Feature / Zambian mission

Last August, while browsing through the accountancy body CIMA’s website, I came across Accounting for International Development (AFID), a social enterprise that enables accountants to undertake voluntary work in developing countries. Having studied the options, I decided to sign up.

I was given a choice of doing voluntary work in several different countries in Africa. I decided to go to Zambia and spend four weeks working for non-governmental organisation Children with Future in Zambia (CWFIZ).

Based in Kitwe in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, CWFIZ was set up in 2006 with the main aim of providing education and nutritional support to children orphaned by AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

The NGO also provides education to the local community about AIDS/HIV and undertakes projects to help empower women. My main motivations were to gain experience in the international development sector, broaden my perspective on life, help people less fortunate than myself and build on my skills as an accountant.

Planning the trip

The trip required meticulous planning. I had to do the usual things, such as organise my flight and accommodation, as well as contact the NGO I would be working with. I was also sent assignment reports from two previous volunteers so that I could understand what work needed to be done during my time there.

I discovered that the previous volunteers helped develop a basic accounting system using Microsoft Excel and implemented a system of monthly reporting to the trustees of the NGO. I also found out that CWFIZ has five administrative members of staff, including a finance officer who is relatively inexperienced and unqualified and paid about £150 a month. It began to dawn on me how challenging my four weeks would be.

I left for Zambia in January. The journey itself was no mean feat as I had to take a flight to Lusaka from Heathrow and then find my way to the busy and chaotic bus station to catch a bus for a five-hour trip to Kitwe. There was nobody to greet me in Kitwe as the director of CWFIZ was ill in hospital. After a few frantic telephone calls to AFID, the director of another NGO arranged to meet me.

During my first few days there, I learned that CWFIZ was in the process of relocating offices from a rented building in the town centre to an out-of-town plot of land it had bought. It took a few days to get electricity connected, but once this was resolved I was able to start work and got my first look at the financial records.

My main tasks were to develop business proposals for income-generating activities and completing applications for funding from large donors. It was clear CWFIZ needed more sustainable sources of funding than the one-off donations it relied on.

Another setback came half way through my time in Kitwe, when the director of CWFIZ tragically died at the age of 35 from pneumonia. But I was determined to make a positive impact during my stay.

During my last two weeks I was involved in securing funding from Lumwana Mining Company, which runs one of the largest copper mines in Africa, for a two-year project to help women in rural areas improve their numeracy and literacy skills and develop self-funding business enterprises.

I also helped CWFIZ develop a child sponsorship scheme to give them a regular source of income that would increase their capacity to plan for the future. On my return to the UK, I took this  a stage further by setting up a small fundraising charity called CWFIZ UK with the primary aim of promoting the child sponsorship scheme in the UK and helping to secure funding from UK donors.

After four weeks in Zambia, I realised that in spite of the economic hardships, the people I met and worked with were remarkably resilient in the face of adversity. During these times of reduced public sector spending, this is a quality I would like to try and emulate.

Read Ian’s blog at http://cwfiz.wordpress.com. More details on CWFIZ are available at http://www.afid.org.uk/partners/children-future-zambia