Thanks to many generous donors during 2020, Children in the Wilderness (CITW) Zambezi has been able to distribute 2,706 food packs to those most in need. This equates to 108 tonnes of food and has impacted approximately 13 530 people over the year, providing them with much-needed food relief at a time when so many livelihoods have been lost because of COVID-19.

In addition, all community and school gardens have been supplied with millet and sorghum seeds – both being more resilient, nutritious, and suited to the rural conditions, than maize.

We are thrilled with the efforts of the community members to get the crops in, and we are so thankful for the amazing rains falling in this usually extremely arid region. All the gardens have come along in leaps and bounds over the course of the year – from the establishment of worm beds and fertility trenches in June 2020 to the yield in the gardens now.

At schools around the region, the staff present on the ground are tending to the gardens in the absence of the Eco-Club members; this will make a significant difference to students’ and teachers’ lunch-time meals when they return to school once the lockdown is lifted.

As it is easy to acquire and grow, we will also be adding 1kg of millet and 1kg of sorghum to each rural food pack that will be distributed at the end of January, enabling many vulnerable homesteads to plant their own crops.

Thankfully we have funding for our nutrition program to continue – both for vulnerable families and for school feeding programs. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks once again to all our donors for their unwavering support: The Chairman’s Foundation, Grand Circle Foundation, Antoinette MacKenzie, AAC, Suzanne Wright, as well as many other sponsors, for their generosity during his time. We hope that 2021 will usher in positivity and there is a turnaround for the better.

Report by Sarah Adams, CITW Zambezi Community Sustainability & Evaluation Trainer