Small Farm Helps Minnesota Woman Save Zambian Orphans

Small Farm Helps Minnesota Woman Save Zambian Orphans AG WORLD Ag World Carol McBrady never imagined farming would be a big part of her life when she became a social worker nearly 30 years ago But then she had no idea she d end up moving 8 500 miles away from her Minnesota home to Lusaka Zambia where street orphans call her Mama Carol
    It started when McBrady went on a mission trip to Africa in 2002 and saw streets full of orphaned kids She went home sold her house and took all the money she had in the world back to Zambia to start an organization called Action for Children û Zambia She rented a home in the city û now called Salvation Home - to take in as many as 42 children at a time but finding funds to support them all was her biggest problem
    When a donor gave the organization 50 acres of land in a village about an hour away she knew it could be very important to her children s futures
    McBrady and the children have been teaching themselves to farm growing vegetables for the home and also to sell at local markets Three years ago the land was brush covered and hard clay ground Living in a tent and thatched shacks and with just hoes and axes 12 boys and a few village elders dug up 12 acres In 2009 McBrady and the children at Salvation Home enjoyed the first food from the land: pumpkins tomatoes leafy vegetables cabbage carrots onions and corn The boys who farmed the land carried baskets of food three miles to catch a bus and paid luggage fees to bring the vegetables to the city
    This year thanks to a generous donor the boys had a small concrete house to live in and a used pickup to transport the food that was harvested It takes 330 lbs of corn and corn meal a week to feed 42 children
     It has been wonderful McBrady says Every Sunday we d go out to the farm and pick vegetables to take back
    The 12 boys all 18 and older are part of a formal cooperative McBrady set up They sell extra produce and are paid based on shares Much of the produce goes to a hotel where some of McBrady s graduates work as chefs Overall harvest has been good But spring floods destroyed the tomatoes this year and there wasn t any sweet corn seed to plant Both had been high value market items in 2009
     Things like that happen to every farmer McBrady notes But what an experience it s been for these guys to grow a product and have a profit They were boys that came through treatment the worst behaved boys who probably couldn t have worked anywhere else On the farm they re becoming real men They have to take care of themselves
    When McBrady rescues children from the streets they are generally abused addicted and about one-third of them have HIV/AIDS ù the disease that is the reason so many children are orphans She says animals in the U S are treated better than orphans in Africa After caring for their health needs and treating them for addictions McBrady tries to find relatives and also assists them in getting an education Children with no other option live with her and go to school When they graduate she networks with Zambian businesses to find them jobs mostly in the hospitality industry Some go on to higher education
    For those who prefer to be their own boss the farm is the perfect place
    Two of the oldest boys 26 and 21 studied agriculture for 18 months and manage the farm After last year s harvest they doubled the size of their plot and planted peanuts on half the land as part of a conservation method to improve yields The stalks and residue will be mixed in the soil of shallow basins to add nutrients and hold water for next year s crops Villagers who helped the boys get started are now learning from them About half the boys have moved on taking their earnings to start their own farms in other villages
    McBrady is working with an Irish organization to build permanent homes at located out at the farm
     Children without any living relatives could move there We call it Kulanga Bana Farm which means æKeeping our Children McBrady says
    She admits her life has not been easy since she sold her Minnesota home in 2005 to move to Lusaka But McBrady says she s discovered her life s purpose With simple faith and volunteer supporters back home raising funds - and with the help of social workers and volunteers in Lusaka - she has rehabilitated more than 150 children as well as helped hundreds of other children still on the street McBrady receives no salary has occasional volunteers who help at the home and a part-time cook so the majority of donated funds go directly to caring for children

Acquiring livestock is the next step McBrady says The young farmers want to raise poultry pigs and goats which would feed the children as well as bring in income She estimates it would cost about $10 000 to purchase animals build shelters buy equipment and so on

Donations of equipment and money are welcomed The farm could b expanded much more quickly with a rototiller and hoses and irrigation systems would be helpful to distribute water from the well which is manually pumped Fertilizer seeds especially sweet corn and even durable blue jeans all make a big difference McBrady says

It is so important that we can continue to grow this farm so the kids - especially our oldest boys - never have to go back to the streets McBrady says It is so crucial to make us self-sustaining

Individuals organizations and businesses interested in donating cash or equipment for the farm or Salvation Home can contact the Minnesota offices for more information You can also learn more about McBrady and her children at her organization s website

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Carol McBrady Action for Children-Zambia 20855 Kensington Blvd Lakeville Minn 55044 ph 952 373-1351 or Zambia 011 260 977 538 534; c_mcbrady@hotmail com; www afczambia org

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.