The Orphans & Vulnerable Children Programme (OVC) at St Francis’ Hospital Katete – Project Update

The Friends of St Francis’ Hospital recently published their Summer Newsletter which contains a report on the Orphans & Vulnerable Children Programme (OVC) which is supported by the Zambia Society Trust.

Following the passing of Emelia Mulenga, Cynthia Nyendwa has been appointed to run the scheme, starting work in July 2023. She has a teaching diploma.

The programme now looks after 1,055 children. It was one of the first such programmes to be established in Zambia in the early 1990s. It was set up in response to the sudden onset of HIV/AIDS that led to the early deaths of many, especially the 20 to 50- year-olds in the late 1980s, leaving an increasing number of orphans. The orphaned and vulnerable children are cared for by members of their extended families, so they do not lose contact with their relatives and culture.

It is much less expensive than establishing Western style orphanages that cost, per child, as much as the wage of a labourer.

The OVC programme helps children to attend school by paying for school costs (church schools), exercise books, pens, soap for washing clothes and by contributing towards their clothing. For those wishing to attend a boarding school, the programme will meet part of the boarding fees.

Each village has a guardian who oversees the children/families. The guardian is also responsible to the team based at St Francis' Hospital. The team visits each of the 37 villages regularly - three times a year.

If it were not for donations from the Zambia Society Trust, the Old Catholic Church in Bonn and many individual donors, this scheme would cease to exist. For this we are very grateful.

Peter Jailos Mwale, a second-year nurse trainee, sponsored through the OVC programme.

In recent years, several young people who have graduated from the OVC programme, have achieved excellent results at Grade 12. They have found places to train as nurses or doctors. Individual donors have come forward to sponsor their training. We now have seven young people being sponsored; five in Nurse Training at St Francis, and two who are reading Medicine at the University of Zambia.

The Newsletter also contains an obituary for Emelia Mulenga who sadly died aged 25 in May 2023. Emelia was responsible for overseeing the OVC programme. Emelia was a former street child who in 2022 achieved a Counselling Diploma (part of a Public Health course) by correspondence. She had intended to go on to complete a degree in 2023. In the 11 months that she managed the programme she turned it around increasing the numbers of children from 712 to 1,055.

Emelia Mulenga