In late December, Seward Rotary received an update on the work in Zambia made possible by its partnership with other clubs in District 5650 from members of Lincoln East and Lincoln 14 Rotary clubs in recognition of Rotary International Month.
The “Zambia Project” was the featured program at the recent Seward Rotary Club meeting. The presentation was a complete power point created and presented by Don Bankenau, Shari McCright-Lincoln East Rotary, and Dr. Chuck Erickson of Lincoln Downtown Rotary. The presentation was presented in conjunction with Rotary International Foundation Month, as the project has been supported by Rotary International for years.
Since 2003 Lincoln Rotary District 5650 has collaborated with The Livingstone Rotary Club in Southern Province Zambia and the Rotary Foundation to improve the lives of villagers in Zambia through the Zambia-Lincoln Nutrition Project. The project works with local partners to end child malnutrition through peer nutrition coaching, agricultural innovation, and access to clean water.
This year, the project is being expanded for an intensive two-year collaboration to expand the project to a new village in Zambia (Lifilale). Rotary Clubs from Lincoln, Seward, Beatrice, and Omaha, as well as Chuck and Jan Matzke, the Jones Bank, Wake Family and Wake Foundation, joined together to raise a total of $11,500 which received a match of $11,500 from District 5650 District Designated Funds and a $9,200 grant from the Rotary International World Fund for a total project of $32,200.00.
Rotary International and Nebraska Rotary contributions will fund the “Improving the Nutrition and Health of Children in Lifilala Zambia” project. The project involves a multi-faceted approach to ending child malnutrition and supporting sustainable practices to improve the health of families in the village of Lifilala. The project builds on evidence-based practices that have been developed by the Lincoln-Livingstone Rotary coalition in other Zambian villages. The practices include improving access to water for drinking and gardens, teaching villagers to track growth in partnership with Nebraska volunteers who analyze the growth data, growing native nutritious foods and working with peer educators to help Zambian families learn to prepare dishes from the plants, and working with villagers to build a garden fence that villagers continue to support with user fees. Villagers in Lifilala will also benefit from previous contributions to stock a pond near the village with fish to increase the availability of protein for village diets.
Dr. Chuck Erickson from Lincoln East Rotary, who initiated Lincoln Rotary engagement with Zambia and who serves as the primary Nebraska contact and medical expert for the project explained “Our overarching goal is to prevent malnutrition, especially "stunting"; i.e., being short for age, which is a common health concern in the country.” Stunting is a measurable consequence of malnutrition. The unseen and extremely concerning implication of stunting is that the malnutrition of young children that leads to stunting also leads to permanent brain damage. We will see the benefits of nutritional improvements in the elimination of stunting through tracking normal child growth patterns. The unseen benefit will be the dramatic improvements in potential for these children who get a healthy start in life.
Shari McCright, also from Lincoln East Rotary, traveled to Zambia in September to meet with local partners who will be implementing the program. Shari, a retired teacher familiar with the behavioral strategies that promote learning, will help to teach proper measurement in infant length and work with local villagers to maximize their strengths for sustainable improvements in family nutrition. In September, she met with a new local Zambian partner ADRA, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, to develop the strategic plan for future implementation along with the local Zimba health department, including the director of health and a nutritionist. "We're in good hands," said Shari. This local support, plus the trained peer program leaders assisting new mothers with nutritious cooking and feedback, assures the empowerment and sustainability of this program.
The Zambia-Lincoln project demonstrates the power of global collaboration that can occur through Rotary. Lincoln partners assist with technical assistance and tracking of medical outcomes while Zambian partners provide the on the ground coaching and health care to improve the health outcomes. Evidence from growth trajectories shows Zambian infants and young children have made healthy strides from the efforts thus far. The Rotary International grant will allow those efforts to multiply. Rotary District Governor Barbara Bartle said, “The Rotary Zambian collaboration provides a testament to the power of partnerships and showcases the role of Rotary serving society in a global way.”
The group shared he success story of a village of Siandwaze, where water is funneled down from planned dams and canals, creating a sustainable source of food and income from the native food sources/crops. They now grow tomatoes, pumpkins, cabbage, bananas, sweet potatoes, maize and more. These are popular food stuffs in the traditional Zambian Southern Providence.
The groups share the story on the Zambian leader Maambo Lilianda, who organizes visits, is the District Agriculturist and oversees the nutrition activities and programs for families and children. They shared that there are twelve program leaders for the project, who assist with the monthly nutrition clinics, make nutrition home visits (often walking great distances), educating families on nutrition benefits and hosting and presenting two nutrition meetings and programs each month for their area.
The goals of the twelve program leaders are 1.) Nutrition Education, 2. Promotion of Good Hygiene, and 3.) New Behavior Strategies. At the “Under Age Five Clinics” they goal is to educate the parents, weigh the children, measure the children, document all information and serve as a guide and consultant for each family. All the data is sent to Lincoln, NE for storage and to follow. The program has 20 participants in Siandwaze and 18 in Mungola. Recently a new grant will encourage growth in the program. The presenters introduce the Rotarians to “Nurse Mildred,” who monitors the pregnant women-because undernourished mothers can lead to low birthrate babies. The “no growth” follow ups are completed by “Ms Chipo,” who reviews the progress and obstacles and follows current practices.
The group spoke on the Siandwaze Dam and the maintenance and status, sharing with the group ‘”before and after” photos and why the water and Dam are important to the region. Good drinking water is a main concern in Zambia. There are two sources of water in Siandwaze-The Garden Area and leaks in the Dam (where the cattle and livestock also drink). A major goal is a ground well in the village of Lifilala with water for cooking, drinking and washing. There is constant education for especially the mothers of the region-stressing that bad drinking and bad cooking water causes diarrhea and disease. They stress boiling the water.
The real problem is extreme water scarcity, and so the project promotes new water technologies with a goal to install water points, with shallow water pumps at costs of about $700 each. The goal is to develop a test alternative with a Pilot Protected Well. Rotary International has sent and trained a construction crew to build a new protected water source.
For more information on the Zambia Project, contact Dr. Chuck Erickson in Lincoln.