Paula And Dan Van Zyl Mission Partners  United Church of Zambia P.O. Box 61259 Livingstone Zambia  "Paula Winland"

I am a proud member of Livingston Rotary Club District number 9210 and a member of the international planning committee. My club President is Hermine Marchenbeck-Banda amadvertiser@yahoo.com. Administration Director/ Secretary is Mike Welch livfab@zamnet.am. International planning Margaret Whitehead (she is very active and usually the one we all go to for help and the one to speak with!) mwhiteheadzam@googlemail.com. 

The other Rotarian who has been out here and is very very active in Rotary and from the USA although he spends most of his time in Livingstone is Bob Selinger (I believe I sent you his blog he did on us here) his email is rdselinger@aol.com. Feel free to contact Bob at any time as well as my fellow Rotarians however Bob is the only one to have come out to Mwandi to visit us. Livingstone is 130km one way from us so it is an all day affair each Friday when I go to my meetings however we do use the time there to pick up what we need for building etc.    

We are very excited about the possibility of having Rotaract members come out. We value our volunteers for a number of reasons but one of the most important is that they share their life experiences with our young people (especially the girls)

Our young people are able to see kids their age or around their age who are productive educated people they show our kids here that you don’t have to have a baby at 14 just to be someone that education is the key and that if you have respect for your self others will respect you as well. Our kids show the volunteers that happiness does not have to cost money among other things. It’s a two way street for both and most find it an amazing experience. Thanks to not only my former volunteers who are sponsoring 2 girls and 1 young man through  technical colleges but also to the many volunteers who’s lives touched theirs and made them yearn for something more. We also have 5 kids in high school in our nearest high school 70 kms away (one way- the kids must board and it’s not cheap)

To date we have housed over 100 orphans and vulnerable children in 27 homes along with their care givers since June 2007. We are just a small mom and pop type of Mission with no help from any Church or other organization and we are just holding on by a thread at this point.

The demand for housing is staggering and will triple after the coming rainy season. We need to do so much more, the need is so great, and the resources so small. It’s not just a dwelling for these kids but a source of security, having a roof over their heads also reduces illness and the first time you hear a kid yell to his friends, “ hey come to MY house we can play there” and you know you built that house the feeling has reduced me to tears. These kids have nothing not even parents the least we can do is give them security and some hope.

I am not only a Rotarian in Livingstone Club but we are a non profit organization located in a small village in Mwandi Western Province below is our project proposal we are needing help with the project as we work for United Church of Zambia but receive no funding or help from them for our work here and are in desperate need of help in order to continue to serve the people of Mwandi. Please let me know if you know any one or any other Rotary club who might be interested in helping us. I am also from the US (California) but have been here for 6 years.
Sincerely,
Rotarian Paula

Program Vision Statement

All citizens of Mwandi will have an improved standard of living that enhances their quality of life, maximizing their potential through increased opportunities in education and employment, increasing life expectancy, reducing HIV transmission, and providing a safe and sustainable community.

Program Mission Statement

To bring volunteers into the community to support existing programs and provide resources to continue programs and develop new opportunities.

Program History

UCZ Mission Partners Mwandi have been serving the people of Mwandi since 2005. It began by offering a tour from South Africa through Botswana and Namibia ending up in Mwandi Village for nine days, recruiting volunteers/ travelers from around the world. While in Mwandi volunteers work with various programs of the UCZ Mission (schools, hospital, HIV clinic, Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program). In July 2006 they began having the volunteers fly direct into Livingstone, Zambia thus increasing the time in Mwandi from 9 days to 17 days, still offering the Botswana safari. As of the end of June 2009 approximately 530 volunteers have visited and worked in the community through the Mission Partners.

It was during this time Paula was baptized and became an active member of the United Church of Zambia. Shortly after the Church asked Paula and Dan to become Mission Partners and they applied for and were granted work permits to remain in Mwandi working as self funded, non-profit Missionaries under the United Church of Zambia. Initially they camped on Mission land and in March, 2007 the Royal Establishment granted UCZ Mission Partners a large piece of land in appreciation of their work in the village and for the community. They were asked by the people of Mwandi, the Church, and the Chief and Royal Establishment to remain in Mwandi to live among them and continue their work. That same year UCZ Mission Partners Mwandi was approached by a community member for assistance with housing. This individual was a senior with a disability, caring for five grandchildren who was living in a small shack made of grass and plastic. The Mission Partners, with the help of volunteers, built him a tradition mud house with a metal sheet roof. This was the start of the house building project. As of the end of June 2009 twenty three houses have been built providing housing for vulnerable families. (There are another 48 requests on the wait list).

Paula is member and the accountant for the Mwandi Home for the Aged committee (Kandiana). In August 2008 she was asked to join the Women’s Christian Fellowship and become ‘Anamoyo” and has since been an active member of the Church. In January 2009 Paula was inducted to the Livingstone Rotary Club District 9210; she is an active member serving on the membership committee. In July, 2009 she plans to serve on the international planning committee.

Projects

Housing - To provide safe and secure housing for the vulnerable populations (orphans, seniors, people in poverty) of Mwandi.

Safe drinking water - Drill bore holes to provide safe accessible water to communities in and around Mwandi.

Education - Providing volunteers to assist in various educational programs in the community.
Providing support to children who do not qualify for scholarships through programs for orphans. A number of children in the community come for families who live in poverty. These children do not qualify for programs that have been established for orphans, however are in need of support to help them continue their education.

Seniors - Providing shelter and attending to basic needs of seniors who do not have families to care for them.

Food Collection and Distribution - Provide food for needy people in the community and assist with the provision of food for families experiencing crisis, such as a death in the family.

Camp development - Through the volunteer program, volunteers bring expertise and experience to the Village to support the programs of the community and to increase international awareness of the issues in this community. Volunteers have provided physical labor, financial assistance, and professional expertise to this community. The UCZ Mission Partners Mwandi camp strive to provide a comfortable, safe and secure base for the volunteers to work from. Since 2007 a number of improvements have been made for this purpose, with many more developments planned as resources become available (e.g. bore hole, electricity, plumbing, permanent structure to house volunteers).

Supporting the delivery of health care - Health care professionals who come as volunteers have provided their expertise in the delivery of various aspects of health care delivery in the community. The Mission Partners receive and distribute medical supplies to various programs.

Funding Request

Name of Project: Housing Project

Rationale:

The majority of people in the village live in mud huts with grass roofs. During the rainy season (October to March) the weight of the grass roof puts pressure on the walls. The roofs also leak which causes deterioration of the walls. The houses collapse. There are limited resources in the community to help families repair or rebuild their homes. Most people in Mwandi live on less than $1.00 per day and do not have the financial resources to address the issue. A number of the families on the list include people with disabilities, grandparents caring for their orphaned grandchildren, or those who are abandoned or neglected by their extended families. All able bodied family members are expected to contribute their time to the construction of their house. As of the end of June 2009 23 houses have been completed, with 48 on the waiting list. There is a growing need for houses and the Kuta, (which is the local court/government), continue to request the assistance of the Mission Partners to provide housing for the needy people of the village.

The size of the house build for the family is determined by the size of the family requesting the home. There are three basic sizes of house being constructed. At this time all the houses are traditional mud houses with metal sheet roofing. The project would like to be able to further develop to provide brick houses and prefab concrete houses. Brick and concrete houses are stronger and last longer (up to fifty years). The mud houses last approximately 10 years.