IN SUPPORT OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DISABLED, ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE

Bissell Farm

Bissell Farm

Ms Harriet Siajanibu-Miyato, previous to her undertaking a Masters Degree in Melbourne, had completed a Diploma in Teaching from Teachers’ College, Livingstone, Zambia, and a Degree in ……………………from Liverpool, which equipped her to supervise all Boarding Schools in Zambia for the Department of Education.

When she returned to Lusaka, to prepare her Masters thesis,  Harriet was shown a 60 acre farm at Tubalangi, 17 kilometres to the east of Lusaka, by Bishop Antonio, then minister at the UCZ Trinity Congregation in Lusaka. The farm had been gifted to The United Church of Zambia in the Will of Mrs Bissell, the land was then being used for vegetable crops. Harriet had a vision of these acres becoming the primary place to combine education supplemented with health and Aids prevention, and practicing methods of sustainable farming for the orphans and vulnerable children in the Tubalangi area.

see link to Harriet Sianjibu-Miyato for her CV etc.

The first practical support for Bissell Farm was the provision of a bore pump funded by the Wattle Park Uniting Church Adult Fellowship and the Rochester Road Masonic Lodge in 1998.

picture of the well and children..

The well is vitally important to the large community in and around Tubalangi;

for the past 8 years, there has been a temporary bridge across the local creek, ……………….., and this is the thoroughfare for all sorts of trading, water gathering, searching for bush food (e.g. pumpkin leaves) to add to meager meals of milled corn, carrying timber collected to be frames for new mud brick huts.

Purity of water sources………education is continually needed to reinforce understanding that all water needs to be boiled before use in cooking and drinking.

check: does bore water need to be boiled?

Next step was the grass school huts……picture…….

and brick making….

In 2001 John and Jenny worked alongside the community members in making bricks for the first ‘permanent’ school building.

The soil for the brick-making was gathered by the women, from the termite-hills around the farm site. The excretement of the ants contains a fixative which helps set the bricks. Bricks are stacked, and then a fire is built over them, and fired.

Pictures of the children being fed in front of the first brick building

Unfortunately, the building disintegrated due to the ants!!

NEVER NEVER build without checking whether there is an termite bed on the proposed site! The termites ate out the wooden support structure.

Teachers at Bissell

Bissell Community School Committee has been drawn from parents, relatives and community leaders in Tubalangi, and is constantly being trained in their task by the advisers from ZOCS.

See link to ZOCS

Is there a need for a Community School at Tubulangi?

Community members, supported by ZOCS, have gathered statistics, which were reinforced at a community meeting in June 2009, when Bissell Committee chairperson Mr. and Mrs. Secretary, spoke forcefully on behalf of the Carers of the current pupils, all of whom are orphaned, or vulnerable children.

Number of children at Bissell School

Teachers’ names:

Headteacher.

The teachers receive extra training during each term break, when they make their own way to Lusaka, where tuition is given by ZOCS staff members. Teachers are all making progress in their levels of training and accreditation processes.

How are the teachers paid?

At present time, the teachers are being paid $100 A per month from the remnant of a grant from UnitingWorld.

Bissell is not on UnitingWorld support in 2010.

The Synod of United Church of Zambia is currently exploring future funding.