The bricks are ready...

We have safely returned from the village to the Copperbelt, and so are now getting used to living with electricity and running water again! We had a fantastic time in the village with the local people. We have made some real progress with the project- all the bricks have been made and are being transported this week to the chosen site for the new school block.

It was great to see happy, smiling faces as we gave out towels, sheets, blankets, clothes, soaps to the children. It was something that we are sure you would have liked to share with us.

Zambian Copper resources wasted

An interesting article from Kansipe Kabao of The Times of Zambia on Friday. Kansipe argues that it is amazing that Zambians are so poor when we are all blessed to be part of a country that has so much natural wealth. He goes on to look in particular at copper, a mineral found in abundance in Zambia. Copper is extremely valuable, not least because it is the mineral which carries electricity to all our homes. It is also used in most telecommunications networks. Most of the world’s Internet traffic is carried on copper cables. Copper has been mined in Zambia for over 2000 years, but as Kansipe points out, the country has very little to show for it. This has much to do with the fact that our country has not developed an infrastructure to develop the copper we mine into finished products – we simply export it raw. An article worth reading.

Progress at last

After a couple of weeks in Zambia, we are finally making some progress! The truck containing all the stuff for the orphans has finally left Tanzania and is heading towards the Zambian border, so we have devised a plan to try and save some time and get us to the village sooner. We will be leaving the Copperbelt tonight on the first of the trucks which has now been taxed, registered and insured. We will travel North to Kasama and my wife, Jo, will be dropped off in the village to start work.

Myself and the driver will go from the village the following day and drive up to the Zambia/Tanzania border to clear the final truck with ZRA (Zambia Revenue Authority). We will then return to the farm with the truck full of goodies. That's our plan anyway. Probably there will be many changes, as is the nature of things here!!!

Welcome to Hope 4 Chilubula

My name is Chief Charlie Kambuka. I am originally from the Zambian village of Chilubula, though since 1992 I have lived in Croydon, South London with my wife, Jo. My home country is a beautiful place of which I am very proud, but like most Africans we also have some very serious problems. One of the most pressing is the devastating effect that HIV and AIDS is having, particularly on our children.

The charity SOS Children estimates that in some African countries 40% of the working-age population has contracted HIV. However, this is never uniform across a population; 40% of a whole African country will mean there are areas where virtually everyone has contracted HIV-AIDS. Unfortunately, my country is one of the worst affected. In places, village after village have no young adults left.

According to the AIDS charity AVERT there are 630,000 children orphaned because of AIDS in Zambia. They comment that the traditional mechanism for the care of vulnerable children, the extended family, has started to break down under the twin pressures of poverty and disease. Child-headed households, once a rarity in Zambia, are now increasingly common. I have seen this problem for myself first-hand in my own village. Children, left without parents or other family to support them are left with very little opportunity to make something of their lives.

This is why I decided to try and make a difference to bring some hope to Chilubula. With the help of my friends in the UK, we have raised enough money to ship some essential supplies to the village and surrounding area, and to build a Children’s centre in Chilubula. This is no small undertaking, but we are confident that we will make this a success.

A secondary aim of the project is also to spread the word back in the UK about the situation in Zambia. I want people to realise that the faces of children they see on TV are the faces of real people. This is why I am also inviting some of my friends from the UK to come and help with the project. I want them to see for themselves that these kids are victims, but they are also much more than that – they are beautiful, loving, children who deserve a chance. Despite the hardships, there is an amazing sprit and dignity which will always be there.

Over the next few months I will keep a record of how things are going with the project and post pictures as we

As I am now based in Zambia to set up the project, other material will also be posted on this site by my friends and supporters of the project. We hope you enjoy reading about our progress.

Best wishes,

Chief Charlie Kambuka