We have visited Zambia in 2018 and 2019. We have been helping The Lions School for the Blind in Ndola which educates 150 pupils. Previously they only had enough Braille writing frames for one between two pupils, so they worked in pairs. We have sent sixty new writing frames to them, and one teacher told Steph on her second visit, that it is far easier to teach the pupils now. On the second visit we were able to repair two Braille embossers and establish a link with Technicians in England via Team Viewer to provide future help. We were able to install the free copy of NVDA to give up to date access through speech to the internet.
Another group of blind adult villagers have formed the Kongonga Economic Development Association of the Disabled (KEDAD). It is common for blind people to beg on the streets in Zambia, but they have bucked this trend, by making craft items, and they asked our help in marketing them. We bought all they had made, and have sold them in England. We found two shops who are able to sell their products and send back the money.
Three years ago we had sent out Megavoice audio Bibles in the Bemba language, which are Solar powered. They were delighted with these, and said our visit was like Jesus visiting them. We broke bread, and prayed together.
Foundations in Farming: The headmaster at the school, begged Steph for food, and said how much they struggled. The whole aim of Vision Through Sound is to enable people to do it for themselves. Foundations in Farming enrich the soil through compost and water retention, and can double the crop of Maize from one plot of land. So Esther and Anton, good friends who we have worked with for some years, have now been trained by Foundations in farming to carry out this kind of farming, and have started training both the school and the people at the KEDAD project.
Keddad have also purchased two hundred one day old chicks, reared them for eight weeks and then sold them to the local hospital for their food. They have now repeated this three times so far which is giving them a regular income and making them more independent not to mention putting food on their plates.
The First Newsletter about the Zambia Project can be downloaded here.