L
Laura
Volunteer

 Hi everyone my name is Laura and I was lucky enough to volunteer this August in Mwandi. This was my first time travelling outside of Australia (not including Tasmania) and although it was a huge culture shock for me I was warmly welcomed and felt right at home.

 My time in Mwandi was packed full of activities and Fiona made sure not a moment was wasted. I had the pleasure of helping Mubiana how to use his laptop and it was a real joy to watch him learn. I would have to say one of the many highlights of my trip was being able to look after Mutafela, Lifaliza and Namachana each day. We had lots of fun painting, drawing, playing on the playground, trying to play soccer (if Mutafela didn’t run away with the ball), riding the bikes and helping Lifaliza with his exercises. I think about them every day and hope all is well now that they are back at school.

 I was lucky enough to be able to paint a mural of Noah’s ark in the devotions room. Even though I had some frustrations of spilling the paint it turned out wonderfully if I do say so myself. I will never forget singing and dancing to the hockey pokey as I have never heard anything louder or seen anything more exciting.

 I had the most amazing time being with the children and the staff at OVC and my heart goes out to them all. I have had some wonderful experiences and have met some truly amazing people who I will never forget. All the hard work that is put in to the project can be clearly seen just by looking at the smiles on the children’s faces.

 I admire and look up to Fiona for all she has done and continues to do. How she remembers 270 children’s names it just amazes me. What a truly inspiring woman she is. Fiona, Rury and Lucy make the most beautiful family and I am truly grateful to have been a part of it all. I want to say thank you with all of my heart to everyone I met and for everything I have experienced. Mwandi will always be special to me.

KT
Volunteer

 I visited Mwandi for the first time in 2007... and have been back every year since! I guess I could leave it at that and simply say that coming here was the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. Maybe just saying that would be enough to encourage one or two people to make the journey to Zambia. But in case it's not, I'll carry on for another paragraph or two in the hopes that my story might encourage you to do something that will change your life 🙂

 I didn't like Zambia the first time I came. I didn't like the smells. I didn't like the toilet paper. I didn't like having filthy feet five minutes after I left the house every morning. I didn't like not being able to drink water from the tap. I didn't like sleeping with a mosquito net. I didn't like walking in sand. But mostly I didn't like seeing orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children. I didn't like seeing them because it made it very difficult for me to continue convincing myself that my selfish way of living in Australia was ok. I didn't like seeing them because when I left Zambia and headed to London and New York for a holiday all I wanted to do was shop and buy more stuff... but all I could see were their little faces.

 I'm ashamed to say that it took me many months to let the stories of my little brothers and sisters in Zambia change me... but they did change me. Seeing my life of plenty in light of their undeniable need was something I couldn't continue to run away from. Over time I made a decision to stand with Fiona and her team and raise money and awareness for the project which taught me more about life and love than I had learnt in my 26 years of church attendance.

I started to write songs about my friends in Zambia and I began to sing and tell their stories to anyone who would listen. Along with some friends I recorded a small ep of songs and sold them to raise some money for the project. The more we talked about these kids in churches and schools, the more their stories kept challenging us to live simple lives. We call ourselves a missionary band and are committed to serving the poorest of the poor... to caring for the needy, the lonely, the abandoned, the neglected. Our commitment to this cause has seen us play to thousands of people in Australia and America... and everywhere we go we talk about a little project in Mwandi village, Zambia.

 I used to be an exercise physiologist working in a private hospital in Brisbane, Australia... then I visited the Mwandi OVC project. Now I'm a missionary masquerading as a singer/songwriter. Volunteering in Mwandi will ruin you... it will mess you up in a beautiful and life-changing way. I will spend my life standing in support of people like Fiona who are daily living out the gospel.

God has a history of using the insignificant to do the impossible. He used a bunch of insignificant orphans in Mwandi to turn my life upside down and I'd love it if you gave Him a chance to do the same thing in your life.

KT Wallis


Brendan and Annemarie
The Irish Volunteers

 "Mwandi" I haven't enquired as to what the word actually means but it is a beautiful place by the mighty Zambezi River. After traveling across South Africa, coming to stay in Zambia and particularly Mwandi really felt like we'd arrived in real Africa. Both Annemarie and I agree that we've had an amazing experience.

 We heard about Mwandi from a work colleague who visited in 2004, and when we contacted Fiona we got such a positive reaction we wanted to come. Another major factor was the fact we had total visibility as to where all our fundraising was going to be spent.

