Our Work:

Update summer 2011 
I recently returned from Zambia where I spent time at the Lubasi Children’s Home,the Lushomo Home for Girls, and Sons of Thunder rural medical clinic.  As always, I was moved by the spirit and joy of the people despite their difficult lives.  They face problems that most of us in the United States cannot imagine.   The staff, and volunteers, works selflessly and tirelessly for these children.  I was overwhelmed by the generosity and caring nature of the staff.  They often go unpaid when funding is low, but they continue to be dedicated to the children.  Global Partners for Health is one of the primary sources of funding for these organizations.   We are unique in that the founders pay all administrative costs so that 100 percent of donations go to the projects we support.  Each time I visit Zambia I see an improvement in so many ways – particularly in education and the decline in HIV/AIDS.  Our programs are working!

Terri Glasser,
Founder, Global Partners for Health

Lubasi Children’s Home Livingstone, Zambia – Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Overview: 
Global Partners for Health has worked with the Lubasi Home for over 5 years.  The home continues to be one of the only orphanages in southeast Zambia which provides a high standard of care for these vulnerable children.  Located outside of Livingstone, Zambia, Lubasi has 42 children at the present time although it has had up to 60 children within the last year.  The majority of these children ranging in age 2 to 17 years are at Lubasi on a permanent basis.  Their parents are often deceased due to the AIDS pandemic which has ravaged the country.  In a few cases the children are from families who cannot afford to care for them.    Many of the children were living on the streets until taken in by the Lubasi Home.  The Lubasi Home is an extremely caring environment which does not allow corporal punishment.   Education, respect, and responsibility are stressed as the most important values.

Recently, several of the children taken in on a temporary basis are from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  These children are typically very young from age 2 to 4.  Their mothers have been arrested while trying to cross the Zambian border to escape the violence in the Congo.  The needs of these small children are challenging since they are preschool age and do not speak English or the local Zambian dialect.  Because of their age and language barrier they are often frightened and confused.   There are more Congolese refugees coming into Zambia every day, so this will be an ongoing concern, but one that Lubasi does not feel it can ignore.

Funding of Programs
The Lubasi Home depends upon private funding.   Lubasi receives a large amount of “in kind” donations, for example, clothing, bedding, mosquito nets, etc. from local businesses such as hotels.  The challenge is the cost of food, staffing and educational expenses.   In Zambia, secondary school (beginning at 9th grade) is not provided by the government.  Lubasi funds the secondary children’s tuition.  Global Partners for Health is one of the primary sources of funding for these expenses, and the only source from the United States.  The Zambian Catholic Church, the Episcopalian Church, an International Rotary group, and the Livingstone business community are the other sources of funding.  It is truly a shared effort by various non-profits,  community, business and religious organizations.

In addition to the residents of Lubasi, the home also has an outreach program for the children who have been reintegrated with their families.  These children require some level of supervision since they are going from the Lubasi Home to an environment where they may not be encouraged to continue in school or allowed study time.   For example, because electricity is so expensive in Zambia, if available at all, many of the children’s families do not allow lights to be turned on after dark.  Some of the children who have been reintegrated have come back to the  Lubasi Home because they cannot read, or study, after school.  At Lubasi the children were allowed to use lights as long as they needed for study purposes.   It’s frustrating for these children not to be able to continue their education.   Once a month, the Lubasi Home has a workshop for these families to educate them about what is required for the children’s well-being.  Lubasi  plans to start a fund to try and help with the costs of electricity and other school related expenses for these families.  

The Future
The main challenge for Lubasi  is how to  help the older children who will be on their own when they are 17 or 18 years.   All of the children will eventually face this problem and it is crucial to have some kind of program and support available to encourage education and job skills.  Several of the older children are now finishing secondary school and they will need continued encouragement in order to go to college, or to a job training program.   This is why Lubasi was founded – to ultimately make the lives of these children better.   The children are the future of Zambia.

