Category Archives: Class of 2009: Zambia

Update from the Zambian Development Support Foundation

logoZDSF

The Zambian Development Support Foundation, a micro-finance program, began as a result of the partnership between the Class of 2009 and villagers in the Copperbelt Region of Zambia (near Ndola) with which they worked.  Below is a report submitted by Mr. Voster Tembo, board member of the ZDSF and partner with the Periclean Scholars since late 2008.

FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Happy New Year to everyone especially to our supporters and the beneficiaries of loans. It is a great start for the year for Zambian Development Support Foundation (ZDSF) to highlight the project background and its long-term vision of expanding its work to other communities within and outside of Copperbelt province.

ZDSF1Here is a photo of some beneficiaries of ZDSF loans.

From left to right: kneeling, Augustine Phiri, Rosemary  Mulenga, Florence  Mvula ,Bernadette Mwila and Rodah Muwowo and standing from left to right: Calolaine Kadewele, Barnabas Chisha, Milo Baila, Nkandu Ngosa, Enaya Chama,Sara Muna, Susan Chibale, Mary Bwalya, Grace Mwenge, Chileshe Chama, Mary Bwalya (ZDSF community Treasurer) and Jedo Chibale.

 

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

ZDSF was founded and officially registered in May of 2013 and is possession of  certificates of registration with regulatory bodies of the Republic of Zambia namely Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) and the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA)

  • Vision:  To economically empower communities for sustainable development around Zambia
  • MISSION:  The organization’s mission is to empower small- medium scale business traders particularly women through provision with of loans.
  •  GOAL:  To increase the capital base from the current $6, 300.00 to $30,000.00 by August 2014 for the expansion of project in communities around Copperbelt.
  •  GOVERNANCE:  Zambian Development Support Foundation is a Community Based Organization born out of community interest and demand for capital access to grow and expand their small to medium business locally in Chipulukusu community. Therefore the organization leadership consists of the 5 local members of the Board of Directors with the representation of four men and a woman. The Core function of the ZDSF Board is mandated mainly to govern the operations of the organization, including approving loan disbursements; management of loans recoveries and reporting to supporters on regular basis
  • OPERATIONAL AREAS:  The Zambian Development Support Foundation (ZDSF) is currently operating in Chipulukusu community in Ndola, where micro finance pilot project is being implemented. The organization uses the revolving fund system to provide group loans to community members interested with the repayment within period of 3 months. The approach to providing group loans guarantees fully recovery of loans from each group. The pilot project has so far worked well in the community with an overwhelming response from the current beneficiaries the need and increasing demand to access loans to expand on their business. As it is usually the case and said, Great things start small
  • INITIAL PROJECT CAPITAL:  Zambian Development Support Foundation (ZDSF) started the micro lending project with an initial capital funding of $ 2,400.00 from its major funder, Pericles Alumni Association of Elon University, North Carolina of the United States of America. The funds were received in the organization bank account held with the local Barclays Bank Plc. In addition, the project received IPAD equipment, as the donation from Pericles Alumni Association of Elon University of North Carolina, United States of America to enhance administration and data management of the project. The Board of Directors decided to invest $1,900.00 (79.17%) of the total initial capital on loans disbursements to group members The balance of $500.00 (20.83%) was administrative costs on stationary, monitoring and evaluation and communication.

The ZDSF further received the total donation of €3,000.00 for the project from the close friend and friend to him, who were approached and showed interest to support the project too. The identities of two individual donors who donated €1000.00 and €2,000.00 respectively have been withheld at request.   .  The monitoring and evaluation exercise was recently carried out to beneficiaries’ of ZDSF group loans disbursed in Chipulukusu community in Ndola.

Here are photos highlights from individual beneficiaries’ sampled type of businesses that are running.

ZDSF2Mary Bwalya at her small shop at Chipulukusu market: she used to sell only two tray of eggs but is able to order eight. She has been able also to buy a sewing machine that will be paying in installments. All this is as a result of the two loans she has obtained from ZDSF.

