What's Happening

We just had one of our most encouraging visits into the village involving one family that truly is inspiring. Susan and her husband are both HIV+, on ARV'S, living in an area of Luhunga village called Mwefu.  Their current house is about to fall down and is 6 feet by 4 feet, hardly enough to house 6 children and mother and father.  The family is in desparate need of a new home, but without the resources or time to build one.  The NGO agreed to take in their 4 youngest children on a temporary basis to our Orphanage (childrens center), while the mother and father worked on making bricks to build a new home.  The idea here was that while the children lived for a few months at the children's center, the parents would then have more time, and energy to build their home.

As of September 27th 2009, the family has made and BURNED 1,800 bricks, so even if they cannot use the bricks this year, since they have burned the bricks (as opposed to using the easier sun-dried method), they will still be able to use the bricks next year after the rains.  To explain this a bit further: sundried bricks will crumble and be useless ofter one heavy rain hits them if they do not have a roof built to cover them, whereas burned bricks are stronger and can survive the rains.  This family is not only passionate, and motivated, they are being smart about this project.

The parents are working on a 4 bedroom house, relatively the size of our 'bibi house' project houses, 1 room for the 3 girls, one room for the 3 boys and one room for the parents as well as a sitting room.  We feel they are really trying hard, and the Father said that by October 12th he will have finished 3500 bricks.  If the family succeeds, the NGO has promised the incentive of paying for door and window frames, and then the family will be ready to find roofing.

Mwefu (where they live) is one of the poorest areas that we are involved with, and it has been immensely devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  It is appearing more and more as though this community is losing its ability to stick to the traditional way of helping each other get through tough times.  Families are finding it difficult to support themselves, let alone orphaned children from other families, or neighbors.  This is leading to the breakdown in a local cultural phenomenon that has existed since anyone can remember, whereby the people work together through the tough times, and no one person takes on a burden by himself or herself.

Susan, and her family have great potential to be an example of hope for this village. As they succeed with this project, and as community outreach, and income generating projects progress in the area, it’s possible that in a year from now this whole community may turn from despair to hope.

<< The Mwefu family in front of their old house.