OxfordPress.com

Remember life at 18?

Senior year, you were about to graduate from high school and move on to bigger and better things. You and your other senior friends were the top dogs and the world was waiting for you. Maybe this is you now, or your nephew, granddaughter or neighbor.

Now imagine instead of graduation, parties caps and gowns, and all that new freedom 18 meant you were now middle-aged because 36 or 37 was really the average lifespan for you, your friends and your family.

For the 11.5 million people of Zambia, a country located in Southern Africa, this scenario is reality. According to the United Nations Human Development Report, Zambia is the poorest nation in the world. 86% of Zambians live on less than the equivalency of two U.S. dollars a day. 45% of Zambians lack access to safe water supplies, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Zambia is at just over 17% and 46% of the population is malnourished. Furthermore, according to the Commission for Africa 1 in 3 children in Zambia will be an orphan by 2010 if we can’t start making some big changes.

But there is hope, despite the fact that malnutrition, AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis have ravaged the Zambian people there still exists stunningly beautiful wildlife, political stability, and rich thriving cultures in Zambia. Keeping this all in mind means that there is much work to be done, and this is why I am writing to you today.

For the past two summers, a group of students from The University of Dayton traveled to the community of Lubwe, Zambia with the intention of creating sustainable relationships and partnerships in work involving specific focuses. These focuses include HIV/AIDS, education, and Women’s Empowerment. It is the group’s desire to continue direct involvement in these areas by working with community projects in the next five to seven years.

In previous years the student group has communicated and researched with the community and its leaders and through this work the group has decided that the Lubwe Youth Skills Center can enable community growth. Lubwe Youth Skills provides the community with locally produced goods and labor (improving the community’s economy), an educational center for young adults, and an opportunity for women to receive additional education, income, and sustainable jobs. At this time, the group is working to raise money for certain tools and equipment, such as sewing machines, and also second hand tools. Lubwe Youth Skills Training Center was opened on July 10, 2006 with classes in carpentry, tailoring/design, and bricklaying. The school has the capacity for 20 students in each class. However, the school fees are 50,000 Zambian kwachas per term (with three terms per year) and few people in the community can pay this. A donation of $13 USD would pay for an entire term for these students.

The community of Lubwe and the UD group would also like to help empower the women of Lubwe through expansion of the Youth Skills Tailoring Class. This training will provide 20 to 25 students each year with the expertise to open their own small businesses through a micro loan which would be repaid over a certain amount of time and placed back into Youth Skills, allowing additional graduates to benefit from the funds.

Thank you for your time and please keep my group and the people of Zambia in your prayers. If you would like to support us (we can really use any monetary help but we are also collecting sports equipment like soccer balls or kick balls) any donations can be made to:

Zambia Immersion
C/O: Dr. Kristen Cheney
300 College Park
Dayton, OH
45409-1442