The last time the Zambian government built a secondary school was in 1979. So the community of Kachembe took charge. The women fetched sand from the river 2km away and carried it, bucket by bucket, on their heads to the site they had chosen for their school. The men dug the foundations and made the bricks. When it was done, the small room became the place where their children study Tonga, maths, religion, science, social studies and home economics.
Teaching this impressive array of subjects, in two shifts a day, is Vincent Lubinda. He is a volunteer and does not receive a salary. Instead, the community pays him in cash or in kind when they can: chickens, maize or a little money to buy soap. ”I look at these children as our future. If they get educated, they will search for jobs in town, even here in the village, and they’ll be able to take care of themselves,” says Lubinda.
He is nothing short of heroic, but his attitude is not uncommon. Throughout Southern Africa, where there is a lack of government cash or commitment, public services are kept afloat by overworked and underpaid teachers, nurses, administrators and engineers who work under appalling conditions and put in long hours with few resources and for little pay. Or in the case of Zambia’s community teachers, for no pay at all. Government statistics say there are 3 000 community schools in the country educating about 170 000 children.
In Malawi, the exodus of health workers to better-paid jobs in the United Kingdom is a large-scale crisis, but Kondwani Chalulu is the exception to the rule. Trained at University College, London, he now works at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre. Chalulu is the only surgeon in Malawi’s public health system.
In his final year of studies in the UK, there were more than 20 Malawians in his class. ”Almost everyÂÂone is back in England, but I decided to stay.” His schedule is punishing and he works without the equipment and drugs that any other doctor would regard as essential. ”If I was to work in England, I wouldn’t be as useful. I’ve chosen to stay in the government system because I feel it’s more rewarding to contribute something to Malawi.”
Paediatrician Charles Mwansambo works in Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe and has similar thoughts: ”Money alone is not happiness — you need job satisfaction. If there’s one resource we’re not short of, it’s patients. Children are very nice to work with. It’s very satisfying. As soon as they feel better, they start running around.”