Category: Uncategorized Page 14 of 28

By: Sr Agnes Bwalya

Kawambwa Site is a project under Chalice, which works with, two schools, catering to visually impaired children. St Mary’s is in the Luapula Province and St. Odilia is in the Northern Provence of Zambia. The two schools have one site director (Sr Agnes) who co-ordinates all the activities of the sites.

Dealing with disabled children or those with visual impairment, one should have a smiling face, though totally blind pupils cannot see you, one’s facial smile picks what is in the heart, it is something that one needs to learn. At first, my smile was not even felt by the parents, and society, because of their negative attitude. Whenever an albino child or teacher was passing, they would create a distance, and once asked, they could openly say, and I quote, “I’m afraid of having a disabled child.” My heart was filled with sorrow, and I could cry the whole night, my eyes always were full of tears. However, when I’m with the blind children we could laugh, dance and sing, the laughing, the dancing and the singing was from deep my heart and children’s heart.

One day, I fainted when an albino child was kidnapped during the evening study and taken to the witchdoctor (very possibly to be murdered). An old woman was coming from the river, where she went to fetch water and she saw a huge man with a sisal sack with something inside. She saw the head of a person. The watchman reported and the police were alerted, luckily enough, the police officers passed through her home and got the news, and she also narrated and helped in locating the house of the huge man. The police officers used their skills and an albino child was found behind the house. The man was arrested and jailed for 4 years. (The child is fine and still a student at a Kawambwa school). My heart and mind could not believe and be convinced that a normal person can do such a thing. It came into my mind that, “A child protection policy should be formulated and followed in the two schools.” It was created and learnt in a hurry and under a critical situation.

Outreach programmes were made and we asked the congregation and the diocese to help us provide a safe method of conveyance as transporting the children safely is a critical challenge. St. Mary’s needs a bigger bus for moving children. (Albino children are always in danger of kidnapping, so security is very important as they travel to and from school.) We started in our local environment district and provincial level and we also made use of our local radio station. We advocate for the importance of life of disabled children and also for an increased awareness of the Zambian disability Act of 2012.

As a site director, the issue of raising the wall fence at St. Mary’s Special School, and the construction of a wall fence at St. Odilia Special School are of great importance in the prevention of student kidnapping. We hope the fulfillment of this idea will be made possible by many people of good will. (Note: the walls are under construction, completion depending on funds available.)

Travelling from Kawambwa to Mporokoso is not easy, the road (144 km total) is not tarred and full of pot holes, when I start off, for my monthly monitoring of the site, it often takes me 5-6 hours to reach Mporokoso on a good day and if public transport is used and the vehicle is not in good condition, one must stop to sleep on the way and arrive the following day. I reach the place very tired and when it comes to outreach in Mporokoso (family visits), it is not also easy, the land is very mountainous and sloppy. I walk, ride a bicycle and I do not mind where I sleep, what is in me is to see that, parents appreciate the education of their disabled children. Long distances for me is part of my prayer for people with good will who are trying to help the two schools that I sacrifice myself, so that God can soften their heart and help these disabled children.

How will a smile be on the faces of the albino and blind children? The answer is that, “a shared smile lies in your heart and in my heart.” Let us all stand up and join hands. I need your smile. God bless.

Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website https://invernesscountycares.com or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares Box 99, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided.

Remembering Alex McKinnon

By Inverness County Cares

On October 27, 2020

In Uncategorized

Duine uasal ioraiseal

(Scottish Gaelic – A noble and humble man)

Alex McKinnon was loved and respected by many. We are proud to have had his endorsement of Inverness County Cares, as an honorary board member. He will be greatly missed but his legacy of hospitality, friendship and pride of his heritage will live on.

