SOS Story: Mubanga Chilemba, a social worker for SOS Social Center Lusaka, tells the story of Lanny, one of the beneficiaries of various programs that SOS Children's Villages Zambia have set up to reach out to the community surrounding the SOS Children's Village.

In 2005, Lanny had another child, Margaret. Sadly both Lanny and Margaret were found to be HIV-positive.

With a new addition to the family, and being in bad health, life became even more difficult for Lanny and her children.

Beatrice and Sarah had to drop out of school because there was no money to pay school fees. Margaret’s life was also a struggle; the child was always sick as she had not been put on medication and her growth was stunted. For food and other needs the family survived on hand outs from well-wishers.

Worse yet, the house the family was living in was in a dilapidated state. It didn’t have a proper roof, making the rainy season a nightmare.

Fortunately in 2006, the SOS Family Strengthening Program became aware of Lanny’s plight and and started supporting her and her family.

All the children were put back into school. Beatrice is currently in 9th grade at Kabanana Basic, Sarah is in grade 6 at the Hermann Gmeiner School, and Margaret is at the SOS Kindergarten Lusaka.

Kamwanga, who suffers from a learning disability, has been enrolled at a special school. In addition, Lanny and her family receive medical care from the SOS Medical Center. Anti-retroviral treatment services are also given to Lanny and Margaret free of charge through the center.

Lanny’s house has also been improved and the family no longer dreads the coming of the rainy season. As a way of generating income, Lanny has a small business which sustains the family’s livelihood. From her income generating activities, Lanny has also managed to electrify her house so that the family can spend more time together.

Family Grateful for Help Provided by SOS

Speaking about the support provided by SOS Children's Villages Lusaka, Lanny says that it is God’s work to actually find herself among the households supported by the Family Strengthening Programme. She is thankful to God and SOS Children's Villages Lusaka for having helped her family. She has no idea what could have happened if she was not supported.

Lanny also says that in the community where she lives, there are a lot of families who are suffering the same way her family was suffering; intelligent children are languishing in the compounds due to lack of financial support. She therefore feels very blessed and lucky.

Although Lanny is being supported, she said that she does not want to depend on SOS Children's Villages for everything. She works hard so that her business can expand. She said that she manages to feed her family three meals a day, and ensures that Margaret, who is in Kindergarten, always carries food to eat at school. 

Lanny’s future plans are to continue working hard so that she can extend her house and rent out a room to earn some extra money. She feels this is a more sustaining way to generate income, apart from selling vegetables."