By Bob Wilson
I have been approached by a Ms Hilda Nyemba to see if the Club was interested in helping with a charity project that she was setting up for her home village of Chikumbein the Shibuyunji district of Zambia. Hilda, with the help of retired farmer Peter Wright, had managed to find a Massey Ferguson 135 Diesel that they planned to have cleaned up and shipped to Zambia to be used by the village to work their land. She was also still looking for some basic implements that they might use on their very small holdings. I understand the principal crop produced in the area is peanuts (referred to locally as groundnuts)and the soil is a mixture of clay and loam..Hilda is personally providing a substantial part of the funding, but is approaching a local service club for additional financial support. It is clear that the project only requires the club to provide the expertise, labour and a workshop to do the work required to ensure that a sound tractor is sent to her village.
Some of the villagers and the country around Chikumbe Her proposal was put to the HFTCA Committee at our last meeting and it was agreed to proceed with the venture on the basis that there is no financial burden on the club. The project was seen as an opportunity to continue with the Youth Restoration Project as the Alice Miller School and students are very keen to continue their involvement with our club. At this stage Vernon Finlay has inspected the tractor and is putting together a list of parts required to bring it up to speed. Alice Miller have also confirmed their desire to participate. It is planned to have the tractor displayed at Lake Goldsmith with a PowerPoint presentation promoting the
venture. Hopefully, subject to her health issues, Hilda will be there to talk about the project and her village. Work will commence on the MF135 later in the year with the aim of having it finished off early next year. As a brief background the village of Chikumbe is a small, isolated community. The men in the village have moved to the cities to find work, leavingthe women and elderly to farm the land. The have only hand-tools to do this so production is very low. I do know that Hilda is looking for some implements that might be useful to them, so if any members wish to donate to the cause please let me know.