent.co.zw] Dear Willy, I have finally received the last consignment of Nutrimeal!!! We have just picked it up and there are a few bags missing. They are trying to trace these. I will be going to South Africa this weekend for a board meeting so will only be able to distribute when I get back next week. I will advise you of the progress and forward pictures as promised P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day ! Regards, Yvonne Jandles Dear Willy, The nutrimeal will be distributed to each family 10kg. They will then be in control of their allocation. The balance will be left at the school for the feeding scheme there. This will be administered by the Headmaster together with the village health workers. We will come up with an allocation sheet where the ladies preparing the meal will sign for the quantities they take each day. The village health workers will keep a record of the children at the beginning of the programme and will monitor their health through check ups, weighing etc to see if they are benefiting . I do think this will encourage kids to go to school as the high rate of absenteeism was linked to the fact that kids go to school on empty stomachs and spend the whole day there without anything to eat. I will need to check if the new generator has been installed or even sourced. I cannot give a definite period as our intention was to fill the gap until the Government Aid sets in. With the current economic challenges, this is expected to take much longer than was initially anticipated. You are free to help for as long as you like whether that is a one off contribution or for a few months. I am also trying to get other well wishers involved in the project both locally and internationally Regards, Yvonne Jandles -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Willy, We finally managed to source the Nutrimeal. To meet the monthly requirements for giving each family a bag as well as the feeding scheme we will need 260 x 10 kg bags each month (2600kgs). This will cost approx US$ 250 per month. The rate quoted is inclusive of the rail charges to get the nutrimeal from Harare to Vic Falls. My suggestion is that we get the ball rolling and secure the nutrimeal before it runs out. For cooking oil we will need 2 litres per household i.e. 460 litres. Cooking oil is not available locally. We will have to buy this from Botswana. This will cost US$ 805 I am still trying to source the mealie meal, salt, dried beans and kapenta fish. I will get back to you Regards, Yvonne Jandles Managing Director Abercrombie & Kent Safaris Box 117, Victoria Falls ZIMBABWE Tel: 263 (13) 44264 / 44780 Fax: 263 (13) 42259 Cell: 263 (11) 407 455 E-mail: yjandles@abercrombiekent.co.zw A&K DMCs: The world's most comprehensive network of high-quality DMCs: Australia *Botswana*Cambodia*Chile*China*Ecuador*Egypt*Europe*Hong Kong*India*Italy*Jordan*Kenya*Myanmar*New Zealand*Peru*South Africa*Tanzania*Thailand*Uganda*UK*Zimbabwe _________________________________________________________________________________________
The document below was presented to us by a representative of the Abercrombie and Kent Global Foundation (www.akglobalfoundation.org) during our recent visit to the location in question. We hope to implement "Plan B" as described below. _________________________________________________________________________________________ LUBANGWE SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING PROJECT Lubangwe is a rural area situated about 60 km from Victoria Falls town en route to Hwange. There are three villages within the area - Village 55, Village 56 and Kasibi. The community survives of subsistence farming. We have noted that due to the drought experienced in the 2006/2007 rainy season, the crops were a write-off, with almost no grain harvested. The food availability situation is generally poor. Most families have been reported to be eating one meal a day. The local village health workers have appealed to the Victoria Falls Hospital for assistance with supplementary food, particularly for the more vulnerable group of children under the age of five and school going children. Food shortage affects the growth and development of the child. Infants, under five's and school children are particularly vulnerable. Pregnant women are also affected. The main aim of the project is to prevent the onset of severe malnutrition. DEMOGRAPHIC DATA There are approximately 147 homesteads within the three villages with an estimated population of 750. Of these, 112 are school going children who attend the local primary school. There are approx 90 children in the under 5 age group. The breakdown of the population of under 5 children is as foil: Village 55 - 40 Village 56 - 40 Kasibi - 11 PROPOSED INTERVENTION The Government has plans for a supplementary feeding but there is no specific date when this will happen due to a shortage of resources. While waiting for this scheme to commence, we wish to fill the gap by providing some food supplements sourced from well-wishers/partners. This will provide a safety net for the more vulnerable groups -the priority being the under 5 age group. Depending on the resources available, the supplementary feeding plan has been broken down to three approaches:
Feeding of Families Approximately 5 members in a family on average Suggested provisions per family: 50kg mealie meal (maize meal) 10 kg sugar beans 5 kg dried kapenta fish 4 litres cooking oil 2 kg salt Approximate cost of this is +/- US$ 50 per family. Price quoted in USD due to the rapidly declining value of
the Zimbabwe dollar Suggested provisions^- Nutrimeal porridge (this is a mixture of ground maize, peanuts, beans) For 112 children at 150g per child = 16,8kg per day For 1 month 16,8kg x 30 days = 50,4kg This can be cooked twice a day at the local school and at designated feeding points in each village for the Under 5 age group. Mothers will take turns to cook and manage the feeding points. This is subject to availability of the ready made product. Where this is not available, the maize, peanuts, beans can be bought and ground. Nutrimeal requisitions: 100 g per day per child x 90 children x 30 days = 270 kg per month Costs are not yet available as we are waiting for a nutrionist in the Ministry of Health to give the required portions per child so we can quote on the quantities required. Mahewu drink - this is a nutritious refreshment which the children can be given between the two meals. 500 mis per child per x 112 children 1 month 66 litres x 30 days = 1980 litres
Feeding of Under Five's only - Nutrimeal porridge served at feeding points Mahewu drink served in between If nutrimeal is not available we will buy mealie meal and sugar beans. Quantities required: 750 kg mealie meal 210 kg sugar beans 30 litres cooking oil 30 kg salt Justification An injection of supplementary food, particularly of the vulnerable groups, will improve the health and productivity
of the Lubangwe community. The project will bridge the gap before the mainstream supplementary feeding programme begins.
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