Trump's African Legacy

The above photo is a healthy Zambian mother and child. These are the people who are now at risk of being affected by Trump's brutal cuts in aid to Africa.

On July 1st, Nicholas Kristof published a powerful op-ed in The New York Times titled "Elon Musk's Cruel Experiment with Africa," slamming the world's richest man for dismissing the devastating impact of US aid cuts.

When Kristof reported on the suffering caused by these cuts, Musk attacked him on social media: "Kristof is lying through his teeth. There is not even a single dead child!"

Kristof's response was to point out to him several specific cases—real people, real suffering—from among the many thousands devastated by the aid cuts.

I've traveled to Africa too. I personally know the families we support through the African Artists Community Development Project (AACDP)—disabled children and their families in Zambia whose lives depend on organizations like ours now that the US has turned its back.

Kristof further cites a Boston University researcher who estimates the aid cuts have already cost more than 750,000 lives worldwide., and a study in The Lancet forecasting that at current rates, the defunding will cost 9.4 million lives by 2030.

Small nonprofits like the AACDP won't back down. We can't.

Please mark your calendar: July 16^th when we're holding our annual Bonus Day fundraiser via GlobalGiving. The earlier you donate, the more likely your gift will be matched by their funding pool.

In the meantime, please read Kristof's full piece:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/opinion/usaid-elon-musk-doge.html

Thank you for standing with us in solidarity with our families in Zambia.

Marsha Winsryg

Director AACDP

We Needed a Physiotherapist

I met Busiku at the Mama Bakhita School in 2017 where she worked as an assistant teacher. She shyly approached me one day to say that she wanted to study to become a physiotherapist. The Mama Bakhita School has had a physiotherapy room since 2012, but there was never money to pay a salary.

Happily, the AACDP found a worthy couple who agreed to sponsor her education at the University of Zambia. In 2018 Busiku bravely embarked on an educational journey that stretched her spotty childhood education to its limits. Several times she needed a tutor and had to repeat a course.

Many, maybe most children in Zambia suffered from the years of political corruption that refused to use government funds for free public education through high school, as mandated by law. So the unfunded public schools had to require fees to cover teachers' salaries, books and other necessities. Many children could only attend when their parents could afford to pay. This, and unstable home situations created big gaps in Busiku's schooling, but she was determined to succeed.

In 2024 Busiku graduated. The AACDP took on the cost of her monthly salary and she became the first physiotherapist to work at the Mama Bakhita Cheshire Home, finally getting use from the equipment that had been there all along.

Nice story, yes?

PS I am thrilled to tell you that the new president, Hakainde Hichilema announced on his first day in office in2021 that public education up through high school would be free.

Caring for the Forgotten

15% of all Zambians are people with disabilities.

1996 a group of Franciscan Sisters convened in Livingstone to focus on this widespread problem. After visiting health clinics and interviewing families, it was clear that hte need was there.They bought an Indian merchant's house and 5 acres in the town and began to offer simple physical therapy and education for parents with disabled children. They worked hard to dispel the common myth that these children were the result of the parents sins.

Bit by bit, people began to bring their young ones to the Mama Bakhita Cheshire Home, named after a black 19th century Saint.

Making art is an important part of the curriculum

In 2006 a school for 25 students was built with 2 classrooms, a physiotherapy room, large covered porch for making art, a playground and a kitchen to provide breakfast and lunch. These parents were relieved and grateful to know that their children deserved to enjoy the company of others and a right to education that suited their needs. But the funding that built this school did not continue. Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world and until 2021, the national government did not support free public education or any other kind of training. The Home has not found enough support to maintain the property. Besides the school there is the original house built in 1945 where the director and a few other Sisters live, a laundry room, an office and a guest house, which was built to bring in money because the school and other services are free.

Life skills are built into the day

The years have taken their toll and there is much to repair. The ceilings in the classrooms are falling down, the roof has leaks, the kitchen is not useable. Lunches are prepared the traditional way on cooking fires using charcoal, and causing air pollution. Lastly, the old school van, which brings everyone to and from school, is falling apart.

We want to help this unique source of education for disabled children to continue. We want it to be an example of what should be happening in other parts of Zambia. So many of the 15% go through life with no opportunity for education or socialization or the chance to be part of an educational community. Please donate as generously as you can to repair and restore this precious space through this website at the "DONATE" on the opening page.

Attending school means learning social and communication skills,

as well as two nutritious meals a day