Author: Inverness County Cares Page 1 of 28

Betty Jane Cameron of West Mabou is a longstanding member of Inverness County Cares (ICC) and has travelled to Zambia on two occasions. Her life experiences and medical field career have given her an excellent understanding of the challenges of life in remote Zambian villages.

The blind, visually impaired and albino children attending the Kawambwa schools face huge challenges when they are transplanted from their villages into the new and unfamiliar school environment. Many have faced social and emotional ordeals in their home villages because of the stigma of their visual handicaps and albinism. Children with albinism are often isolated, abused and even their lives threatened because of the myths surrounding albinism. 

Betty Jane recounts her experiences in the Kawambwa schools, where she found herself drawn to the house parents at St Mary’s Special School who care for the new, 4–5-year-old students.  

Betty Jane recounts, “Many children had poorly developed skills, were neglected by family and community, hidden away, shunned, and abused. They were often unable to relate to others, make friends, or understand how to care for basic daily needs. They sometimes arrived frightened, and withdrew or picked fights. I noticed this behaviour was seen in both children who were blind and those living with albinism.

I watched the amazing house parents love and teach the newcomers with gentle touches, hugs and soothing words. The little ones were often carried on their backs, as parents would do, lulled to sleep, hand fed and changed. Before long they were following the adults in long lines like little ducklings. In the primary class everyone had half egg cartons and small stones to learn braille, and they were guided by a patient teacher who also showed them the same tender care with songs, games, repetition and touch. How much things are the same in different cultures!

There are both male and female house-parents who live with the youngest and newest children at each school. They sleep in the same dorms, are responsible for the infirmary, and act as parents, teaching and guiding their behaviour, social skills, religious education, and safety at play, chores and travel around the grounds. 

I have seen them at the back of the recreation center with little ones sitting in big chairs, monitoring their attention and sleepiness levels – from falling off chairs, to gathering a tiny girl into her arms and rocking her to sleep, and one “dad” with his arms around a little boy on each side. 

The children are taught to be courteous and gracious to the elders. To celebrate our (ICC’s) time at the school, six small beautifully dressed small ones greeted each of us with flowers and took us by the hand into the hall. The proud house-parents were beaming from the sidelines.

There is a picture of a group of young boys enthusiastically showing their joy and thanks for a load of maize flour gifted by their local bishop. After posing politely for a photo, they then turned to help lift the heavy sacks into the storage room with the help (lots!) from their house-parents.

Saturday morning was laundry day for the school. The little ones were taught to care for their clothes, to fetch water, scrub, wring and hang the wash on nearby bushes. They had so much fun in the tub, splashing and chasing each other. They were gently taught the importance of caring for themselves and each other.

The adults are responsible for the infirmary and for the health of the children. They work with very limited first aid supplies and were grateful for the items we brought with us. They stay with any sick children overnight, and deal with flu, loneliness, homesickness, injuries and chronic illnesses like seizures. I answered questions, taught bandaging skills and explained uses for each item we brought and we made lists for future needs. They thanked us for our hands on demonstrations and for giving them confidence in their own abilities.

The children were also shown how to care for the school and orphanage animals – chickens, goats and rabbits, and they delighted in taking us to visit them.

House-parents and older children spent a lot of time with the young ones at play. This included making time for assembling scraps for toys such as skipping ropes from plastic water bottle rings and rolling wheels from sticks and hub caps. We brought soccer balls with bells inside, and taught the small boys and girls to listen for the sound approaching as they kicked to another child nearby. The children loved to work with clay and make figures and furniture for mini homes. Many little ones loved digging for groundnuts and cracking them with stones to get a free snack.

The house-parents dealt with behaviour issues, especially among the newest young boys. Many were good, experienced fighters, and had no positive models to develop social skills. Their house-parents would take them to school if they were afraid, show them how to make friends, dealt with toilet training, fear of adults and helped develop culturally appropriate eating skills.

Safety training was a big part of house-parents work and they were always on high alert – dealing with falls, tears, band aids, broken legs and arms. They were at the sides of their small charges to provide sunscreen protection, to navigate paths, building edges, classroom access, potholes, flooded areas, garden paths and in the garden sorting vegetables from weeds….”

