A trip to the only children’s hospital in Zambia, Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital (ADH) in Ndola, was a sobering start to the day. The executive director, Dr. Sam Phiri, granted us a few rare minutes to explain the intense need for support on many fronts: medical equipment, better training for staff, relief staff, education, etc. He outlined the ten most prominent diseases/conditions affecting the kids accepted by the hospital – malnutrition, meningitis, malaria and HIV among them. Dr. Phiri opened the boxes of donated surgical kits we brought to the hospital and in an interview for our short documentary, opened his heart about the strangers a world away who make sick children a priority. He was kind and quick to the point. We were very thankful he allowed us access to the hallways lined with rooms full of sick little ones whose troubled parents seemed to ache for their stories to be told. We were welcomed in small spaces where  small groups of women sat together.  They stared into our cameras as they held their sick, sometimes dying sons and daughters, a tender situation to be sure. I’m not sure you ever forget something like this.

The goal was to document the vulnerability here and present what Northrise hopes to contribute to future health-care needs of Ndola. Northrise serves ADH as a mission and provides supplies as often as possible. Currently, university land is set aside and hope planted for a student health-care clinic to be up and running by summer 2011. The facility will serve students, staff and the immediate families of those employees – roughly 1200 people. The project is still in the fundraising phase, another 80 thousand dollars is needed to break ground on the building.  University founder Moffat Zimba told Dr. Phiri about his ambition and the two spoke about some technicalities of the idea, and agreed that education is critical.

In our few hours at ADH it became clear just how critical the health situation is…

Last week, 18 people from Houston and Phoenix visited Northrise in Zambia.  During the week, the team was able spend time on the Northrise farm seeing the latest batch of 1200 chickens and enjoying the sweet taste of Northrise’s third banana crop! Members of the team spent time at the Mapalo Community School and the Arising Life counseling center, two ministries started by graduates and continually supported by Northrise in Ndola.  The highlight of the week was visiting the nearly-completed Kuhula House, the first academic building to be completed on the Northrise property, and then heading back for a traditional Zambian meal, prepared as a collaboration between the Northrise staff and Chef Juan Martinez from Phoenix.

In collaboration with Medical Bridges in Houston, TX, the team was able to secure and deliver several boxes of much needed medical supplies to the Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital in Ndola. Being the only pediatric hospital in all of Zambia, extra supplies are always needed.

In all, it was a great week spent building friendships, seeing the progressive growth of Northrise University, and serving the community of Ndola, Zambia.

The Northrise University team called Zed Bionic have won the  VENTURECOMP 2010 K100 Million Business Plan competition.  Lyle Doogan, Ignitius Chella, Choongo Hamoonga, Chisanga Bwalya and Phenias Shamuzumba are the new millionaires in the town of Ndola.

It was an exhilarating moment for students to hear the announcement that ” VentureComp 2010  Winner is…Zed Bionic of Northrise University Ndola!!!” What an achievement!!! What a business plan!!!

And Northrise University president, Dr. Moffat Zimba is very excited about the development and wishes to commend the student of Northrise for their hard work and commitment to excellence. The passion for Northrise  is to see lives changed and students empowered and such is the evidence of its effort.

Look out for the interviews with the winners, some stakeholders and the president of Northrise.

Arising Life Minitries for ophaned and vulnerable children counselling and empowerment centre  was opened on 2nd July 2009 and has since been under Northrise University (NU) outreach. Mrs. Joyce Chimbila, a Northrise University student runs this centre.

As part of its mission, the center cares for up to thirty-five (35) children. It provides them with basic education beginning at first grade to seventh grade. Most of these children are orphans coming from homes that live on less than a dollar a day. Upon receiving this basic education, these children are able to read, write and communicate using English. For those that perform well, the center  tries to place them in high school and offer financial support in any way possible.

Through various projects, the centre has made tremendous strides in improving the premises, making it more habitable and comfortable for these children. A recent project that has added value to both the center and the local community is sinking of a borehole. This borehole was sunk by Seeds of Hope to ease the problem of water supply.  A wall fence is also being erected to improve security of the premises.

The joys of Mrs. Chimbila were visible as she showcased the new holders for the florescent lighting to the centre and the complete rooms, notably the kitchen, which only has the electrical connection and a stove left.

During the month of April, it was announced that Inter-Market Bank is holding a venture competition. This ongoing competition requires teams from diverse institutes to each come up with a viable business plan that is innovative and can be of help to the economy of the nation, Zambia. The whole idea behind the competition is to empower youths from Universities and Colleges with resources to develop innovations that can help create employment opportunities.