ZDSF3

 

 

The Zambian Development Support Foundation (ZDSF) Board of Directors and on behalf of its clients express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Periclean Scholar Alumni Association of Elon University for social and financial support in setting up the project to become a reality. The funder supported with the ideas and the initial capital for the project. Our sincere thanks is extended to two friends and supporters from the Ireland Republic for their generous donation that demonstrate their belief and trust in our ideas and extending their hearts and love to the people of Zambia through our institution, ZDSF.

 

 PROJECT ACTIVITIES

  • Training in financial management
  • Training in skills development and entrepreneurship for youths
  • Disbursement and recoveries of loans at 10% fixed interest rate on total amount loaned.
  • Training in HIV/AIDS to the target group

 

ACHIEVEMENTS

Zambian Development Support Foundation has record successes since the month of May 2013 when it was established;

  1. Registered with Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA), a regulatory Board mandated with registration of companies, associations and foundations. The organization received approved certificate of registration on the 30th May 2013.
  1. Registered with Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), a regulatory Board mandated with registration of companies for tax purposes and clearance. The organization received approved certificate of registration.

3. Disbursed group loans amounting to $5,355.76

  • $1, 900 (79.17%) of the initial funding received from Periclean Scholar Alumni Association was first disbursed as loans to 3 groups of 5 members with each group having the chairperson and treasurer elected. The total individual beneficiaries add up to 15.
  • Project monitoring tools such as receipt with headed official self-carbonated pages as complied with the national laws of Zambia.
  • 100% loan recovery was recorded within the three month repayment period as at 23rd December 2013.

4. Received additional funding of €3,000.00 from two individual donors that resulted in increase of the capital base for the project.

  • Managed to disburse second loans from two funding streams that have resulted in increased number of groups from initial three to six groups of 5 members with an extra individual to form the seventh group. Therefore, the total individual beneficiaries accessing loans currently stands at 31 with 8 on the waiting list.

5. Received iPad, an office equipment as the donation from Periclean Scholar Alumni Association of Elon University of North Carolina, United States of America.

  • The equipment is being used for administration and data management purposes for the project.

 

ZDSF4Jedo Chibale and his daughter Bupe in their hardware store at Chipulukusu market, he got the loan to restock his store that was almost closing.

 

Also posted in Director -Tom Arcaro, Partners-All Classes | Comments Off on Update from the Zambian Development Support Foundation

A legacy of the Class of 2009: The Zambian Development Support Foundation

Perhaps the most demonstrative legacy of the Class of 2009 is the creation of ZDSF.  Here in outline form is the story of its development.

 

The Zambian Development Support Foundation:  a timeline

 

Screen Shot 2013-07-09 at 6.39.02 AMThe mission

The mission of the Zambia Development Support Foundation (ZDSF) is to promote and facilitate sustainable communities by working with local partnerships to identify and support viable entrepreneurial initiatives with small loans and effective community based administrative and organizational support.

ZDSF works in communities that have long term relationships with Habitat for Humanity-Zambia (HfH-Z).

The timeline

January 2009:  The Periclean Scholars Class of 2009 travels to Kawama, Zambia, with their Mentor Dr. Steve Braye and helps construct two houses through Habitat for Humanity-Zambia (HfH-Z).  The Elon team is joined by two representatives from the Redwoods Group, Dan Baum and Amanda Nieman.  The team meets and works with newly hired HfH-Z staff person Voster Tembo, and this Elon team build near Ndola is his first field experience.  During their stay in Kawama, the Pericleans meet many community leaders in Kawama and begin to talk about deepening and sustaining the partnership that has been created.

DSC_0067May 2009:  The Periclean Scholars Class of 2009 graduates but vows to remain connected to the people of Kawama.

