Chilundu Partnership: Empowering a Village

UPDATE as of 12/14/23: FUNDRAISING COMPLETE -- YOU DID THIS!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, beyond measure. We are HUMBLED by the amount of people who contributed, and so very very grateful. This is going to make such an amazing positive impact for the people of Chilundu.

I don't know how to send out updates, so I'm just going to do it here as the work gets started. I've initiated the process of transferring the funds, which is a multi-step process that will take several days. The engineer and his team at will begin work at some point over the next week, when they receive the initial payment. The work is estimated to take about a week to complete, and the remaining payment will be sent upon completion and inspection. This has coincided well with the school's winter break, so hopefully the children will return in January to a fully-powered school!!! (The clinic will be done in the same time period as well.) We will keep you posted here, unless I find a better way. Love and blessings to you all!!

-Erin and Alphonsina

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Hi, I'm Erin, and the Chilundu Partnership is the product of a 50-year friendship between Ken (my dad) and his friend Jacob and our families. Ken and Jacob met in 1973, when Ken was doing his grad school research on the people of southern Zambia, and Jacob's cousin was his translator. They became fast friends, and Jacob brought Ken to his village, called 'Chilundu,' where Ken has continued to visit ever since.

When we were living in Zimbabwe in 1994, my dad brought me to Chilundu twice, where I formed what's evolved into a lifelong friendship with Jacob's granddaughter, Alfonsina. (See the pictures of us then and now!) When we first met, she spoke no English, and I spoke no Tonga, but as children do, we played and became friends anyway. As she learned English in school, we became pen pals, staying in touch until eventually WhatsApp came along and made things a little simpler.

My dad and friends in the US have supported the village in many ways over the years (buying livestock, providing school fees, funding various emergent needs, etc.), and now Alfonsina and I want to continue this friendship and use crowdsource funding to develop widespread impact in uplifting as many people of this generation as we can. She is our eyes and ears on the ground, helping us with logistical oversight and status reports.

When our family went to the village in June 2023 (my dad's 25th trip!), I asked the headmistress of the school and the head nurse of the clinic what they are most in need of. Solar power was at the top of both of their lists, so that's our first project. It's expensive, but nothing compared to what it would cost in the US.

Visiting Chilundu School in 2023

The village has no electricity or running water -- making education and healthcare challenging. Jacob's brother Winston has been instrumental in getting estimates from an engineer to install solar panels, lithium batteries, and all the other accessories necessary to run electricity through the school (which serves 623 students), staff house, and medical clinic. This will enable students to study outside of daylight, eventually have internet access, and allow women in the clinic to give birth in slightly more comfortable conditions.

Classroom in Chilundu School

Chilundu Clinic

If there are excess donations beyond the $9,595 needed for electric infrastructure, our priorities are to fund education and healthcare, as these are the building blocks of a thriving community. Additional funds will go towards the needs listed by the headmistress of the school and head nurse at the clinic:

For the clinic:

For the school:

With eternal gratitude for any and all donations, we thank you!

~ Erin, Alfonsina, our families, and all the people of Chilundu

*Please note that 'location' is set to Raleigh, NC, so that I can receive the funds and disburse them via Western Union to the appropriate project overseers in Zambia. Chilundu village is not on Google Maps yet, but if you would like to get a sense of the place, the nearest town is Choma, Zambia. Chilundu is accessible by motor vehicle, but needless to say most people there do not own vehicles, so the roads within the village are dirt and not very easy to drive on.

**You do not need to elect the GoFundMe 'tip' -- that goes to the GoFundMe platform, not the cause, and is not necessary in order to make a contribution!! It's an optional service charge; I can't remove the option, but you can certainly slide the slider all the way to the left to 'zero'!! Thanks...

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Erin and Alfonsina, 1994 and 2023

Ken and Jacob, 2023