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Children from a sewing project in Zambia

'No more nameless faces'

Does the aid get through to the people its intended for? How much of what gets donated goes on 'administration'? And are we sending what is really needed, or just what we think they want?

To answer these questions, I've been following the work of Folkestone-based charity, Operation Sunshine. They have been sending aid containers to Africa for over 20 years, in their Christian mission to 'Feed The Hungry, and Clothe The Naked.' They have a network of collectors and fundraisers throughout the UK, and mainland Europe, and an ever willing band of helpers at the headquarters.

Packing the containers in Folkestone

All types of articles are donated, and a walk around there warehouses will see neatly stacked bags of clothes, shoes, and bedding. Shelves are lined with rice, sugar, powdered baby food, soap, and candles... all essentials for the needy of Africa. Other areas had sewing machines, cycles, toys, books, medical equipment, tools, and all manner of other items.

The volunteers firstly sort out what should be sent, and what will go to the regular sales to raise funds. It costs around £7000 to send each container, so it's always a difficult balance deciding what to send, and what to sell. All clothes are checked, and repaired where necessary, before being packed in sacks.

They aim to send one container per month, which can go to countries as diverse as Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Sudan. The shipment we were to follow was bound for Zambia.

We had arranged for Kathy Harding, who originally founded Operation Sunshine, to meet us in Lusaka. She now lives in Zambia, and runs NASAD, a local charity distributing aid, and raising funds for a large number of diverse projects. The containers from Kent are an important part of this work.

Ready to go: a full container

Kathy is a remarkable woman. A kind of one woman crusade to save Zambia, combined with all the love and compassion of your favourite auntie. Indeed, over the next two weeks, as we toured many of the projects, almost everyone we spoke to referred to her as 'Auntie Kathy'.

Zambia is a typical central African country. Hot, dusty, and basic at best. Outside the city there is little quality infrastructure, and everything has a 'make-do' feel about it. But the people are enterprising and fiercely proud. They are welcoming of strangers, and wear their smiles constantly, even in the most harsh environments.

Our first surprise was that the container arrived, not at some village in rural Zambia, but in a secure yard in the capital, Lusaka. We had a romantic image of it being opened with lots of villagers around it, clamouring for the contents, but that's not the case… and for very good reasons.

The aid inside is destined for many different projects, and used in a hundred different ways. Kathy and her team take great care to ensure every item ends up where it will be of the most benefit.

Some items have been requested for a very specific reason, and it is important that they get to the right place. Other items, such as clothes, are given out in stages, and in many different places, but still with the same care to ensure they help the right people.

Our first trip out to the rural areas began early on the day after we arrived. Liteta is a small town, about 40 miles north of Lusaka.

It has a row of ramshackle shops and traders along the main road, which passes through it. It has a police office and a small clinic, and behind the main village is a compound for the lepers and their families. Kathy has looked after this community for 10 years.

The small, one room, school has a proud and enthusiastic group of children. The schoolroom is basic, and has little room for the many pupils. There are few teaching aids, and even pens and books are looked upon as luxuries. The school children gave us a fabulous welcome, with songs and dances in the English that they are learning.

The families each receive 1kg of either rice of pasta, from the Operation Sunshine containers. This is often their only proper protein in a week.

Sometimes the containers include specific items. On the day we visited, one crippled man had walked 16 miles on his old broken crutches, to receive a new set from Operation Sunshine.

Liteta also benefits from clothes sent by Operation Sunshine, and has a sewing project which teaches children and adults how to use the machine's sent in the containers. They can then make things to sell, thus moving them a little closer to the self-sufficiency, which is one of the major aims of all the African charities.

The following day we went further into the bush, to visit a remote school at Nalufwi.

A sewing project in Liteta

The school has around 400 pupils from the surrounding villages. They have only three trained teachers and 4 classrooms. Three years ago the well, which supplied the only fresh water, dried up, meaning the nearest water is now over a mile away.

Resources are minimal, and the few reference books they have are all from Operation Sunshine. There is no electricity, and in the rainy season, many children have no way to attend, as the bush tracks become rivers of mud.

This whole region is very isolated, with just a few dirt tracks, and little in the way of infrastructure. Our old 4 x 4 vehicle was the only motorised vehicle we saw until we returned to Lusaka several days later.

The communities have to be self-sufficient, so the tools and seeds sent by Operation Sunshine are particularly useful. Families live in small huts, and farm what land they can around them. The soil is poor, and that limits what can be grown. Water and other essentials are also scarce. In many cases, just one well serves a whole village.

The containers that are sent with rice, pasta, and other items, are always kept and used for storage afterwards. Nothing is ever wasted.

New Jerusalem is Kathy Harding's flagship project.

A whole new village, on land donated by the local chief, for the children of the lepers and Aids victims. The initial group of small brick built houses were nearing completion while we spent a few nights camping in the bush nearby.

Each house will have an acre of land behind it, which the occupants will farm, with fruit trees planted before they move in to increase their food production. Once again, the aim is self-sufficiency. The workers are from surrounding villages, and are paid not in cash, but in clothes, boots, and food from Operation Sunshine.

Next year, the building of the new school, and children's area, will begin. Kathy spends part of each week here supervising the operation.

A mother and daughter from Liteta

As I sat in the strangely welcoming dark of the bush that evening, eating my meal by candlelight, I began to realise that this trip really would change my life. Never again would the needy of this dark continent be just faces on a television.

Back in Lusaka, St Stephen's is a small church in one of the townships on the city outskirts.

During the week, the church is used as a makeshift school, and Kathy visits once a week to help with food.

When we visited, there was just one volunteer teacher to look after the three classes, whilst outside, lunch is prepared in a 40-gallon oil drum. There would be a public outcry if such a situation were to exist in England, yet these children are considered fortunate amongst dust and suffering of the township.

In a three part series featured on the the BBC Radio Kent Sunday programme Trevor Claringbold reports on the work of Operation Sunshine in Zambia.
 Part 1 >
 Part 2 >
 Part 3 >
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A few miles outside the city is Zambia's only mental institution.

This is a frightening, depressing place. Conditions are terrible, more akin to a prison, and words such as 'hope' and compassion' seem banished to the outside world. Operation Sunshine provides some relief, with clothes and blankets, although our impression was that the staff would have preferred the patients not to receive anything.

Indeed, when we enquired of the Head Nurse what items were most desperately needed, she highlighted her desire for new curtains for her office. Maybe it was to shut out the heartbreaking sight of patients laying in rags, on bare concrete, as there were no proper beds.

A craft room, which aims to rehabilitate people was more impressive. Sewing machines, materials, tools, etc, all come from the containers, and many of the handicrafts are sold to provide more facilities.

The one thing that is not lacking in Zambia is spirit! We helped with the distribution of clothes from Operation Sunshine, to the children in the schoolroom. It was wonderful to see the smiles and heartfelt gratitude when they received what we would consider just a basic item… maybe a T-shirt, or skirt.

The variety and scope of the projects which are helped by the charity here is astounding. We were left in no doubt that not only does the aid get to where it's intended, but it is done in a well organised and efficient way. It benefits a huge number of people, both directly and indirectly.

Millions of people in large parts of this continent exist on charity. Without Operation Sunshine, and other organisations like it, the consequences would be unthinkable.

That these containers of aid can have such a positive impact on so many lives, is miraculous. But it is not just a material gain. To the people of Zambia, and I'm sure to the people of Africa generally, the arrival of another container means so much more. It means that someone cares.

Chienda schoolchildren with Trevor

It means that somebody understands their suffering, and is trying to do something about it. And that, in the most basic terms, gives them hope, and a reason to go on living.