Ketty lives in Eastern Province, Zambia. She’s was six years old when I met her in January 2016. Diagnosed as ‘profoundly deaf’ since birth, she needs, specialist education. We’re in luck. Zambia is a big country and has just three deaf schools, but one of them happens to be only 120 km away.

I met her because I was staying at an NGO, working as a volunteer. Ketty’s mother Alice works there. Wages are very low. Barely enough to buy food. Alice is a single mother so also has to find time to grow crops in their field. When the rains fail, the crops fail. That happened again this year. Then times are hard.

Alice loves her daughter and was proud to show me pictures of her. I asked if I could meet her so Alice brought Ketty in to work the next day. You have to be with Ketty for only a few minutes to realise she’s very intelligent. Not only that, she’s got a great sense of humour and is one hundred and ten per cent alive. She can also be fierce! And you can’t help but love her.

Alice
Alice

Alice has the wish that Ketty should get the best education possible, but the fact that the school is private, therefore charges fees, makes it an impossible dream.

That’s where we come in.

I can do it alone, year by year, but I’m old! What if I die before Ketty finishes school. So that’s why this fundraising; I want to build up enough funds for the full twelve years of schooling available. (I am working out! and doing my yoga every day to give me every chance of hangin’ in there)

Take a look at the posts on this blog and I’ll tell you more of Ketty, the school, the beautiful land and people of Eastern province. This page is just an intro.

Here’s a video to melt your heart:-)

One Sunday, we went up to the top of the small mountain nearby. Took a picnic. You have to take a taxi anyway so we drove up a track to halfway up the mountain. Hot hot day. On the way back, down that track, the driver let Ketty sit in his lap and pretend drive. Ketty has no language at all, but her laughter was so beautiful as she enjoyed every moment.  Here’s a short video clip. I kept it silent, to reflect on the world in which she lives. Apart from a bit of laughter that I couldn’t resist.

I’ll give a breakdown of costs on this post about Magwero School.

I so much hope you will have time to look at the blog ‘posts’; they will give you an idea how Alice, with some practical help from me, tries to develop Ketty’s artistic side. Then when Ketty starts school in January 2017, I’ll be able to tell you how she’s getting on. Nora, the principal of the college, has promised to send me news and pics on WhatsApp. So I’ll hopefully keep regular updates coming.

Thanks so much for showing an interest.

If you’d like to donate, then thanks a lot!! and you can do so by going to the donate page from the menu.