The love and care provided by these dedicated house parents is an invaluable service. They offer a transition from the familiar to a whole new world. At the Kawambwa schools they are provided with the love and care needed to develop confidence and self-esteem. The school forms a foundation which provides them with the means to a successful and productive life despite their challenges.

Inverness County Cares (ICC) is a local charitable organization, founded in 2012 and based in Inverness County, NS, Canada. ICC works in partnership with Chalice.ca, a Canadian charity, based in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Chalice provides guidance and assistance to help ICC provide a better life for the children at the Kawambwa schools. The Kawambwa Project involves supporting two schools for albino and visually impaired students, in Northern Zambia. Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website   http://invernesscountycares.com When using E-transfer, please include your mailing address for CRA tax receipts and a thank you message.   E-transfer address:  [email protected] or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares, 5414 Route 19, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided.

Five years ago, the Kawambwa schools in Kawambwa and Mporokoso were meeting the very basic needs of their visually impaired and blind students…just barely. Food was the most important need with shelter and education next.

Each student had a school uniform which they changed out of as soon as school was over. The play clothes were, what was available, without a focus on style, fit or sun protection.

Just like any child they delight in cute clothes which make them feel pretty and accepted.

Five years later there have been major improvements in infrastructure, transportation and the availability of water but a practical, pretty dress of their own, still is a dream for most girls.

Dress a Girl Around the World is a Campaign under Hope 4 Women International bringing dignity to women around the world since 2006.  Hope 4 Women International is a nondenominational independent Christian organization dreaming of a world in which every girl has at least one new dress. They want girls to know that they are worthy of respect, and that they are loved by God. “Dress a Girl Around the World” consists of volunteer sewing groups with the intention of making dresses for girls around the world. Since its birth in October of 2009 more than two million dresses have been distributed to 90 countries.

The members of the Judique Crafters Group meet every Monday during the fall and winter in the Story Teller’s Gallery. Anyone can drop in, core members are Jean MacDonald, Deb Graham, Judy Sandham, Charlotte Rankin, Marion Graham, Dena Mackinnon, Cathy Cotton, Sheila MacDonell, Florence Beaton, Marian MacLellan and Donelda Mac Donell who donated dresses when she heard of the project.

The building they gather in was originally an old store built as a company house on the Company Road in Port Hood and taken in sections to Judique and rebuilt as a store (Jack MacDougall’s) and was repurposed into a museum. Debbie Graham brought forward the idea of making the Story Teller’s Gallery available for those who wanted to meet for a craft afternoon. To promote the idea, they searched for a short-term project where community members could work together in a comfortable social atmosphere.

On a fabric shopping trip to Atlantic Fabrics in  New Glasgow, Jean MacDonald spotted a notice promoting Dress a Girl Around the World. The ladies enthusiastically welcomed this as the project they were searching for. Patterns are available on the website and club members made four or five dresses each. The dresses are made from beautiful serviceable material, sewn securely with flat (French) seams and pockets. The patterns are just what any little girl would be delighted to wear. As an added touch the club has added pretty panties which go with each dress.

 Now that they had about 30 gorgeous dresses that would delight a little girl somewhere, but where? Inspired by the work of Inverness County Cares (ICC) the crafters approached ICC members to inquire if they could send their dresses to the Kawambwa schools in Northern Zambia. ICC enthusiastically agreed that the Zambian children would be overjoyed to receive such wonderful gifts. Shipping is always a problem, expensive postage and unreliable postal services cause doubt that the dresses would arrive at the intended destination. It was decided that the dresses will go to Zambia on the next ICC members trip in perhaps 2026. When the sisters were asked if they would like to receive the dresses, they all expressed happiness for the dresses and gratitude that they were chosen.

Judique Crafter members expressed the satisfaction they feel brightening up the lives of these dear little girls. They compare them to their own granddaughters and think, how fortunate we are to live in Canada. It was also voiced how members enjoy getting together for some tea and biscuits and in the process growing closer to their work mates and learning a skill in the process. 