It's at this stage where I'd like to thank the local communities of Cootehill, Bailebrough and Ballyconnell and all our friends' family and work colleagues who supported us so generously. From All at the Mwandi OVC and Annemarie and I, Thank You All so much!!!!!!

Your contributions purchased a new computer, 2 new sewing machines and majority went to Feeding Program, as this is the greatest need.

Driving out to the village from Livingstone we got a glimpse of what might be in store for us in Mwandi. All along the road there were little communities consisting of Mud Huts, and little children running around in what can only be described in western terms as rags. So we are preparing to deal with having to fetch water every day and use a long drop toilet. When we arrived and seen that we would be staying in a house with flushing toilets and we had a clean water supply at the project we were amazed. There is quite a large mission here in Mwandi so a lot a work has been done to accommodate international volunteers and make their stay a more comfortable one.

From the very first few minutes we arrived we helped out on the feeding program, we were a bit nervous but it was a good introduction to the project and the kids.

 We got an advanced notice of what we were going to be doing at the project and we can say now that both our skills were but to good use. Annemarie's main task was working the special needs kids. Giving them some One to One time each day, helping with speech, toileting etc. There are currently 6 kids with special needs attending the project and all with very different disabilities. Everyone a little gem, forever smiling and laughing.

 My main task was to help with the computers and help train some of the staff to use the computers more effectively. With the Zambian climate being so dry and hot it's not the best environment for computers, so there was plenty of ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting to be carried out.

 We both did a lot of painting, and while Annemarie had a monster task sorting out a container full of great stuff donated from Australia,  she almost finished it. I got stuck into a bit of welding and DIY.

 In the evenings we both tried our hand at teaching. Giving English and Maths Tuition to small groups of children and Fridays I gave a class on computer skills to the staff at the Mwandi Basic School.

 The most important thing on the project of course are the children so we did try to spend at much time as we could just playing and talking with them. And we have so many wonderful memories.

It's simply a wonderful project and to get to experience it in action we certainly feel privileged. We are already talking about when we can come back. This is a place and experience I would recommend to anyone interested in Volunteering their time to help those in need.


Rev David Howie

Volunteer In Mission, Uniting Church in Australia


 To paraphrase Mother Theresa: "There is not only a poverty and hunger for food in the world, there is also a poverty and hunger for love."

Mwandi is a village in Zambia which has been severely affected by the HIV/AIDS virus. Most affected is the generation between 25-45 years of age, who are the parents of the children involved in the Orphans and Vulnerable Children's (OVC) project. Virtually all of the children at the Project have lost one or both parents from HIV/AIDS. This often means that they are growing up without the parenting, the love, care and support that is essential for the children to develop physically, emotionally and spiritually.

 The OVC Project feeds over 200 children from Mwandi a meal 6 days a week. As impressive as this is, for me what makes OVC special is the Social Support and the way in which the Project has become a nurturing community - almost a second home for the children.

 The Social Support provides clothing and sponsorship which enables children to attend school. The Project also offers HIV/AIDS education and Child Counselling. But it is the many people involved at OVC which gives it that sense of community, - and a place where the children want to be. It is the Coordinator and Manager, as well as the office staff; it is the team of Cooks in the kitchen and the wonderful women who serve the food to the children; it is the people who run the Bakery, the Project's Garden and Storeroom; it is the many volunteers both locally and from overseas. All of these people come together to form a community of love, care and support for the children.

Personally I have done some small odd jobs, as well as led staff and children's devotions. I've spent time with the children playing football (soccer) and volleyball, as well as being with them at lunch time. It is both challenging but also very fulfilling. I am proud to be a very small part of this rich community which seeks to address both the hunger for food, and the hunger for love that is there in the children.

 Let me finish with another quote, the source of which is unknown. "I hope it will be said that we taught them to stand tall and proud, even in the face of history & the future was made whole for us all, one child at a time."


Catherine Oxworth
Volunteer

"When I think of Mwandi I think of sand, sand and more sand. I also think of children, children and more children! These children are so blessed with the love and care of Fiona, Heather and their team at the OVC centre. To be a small part, of what I see as such a positive expression of faith, has been an absolute joy. The OVC centre in Mwandi is giving hope to a community riddled with poverty and HIV/AIDS. The children of Mwandi are being fed, nurtured, educated and loved. You can send gifts, you can send money, but you can never ever put a price on the life changing experience that you will have when you decide to volunteer your time with the Mwandi children. To know that you are loved and cared for by a stranger is to know the love of God."