James Zulu, Zambia Red Cross Society, in Mporokoso
According to the UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic of 2006, it is estimated that in 2005, there was over 4.6 million orphans due to AIDS in southern Africa with Zambia having over 7 hundred thousand.
Vivian Musonda lives in the remote area of Mporokoso district in the Northern part of Zambia. She is 17. On the 16th of February, 1989, Vivian was born as the fifth child in the family of six from Fred Musonda and Fray Mwenya.
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We used to stay in Kabwe with my parents. My father was a soldier and my mother was a housewife. I remember we had a good life. In 1991, my mother died and it was not easy for us because my father was at the same time unwell most of time. As result he retired early on medical grounds,’ Vivian explains.
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After he retired, we settled in Mporokoso where I started schooling. And later in 1996, my father passed away. We were then left in the care of our grandmother because grandfather also died later the same year. And then three years later my grandmother died”, she recalls.
Then after a thoughtful pause she continued. ‘It was then that our family was separated and I was taken up by my aunt. When I was in grade nine I was forced to be out of school because my then guardian refused to pay for my examination fees. She insisted that I should instead get married. I stayed at home for about 9 months during which I was chased from home and left to fend for myself”.
“I realized that I first had to survive so I found myself a place to stay in the village and started going into the bush to collect wild fruits to sell. When I had accumulated enough capital, I started to sell vegetables at the nearby market. It was there that I met a Zambia Red Cross Society volunteer. I told him about my desire to go back to school. I was later directed to Mr. Phiri who is the Red Cross society home-based care project officer in the district.
When I explained my situation to him, I couldn’t believe it when he agreed to find me a place in grade 9 at a school of my choice,’ she says.
“Without hesitation I choose Chishamwamba basic school. I was one of the brightest students which prompted the head of the school to make me the Head girl at the school. I also joined the drama group, which is one of my favorite pass time activities. I am currently writing my final junior examinations and am determined to make it to senior level with high marks.
The society has provided me with an opportunity I thought I would never have. Apart from paying my school fees and school requirements, they provide me with blankets and food,’ she explains.
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It was not easy to put Vivian on the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) list as we had just concluded the process of identifying the OVCs in the community, but after looking at the confidence, willingness and the situation she was in, we had no reason of leaving her out of the list of OVCs,’ says James Phiri, the home-based care project officer for Zambia Red Cross Society in Mporokoso.
Asked about what her advise would be to others who could be facing similar situations, Vivian suddenly wears a mature serious look on her young face and replies: ’Never give up. Take me for example, I didn’t expect to be back in school but somehow the Red Cross society came to my help. And I intend to become a journalist when I complete school,’ she adds with a smile.
Vivian Muscoda is one of the 100 orphans and vulnerable children whom Zambia Red Cross Society is assisting in Mporokoso District. The society is running home-based care project with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.