Lushomo Home –  Caring for Young Girls Who Have Suffered Abuse

As an offshoot of the Lubasi Home, Lushomo opened 6 months ago and cares for 14 girls aged 10 to 17 who have suffered abuse from family members or friends of family.  The home is a few blocks from Lubasi and shares some of the staff, vehicles,  and educational programs.    It began when the founders of the Lubasi Home found a huge need for a secure environment for the girls.  The home is gated and has 24 hour security for the girls’ protection.  During my visit I saw that the environment promotes much needed respect and dignity for such vulnerable young women.  For most of these girls, this is the first time they have felt safe and able to pursue their education with a supportive “family” surrounding them.   Lushomo has staff members with the girls inside and outside of the facility, even while traveling to and from school.  The founders of Lushomo hope to open another home for girls in a nearby village in the next year. 

Beautiful Lubasi Children

The Older Lubasi Children singing!  I am on the far left with Christina, the home’s administrator

Sons of Thunder – A Rural Village, Medical Clinic and Farm

Sons of Thunder is a rural village named after “the Smoke that Thunders”, the local name for nearby Victoria Falls. The village consists of a farm, a school, and a medical clinic. The village’s goals are self-sufficiency, confidence and pride.   Americans, Sal and Renee Marini operate the clinic in the village as well as a mobile clinic which travels to remote areas of Zambia.  This is usually the only medical care available to rural villagers.  The clinic is also an HIV antiretroviral center where adults and children infected with HIV are able to receive these lifesaving drugs.  Before the establishment of the clinic the village residents did not have access to healthcare for HIV/AIDS, infant and maternal care, and basic emergency care for injuries and illness.   On any given day Dr. Sal will deliver babies, treat burns, malaria, snakebites, and run the clinic’s antiretroviral program!

Recently, several small businesses have started on the village and are thriving – the farm now sells vegetables in the local markets, another villager began a chicken farm on the property, and a group of women began a sewing business after the sewing machines were donated from a group of Americans who also taught a sewing class.  These women are making school uniforms for the local schools as well as tablecloths and other household items. 

The village children are healthy and happy at the school although many of them walk several miles to and from school each day.  Now that healthcare and food are available, education has become a cornerstone in the development of the children.  The teachers need textbooks, chalk, pencils and other basic school supplies. 

The clinic and school depend on donations for medical supplies, school supplies, clinic workers and teachers.  Because of the generosity of donors, life has improved dramatically for the village, and the future of its children is bright.  Volunteer opportunities are available at Sons of Thunder in the clinic, school and the farm.

Sa Marini, the clinic director treating an injured patient

Waiting room at the clinic

Infant Formula/ Milk Project

Working in Partnership with the Butterflyree.org, a United Kingdom based charity; Global Partners for Health has started a campaign to raise funds for infant formula as well as a goat farm in rural Zambia.  The Butterflytree Charity supports rural Zambian communities and all funds go to the cause.  The infant formula fund began for women with HIV/AIDS who cannot nurse their children because of the risk of transmission.   Infant formula is too expensive for most Zambians at close to $8.00 per can as the average annual income in Zambia is around $380.00.   Goat’s milk can also be substituted for mother’s milk, but is not widely available.   The Infant Formula Project will use funds for canned formula for the short term and goat farm production for the long term.  The farm is an important aspect of the project since it will provide sustainability and income for the rural villages.

Global Partners for Health is looking for donations of infant formula as well as funds.  If you have access to formula, please contact Terri Glasser at 410-916-4208 or email at info@spreadhealth.org. 

Rural Zambian Village

Resources and Additional Information

Suggested Reading:

The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
AIDS Orphans Rising, What You Should Know and What You Can Do To Help by Sister Mary Elizabeth Lloyd
Taking Away the Distance, An African AIDS Orphan and his Crusade to Unite Children Orphaned by the AIDS Epidemic by Miles Rosten
Shake Hands With the Devil: the Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire

Terri Glasser
Executive Director & Founder

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    The waiting room at a Zambian clinic.

    A Severely ill AIDS patient.