Uncategorized – Page 16 – Inverness County Cares

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 http://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.”

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

Part 1-Inverness County Cares provides Ugandan Village with Water Collection System

By Inverness County Cares

On September 5, 2020

In Uncategorized

Wishing Wells Society (WWS) is a registered Canadian charity founded in 2000 and based in St Andrews, Antigonish, NS, Canada. WWS is dedicated to building wells and irrigation ponds in small, rural villages. The projects began in India and have since spread to help communities in Haiti and Africa, providing clean drinking water and ensuring better health. The irrigation ponds enable the growing of crops and food which relieves extreme poverty found in these regions. Since 2000, a total of 108 village water or irrigation pond projects have been provided. These projects have a tremendous positive impact on the health of the people, the women and children who carry the water and their ability to grow a second crop in the dry season. This year WWS has reached the final year of their organization. The Ngeza water system, on which planning and work began in 2018, will be one of their last projects.

In the interim between their Kenyan and Zambian projects, ICC began a partnership in 2018 with Wishing Wells to provide the funds to install a rainwater collection and distribution system to benefit 350 families in Ngeza village, a very poor area, even by Ugandan standards. Mary van den Heuvel, chair of Wishing Wells Society states, “The project was applied for by Transform a Village in Africa (TVA), and although we liked the project very much and TVA had excellent references, we just didn’t have the funds for it. We are so pleased that ICC has agreed to provide the $10,000 funding which is so desperately needed, for this water project.”

The project will provide four 10,000 litre storage tanks which will connect to collection centers in the community through pipes and taps. The new water system will serve the refugees, immigrants and displaced persons who recently settled in the area of Ngeza, without any government support. The project will improve the health and livelihoods of the people by providing them with a source of clean water. According to ICC member John Gillies “ICC is honoured to be a contributor to the water project in Ngeza village, Uganda”.

Inverness County Cares was founded in 2012 to address the wants of a needy school in Nairobi, Kenya. Throughout the journey with this school, ICC worked to help them develop agricultural skills, with the aim of providing a means to develop sustainable garden practices and self-reliance. In 2015 ICC began a three-year partnership with Chalice, an aid organization based in Bedford Nova Scotia. With the combined efforts of the two associations ICC was able to provide the Kenyan school with a foundation upon which the school is now able to continue to move ahead independently. With the wrap up of the Kenyan project ICC researched to find a new mission on which to focus its energies. The Ugandan project fit the bill as a short term, one-time commitment as ICC transitioned from working with the school in Kenya to the Kawambwa project schools in Zambia.

“We were familiar with the work and story of Wishing Wells and know the stresses of water poverty, so the WWS project was a very good fit for the ICC mission statement,” said ICC member Ted van Zutphen. “ICC is especially pleased to be involved, for in 2014, ICC was the recipient of a similar gift, when Living Water Africa provided our sponsored school (St Charles Lwanga) with a water collection system. We are well aware of the positive impact a source of water can be to a community.”

Next month in Part 2, we will share with you what it took to install and complete the Ngeza, Uganda project…not an easy task!

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

Joyful children who will have better health because of clean water.

July 2020- Gardens

By Inverness County Cares

On July 18, 2020

In Uncategorized

The Kawambwa school in Northern Zambia is situated in an area of Africa with distinct wet and dry seasons. During the wet season crops grow abundantly and in the dry season crops are planted and irrigated, producing three crops a year.

Inverness county Cares visitors to the Kawambwa School — Betty Jane Cameron, Charlotte Rankin and John MacInnis — were impressed by the school gardens which cover 5000 square meters of fertile loam soil. These gardens are part of an ambitious sustainability plan. They ensure the school always has ample high-quality food for staff and students. The gardens are also a source of revenue and produce is sold in local markets.

The gardens are tended by staff member Mr Victor Nkandu, school gardener John Mpundu, as well as students, including those who are visually impaired. Despite the fact many have limited vision they maneuver nimbly among the plants as they work in the garden. Betty Jane remarked, “The children are industrious workers and help cultivating and carrying pails to water the plants when needed”.

The soil is enriched by applications of compost and fertilizers. The cultivation and tilling of the garden are carried out totally by hand without any mechanical tools or livestock involved. People of all ages toil daily at this very strenuous and arduous type of work. Charlotte Rankin noted, “Every morning, a work force of men and women set out carrying their large, heavy grub hoes to work in the fields of maize (very tall white corn). The gardens are enclosed by skillfully woven bamboo poles which keep out human and animal poachers”.

John MacInnis stated, “The wide variety of vegetables grown make for a colourful looking garden as well as allowing for diversity in the students’ daily meals”. The main school garden crops include maize, cassava (tapioca), cabbage, rape, Chinese cabbage, carrots, eggplant, green peppers, pumpkin, peanuts and tomatoes. ‘Greens’ are an important part of the Zambian diet. Young leaves of the pumpkins, rape leaves (part of cabbage family but similar to swiss chard) and sweet potatoes leaves are used in many flavourful recipes. These vegetables are usually cooked with tomato and onion, and sometimes in a groundnut (peanut) stew. In Nova Scotia our main starch food is potato. Nshima is the staple food of Zambia. It is basically a very thick porridge made from finely ground white corn (maize) meal. It is served in semi-solid form and eaten with the hands. The students also enjoy the bounty from lemon, mango and avocado trees and pineapples are also a special favourite.

In addition to the plant menu options Zambians enjoy a special treat… termites. They are harvested at a particular time of year and roasted crisp… a good source of protein and according to Betty Jane Cameron, John MacInnis and Charlotte Rankin, quite tasty too.

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

Partners in Development

Category: Uncategorized Page 16 of 29

October 2020, Geshom Mwansa’s Story

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

Part 1-Inverness County Cares provides Ugandan Village with Water Collection System

July 2020- Gardens