Bald and bold: Natasha Ng’uni’s story

Natasha

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
SINCE the age of six, Natasha Nguni, 20, has only known one hairstyle – a bald hair style.
Natasha was born a normal, healthy child, with a head full of hair. But at the age of six, her hair began to fall off, and within weeks, she was completely bald.
She has remained so since.
Initially, there were numerous visits to doctors. But they did not yield any positive results. Her distraught mother sought traditional African medicines. But nothing changed. Natasha has got neither eyebrows nor eye lashes.
Natasha was diagnosed with Alopecia, a rare condition, which is said to affect one person in one million people. It involves loss of skull and facial hair.
Its causes remain unclear but it is believed to be autoimmune, a condition where the immune system fails to recognise ‘its own’ and attacks hair follicles thereby stopping hair growth.
But Natasha is getting on just fine. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Legacy Photography, which she established two years ago.
But it has not always been fine.
“It has not been easy,” Natasha admits. “Because of how society looks at a woman and the hair, I suffered lots of humiliation, whenever I get out of the house onto the streets, all eyes will be on me.
“I was born like any normal and healthy child, with a full head of hair. After I turned six, I woke up one morning and my mum noticed that my hair was falling off in patches. In no time, I was completely bald. I began my journey with my mum visiting different doctors in search of answers.”
In a quest to find a solution to her condition, different prescriptions were given to her. Some suggested she was allergic to certain foods, so, she stopped eating fish, pork and game meat.
At the same time, she was put on various medications like injectable, oral and even ointments for the scalp. Her dad also took her to a Chinese doctor who performed some kind of procedure on Natasha’s scalp but without any success.
“As I was on taking these medicines, my mum also tried different kinds of home remedies [traditional African medicines] that could help with hair growth but to no avail,” she says.
“After visiting so many doctors, only one doctor identified my symptoms and diagnosed me with Alopecia. My mother, out of care, didn’t want me to know or think about my diagnosis.”
Her childhood changed drastically.
“My friends were so used to seeing me with cute little hair styles, and suddenly, I was wearing head socks,” she shares. “Like every inquisitive child, they wanted to know what I was hiding, and they began asking questions. I was bold enough to tell a few of my friends about my situation but there were always those school bullies.”
School life became uncomfortable for Natasha as she dealt with bullying. Sometimes, her fellow pupils would pull off her head sock.
“It was a difficult period for me I must confess, I even hated going to school. I remember, before I turned nine, my hair grew back just on the crown of my head and it was some relief to me and my family,” she says.
The relief was short-lived. It was the last time she was seeing hair on her head.
The humiliation was too much; she decided to change schools. But every time she changed school, her mother had to ask for special permission from the school authorities for her to wear a wig.
In grade seven, she was nicknamed “Baldilocks” but Natasha chose not to be bothered.
“But it always stuck in my head,” she says.
As she grew older and coming from a Christian family, her mum never gave up but prayed for her daughter to find a nexus in life and live happily.
“My family have always been so supportive to me, and that’s something I am really grateful for.
“Even on days when I would cry and complain about my illness, they always gave me comfort and made me feel special in my own little way,” Natasha says.
Sadly, when she was in grade 12, her mum died. It is a scenario that was difficult to deal with.
For Natasha, the passing on of her mother signaled an end to the search for the cure of her condition.
“Who is going to pray for me now? Who is going to massage my scalp? I kept on crying and asking myself such questions, but then, I realised that there is a time when one needs to take things in their own hands and hope for the best,” she says.
She accepted her situation in 2015.
But it was not a one-day decision, it was a process.
Natasha slowly gathered the courage to a point where she could post pictures of herself with the bald head on social media.
In 2015, the year she also established Legacy Photography. Natasha’s self-esteem has helped her to become one of the foremost female photographers in the country.
“I started photography in church with a church camera after a basic photography training,” she says. “Then, I didn’t own my own camera, [so] I decided to use my acquired family skill of baking to buy my own camera. I could bake, and save each time I sold the different confectionaries and finally I got my own camera.”
And now, she can get whatever image she desires. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 29, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/bald-and-bold-natasha-ngunis-story/

