Grab a hot coffee! Thank you donors.

Dear donors – you are all appreciated for the work you are doing! You are part of this new transforming experience for these babies and their families. Please take the time to read about what is happening now at Kasensa. You are part of something that is making a big difference – a difference that will bring long term change for the child and for some of the government systems in this country.

Please bear with me ~ as it’s difficult to describe transformation in a few short words! Grab a coffee, sit down….take time…please. This is God’s work and you are part of it!

Over the past few years ZMF-C Board members and those working “on the ground” have been soaking in information related to best practices in orphan care for developing countries. Through reading books such as “Walking with the Poor” by Bryant Myers our thinking on how to work in this country of extreme poverty has been transformed. As well, a few of us Board members have immersed ourselves in studying what best care is for baby. Best care is not just a clean, dry nappy. Best care is …..baby with family as soon as it is safe to do so!  

As a faith based organization we recognize the causes of poverty are very complex and so nowadays our approach is to respond by “Helping without Hurting”. (look that one up!) We are seeking to respond to issues with a longer term view and knowing that often answers can be found with the people themselves.

Therefore, infant care at Kasensa has been transformed over the past few years.  Each child that comes to us represents a family, a church and a community.

In the past at Kasensa it was common to have approximately 20 infants who stayed until age 2, separated from family way too long. With a focus on “God places the lonely in families” over the past 2 years the average length of stay has been reduced to 9.8 months. And home visits reveal that the children who have returned to be with family are doing just fine!

Just fine in terms of love and affection, but challenged by extreme poverty of this developing nation. They are not returning to live in cushy homes or neighborhoods like our own children. None of the families have running water, electricity, flush toilets, and sometimes no toilets at all, just the bush. Some of them scour the scrubby grass picking “delelele” – looks like a weed to me, but it becomes the vegetable of the day. Many will be challenged this year to find fertilizer for their maize that is being planted now and they will be very challenged to be able to pay for the cost of education when that hurdle comes along.

Currently, at Kasensa we have 3 infants – Emmah, Fanwell and Faith. 3 infants = 3 families!

On most Wednesdays and Fridays you’ll find us out in the village – visiting the families of those mentioned and also doing home visits of babies who have been released from Kasensa since 2011. Sitting with the family in the midst of their household of home grown brick and weathered thatch structures quickly reveals the strengths and needs of the families and gives us opportunity to assess how the family is coping with the child. For those babies who’ve not yet returned home, we assess readiness of the family and what other resources the family might be able to connect with.

In every culture there are families who do not cope well. In a country with extreme poverty, parental poor coping translates to malnutrition, no or very little education and possible neglect and abuse.

On other days I provide hands on guidance to the staff here and also educate using the child care course I’ve developed that is on power point. Last week we covered brain development and how play and nurturing contribute to that and this week we’re on to  health and safety for baby care, developmental milestones, as well as learning about the  Zambian’s government standards for child care facilities and even some of the best practice for orphan care information.

As well, weekly Richard and I try to connect with other NGO’s who are working in Southern Province. So far, we’ve visited 4 orphan homes and spoken with several other community based NGO’s. The goal is to learn what these folks are doing so that we can be known and so that we can know the resources that are out there in order to connect “our families” to. As well, it often gives us opportunity to share some of the good information on best practices for orphan care.

By the time you’ve read this far you must be wondering why social services isn’t doing this stuff. This is a developing nation….which means under-resourced – financially, human resources and in other ways that you can’t imagine. In this area, we also are attempting to help without hurting.

We have made it our role to also liaison with Social Services, to develop and keep a positive working relationship. Strides are being made in this area – such as now we are working together along with another orphan home in the area to comply with the Zambia Government Minimum Standards for Child Care Facilities on some of the paramount items: admission process, case planning and discharge planning.

The milk program continues to provide formula for up to a dozen babies.
The number tends to flux between six and twelve each month, and most mothers
are HIV positive. The World Health Organization recommends breast feeding
even when a mother is HIV positive, however, sometimes a mother’s health
begins to be compromised from nursing her baby, and sometimes the baby’s
health is compromised. When these situations arise, formula can make a
world of difference.

With this program as well, we don’t just give out cans of milk. Much time is spent in counsel and we’ve just started doing home visits to these ones! Strengthening families is our goal!

So…keep up the good work and I hope and pray that this has inspired you perhaps to go on your own journey of learning  how to best “help” those who are materially poor.