ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN EVERYWHERE

REQUEST: We would like to provide our staff at the House of Moses in Lusaka, Zambia with two items: $1,500 for emergency food kits; $1,000 for hygiene kits

We work in the country of Zambia in southern Africa, primarily in the capital city of Lusaka.

Population: 17,426,623
Languages: Bemba, Tonga, Chewa
Religions: Protestant, Roman Catholic
Median Age: 16.9 years

ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN EVERYWHERE

ACE’s vision is that every child has a permanent, secure and loving family, secure children and loving families lead to healthy communities. We fulfill this vision in three ways; Child Welfare, Family Preservation and Education.

THE NEED

Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world 58% of families live well below the poverty level, which means they survive on less than $1.90 per day. To add to that problem, Zambia is just recovering from the worst drought in 75 years—the food prices are high and the jobs are scarce. With the spread of COVID-19, the United Nations is estimating that the number of people in the world living with sever food insecurity will more than double, from around 130 million to around 300 million. The other issue we are seeing is the lack of hygiene supplies for families who are unable to even buy food. The spread of COVID-19 can only be stopped by good hygiene—so we would like to help our families stay safe.

THE PROJECT

Each month, families with children under the age of 5, who are unable to buy food and basic supplies, come to the House of Moses in search of help. We assess these families to see if they qualify for our Family Preservation Program, but this takes time and they are hungry now. We would like to provide emergency food kits for our social workers to hand out to these families as they are waiting for more sustained help through our programs. This would be two weeks to one month’s worth of food, depending upon the size of the family.

Additionally, families who are unable to provide for the basic need of food are not able to purchase items needed to keep their families safe during this time like, soap, gloves and face masks. The second half of the project would be hygiene kits to supply this need to the families who come to us for help. These kits would go a long way to protect these families from catching this virus.

Olipa’s Story

Olipa was born premature to her mother Nomah in one of the poorest areas of Lusaka. Without a reliable source of income, Nomah often experienced hunger and struggled to produce enough breast milk for her baby. She also could not afford the high cost on infant formula. “When my daughter was born, I did not know where to turn for help. She cried often, and I worried that my only child would die.”

For now, Nomah relies on food relief from ACE to protect herself and Olipa from hunger. Now that she and her daughter have food to eat, Nomah is able to receive training in the form of tailoring lessons so that in the future, she can provide for Olipa as she grows. She says, “I will take my sewing studies seriously, to give my daughter a strong future.”