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The Life Story of Blessings

On April 18, 2021

Blessings is a nine-year-old boy, who, although living with Albinism, is full of life and has the potential to do great things. At the age of three, his parents separated, and Blessings’ mother moved away, leaving him with his father. At his young age, he realized that his home is not a happy one mainly because two of the children live with Albinism. Blessings says, “I can tell that the face of my father is ever sad I wonder if my father ever smiles and my mother stays in another village with my stepfather.” Blessings older brother, Albert, was taken away when he was young and did not know until later, that his parents had another boy with albinism.

Blessings has been shunned by his village and his interactions with anyone outside of his family has been restricted. Sometimes he would be permitted to go to a neighbouring house to play with young friends. They enjoyed traditional dances and games. One of these friends was, Jane, the same age as Blessings, who was in grade one at that time. She taught him the alphabet and some songs and some of the elders in the community noticed his potential since was able to quickly remember the alphabet, songs and stories.

At this time, he lived with his father and step mother, where according to Blessings, “No age was considered when it comes to work”. Blessings despite his young age and small stature, was expected to do the work of a much older person and was continually overworked and exhausted. His work schedule, “which was beyond my power” fetching water with a big bucket, weeding and slashing brush, left him so fatigued, he was unable to attend school or even study on his own.

As a child living with Albinism, working in the hot sun is life threatening. Blessings tells us “Honest, I really suffered when drawing water from the only borehole we have in the village. It is in an open space where sunlight shines directly on us as we wait our turn”. For anyone with albinism, the direct rays of the hot sun can lead to skin cancer lesions because of the lack of melanin on their skin. Blessings did not have access to sunscreen or protective clothing to shield him from the sun every day. The only way he could cope was to, “Cover my head with a piece of cloth or my old shirt”. From photos of Blessings, we can see he is already developing lesions in areas exposed to the sun.

According to Blessings, “One day a miracle happened in our home. A teacher gave homework to my step brother who was in grade two. He could not get the concept, but I got it and everyone was surprised”. His family began to realize his potential, and this coincided with the visit from

Mr. Simeo, who is pursuing his studies in education, with a focus on children with disabilities.

Mr. Simeo took a special interest in Blessings for he saw the potential in this overworked little boy. According to Blessings, his friend said, “From today I will accompany you in everything,” and again he lifted me and laughed. Inside my heart I was very happy because I wanted to see a man in the range of my father’s age with a smile on his face.”

From then on, he visited Blessings’ family and helped him in the fetching of water and other strenuous work. Blessings’ parents came to love his friend so much that he become part of the family. Due to this influence, his parents permitted Blessings to go to school with is friend, where he started teaching him simple mathematics. Mr. Simeo talked to Blessings’ father about taking him to a special school that could really enrich Blessings’ life and his father permitted Blessings to go to St Mary’s Special School in Kawambwa, which is 178 kms away from their home. There he found so much comfort with his loving and caring friends, teachers and care givers, some of whom also live with albinism. He started learning Braille was happy to study and work toward his educational goals.

His teacher, Madam Winifridah introduced him to computers which has ignited his curiosity toward technology and mechanical operations. His potential has been recognized and at this time, he can read, write, recite poems and dance. He is a dependable student who realizes the importance of education as a path toward his ambitions.

There are many more children in a similar situation as Blessings, but they are hidden away in villages, shunned by their people because of fear and superstition. St. Mary’s and St Odilia schools, the two schools of the Kawambwa Project, provide a haven for these children, where they can learn to cope with their disabilities and feel safe, valued and protected.

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. E-transfer address: [email protected]

or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares Box 99, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided for USA and Canada.

March 2021, Transportation

By Inverness County Cares

On March 8, 2021

In Uncategorized

TRANSPORTATION IS A GREAT CHALLENGE AT ST. MARY’S SPECIAL SCHOOL – KAWAMBWA.

St. Mary’s Special school serves children between the age of 5 to 25 years who come from diverse parts of Zambia. The school caters to children with multiple disabilities; blind and visually impaired, deaf, special needs and physically disabled. The present teaching staff also includes teachers with visual impairments; six totally blind, eight partially sighted and two teachers with albinism.

Mr. Chisembe Mwansa, one of the blind teachers, tells us how the school community must strive to accommodate staff and students with varying levels of visual impairment as well as physical and intellectual needs. The school must maintain and upgrade the infrastructure of the school grounds to protect the staff and students from the ever-present threat of kidnapping and abduction. This security extends beyond the walls of the school as the children must be protected on their long journeys to and from the school to their homes in remote villages, towns, and cities.

“I’m a blind teacher and have lived in this area for many years. I have been teaching at St. Mary’s school for 22 years.” says Mr. Mwansa. “My major contribution to the school is to be the chairperson of transport. At present we use a twelve-seater bus with two main purposes; class trips to help visually impaired children become familiar with their environments and to bring students to and from school.”

