Winfreda’s story
Winfreda lives in Zambia with her husband Sidney, her two
boys, Gift and Stafford, and her little baby girl, Keren. She
adores her children, and family means everything to her. She
thanks God every day for blessing her with children. Her eldest
son is called Gift – because she says he was a gift from God.
The family has a two-roomed house. There are two mattresses,
one for the children and one for the parents. The two boys
sleep in an iron bed under an old mosquito net. The parents and
baby sleep on a mattress on the floor. The walls of both rooms
are decorated with pictures from magazines. Hanging from a wooden pole on the ceiling are
decorations made from sweet wrappers. They shine in the sun, sending a rainbow of colours
onto the wall opposite. Children’s shoes are strung on another pole. Polaroid pictures of
Winfreda and family take pride of place above the door.
Winfreda cooks on a stove in her yard, which is fenced by a brick wall to waist height. In one
corner of the kitchen are a wooden plough and a spade. A solar panel attached to the
outside of the house provides electricity.
Winfreda and her family used to struggle to have enough to eat. When times were tough,
the family lived on pumpkin leaves – that was all they ate, for every meal. Living on only
pumpkin leaves, Winfreda became very weak. She says: “My health suffered. I became thin
and weak. I hated my kids seeing my like that.”
Tragically her daughter died at a young age, and her son Stafford was also very ill. Winfreda
hated not being able to provide for them.
Things have changed for Winfreda’s family. They don’t just have enough to eat today, they
have hope for the future again.
CAFOD have helped to provide tools and seeds, which meant the family could set up a
vegetable garden. We supplied water and an irrigation system, which means the family can
grow vegetables all year round. And we gave the family cows, which plough the land, supply
milk and which the family are breeding to earn more money.
Today Winfreda can sell the extra vegetables at the local market.
“Having a vegetable garden has doubled our income,” says Winfreda.
“I grow tomatoes and rape. I sell the tomatoes but the rape is for us to
eat. How much I make depends on the value of one crate. On average
we can make between 60,000 to 70,000 kwacha per month on tomatoes. I managed to buy a
mattress for my children to sleep on last month thanks to the nutrition garden. I also bought
a goat for my son.
“When I’m working in the garden I feel a sense of community because other members of the
garden come there and we stop for a chat.”
“We were given one cow [by CAFOD] and that had calves so now we have five cows in total.
We use them for milk and to farm our land. Six months ago, we also managed to buy two
oxen after selling tomatoes to a trader in the market.
“Having livestock has also raised our social status – the more cattle you have, the more
important you are. When we have enough cows, we will sell one or two to raise money and
make sure we can keep all our children in school. I think of the cows as our security, they
give me peace of mind because I know they are a great asset.
“I’d say the biggest change in my life is the way we farm. We used to dig using a hand hoe –
it would take hours and hours and exhaust me. Now our cattle take the strain and this has
made my life so much easier.”
“I have a lot of faith, it keeps me going through the bad times. I go to church once or twice a
week. It is called St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. I pray to God every day. I was blessed
with my children, I didn’t expect to be able to have them and I feel like the luckiest mother
in the world. My oldest child is a gift from God and God has kept him healthy.“
Here is a prayer that Winfreda wrote:
‘Oh mighty father above heaven I thank you,
You have sent your holy people from CAFOD to help us and share our problems with us,
We thank you lord for the children you gave us and the little things we have.
AMEN.’