2020 was a challenging year for all of us. Covid-19 has turned the whole world upside down. Fortunately, in Zambia, we have been less affected than expected. Why, is still a great mystery, but we hope that it will remain this way. This does not alter the fact that people here are also affected by the pandemic. The local currency has been devalued 73% against the euro in one year. This means that people can buy much less with the Kwachas they earn. Investing is, of course, not easy if the Kwacha is devaluing more and more. In short, perhaps fewer people in Zambia are affected by corona itself; on the other hand, things are getting tougher economically.
Jacana, we would therefore like to continue along the path we have taken in recent years. Supporting small-scale entrepreneurs so that they generate more income in order to offer their families better living conditions. This is even more important than usual.
We see that Jacana’s water program has a nice spin-off over the years. Farmers who had access to water were able to grow vegetables during the 6 months when there was no rain, they could expand their livestock, cultivate oyster mushrooms, keep bees, etc. This also means that farmers are increasingly looking for knowledge about growing vegetables, keeping bees and cultivating oyster mushrooms. Jacana has developed and trained trainers in all these areas
End of year event
Jacana is organizing an end-of-year event for farmers in villages so that we can help even more families to expand their businesses and generate additional income. We ask for a small contribution for partially sponsored hand or solar pumps for farmers. Each family pump will also provide on average 10 other families with water for domestic use.
The cost for a hand or a solar pump on a newly drilled borehole is 800 Euro. We ask the farmer a contribution of 40 Euro. This is to increase the family’s sense of ownership and we have the experience that the pump is well maintained, especially because the pump is used for generating income.
Do you think, together, we will be able to install ten pumps this turn of the year and provide water for 110 families?
Best wishes for 2021.