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Mwandi Royal Village lies in Zambia’s Western Province and has a population of around 10,000. HIV/AIDS has dramatically impacted the community, with an estimated 35% of the Mwandi population being infected with HIV/AIDS. Many children have been directly impacted by this epidemic. Most children in this area are living with sick parents or relatives. Many are orphans left without one or both parents and relatives struggle to provide for them. There are an estimated 1,300 orphans and vulnerable children living in Mwandi. That is one in every two children in Mwandi.

The Project provides educational, nutritional and social support to identified vulnerable children and seeks to enable the immediate family, guardians and the whole community to provide sufficient support and care for such children. The project cares for the village’s orphans holistically by providing educational, social, spiritual and nutritional support. Daily nourishment, multi-vitamins, teeth cleaning, monthly health checks at the local hospital, recreation and educational activities as well as costs for school attendance are all provided.

A vegetable garden, bakery, pre-school, sewing centre and library were established by the project to contribute to its operation. Additionally,  in cooperation with the Mwandi Anti-AIDS association and school Anti-AIDS club, the project works to build HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention through meetings, home visits and drama.

The project covers the education costs for vulnerable children, including school fees, uniforms, stationary and boarding fees to enable children to attend school in Mwandi and nearby Sesheke. Assistance is also provided to enable children who are the head of their household or who have a baby to care for to attend classes in the evening.

Fiona Dixon-Thompson, a UnitingWorld assisted volunteer has been working with our partner church, the United Church of Zambia, since September 2004.  As the full-time Project Coordinator, she manages the drop-in centre, which provides orphans from six months to 15 years with one nourishing meal every day.

2011 Update

The education support program has allowed for over 700 children from the Mwandi Community to be enrolled in all levels of education from pre-school to college and university.

The food program continues to run, providing nearly 300 children with a nourishing meal every day.  The vegetable garden has been very successful,  producing large amounts of fresh produce for the feeding program and sales within the community.

In order to ensure the sustainabillity of this initiative, UnitingWorld is supporting the project to invest in the production and commercialisation of chicken and beef. Funding will be increased over the next few years to ensure that this initiative will be able to support the centre into the future.

Downloadable Resources:

Project Sheet