Inverness County Cares (ICC) is a local charitable organization, founded in 2012 and based in Inverness County, NS, Canada. ICC works in partnership with Chalice.ca, a Canadian charity, based in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Chalice provides guidance and assistance to help ICC provide a better life for the children at the Kawambwa schools. The Kawambwa Project involves supporting two schools for albino and visually impaired students, in Northern Zambia. Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website   http://invernesscountycares.com When using E-transfer, please include your mailing address for CRA tax receipts and a thank you message.   E-transfer address:  [email protected] or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares, 5414 Route 19, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided

Winfreida was born in 1982 in the Sampa district of Zambia. When she was a child of 10, she lost her sight and at that time no one knew there was a school for the blind at St Mary’s. Father White from Canada came to her community, noted her condition and  took her to Saint Mary’s school in Kawambwa, that was in 1994.

Winfrieda’s condition could be genetic, causing blindness or perhaps it could be cataracts. There were ten in her family but seven have died and the three remaining have the same condition causing blindness.

Winfreida, despite her blindness has courageously completed high school, with very little accommodations for her condition, and continued on to earn a teaching degree.  She is presently waiting to be deployed to a teaching job wherever the government places her. Winfrieda’s story is similar to many others in Zambia. Children are born with conditions that compromise their sight as they mature, with many of these conditions being correctable, with proper eye care. According to a leading local ophthalmologist, it is imperative that all children have access to eye care before the age of 12. Amblyopia (lazy eye) is very treatable and if diagnosed early, the children are much more likely to have improved vision and fewer long-term effects.

Out of the student population of the two schools, 190 are identified as totally blind or severely visually impaired. They all need twice yearly (or more) checkups and follow up. To obtain this treatment they need to travel a great distance at a great cost incurred by transportation, accommodations and food. For most it just doesn’t happen.

Some of the leading correctable causes of visual impairment and blindness, are cataracts and lack of prescription glasses. During their trip to the schools in Zambia for the visually impaired and blind, Inverness County Cares members noted that no one wore glasses, not students, not staff nor sisters. There were no assistive aids such as Fresnel lens or magnifiers. School funds are prioritized to provide food, shelter and education with very little left over for correcting vision.

Winfreida goes on to explain that it is not only blindness that causes her distress, but her eyes hurt a great deal as they are very dry. Sometime she is able to access eye drops that ease the pain, but not always.

Not only Winfreida suffers from eye pain, the children with albinism are very sensitive to light and bright colours, so much so, that when ICC bought new bedding for their dormitories, the sisters avoided bright colours and bought, very muted greys. The people of Inverness County sent many sunglasses and hats to help relieve the suns glare and these were accepted with great joy.

Winfrieda is just one of  many children in Zambia who have lost their sight or have limited and distorted vision. Accompanying  these conditions are great eye discomfort and pain with little hope of relief of any kind. Inverness County continues to work to provide funds which will go toward increasing the scope of ways we can help with eye care.  We thank our supporters who help through donations and filling our refundable bottle and can collection trailers in Port Hood and Mabou so quickly.

Inverness County Cares (ICC) is a local charitable organization, founded in 2012 and based in Inverness County, NS, Canada. ICC works in partnership with Chalice.ca, a Canadian charity, based in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Chalice provides guidance and assistance to help ICC provide a better life for the children at the Kawambwa schools. The Kawambwa Project involves supporting two schools for albino and visually impaired students, in Northern Zambia. Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website   http://invernesscountycares.com When using E-transfer, please include your mailing address for CRA tax receipts and a thank you message.   E-transfer address:  [email protected] or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares, 5414 Route 19, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided.

Inverness County Cares (ICC) was established in 2012 growing from the former Inverness County Welcomes, an organization created in 2010 to help refugees settle in as new Canadians. The ICC founders were a group of people who wanted to give thanks for our fortunate situation as citizens of Canada and provide assistance for those in great need.