Moomba Primary School goes on Bon Voyage

DOREEN NAWA, Mumbwa
EDUCATION has consistently been recognised as the cornerstone of development for any country or region, and one of the highest returns when pursuing development.
But the outcome is influenced by a number of factors, with infrastructure being one of them.
School infrastructure including its design, quality and day to day management is significant in enabling the school system to deliver improved education outcomes. It broadly encompasses land and building, quality of facilities and the overall design.
The development of quality school infrastructure requires significant capital investment, which has increased the overall cost of construction of the school, leaving many rural schools in a deplorable state.
One such school is Mumbwa’s Moomba Primary School situated about 20 kilometres away from Mumbwa town.
The lack of infrastructure is certainly a crisis at Moomba Primary School.
This is so because over 450 pupils at the school have had to share a classroom block for the past 10 years.
The first and only classroom block was built in 2007, before then, pupils were learning in a grass thatched classroom.
The huge cost of construction had burdened the school operators at Moomba, who have limited options for financing available.
“The situation became unbearable and our children were refusing to go to school. As a traditional leader representative, I approach the government representative in Mumbwa town about 20 kilometres away for help last year and few months later, help came our way,” headman Mwanankanama Matthew Mambwe said.
Moomba Primary School has been struggling with poor facilities, unskilled teachers and high dropout rates for over a decade.
Mud and thatched classroom blocks are what characterise the infrastructure conditions of many school in Moomba area.
“Lack of qualified teachers is a problem in most schools in this area and Moomba is not an exception. This is because teaching has always been the last career option for most young people. And when teachers get posted to rural schools like Moomba, it’s a known fact they will either go on leave or apply for a transfer immediately,” Headman Mwanankanama says.
It has been said that quality and reliable infrastructure in the education sector is critical in maintaining the high literacy rate countrywide.
As evidenced from the many rural school infrastructure, the country’s educational infrastructure needed to be upgraded and modernised in line with global developments.
It is a fact that having schools in good conditions is decisive for pupils to achieve the expected academic results.
Educationists say the conditions of the schools directly impacts the performance of the students.
According to Moomba Primary School headteacher Vivious Simbweda, half of the young population in Moomba area meant to proceed to secondary education are being forced to drop out because of various reasons, chief among them being the poor school infrastructure, unavailability of funds and societal preference to educate the boy child.
“The number of especially girls reportedly dropping out from school after completion of their primary education has reached alarming levels. When you confront the families and pupils, the answers we get are that the dilapidated infrastructure is demotivating them. There is need for the government to develop mechanisms that would effectively curb this trend,” Mr Simbweda says.
Proprietor of Bon Voyage Contractors Harry Ngoma says what he found on the ground when he first visited the school to carry out feasibility study was a mud and thatched structures that were being used as a classroom.
“What was first here was a sorry site. I am glad that today, we are witnessing a milestone in the history of this school. A newly-constructed building is being handed over. I am positive that it will positively impact the school attendance. We built it in six months, we started on December 16, 2016 and by June 2017, the works were done,” Mr Ngoma says.
Funded by a South Korean church, Icheon 2nd Presbyterian Church through World Vision Zambia (WVZ), a classroom block has been constructed to cushion the infrastructure challenges at the school.
The classroom block and furnishing, the borehole and toilets all were constructed at a cost of K908, 708 (US$90,878).
Handing over the classroom block to government representative, WVZ national director Mark Kelly said quality education demands a lot and one way is by providing better infrastructure.
“Safe and clean water, improved sanitation are critical for every child to remain healthy and motivated to attend school regularly,” Mr Kelly said in a speech read for him by WVZ regional operations manager Kenny Sondoyi.
Mr Kelly said education is important in the life of every child because it is a well-known that it opens doors to many other opportunities that could enable anyone engage in successful job careers, farming, businesses and scientific ideas to transform their lives and their communities.
And receiving the infrastructure, Mumbwa District Council chairperson Gracious Hamatala said providing quality education starts with having better infrastructure that motivates teachers and pupils to enhance their commitment and performance.
“Education is the greatest tool needed to effectively steer development in our country,” Mr Hamatala said.
And Incheon 2nd Presbyterian Church Pastor Lee Kunyoung said his church is committed to seeing that the people of Moomba have a better education infrastructure.
Pastor Lee said his church has will soon start mobilising funds through donations to contribute to the building of teachers housing at Moomba Primary School.
Currently, Moomba has one staff house occupied by the deputy head teacher, the other five staff are accommodated in the nearby village while the headteacher resides in Mumbwa town.
Finding ways of support to upgrade the existing infrastructure in schools as well as building new ones is a dream come true for people in Moomba area.
“Though we have not succeeded in everything everywhere, our community has earned the admiration for this classroom block. If you see other schools here, they are a sorry site,” Jennifer Maimbo, a resident of Moomba area says.
For Ms Maimbo, the positive aspect of this success story, will be defended and protected to the hilt and sustained for generations to come.
“The quality infrastructure we have received so far should not be compromised but should be expanded by a culture of teachers so that our children can have safe and conducive for learning,” she said. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 29, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/moomba-primary-school-goes-on-bon-voyage/

