I just returned from my second trip Zambia. I wore many hats on this trip: World Vision US trip leader and colleague to the World Vision Zambia staff, WaterAfrica Board member, Walk4Water co-chair and excited traveler. Our WaterAfrica group of 6 went to Zambia to see the work that World Vision is doing as a result of funding from our organization.
As an excited traveler, the trip was great. We visited Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, and we saw some of the most amazing animals and birds just yards away. We walked the streets of the big cities as well as the small towns; we drove on newly improved highways and bumpy dirt roads. We spent a lot of time talking with people and listening to their stories. We talked to school children of all ages, soccer (football) fans, hired drivers, retired civil servants, village headmen and women, people living positively with HIV/AIDS, women who shared about the challenges of raising a family, and some who grew up with relative wealth and access to good education. These were all Zambians and we were there to learn about their lives and about their amazing country.
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| Beth Olen with ZWASH Hygiene Promotors |
We spent time with World Vision Zambia staff every day and listened as they unfolded the national priorities for World Vision Zambia, the regional strategic plan for ZWASH (Zambia Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and the details of the local projects and programs in the Hamaundu ADP. What struck me most throughout the trip was the theme of partnership. At the national level, World Vision is partnering with the government of Zambia to increase effectiveness across the country and to leverage strengths and resources. There are now existing partnerships between World Vision and local businesses, such as Zamtel – a cell phone service provider helping to fund the drilling and installation of borehole wells in rural areas. All project strategies at all levels intentionally incorporate partnership with local school administrators, teachers, village elders, village volunteers, children and their families. We never saw an example of a project where World Vision was “doing something for” a village or a group. In every instance there was collaboration, discussion, empowerment and self-sustaining work being done. This takes a long time and much patience and grace is required, but all are obviously up to the task.
This theme of partnership naturally lent itself to a secondary theme for me: mutual encouragement. As an organization, WaterAfrica was recognized by the National Office staff as an important partner in helping to bring about sustainable WASH solutions in Zambia. WaterAfrica’s annual Walk4Water fundraiser is well-known there and they are considering a similar event in Lusaka to help make urban Zambians more aware of the lack of access to clean water in more rural areas. As we moved out of the city toward the villages, the high regard for WaterAfrica was a repetitive theme.
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| Beth Olen with Musonda Chibamba, World Vision Donor Liaison, Zambia |