In 2015 we began a partnership with Chalice.ca which was of great benefit to our organization. This partnership gives ICC accounting services and field-staff on the ground at the school sites, who can provide first hand reports on the conditions of the schools.

Our first project was providing support for a school in Nairobi, Kenya for street children. After the completion of the Kenyan project ICC turned to our partners, Chalice Canada, for help finding a new group to support. We were given five choices and after much deliberation a consensus was reached that ICC would support two schools for the blind and visually impaired in the north of Zambia. The two schools were already associated with Chalice.ca and our support would bring them to a new level of development and enhance the support provided by Chalice. St Mary’s is located in Kawambwa and has 110 students, the St Odilia School is located in Mporokoso and has 310 students. Students at both schools are blind, have albinism or visual impairment of varying degrees. St Odilia in addition has 230 students without visual challenges. This integration positively changes attitudes toward students with albinism.

The schools are located in small towns which are surrounded by many rural villages, with most villagers living in mud brick homes with thatched roofs. They provide for their families by subsistence farming where their well-being is determined by environmental factors which influence crop yield.

The students at the schools, especially the students with albinism, have lengthy stories of hardship and difficulty caused by a lack of understanding of their conditions. Most rural schools provide very little adaptations for children with diminished visual acuity or children with albinism who face a lack of understanding of their condition. The fact that albinism is a genetic condition is not understood and the age-old myths where these people are considered bewitched or are ghosts still linger to the present day.  Most alarming is the belief that magical potions containing body parts of persons with albinism can bring success and good luck to those who purchase these potions from witch doctors. To this day persons with albinism must be wary of kidnappers who may maim or kill them to access their body parts for the witch-doctor’s magical potions. In addition, there is misunderstanding of the serious danger posed by the strong rays of the sun. Persons with albinism either don’t understand the danger of the sun or just don’t have the resources to purchase sunscreen, hats and clothing to cover their skin which does not have the natural protection of melanin. It is rare to see people wearing bucket hats or clothing to cover their limbs. On the other hand, it is common to see children with spots on their skin which are precursors to melanoma. 

The school catchment area is large and many children live in areas where the bus (donated by Chalice and ICC) cannot navigate.  This February we hope to purchase a Toyota Tacoma truck to help the sisters access remote areas, ensuring even the most distant students can come to school. The 28-seater bus is now used to collect groceries and building supplies. The truck will ensure the bus lasts much longer and the truck will be much more economical to drive. 

Inverness County Cares is a close-knit organization with members finding their niche and working together for the good of the children. We are a society with a board of directors as well an honorary board of directors who support us with their approval of our projects. ICC meets once a month either in person or online. Minutes are kept and opportunities explored to enrich the lives of the children. We are thankful for both our regular members and our associate members who keep our society running.

We are so grateful for the donations provided by so many caring people. Your support has allowed us to surpass our original goals and enables us provide more than we ever expected. In addition to our annual donation of $30,000 per year for education, food and shelter we are now able to add items that enhance the quality of life at the schools. In December 2024 two local donors donated a total of $7,200 to dig a well in Mporokoso. This was a major event in the lives of the people who needed a clean, dependable source of running water.

ICC is very grateful for the support of our bottle and can collection sites. Every refundable bottle and can, you drop off in our collection trailers in Port Hood and Mabou, makes the world a better place for the students at our two schools.

We gladly accept:

drink boxes, plastic, glass or tin juice containers 

soft drink and alcohol containers 

water and flavoured water containers 

any other sealed drink container except milk and milk products

Please NO tin food cans or milk containers.

Inverness County Cares (ICC) is a local charitable organization, founded in 2012 and based in Inverness County, NS, Canada. ICC works in partnership with Chalice.ca, a Canadian charity, based in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Chalice provides guidance and assistance to help ICC provide a better life for the children at the Kawambwa schools. The Kawambwa Project involves supporting two schools for albino and visually impaired students, in Northern Zambia. Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website   https://invernesscountycares.com When using E-transfer, please include your mailing address for CRA tax receipts and a thank you message.   E-transfer address:  [email protected] or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares, 5414 Route 19, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided.