Garden Compound

Garden Compound is a large squatter compound on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia. A large number of people live in a very crowded settlement with difficult access to potable water and very primitive sanitation. The people are extremely poor and unemployment is very high. AIDS has taken a very severe toll with many orphans and widows. Many of the children do not have access to education.

In the year 2003 Mrs. Bernadette Sikanyika founded Zambia Nsunga Communities Without Borders (ZANCOB) to support the children of Garden Compound. “Nsunga” is a Nyanja word meaning caring. ZANCOB is unique as it represents the first formally affiliated foreign organization of Communities Without Borders in Massachusetts. ZANCOB is a fully registered non-governmental organization in Zambia. It has an active board, which meets regularly and oversees all activities. The board consists of community leaders and AIDS activists. ZANCOB has a formal budgeting process and has a bank account, which can receive foreign exchange in the form of US dollars. They have a careful accounting process and send us regular reports on how funds have been disbursed. ZANCOB and CWB have a signed contract, stipulating how we work together.

In Garden Compound ZANCOB has identified some 370 children at greatest risk due to being AIDS orphans. Their principal forms of support include nutritional supplementation, clothing, shoes, school materials and school costs. An important part of their activities is an informal pre-school, which prepares very small children for entry into elementary level schools. This pre-school serves some 90 children.

ZANCOB is eager to expand the scope of its activities in order to support all of the children at risk. They are actively seeking budget support. In addition to CWB, certain Zambian sources also support ZANCOB.