With just four days left before my departure to Zambia there are many details to finalise. My sons have achieved an amazing result raising funds to build a home for a widow and orphans receiving enough donations to build three homes. They will physically help with the construction to cut down on labour costs.

Joining me are two volunteers from Australia, Professor Doug Saunders and his wife who will be working at Mukuni Health Centre for two weeks besides setting up a program to send medical students to assist at the clinic and Livingstone Hopital. Casey Short and Margaret Bax from Oregon State will be volunteering their professionsal skills to help Mukuni Basic School and The Butterfly Tree community projects. We now have a representative in the US, Frank Maiolo who visited Mukuni some years ago has been sponsoring a number of orphans through the charity.

Young girl from Mukuni

With so much need it is often hard to prioritise, the basis of our work is for the benefit of the orphans and vulnerable children ensuring that they receive an education, safe water and food. Besides Mukuni Village we are working in several other schools and supporting 210 children in education. Currently we building a new classroom at Katapazi thanks to JOAC we are also upgrading their clinic. In the forhtcoming year we aim to upgrade Kamwi Basic and Simamsimbi Basic Schools. With the generous offer of a bore hole at Kamwi, to be donated by Just a Drop we have managed to provide safe, clean water for all the schools we are supporting.

No doubt when I arrive at Mukuni there will be more children who have been orphaned in the past few months. Education is the only way these vulnerable people will overcome the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS in Zambia pandemic. You can sponsor an orphan for just £8 per month or £95 (US150) per annum and make a difference to someone’s life.