The Zed Bionic of Northrise University is part and parcel of the competition. This team of five comprises 4th year Business Administration students namely Lyle Doogan, Ignitius Chella, Choongo Hamoonga, Chisanga Bwalya and Phenias . Zed Bionic’s business plan is about manufacturing organic fertilizer from treated human waste. They were driven to find an innovative idea that would help in sustaining the agriculture industry and promote eco-friendliness. Their target market would be the local and small scale farmers especially those that grow vegetables and bananas.

84 Teams submitted their Executive Summaries and out of that lot only 10 were selected to move on to the next round. The 10 teams were then asked to hand in their business plans. After careful analysis of the plans, the teams were cut down to 4 with Northrise University’s Zed Bionic soldiering on. These four teams are expected to make their final presentations before the judges on 16th July 2010 in Lusaka. Among others, the Bank of Zambia Governor, Dr. Caleb Fundanga, will be gracing the occasion and the announcement of the winning team will be made in the evening of the same day. The winning team will walk away with a sum of ZMK108, 000,000 to start their business. This prize is a loan that will attract concessionary interest terms.

As part of evaluation, last week the teams were given 5 Million Zambian Kwacha each and asked to make an investment in a period of 10 days. Each team will be awarded points according to the returns on investment.

In an interview, Chisanga Bwalya, the only lady on the team said that this is a great venture and who knows it could be the ticket to her life long dream of starting a business. “What an opportunity!” she said.  When asked if she really wanted to win this, she merrily said, “Who wouldn’t want to win a 100 Million Kwacha. Dah!  We will keep our fingers crossed and prepare adequately”

Northrise University is proud of these students, their hard work and dedication has indeed brought them thus far. Through this business plan, they have demonstrated that there is a better way to farm, which is economically viable and environmentally sustainable.  Northrise University will continue to support students and initiatives designed to uplift the general living standards of society.

Northrise Eagles in action….

Apart from the handful of women who actually play Soccer and the minority that are dedicated to cultivating similar interests as their spouses, soccer for most women is always last on their interest list; I wonder though that it even makes the list. Personally, a dreadful moment would ideally be a room with wall-to-wall screens and the repetitive chants of enthused soccer fanatics.

On the other hand, my daily conversations, the fashion industry and news all drone on about this sport of grown men all chasing a ball like their lives depend on it. What is it with this sport then? Well, coming to think of it,  soccer does bring some good to the world. For example, it doesn’t hurt that this year’s World cup is being held in Africa, a continent known to be the poorest in the world but rich in natural resources.  For most Africans, this event has not only been viewed as a once in a lifetime opportunity but additionally a symbol of hope. A reaffirmation that Africans have great potential and most importantly that the sky is the limit!

The new generation of Africans and Zambians in particular is composed of young and brilliant innovative thinkers who are daily making the most of their environment. Certainly, Northrise University students are not limited by their circumstances nor environment. They are dreamers and like all real dreamers know…when you dream, you should always dream big! And the biggest of all dreams is to change a Nation by first being changed. I love asking students what they are going to do with their changed lives after attaining their degrees. And let me tell you, I never walk away disappointed…

Harvesting bananas is a worth-while exercise being undertaken at Northrise Farms. This marks the third harvest since the banana plantation was first planted in late Junuary 2008. The plantation sits on four acres of Northrise farms land. The harvest began in late April of this year. It has been an on-going exercise during the months of May and June. A sizable amount of fresh Northrise banana produce is currently available on the local market.

On 18^th June 2010, 1200 birds (chickens) were delivered to Northrise farms. Northrise Farms has begun the process of rearing the birds for meat for the duration of six weeks. This is a delicate process which Northrise farms is gaining experience in. This is the third time chickens are being reared for meat at Northrise farms. From a humble beginning, the activities at Northrise farms are slowly taking shape laying the foundation for the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture Philosophy.

It is the vision of Northrise University that Northrise Farms continues to contribute to the economic empowerment of the community of Ndola and Zambia at large. This is in line with the nation’s policy of diversifying the economy into agriculture to lessen the dependency on copper, a diminishing natural resource.

Twelve media team members all sat in the meeting with their faces brightly lit. As an old media team member, I was privileged to be part of the meeting. The growth in the number of members was very encouraging for the team. Though held in the cold season, that particular day, dated, June 14^th 2010, was fairly warm and sunny.

One of the main reasons for the meeting was to introduce the new team members. Besides this, the staff members reiterated why the media team was formed; the sole purpose of its existence. Students were also assured that the staff team would rally behind them. These words were music to our ears as it meant that we would not only continue being provided with the needed resources but we would also be given physical support.

In closing, students were given a forum to make suggestions and propose ideas on how the entire team can work more efficiently. Suggestions brought forward included  scheduling meeting with other media teams from different institutions to share ideas. To crown it all, each of us was asked why we chose to be a part of this team. In response to the question, we were reminded that self motivation and zeal are the driving forces behind an efficient media team member.