Kazembe Orphanage
This project settled high up in the village of Kazembe in the north of Zambia, and with over 20,000 inhabitants it could compete with many European towns in size. The closest town is Mansa, which is a 2 hour drive away. Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, can be reached via a 16 hour bus ride. Why does someone start a project so far away from any city?
The HIV rate in Zambia is generally very high, but it is estimated that in Kazembe it is even higher than the nationwide average of 14%. Many children in the village have lost both of their parents to HIV and, with the family network failing, they don’t have anyone to care for them. With this in mind, Thomas and Amy, an American couple, started an orphanage in Kazembe together with their own children. The orphanage is situated in a small former hotel and takes in babies and toddlers from the region. At first the hotel was in a bad state with whole trees growing out of the rooms. After long-lasting construction work it is now livable! There are no Western luxuries to be found but they have running water from their own borehole and usually electricity, if there’s no power cut.
Thomas and Amy gained the trust of the villagers and now care for 17 children aged between 0 and 6 years old. Sometimes relatives or friends of the deceased parents bring the babies in such a bad condition that intensive medical care is necessary. Unfortunately sometimes all hope is lost and there are some babies Thomas and Amy can’t help anymore.
Children playing in the garden of the Kazembe Orphanage
The project grows with the age of the children and drives towards becoming its own school. As some of the older children are already 6 years old this is becoming increasingly important for Thomas and Amy. The school shall be available for neighboring children as well to give them the possibility to attend a school.
The Raise a Smile Hostel Berlin, amongst other donations, supports one child with a $100 monthly donation to the orphanage. The child is called Nathan and is 2 years old. The money goes towards paying for his clothes, food (3 meals and 2 healthy snacks a day) employing nannies and all other running costs for the orphanage. The day to day running of the orphanage is very challenging and the couple can tell numerous stories about fights with government officials or misunderstandings due to cultural differences with the villagers. Fortunately they can normally take most of it with a lot of humour, which allows them to continue their important work with their orphanage.
Nathan is sponsored by the profit from the Raise a Smile Hostel in Berlin
When talking about Kazembe you can’t help but get around to mentioning the wonderful surroundings. Even though such a project brings with it a lot of difficulties, the location far up North is stunningly beautiful. When you begin to explore the area you soon start to feel like an adventurer. Stunning nature fills the horizon mainly completely untouched. The Luapula river divides Zambia from the Democratic Republic of Congo there and it is so vast (with marsh land on either side) that it is not crossed very often. Very close by are incredible waterfalls where you can swim (crocodile-free) and most of the time completely alone. Tourists only come here for the Mutomboko, a huge festival of the chief Mwata Kazembe. This festival the second biggest of its kind in Zambia and therefore plays a hugerole in preserving the indigenous culture of Zambia. Mutomboko attracts around 20,000 people each year including the president of Zambia.
Like many other regions of Zambia, Kazembe is also worth a visit. Even if you won’t be able to visit this part of the world any time soon, you can support the Kazembe Orphanage. Your help allows the orphanage to continue improving and to turn all the ideas that Thomas and Amy into reality.