February 2009- March 2011: Contact is maintained with HfH-Z and Voster Tembo and in the spring of 2011 a second Elon HfH-Z team is formed by Dr. Steve Braye.

May 2011:  An Elon team travels to Kawama led by Dr. Steve Braye includes 8 current Elon students  and Dr. Tom Arcaro, Director of the Periclean Scholars.  Two builds are done by the Elon team in the communities surrounding the HfH village of Kawama.  These builds are for families both infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.  During this time the Elon team meets local leaders Beatrice Sikutu and Waveson Hamuchankwi who are consulted regarding how the Elon-Kawama partnership can be taken to the next level.  A hammer mill project isIMG_1793 discussed in some depth, and Tom Arcaro and Robin French, Elon ’14, begin work on a proposal.

January 2012:  Dan Baum and Amanda Neiman return to Zambia with some Duke University students to do a HfH build in Chipulukusu village near Ndola, the Kawama site having exhausted available new plots of land.

June 2011-April 2013:  Work on a hammer mill project proposal matures and drafts are sent out to potential funding sources with no concrete success. Communication between Voster Tembo and Periclean Scholars Director Tom Arcaro remains fairly constant during this time and conversations lead to altering the original plan for a hammer mill project to a micro-finance scheme.  The Periclean Scholars Alumni Association (PSAA), through the newly created Periclean Foundation, offers start-up support for the creation of a new NGO focused on providing small loans to women in HfH villages near Ndola.  The PSAA was endowed in 2007 by a gift from the Redwoods Foundation allowing for support of this and other Periclean Class partnerships.  Additional support for this start up comes from non-Periclean Elon alumni.  The PSAA agrees to provide funds on a yearly basis to support the administration of the ZDSF.

May 2013:  The Zambian Development Support Foundation is officially granted a Certificate of Incorporation by the Office of the Registrar of Companies and Business Names.  The first directors listed on the application are Victor Sitali, Voster Tembo, Waveson Hamuchankwi, and Oswald Lungu.  Work is begun on (1) composing the array of documents that will be used to make loans, (2) securing additional board members, in particular female community leaders, (3) establishing an official bank account for the ZDSF, and (4) spreading the word about the Foundation to HfH communities near Ndola.

ZDSF 1September 2013:  Funds are transferred to the ZDSF and loans 001, 002, and 003 are made to three clusters of 5 people, with 13 of the 15 total being women.

October 2013:  The first repayment of loans begins and, on fulfillment of a prior agreement, additional funds are made available to ZDSF from benefactors in Ireland.  A second round of loans are currently in the application phase.  Appropriate computer hardware is supplied to ZDSF for bookkeeping and documentation of ZDSF activities.

Plans for the future

Plans for the future include keeping detailed records of the ZDSF progress in the first year and scaling up the initiative by reaching out to other HfH locations in Zambia and eventually in other nations with HfH affiliates.

 

Also posted in Director -Tom Arcaro, Partners-All Classes | Comments Off on A legacy of the Class of 2009: The Zambian Development Support Foundation

Conversation this morning with Voster Tembo in Lusaka, Zambia

Class of 2009 news

Screen Shot 2013-03-05 at 9.51.30 AMI just had a good conversation with our partner Voster Tembo (Habitat for Humanity International-Zambia).  We have been in discussion for the last year about creating a micro-loan scheme in Kawama.  Details to come.  I have invited Voster to be an author on this blog, so be looking for an update from him.IMG_3273

Also posted in Director -Tom Arcaro | Comments Off on Conversation this morning with Voster Tembo in Lusaka, Zambia

Class of 2009: Zambia

Class of 2009

A representative from your Class will be asked to make posts to the Periclean Scholars blog.

You are encouraged to make full use of the capabilities of the blog by adding hyperlinks, photos, and video.

Make sure to check Class of 2009 under Categories before you press Publish.

Also posted in Partners-All Classes | Comments Off on Class of 2009: Zambia