Surviving an invasion of army worms

Jerry Ng'andu, 53

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
JERRY Ng’andu, 53, a small- scale farmer of Shibuyunji district, has lived in the area for over 25 years and his livelihood solely depends on farming.
He cultivates about three acres of land and plants mainly maize and some beans for both consumption and sale.
But 2016 is one year he would want to forget. However, he has no choice but to remember it, as what happened last year might happen again this year, or next year.
This is because half of his maize field was attacked by the fall armyworms.
“I relocated from Southern Province over 25 years ago and I never had challenges in farming like I experienced last farming season,” he says. “The thought of having the [fall] armyworms again is one I dread. I cannot imagine the loss.”
For Mr Ng’andu, the reappearance of the pests will pose a threat on food security.
“Last year, we had the pests and it affected my yield. I can’t imagine going through the same experience again this farming season,” he says. “During a normal farming season, I harvest about 250 bags [50kg] of maize but last season I only managed to harvest 150 bags.”
Mr Ng’andu laments that last year’s mitigation process by Government to cushion the impact of armyworms was not properly handled.
“They are giving a 100ml bottle of the pesticide to be shared among four farmers regardless of the size of the farm. That 25ml was only enough for one acre and I have three acres,” he says. “There was also lack of guidance on how the pesticide was to be administered.”
For this farming season, Mr Ng’andu suggests that Government distributes the pesticide according to the size of the land being cultivated by the farmers.
“As it stands, we are conflicted because we don’t want the army worms to ravage our fields yet we can’t afford not to plant because our livelihood depends on farming,” he says.
Mr Ng’andu is not in a unique position.
Saliya Mizinga, 50, a widow who is looking after seven of her eight children and has lived in Shibuyunji district for over 20 years likens the attack to the much talked about pestilence in the Bible.
She simply calls it a horror.
“The invasion by this maize pest is occurring for the first time and all possible mitigation factors seem not to work,” she says. “Last year, the situation was so desperate we used surf, washing powder, boom paste and ashes as pesticides. So this year, we need Government to come to our aid and give us pesticides.”
Ms Mizinga says she can’t afford to buy pesticides this season because all the money she realised from the sale of her last harvest went towards buying farming inputs.
The fall armyworm, a recent interloper in Africa, widely prevalent in the Americas, attacks more than 80 different plant species, including maize.
The Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) now says the army worms are here to stay.
“Farmers should take the cost of fighting the worm into account, when doing their annual planning,” ZARI chief agricultural research officer Mweshi Mukanga says. “Fall armyworm is here to stay and we have to find sustainable means of managing this.”
The anticipated return of the fall armyworms again is due to Zambia’s suitable weather patterns of hot, humid, wet climatic conditions which make it easier for this pest to breed.
“This pest cannot survive in cold climatic conditions like most western countries,” Dr Mukanga says.
But unlike commercial farmers that budget for chemicals too, small-scale farmers usually do not do so and end up having the most devastating effects of the pest.
“It is time that small-scale farmers are encouraged to not only use the e-vouchers for seed and fertilisers but to procure chemicals too for various diseases and pest that may attack their crops,” he says.
Government is already on course to help sensitise farmers on the possible outbreak of armyworms during the 2017/2018 farming season.
But because of the growing numbers of small scale farmers, government may not be able to distribute the free pesticides to all of them.
Instead, a list of the recommended pesticides will be sent to all strategic places through the various agro-chemical companies for the small scale farmers to access and buy.
Among the pesticides that can be used to control the fall armyworms are Coragen, Belt, Ampligo, Proclaim, Sorba and Spitfire.
Agricultural entomologist Phillip Nkunika says tackling the fall armyworm pest and avoiding economic hardships for small-scale farmers requires quick and co-ordinated action, a massive awareness campaign, scientific innovation and multi-institutional collaboration.
“We must learn to live with the realities of climate change. This has triggered major changes in geographical distribution and population dynamics of insect pests and efficacy of crop protection technologies,” Professor Nkunika says.
“We cannot eliminate the pest, but we can provide support to farmers and provide options to manage their crops against the fall armyworm.”
The female fall armyworm can lay up to 1,000 eggs at a time and can produce multiple generations very quickly without pause in tropical environments.
Last year, the fall armyworms nearly wiped out crop production in the southern Africa region but Zambia managed to reap 3.6 million tonnes of maize, up from 2.8 million the previous year.
The fall armyworm has been reported in all countries in southern Africa except Lesotho and the island States, and most of the countries in eastern Africa, including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
It has also been reported in several countries in west and central Africa, including Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.
It is not yet clear how the pest got to the African continent or how it will adapt.
“We just don’t know how far this could go. Fall armyworm is a very recently introduced pest in Africa and even the experts are unsure what its long-term impact will be,” Prof Nkunika says.
“We need to work together as scientists to create national plant protection strategies. We should also work with farmers to control the level of damage on their farms. For the longer-term, though, only a truly collaborative effort between international and national agencies can provide a solution.”
But Small Scale Farmers Union general secretary Frank Kayula says as Zambia and other affected countries rush to implement various measures to contain the army worms, it is important to keep farmers in mind.
“As we get to find solutions, we need answers to such questions, Can farmers afford these solutions? Do farmers know enough about suggested management practices and how to implement them on their farms?” Dr Kayula says.
“What happened last season was embarrassing; we need farmers to be told on time on what to do instead of being reactive when the situation is worse.” PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON NOVEMBER 5, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/surviving-an-invasion-of-army-worms/