June 29th, 2008 - One Egg Each Day
This morning I visited the village of Chitungu where the orphan care house is located. The village is small and lies along a dirt road with small shacks on both sides. There is a large primary school located beside the house. The orphans from that school will be chosen from among those students. The school services 9 villages so after some discussion it was decided that I should support 9 orphans instead of 8.
With Mabvuto’s help in interpreting I was able to have a discussion with the man and lady who act as proprietors of the house. They asked if I would be providing any other services to the orphans At first I was unsure of that other services I could provide but later suggested that I would provide bedding, school uniforms, pencils and notebooks and toothbrushes.
We are discussing buying 30 chickens in the hope that a chicken will lay one egg each day. The eggs that are not eaten by the children will be sold to provide money to buy firewood.
The cost of the house will be K10000. This is to be a one time fee to cover the cost of installing glass for the windows.
I am also required to pay K 7000 for the connection of water. This too is a one time fee but there will be a monthly water bill of between K1000 and K1500.
Some concerns that I have at this point are: will the cooks take the water for their own use? If so, how do I prevent this? How do we ensure that the cook is trustworthy? Will the children be selected fairly as opposed to being selected because they are family members of the selection committee?
Next year I should remember to bring school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, pencil crayons and rulers. I should also continue to bring clothing.
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