On Friday, October 9, Alex McKinnon passed away peacefully at home at the age of 90, spending his last days as he lived his life – surrounded by family, friends, love and music. Alex’s life was guided by faith, integrity and generosity. He loved music, story-telling and was a voracious reader with a keen interest in military history, politics and the Bible. He had a lifelong passion for politics and he was the unofficial president of the Angus L. MacDonald fan club. Above all Alex loved his family, and throughout his life they were his number one priority. He adored his wife, Geraldine who was his best friend and the love of his life, and who patiently cared for him during his decline due to Alzheimer’s. Alex spent his early years on the shores of Melville Cove and enjoyed his summers with the extended McKinnon and Jamieson clans in Inverness. A gifted story-teller, Alex regaled family and friends with his youthful exploits during the Second World War working as a bellhop at the Carleton Hotel and his many adventures in war-time Halifax. Alex launched his career with Red Rose Tea, introducing the tea bag to Cape Breton. He later became Vice President of Sales and Marketing with MacCulloch Building Products. In 1978 he fulfilled his dream to open his own business and moved the family from Halifax to Port Hawkesbury, where he successfully built McKinnon Home Hardware with his wife Geraldine working by his side. Community service was a guiding force in Alex’s life. He dedicated countless hours to many boards and volunteer activities. An advocate for music education, Alex worked to ensure opportunities for his own children as well as the broader Nova Scotia community through his involvement with the Halifax School Board in the 1970s and the Board of the Gaelic College in Cape Breton in the 1980s. In retirement, Alex was an active and beloved member of two communities: Fleming Heights, Halifax and Broad Cove, Cape Breton. He and Geraldine enjoyed walking the trails of the Dingle and Frog Pond, the Inverness Boardwalk and the Broad Cove Road, often stopping to strike up conversations with friends and strangers alike. Summer evenings were spent side by side watching the spectacular sunset from their cottage deck in beautiful Broad Cove. Alex’s love for his family is his lasting legacy. He is survived by his best friend and wife of 60 years, Geraldine (Nellis); children, Margaret (John Gray), Ian (Catherine Craig), MaryAnne (Andre Levesque), Christine (Paul MacDonald), Catherine (Alex Rhinelander) as well as his adored grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Alex is also survived by his brother, Murray McKinnon. He was predeceased by his parents, MaryAnn (Jamieson) and Murdoch McKinnon; his brothers, Hugh, Rupert and Neil; his sister, Christina Martin and brother, Francis who died in infancy. Halifax visitation will take place Tuesday, October 20th, 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. in J.A. Snow Funeral Home. Inverness visitation will take place Friday, October 23rd, 2-6 p.m. in Inverness Funeral Home. Funeral and burial will take place Saturday, October 24th, at 11 a.m. in St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Broad Cove. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the funeral is for family and close friends only. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia or Chalice.

October 2020, Geshom Mwansa’s Story

By Inverness County Cares

On October 9, 2020

In Uncategorized

Inverness County Cares (ICC) works in partnership with Chalice Canada, an international aid organization based in Halifax, to support the two schools under the name of the Kawambwa Project. The schools St. Mary and St. Odilia are located in Zambia where they educate and care for albino, blind, visually impaired and other vulnerable students.

This is the life story of one of the students at the Kawambwa school.

My names are Geshom Mwansa. I was born on 11th of December 2004. I am the last born in a family of five. My mother was incapacitated immediately after my delivery due to the complications she went through. Also, when I was born, I had a sixth finger which was cut immediately. I was kept in the hospital for almost four months and thereafter my father’s first cousin took care of me. When I was one year old, I suffered from measles and became totally blind. Life now went from bad to worse since my father who was a fisherman, could not go fishing because of my blindness. Well-wishers came on board to help me with clothes, food and other basic needs. I started school when I was 10 years old at St Mary’s Special School. There the teachers started to teach me mobility, how to eat and especially toilet training. Writing at first was a big problem. I had to learn to use a stylus. It is pen used by the blind person to form embossed (raised) dots on a paper. A Braille slate consists of multiple cells of six dots each. The slate is positioned/secured to a piece of paper with the cells forming a template to punch in the dots uniformly. The dots in each cell are arranged in one of the 26 unique combinations to form a letter of the alphabet. Here in Zambia, these two tools are very cardinal in the teaching and education of a blind child. Braille writing equipment and other teaching and learning materials are always needed to assist me and other blind pupils at school.

