When VIPs Came To Town

It isn't a very common occurance to get someone from a government office to visit any of my projects, let alone the projects of villagers themselves: there isn't enough time, fuel, people, etc.  So when we recently had a visit by the District Commissioner (the top ranking government official in Mufumbwe District) and the Department of Agriculture and Cooperatives Officer (DACO) for the the district come to visit my site to see the work that I've been putting in with my community members.  A visit like this was kind of a big deal.

The District Commissioner, in yellow, was really excited and interested in the work of the local women's group to build their own fish pond.  Here, Mrs. Fubisha, in the pink hat, is explaining the work that they've completed so far to construct their pond.

The District Commissioner came to our community specifically to see the fish ponds that we've begun establishing about a mile and a half from my village.  She also wanted to see the bicycle plow that Mr. Nshimbi and I have been working on over the past year.

She was really excited that the women were wanting to better their lives through fish farming, because fish farming can improve income and food security in our community.

She was so impressed by the fish pond that the women's club I work with is building that she bought them two shovels to use in the final construction phase of their pond.  She also charged the DACO with the task of finding and delivering a wheelbarrow for them to use for the last bit of pond construction.

Both the DC and the DACO were really interested to see the bicycle plow. 

After viewing the fish ponds and discussing them with the community members we took her to use the bicycle plow in a nearby field.  She was really interested in the plow and kept saying how impressed she was by its ease of use.  She also kept saying that "this technology needs to be shared with more people."  

She later said that efforts like this will go a long way in helping rural farmers throughout Mufumbwe District to better their lives.

Hopefully efforts like this will go a long way to putting our community of Kamabuta more on the government's radar as far as helping the people in the future.  Every little thing can help.  Ultimately though it was an enormous honor for the people I work with to get a little bit of recognition and a visit from two of the highest ranking government officials in our district.

I've tried many times to get government officials from some of the varying agencies to come and work with my community, but her visit was by far the best.  Not only did it happen, but she's a very important and busy woman.