about the republic of zambia
The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa which borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Tanzania , Malawi , Mozambique , Zimbabwe , Botswana , Namibia and Angola . Formerly Northern Rhodesia, the country is now named after its Zambezi River .
Zambia has a population of roughly 11 million and an estimated adult HIV-prevalence rate of 28%. However, a surprising 46.5 % of Zambia ’s population consists of children under the age of 15 years! And as a direct result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the number of orphans is growing rapidly and of the 630,000 orphaned children in 2003, 60% were affected by losing one or two parents to the pandemic. This is an overwhelming issue, as the economic impact of HIV/AIDS illness and death has serious consequences for an orphan's access to basic necessities such as shelter, food, clothing, health and education. Orphans run greater risks of being malnourished than children who have parents to look after them. THE COMMUNITY OF ROBERT SHANTY COMPOUND Robert shanty compound is one of the areas in the country worst hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Many lives have been prematurely decimated by the scourge resulting in a good number of child/grandparent headed homes. Most families live below the poverty datum line; they’ve to struggle to find finances to put food on the table, buy clothes or other essential commodities. For many families of Robert compound, education is regarded as a luxury; they’d rather spend the little money that comes their way on food and other essential commodities than on sending their children to school. The aim of our community outreach programme is to bring hope to people in the community by encouraging children go to school. The impoverished families are also empowered with grants to start small businesses so that they can be self-sustainable. |
AERIEL view of old robert compound
HIV/AIDS ESTIMATES
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