Day 2: Haboombe Village

Day 2: 22:15 Local Time – DILO with Haboombe Village (pre-intervention)

Where do I start with today’s experiences? It’s been an amazing day.

We started the day at 4:30am for our 3 hour journey to Haboombe village. The journey started on reasonable roads with some sizable pot holes but about 20 minutes into it the road suddenly became almost non existent, just dusty soil roads or sometimes just tire tracks through the African bush. We were lucky enough to see a beautiful sunrise during our journey as we were travelling so early. The landscape in Zambia is spectacular, extremely lush and undulating.

About 2 and a half hours into our journey we stopped at a local school in the Moomba Ward for a quick break. Our convoy of 4 by 4’s drew the schools attention and we were greeted by hundreds of kids from the school. This was our first chance to see and experience Latrines as the school had 5 latrines for the children’s use. They were small brick structures with thatch roofs and a hole in the ground for the call of nature!

Not long after the school stop we were confronted with a river crossing with a fairly steep approach. This caused a few problems for our lead car which needed a few attempts to get out of the river!

We eventually arrived in the Haboombe village at around 8:30am to be greeted by a few very excited villagers who started cheering and running after our vehicles as we drove into their village. Upon arriving into the village we were then greeted by most of the village singing and dancing. It was quite an over-whelming and emotional moment, they were clearly very excited to have us all in their community.

 The singing and dancing was followed by a formal welcome from the village elder. He said that he had not seen a visit of this nature in their village within his lifetime, and he was well into his 80’s. Our WaterAid visit lead also stood up and gave a speech about why we were in their village and what we were hoping to get out of it.

After the introductions we were split into our pairs and given a local family to spend the whole day with. Matt (Yorkshire Water) and I were paired up and were invited to spend the day with Chimunga Ngandu (Head of the household, 32 years old), Prisca Muchelemba (Wife of Chimunga, 26 years old) and their family of 5 children. Chimunga has lived in Haboombe village for most of his life and 2 of their children attend a boarding school (the same school we got such a warm welcome from during the car trip into the village) where they stay with their grandmother. The school is a 2 hour walk from Haboombe so they stay at the school so they are able to attend.

After some initial discussion and introductions with the family we went to see the stream where they collect their water from. It’s only a 5 minute walk but it’s down quite a steep hill which will be quite slippery when it’s wet. The woman of the house collects the water twice a day and has to carry a 20 litre container up the slope, which is comparable to a full suitcase used for a 2 week holiday with her baby on her back. The stream the family use is extremely cloudy and used for bathing, clothes washing, for crops and by animals as a water source. As we were standing by the stream 2 pigs wondered up and started drinking from it. Chimunga also told us that they sometimes find dead animals in the stream but they still have no choice but to drink from it. In the dry season this water source dries up so they have to walk for 2 hours to collect water. They can only make this trip once a day as it’s so far away. The family is not able to wash in the dry season as water is so sparse so every drop is used for drinking water and cooking.

On the way back up the slope from the stream Chimunga showed us all the plants and trees they use for food sources. The family has little to no income so is completely self sufficient. Their main food source is Mila Mila (Nshima) and a yam/potato like root which they have to dig for. This can be sourced from the area around their house and they take out the root and replant the stem so the roots re-grow so they have a sustainable food source. He also showed us the plants they use to make Okra (boiled leaves) and other fruits and nuts which provide sustenance. He showed us one particular type of vegetation that they eat when times are really hard. This particular vegetable has to be boiled 8 times over 10 hours as it can be poisonous if not cooked correctly or if eaten raw.

In order to make the Mila Mila they walk to the school where they can collect Maize and use the grinding machine. This is over 3 hours away on foot and some do this walk every day. Chimunga does this weekly. The Maize is used for porridge and Nshima.

Nshima with okra

During our various discussions Chimunga advised that at times political hopefuls would come into their community and offer to solve their water and sanitation needs if they voted for them in the elections. Once they were voted in this offered help never came. They know that help is offered just for political power, hence why WaterAid step in to help these communities.

We asked if they had any regular source of income and they advised that they only make money from growing cotton. Cotton companies come into the community to buy it from them but they offer very small amounts of money which they have to accept as it’s either that or nothing at all. We also asked where they would get their clothes from and they answered that they would need to get a lift into Monze, which is 50,000 kwacha or they could walk which is 10 hours each way. Some people cycle but this can take up to 4 hours.

We enquired as to how and where they go to the toilet and they told us that they just go anywhere in the bush where they cannot be seen. They would like to build Latrines but they do not have any tools. The carpenters also raised this issue as they have the skills to build things for the community but no adequate tools to enable them to do this.

Another question we asked was; what are the main issues in their community they would like resolved. They advised that safe water, adequate sanitation and a local grinding mill are the three most important things. Tools and new clothes also featured quite highly.

We spoke to the family about what they saw as the main benefits of a WaterAid project and they could quite clearly see that having a safe water source and sanitation would decrease illness and give them better water for their crops and animals.

We asked the family about education and what their children could go on to do. They told us that once they completed secondary school they would just remain in the community as it’s very expensive to send children to further education. Only wealthy families can do this. They also advised that they would like a school closer by so all children could be educated. Some do not attend as it’s too far away.

As previously described the Haboombe community welcomed us with a fantastic song and dance local to their area. We asked where these songs came from and how the children were able to play instruments. They told us that the head of the village taught them and they also learnt through imitation. The songs they sing are either written after significant events (they said they would write a song about our visit) or are copied from other communities.

 One of the final questions we asked was for the family to describe a typical day in their life. They told us that most days they would get up at 4am and leave for the field to tend to their crops. This is a mandatory exercise for the whole family and they would remain there until 7pm. They need to be at the field as if they weren’t baboons, wild boars and pigs would destroy their crops. Some of the older community members stay up at the fields during rainy season as it’s too far for them to walk every day. Some people even permanently relocate to be closer to their crops. Haboombe was established in 1988 as it was good land for crops and closer to the fields (45 minute walk).

After the question and answer session myself and Matt were taken to do some filming with the family. This involved collecting water and carrying out household chores with the family. Hopefully we’ll have some great footage for our Video News Releases.

A Lesson in Tonga

The last activity of the day was receiving a lesson in Tonga (one of the 73 local languages in Zambia) from our translator. I was keen to learn some phrases so she gave me the below terms:

·        Kaboola: Come here

·        Mooli Buti: How are you?

·        Kabotu: I’m fine

·        Mwabuka Buti: Good morning

·        Ndaunka: Goodbye

·        Twalumba: Thank you (collective)

·        Ndalumba: I thank you (singular)

·        Ndagatula: I’m tired

As you can probably tell from my very long journal entry my day with the Haboombe community was a fantastic experience which gave me the opportunity to see first hand the water and sanitation issues faced by a village with no safe water or sanitation. The Haboombe village is extremely cut off (3 and a half hours drive on almost non-existent, hilly roads) which makes getting help to them very difficult. They just want the chance to help themselves so are really hopeful that WaterAid will come to their aid soon. 


You get an over-whelming feeling of helplessness but we are safe in the knowledge that WaterAid will be starting investigatory work with the community in April 2012 to understand their needs. I really hope I get the chance to return to see a changed village once WaterAid has intervened.