The educational tours and class trips serve to help the children build a foundation on how they will navigate their environment when they leave the safe confines of the enclosed school grounds. Many of the students live in remote locations, as much as 4-5 hours away from the school in Kawambwa. Always keeping safety from abduction as a priority, the bus must have a minimum of three adults on board when traveling to gather students. The twelve-seater bus becomes very cramped with the students and their luggage as they live at the school and go home only on holidays. This means making four to five trips to transport all the children, increasing gas consumption, and exposing the students to the dangers of being abducted.

“I have personally travelled with different drivers and I have experienced all a person can experience in this rural part of Zambia. Our roads are not tarred and most of the commodities and children are found in places where roads are very bad, full of potholes and water pools. The van often gets stuck in the mud and pushing needs to be done” says Mr. Mwansa. Requiring the adults and children to push the small van to free it from the mud puts them at risk of getting injured. But when the van is too deep in the mud, they must stay there for many hours, sometimes sleeping in the van overnight and trying to free the van in the morning. This happens not only in the rainy season, but also in the dry season as most areas are sandy.

On occasions where there are children with albinism in the van, many villagers will gather around; not to help, but rather intimidate and mock the children. These long journeys are demanding and stressful for the children, especially for the smaller, more vulnerable ones.

The struggles at St. Mary’s Special school are unquestionable. “Words cannot really explain the real situation, but people’s hearts grasp it in a special way that cannot be expressed in words” says Mr. Mwansa. “My blindness tells me that mobility and orientation are the only way that can bring the world closer to a blind person.’

Note: Inverness County Cares has been supporting the needs of St. Mary’s Special School for the past two years in partnership with Chalice (Canada). Chalice has just approved a request for funding from Kawambwa to purchase a large bus to transport students safely. Inverness County Cares will be assisting in raising funds for this purpose.

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 thank you. E-transfer address: [email protected]

or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares Box 99, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided for USA and Canada.

January: Elizabeth, an Albino Child Tells her Story

By Inverness County Cares

On January 6, 2021

In Uncategorized

Elizabeth an Albino Child, Tells her Story

By: Elizabeth Mulenga, Sr Agnes Bwalya and Mr. Telesphore

Albinism is a hereditary condition, resulting in the absence of melanin pigment causing an individual being born with the white skin, light hair and vision problems. There are two types of albinism. Oculocutaneous albinism involves the eyes, hair and skin and Ocular albinism which is less common involving only the eyes, while skin and hair may appear similar or slightly lighter than that of the other family members.

I am Elizabeth born from two parents with very light skin, (Ocular Albinism). We are seven in the family, 5 are black but with light skin and 2 (*John and myself) are Oculocutaneous, with very light skin and hair. My eyes are not stable the eyeballs move and sometimes even my head shakes involuntarily.

My family surname is Mulenga but now my nickname is my surname…”Manda”, in English it means grave, meaning my brother *John and I are already dead, in other words we are not human beings. People in society continued calling us this, at first secretly but as days went by, it became a famous surname.

When I was born my parents were separated but my father could visit my mother, however when my youngest brother was born, my father ran away and he told my mother that,” I will go now forever”. My mother was disturbed and she dumped us. My widowed grandmother from my father’s side came to our rescue, she took us and we stayed with her for some years, where the care was not up to date. When I was ten years old my grandmother died and we went back to our mother who couldn’t manage because she was sickly and she died when I was 13yrs old. I started staying with my aunty to my mother’s side.

People in the village where we were living didn’t accept us and we were considered as “Ghosts”, because only “Ghosts” are found in the grave. When we were passing, especially a pregnant woman she would spit saliva on her chest “pupuu”, which they believed prevented them from having an albino child, even elderly women and young girls did the same.

As an albino we can’t share plates with others, I should eat alone and my plate should not be mixed with other plates. My bedding (an old coat of my grandmother) was kept outside the house and it was a bad experience with no shelter in the rainy season. I was denied family socialization and no one will touch any object that I touched or eat the food or drink I have prepared, because they believed Albinism is contagious.

I will never forget this day: I went to the river to draw water, and as I was coming back a middle-aged woman called me and said “Elizabeth from today onwards do not pass here or touch my children because when you pass here, they dream of you and hallucinate at night”, I didn’t say anything, I cried the whole night, and said to my God, “God why create me as a Ghost! Why?” That was how I vowed not to visit any home in the village, I was living in isolation, I felt lonely, unloved, useless and unworthy to live.

When I entered the classroom in our village, the female teacher never accepted me, she never talked to me or give me any work. That time I had sores on my body and one day I heard her telling others that, she cannot stand the situation it’s better she teaches other classes, her negativity made me more passive and I decided to stop school.

One day the light shone, I was called by an old lady in the village and she asked me to help her wash plates, at the river side. She held me by the hand and whispered in my ears “Elizabeth, one day your problems will flow away like the waters in the river and they will never come back again. Look at this water as it flows it will never turn back and flow in a different direction, this is how life is, once you understand life, you will not be the same and the solution is education. This old woman made me feel loved, comforted, accepted and fully human.

A few days later, she decided to take me to St. Mary’s Special School (Sponsored by Chalice.ca) with the help of St Vincent de Paul Movement. When I reached school, I saw my friends wearing shoes, sleeping on beds, eating while sitting on a bench/chair, within myself I couldn’t believe it.

