Maisha Area Program

Located in southern Democratic Republic of Congo close to the border with Zambia, Maisha is a multi-ethnic, predominantly Christian community of about 31,600. Four clans—the Ndembo, Sanga, Kaonde and Luba—live together peaceably. However, the region in which Maisha sits was devastated by the "80-day war" of 1978 and has yet to recover. The conflict collapsed the economy and bankrupted the vital national railway.

Subsistence agriculture produces crops including cassava, pineapples and mandarins. Animal husbandry includes goats, pigs, poultry and fishing. Some people also make their living as railroad staff, teachers and through small-scale trade.

Food security, health and education are among Maisha's most pressing issues. Farmers complain that their produce rots because poor roads prevent them from reaching the market. Significant areas of land have been rendered infertile due to mistreatment and an unidentified disease has ravaged cassava crops. Infant mortality is high and nutrition poor, partially because of over-consumption of low-nutrient cassava.

Despite these challenges, there are some opportunities for Maisha's development, especially with its proximity to the railroad, national road and main town of Kolwezi. The area's ample green space is ideal for commercial beekeeping—once a significant export. Some civil society groups, including churches, and youth and women's groups, are active on child well-being issues.

Maisha's young population faces numerous challenges and has expressed interest in engaging with all of them. However, the impact of natural disaster and poor infrastructure on agricultural production requires an immediate focus on food security. Farmers are unable to get their produce to market to earn a living and children now report being able to eat only once a day. Closely related to this are health and nutrition concerns. Looking to the future, education that can lay the foundation for sustainable, independent economic development is a third key priority.

Livelihoods
Unfortunately, use of chemical fertilizers and other human activity has degraded the quality of the soil. This has forced farmers to travel up to 10 kilometres in search of good land. An unidentified disease that rots cassava, the main crop grown for food and income, has caused production to fall 87 per cent in just three years. This has severe consequences for food security. Farmers are constrained by small plots of land and lack access to agricultural loans and resources for cultivation.

Health
Healthcare is low cost but less than half the population visit health facilities. This contributes to an infant mortality rate of nine per cent and acute malnutrition rate of 10.5 per cent, similar to the national rate, which is also high. High consumption of low-nutrient cassava and other poor dietary practices are identified as root causes. Malaria affects 64 per cent of children under five suffer from malaria. Only 25 per cent of residents have access to drinking water, spread across two water pumps and four other water sources that are in poor repair.

Education
Education is free, but with few facilities classes are overcrowded. Mainly managed by the churches, the area's 17 primary schools lack textbooks and teaching materials, and the facilities are not well protected from the elements. Only one school is equipped with sizable rooms, benches and a latrine. The drop-out rate of 14 per cent is well above the accepted rate of five per cent. Only about 10 per cent of primary school children have adequate reading skills—which is still slightly higher than the national average of just 8.7 per cent.

Livelihoods
To help the community develop more economic opportunities, World Vision will:

• Empower farming households with improved, sustainable agriculture practices and farming inputs.
• Promote savings groups so parents can improve their capacity to care for their children.
• Support community-initiated micro-projects to provide economic opportunity for adolescents.
• Support the improvement of household access to financial services.

Health
To improve the health of children and their families, World Vision will:

• Support programs that increase caregivers' knowledge and skills on feeding and food preparation.
• Improve access to quality, essential healthcare services for mothers and children under five.
• Increase community access to safe water and implement sanitation and hygiene activities to reduce the impact of COVID-19.
• Provide technical support and logistical assistance to government agencies working with community agricultural associations.

Education
To help children develop the skills for future economic self-empowerment, World Vision will:

• Support technical programs designed to improve literacy rates in primary schools.
• Partner with education authorities to strengthen teachers' capacity for learning new approaches to teaching literacy and numeracy.
• Support improved learning conditions for students by providing equipment and supplies.