Sydney Mwamba, Our Man in Livingstone
AACDP NEWSLETTER • OCTOBER 2020
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Over the past twelve years, Sydney Mwamba has become the hands and feet, mind and heart of the AACDP in Zambia. Without him, this non profit could not function as the flexible problem solver it is in the Mama Bakhita/Zambezi Doll community today.
I wish I still had the letter that I received from Sydney in 2008 seeking financial help with tuition for a business administration course at Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka, Zambia. He introduced himself as the nephew of one of the craftswomen I was doing business with at a craft market there. It was a very polite and formal letter, and I wrote to his aunt asking if she thought Sydney was a dependable sort who would study hard.
She wrote back “Sydney Mwamba was always the smartest student his village. He will not disappoint you, of that I am sure!” That was good enough for me, and so began a mutually beneficial relationship that continues to this day.
Sydney was born in the beautiful agricultural village of Jack Mwanapapa, seven miles outside of Livingstone in the southern part of Zambia. When he was 7 years old, he joined the other village children making the two hour walk to school in Livingstone, leaving at 5am to arrive by 7:00. After the long walk home he worked in the garden or herded the goats.
At the age of thirteen his life changed dramatically. In his own words:
"It was on the 19th December 1999 when fate fell on me. This is the day I got myself in a crocodile’s mouth! Luckily, I believe God planned it that way and that he wanted me to be part of the people that will work for the vulnerable people. I was saved from being killed, but sadly I lost my left arm after the hospital failed to save it.”
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That traumatic event changed the course of Sydney’s life, and he developed a genuine understanding of what it means to have a disability in the eyes of society. This strengthened his resolve to work to benefit people in need.
After we met in 2008, Sydney began to support his education by organizing the purchasing and shipping of local crafts for me to sell in the U.S. At that time, the sale of these crafts was the primary means to raise funds for the Mama Bakhita Cheshire Home for disabled children in Livingstone, which was then the AACDP’s sole project. In the following years, the scope of the AACDP broadened, and Sydney’s role slowly expanded.
We began offering grants to people connected with the Mama Bakhita for education and business. We also started a small economic development project for mothers of children at the Mama Bakhita producing handmade dolls. I really needed someone in Livingstone to manage these and other projects. Because I had witnessed his dedication to this work for eight years, in 2016 I asked Sydney if he would consider relocating from Lusaka to Livingstone to manage the AACDP’s projects there. I was overjoyed that he and his new bride, Regina, were willing to make the change from city to country.
Sydney has been integral to the shape and reputation of the AACDP in Livingstone. He knows and is respected by everyone in this community for his compassion, intelligence, integrity and respect for people of all levels of society. His fluency in English and seven of the local languages enables him to communicate easily with everyone.
He has managed the Zambezi Doll Company and kept track of our scholarship students for many years. He is proficient and compassionate in identifying and assessing people and/or communities needing aid, and regularly checks on households in need of medical assistance and groceries. When the river in the village of Jack Mwanapapa ran dry, Sydney helped me run the GoFundMe campaign that raised money for a solar water pump and irrigation system that revived the village, reestablishing orchards and vegetable gardens. Food insecurity has increased since the pandemic, and he has organized food drives for the poorest families in our community.
He is perfect for this job.
Thank you, Sydney, for your deep commitment to working for and honoring the poorest and most vulnerable in our community. You are invaluable to everyone in the community, to the AACDP, and to me.
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Marsha Winsryg
Director, AACDP