I was happy, in fact more than happy, especially when I saw other Albino children. To be sincere it is St. Mary’s Special School that introduced me to the wearing of shoes and sandals, I really felt uncomfortable, since eating while sitting on the chair was something I never thought of and many other traits that makes a human being feel human and comfortable.

Today I am so positive about my life, I am in grade 9 and just finished writing my junior secondary final examination. I promise the world that I will pass. * John has also found peace at the St Mary’s school and is in grade 3. I remain a good dancer, I live healthy with no sores on my body, I wear decent clothes, I have Braille and Braillo paper for my education.

An albino child is fully human, fully alive, we send thanks to you so many people.

Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website https://invernesscountycares.com

Please include mailing address for CRA tax receipts and thank you, when using E-transfer. E-transfer address: [email protected]

or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares Box 99, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided for USA and Canada.

Christmas at the Kawambwa schools

By Inverness County Cares

On December 13, 2020

In Uncategorized

Kawambwa site sends Christmas and New year greetings to the Inverness County Cares team, donors, sponsors, and volunteers. May the New Born Christ give you all the graces you need in your lives. We love you all. Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Sr Agnes and Kawambwa team.

THE HIDDEN JOY OF CHRISTMAS.

By: Sr Agnes Bwalya, Kawambwa, Zambia

Christmas is a season that everyone waits for and is the Hidden Joy of Christmas that we long for!

Christmas is celebrated with a lot of symbols and its celebration starts with a lot of preparations. In the village and at every home, parents start by preparing what to eat and what their children will wear. The children, they think of what they will receive from their parents and what they will give to others. Village chickens, goats, cow, dried fish, local beer and local drinks are set aside just for Christmas. Everyone thinks of what will be shared with others.

The asking of a gift is done in a symbolic way, very early in the morning, one will move with branches and visit a home, knock and shout “Christmas” and leave a branch at the door. The owner of the house comes out, gives the one who brought the branch anything she/he has. If one doesn’t have any food to give, he/she will come out with a cup of water, the other person receives it and drinks, and the games continue.

On the very day of Christmas, families, friends will visit and eat together during the family meal. It is the responsibility of an elderly person to explain to others about the importance of sharing. Food is served and visiting of grandparents is commonly done. The old grandparent will prepare something for whoever visits them, if they do not have anything to give at the end of their visit, they will bless their children by touching their forehead and saying, “Be disciplined and grow old as I am.” It is now that grand children get wrappers and bracelets from their grandmothers, who has been receiving but not wearing. Grandparents feel happy for the visits by young ones. During the visit what is avoided, is to recall any conflict that occurred before, to individuals or among family members. Each one makes sure that joy of Christmas is maintained. It is very common that a dress, shirt, wrapper, shoes, is kept in a suitcase for so many months, just waiting to be put on at Christmas. It is a long preparation which calls for patience as well.

In some areas like Kawambwa and in other parts of Zambia there is a flower which is named ‘Christmas flower’ because it grows and blossoms during the early rains. This is a precious flower that young adults look for and gives to their loved ones as an engagement for marriage. It is commonly done in our village during Christmas and New Year time. When a young girl is given a Christmas flower by a young boy, the girl takes it to her grandparents or aunties. It is self-explanatory that the boy wants to marry their daughter.

The celebration of the New Year starts at Christmas, parents bless their children by word of mouth and by exchange of gifts. The size of the gift does not matter, what matters is the exchange and the eating of food together.

At our two schools, the traditional way of celebrating Christmas and New Year is practiced, and it is a long preparation for everyone. On the last day of the term, each child has to look for something good to do to the other child, or to a friend. Exchanging of branches is done (it must be a branch from a tree that gives us food; such as from a mango tree or a guava tree.) It means a sign of taking care of my friend, giving him/her fruit that can sustain one’s life. Each person finds time to help a friend in some way by washing clothes, sweeping, helping with lessons, but without someone asking for help. Members of staff teach students the importance of sharing. Sometimes elder children on behalf of small children go out to help old parents in the nearby village, visiting the hospital and other charitable works. In the evening they come together for social recreation, sharing of water is commonly done and everyone longs for this time. Small actions are performed to one another silently the main aim of doing these actions is to tell another person that I can help with my free will.

At church, the traditional way of making a kraal (a traditional African village of huts, typically enclosed by a fence) is done as we do at home. Banana leaves and plants surrounds the kraal and model of Jesus, Joseph and Mary and the stars are inserted. It is a sacred and holy place for us, because it reminds us of the place where Jesus was born. During Mass a basket of assorted fruits and seeds covered by branches is offered. It is a good sign of sharing the togetherness and oneness as we worship, EMMANUEL meaning GOD IS WITH US AND AMONG US FULL OF LIFE.

Inverness County Cares always welcomes new members. Individuals who wish to donate, can use the donate button on our website https://invernesscountycares.com

e-transfer to [email protected]

or send a cheque to Inverness County Cares Box 99, Judique, NS, Canada, B0E1P0. Taxation receipts provided for USA and Canada.