December 2015

My dear friends. I spent two weeks last September with Derek in Zambia. This is a country which was wealthy in mineral resources, food and energy, prior to securing independence 50years ago. The price of copper, the main mineral mined in Zambia, has fallen by 50% over the past few years. Further as a result of poor maintenance and the low water level the Kariba Dam is producing electricity at historically low levels. For example, electricity was available for about 8 hours per 24 hours while we were there. Can you imagine trying to run a small business in this environment. Many events have conspired against these people.

In the midst of this we have Derek's project to build 20 boreholes a year and provide hand pumped, clean water to about 12,000 children each year. To date Derek has built 91 boreholes and provided fresh water to over 54,600 people.

I visited another African country a while ago which is the beneficiary of direct government aid. I could not follow the money. Was our money helping the disadvantaged or was our money financing the trappings of power?

In the case of Derek's project it's easy to follow the money. Derek is supported by you all. He personally has no costs; he pays his way entirely. He has a very good, young married couple on the ground. Jane Mutambo scouts out the locations for new bore holes, and her husband Bright supervises the drilling and installation of the hand pumps. All water pumps are installed beside small schools a significant distance from the blacktop roads. The logic being that these schools are unlikely to be serviced in the near future by Government agencies. The contract for drilling is negotiated by Derek with a reliable, cost competitive drilling company. We reckon that Derek's project delivered clean water to about 12,000 kids and their families this year.

This is a beautiful idea. We can close our minds and hearts to these problems. But Derek has not, and he gives us all an opportunity to share in the joy I saw in the faces of little children. These kids may or may not have a future, but without Derek's project they do not stand a chance.

Thank you Derek for giving me a chance to see this project in action.