Today, my father who previously ran away from me, together with his cousin have come back, because now I live an independent life. My speech has improved and I am skilled at reciting poems, beating drums and playing music on a piano. I also sing well and am very intelligent in class. This year I will be writing my grade seven examinations, and I will pass and continue with my education. I would like to thank my teachers, care-takers (house parents) and many others who are helping me by providing and promoting my education to the fullest. My education depends on those mentioned above.

May God bless you all. Geshom Mwansa.

ICC always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website https://invernesscountycares.com or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares Box 99, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided.

This is the Braille slate, it is the template for all Braille writing. Each rectangular cell has the configuration for one of the 26 letters of the alphabet. Letters are formed by punching the correct pattern of the 6

Braille stylus; This is the tool used to punch indentations in the paper.

Part 2: Inverness County Cares (ICC) provides Ugandan village with a water collection system.

By Inverness County Cares

On September 5, 2020

In Uncategorized

Ngeza village lies in Kakumiro District in Western Uganda near the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo. Until recently this area was uninhabited, but recently discovered oil in the area has led to evictions and these displaced people have settled in a remote area of Kakumiro, which has very few roads or social services. Since there were no latrines or sanitary ways of disposing of sewage, the ground water has become contaminated by feces and human activity.

Transform a Village; an organization with the goal of helping poor rural villages is working with Sr. Justine to improve living conditions by providing schools, health care and sanitation to the Ngeza community. Because of the contaminated water the people of the village were plagued by water borne diseases and parasites. In 2018 Sister Justine, a resident of the village and a graduate of the Coady International Institute, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, heard of Wishing Wells Society (WWS) and sent an application to Mary van den Heuvel of WWS in St. Andrews, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. At that time Wishing Wells didn’t have the resources for a water collection system, but in June she applied again just at the time Inverness County Cares (ICC) became aware of the project and offered funding. This project would supply the village with four 10,000 litre cistern tanks for collecting rain water from the roofs of the village through a system of gutters.

The process began in June 2019 under the management of Transform a Village, Sr. Justine and Wishing Wells. This was not an easy process and was fraught with obstacles and anxiety.

The first obstacle was sending the money to Ngeza. In July 2019 the Canadian government initially refused to allow the money to go to Uganda because of ‘unstable government situation’. Finally after much negotiation the money was sent to Uganda, but because of incorrect bank information it was returned to WWS. With corrections made, the money was sent again, but with the delays causing the Ngeza people much anxiety, fearing the money was lost to fraudsters. Finally in late September 2019 the money arrived but by then the Canadian dollar had fallen and less than anticipated arrived.

Now it was time to go shopping for the equipment needed, but before this could begin torrential rains came and destroyed roads and swept away bridges. By the end of December the rains ceased and procurement of the four 10,000 litre tanks began. They were required to be custom made and the four needed to be transported by a very long vehicle. This made it necessary for the road to the village to be rebuilt and widened and bridges built to accommodate this large truck. The tanks were installed February 2020 and then Covid 19 hit the area and lockdown was imposed. Then the last disaster, a fierce windstorm blew one of the water collection tanks 275 meters into the valley below. It was irreparably damaged and could not be used for the water collection system. It will be used to hold water for crop irrigation.

In order to ensure the system will be a long term solution, the village council will collect a small fee from villagers for repair and maintenance and Transform a Village will continue to carry out a supervisory role ensuring the objective of the project is maintained.

The clean water in the three tanks is available to the families and they are smiling and giving thanks, “God has remembered us”. They now have clean clear water as opposed to the yellow contaminated water which was all they previously had to drink. The people of Ngeza hold in great admiration the donors who cared for them, even though they have never met.

President of ICC, Ted Van Zutphen says “This is a story that warms our hearts. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to make such a huge improvement in the lives of the Ngeza villagers. We want to thank each and every one of our donors for being part of this beautiful venture.”

Partners in Development

Category: Uncategorized Page 14 of 28

November 2020, Sister Agnes’ Story

Remembering Alex McKinnon

October 2020, Geshom Mwansa’s Story

Part 2: Inverness County Cares (ICC) provides Ugandan village with a water collection system.