Br Michael O’ Donoghue
Christian Brothers
Zambia
Overall, the work I have been involved in
over the past year has all been interlinked and
in response to the needs of the communities in
which I live and work. I have been continuing my
primary role as a full time teacher of science
and maths at Mufulira High School, while
increasing the facilities the school presently
offers such as: re-organising and refurbishing
the laboratories. While the objectives are
reasonable, the situation in government schools
here leaves a lot to be desired. Students are
well behaved and anxious to learn and the head
of Department is enthusiastic and anxious to
improve things. Furthermore, I am also involved
in an educatory capacity with Chibolya Community
School.
Working in the field of education has given me
the space to recognise areas where small
initiatives can really make a difference. Most
recently, an agricultural project (aided by the
IMRS through MDF) has been instigated. This is
mainly focused on the growing of maize during
the rainy season and the cropping of onions,
tomatoes, cabbages and so on through irrigation
schemes. This is more than simple rural
development as the scheme forms part of a
training programme in Murundu. Over 150 families
are associated with the programme as each worker
has a plot of their own though which they can
harvest while learning basic agricultural
techniques. This goes some way to tackling the
problem of hunger and malnutrition within this
community.