Educate 500 Zambian orphans & vulnerable children

TOSF is concerned by the long term impact this pandemic will have in the communities that it serves in the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia .                                                                                                     With families earning less than USD20 a month and with their loss of income during this unprecedented pandemic, our undernourished orphans & vulnerable students who already have a weakened immune system, are further endangered and more susceptible to this deadly virus.

Closure of schools being mandatory in Lusaka meaning our orphans and vulnerable children do not get their daily nutrition from TOSF's feeding program, which is very often the only meal of the day. And these students even save a portion of their meal at school, to be taken back home for their younger siblings. Now even that has ceased. Online schooling is available in many countries but is online feeding possible? 

We therefore questioned the possibility of these marginalised communities dying of starvation instead of coronavirus and thus reached out to 110 families from 5 communities with the generous Microgrant from GlobalGiving. 110 families equates to about 800 children, the aged and adults being fed in a Zambian family concept of about average 6 to 8 people per family. 

In total 1,100 Kg of maize flour, 330 Kg of soya chunks. 110 Kg each of sugar, salt and washing powder, 110 Litres of cooking oil and bars of soap was bought to repack into ration packages for the helpless aged and the young OVC.

Our front line warriors - TOSF staff distributed these packages of 10kg of maize flour, bars of soap, washing powder, 3kg of soya chunks, salt, sugar and oil  to each family in the slums and the rest of the able bodied  guardians/parents came to collect the food rations at TOSF school.

Police and MOH clearance was given and they asked TOSF to also hand out their pamphlets on Covid 19 prevention and hygiene. TOSF values based teachers also had to be protected; we got them gloves, sanitisers and masks and educated them on socail distancing. Our volunteer tailoring instructor Ranniah ( widow, son is in grade 5 at our school) from our vocational training program sewed the reusable cloth masks for the teachers.

We thank GlobalGiving, 3 individual donors and the Ramakrishna Mission Singapore & Lusaka for partnering  with The Other Side Foundation,  saving these starving families. We could not have done it without GG's  generous microgrant and are truly humbled and feel honoured to have been one of the first 100 non profits to be chosen among 900 applicants. Thank you GlobalGiving.