The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #62242

H. Lee Kanter, MD, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Associates and Eastern Virginia Medical School, 1708 Old Donation Parkway, Virginia Beach, VA 23454, 757-496-2055, ljkanter@worldnet.att.net and Elizabeth N. Mataka, Executive Director, Family Health Trust, Private Bag E243, Lusaka, Zambia.

We report the success of a privately funded nongovernmental organization (NGO) community based development project in rural Zambia. The intention of the project is fourfold: 1) Generate a community action program to help support and educate local children orphaned secondary to AIDS (11% of local children). 2) Create a partnership of responsibility between local leaders and the NGO for sustainable development to benefit both the children and the local community. 3) Provide local leaders education regarding social issues relevant to the children and provide specific technical knowledge and education to ensure success of the development project. 4) Demonstrate a successful model for a community approach to meet the needs of this large population of vulnerable children. The project initially involved community consensus building and planning. The developed plan involved drilling a borehole for irrigation, farming, and drinking water. The community jointly contributed bricks to build and operate a chicken coop and developed a vegetable garden to produce sustainable income generation for the ongoing support and to improve nutrition for the children. The children's classroom was upgraded to encourage early childhood education. Education for the community leaders has focused on farming issues and children's social issues. Electrification at the project has created opportunities for new local businesses. We are promoting this model of sustainable local development for the economic and social support of AIDS orphans.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the demographics, economic, and social needs of this Zambian population of orphaned children whose parents died from AIDS.
• Describe the formative process of creating a community approach together with a nongovernmental organization for sustainable support for the children.
• Report the successful implementation of this development project and its mutual benefits to the community and the AIDS orphans.

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.