Fundraising for a Health Care Centre in rural Zambia

Hello, welcome to my fundraiser! This summer I will be joining the Architecture Practice 'Orkidstudio', a charity which specialises in providing quality, low cost architecture to parts of the world which need it most. I will be working in a remote region of Zambia for 10 weeks on the delivery of a new Health Care Centre, where I'll help with both the construction and project management of the build.

The existing Health Care Centre on the site is an essential beacon in the area, and attracts people from many hundreds of km, often on foot and from across the borders into neighbouring Congo and Angola, to use its limited facilities. However, the buildings that were there were in such a poor state that the Centre itself was a health risk to those who rely on it so much, with overcrowding, poor light and ventilation limiting patients recovery abilities. Orkidstudio have designed an inspired new replacement, which has already begun on site last year.

The new centre will be spacious, with greatly improved natural lighting, ventilation and ability to cope with the increasing patient numbers. What's more, the new design will enable the centre to gain status as a District Health Care Centre, which will mean the provision of additional trained doctors, mid-wives, nurses and funding.

Through training local people to use materials available locally, such as hand-compacted bricks to build the centre, the project is already having a tangible effect in alleviating the poverty of the region, and improving the prospects of those involved.

I'm so excited to be a part of a project that shows how architecture and construction can be used as a catalyst for positive social change and to help to alleviate poverty in what is one of the worlds most underdeveloped nations. But in order to achieve this we need be able to fund the project. That's why I've set up this fundraiser, in order to raise £3000 to go towards the build. Over the coming months, I will be setting up sponsorship events (such as sponsored runs) and also raising funds towards the total through selling what I no longer need. (Any further ideas will be warmly received).

100% of funds raised will go directly towards the Health Care Centre, spread amongst the following costs:

• Construction materials.
• Local labour.
• Hospital furniture.
• Medical Equipment.
  To find out more feel free to get in touch with me, or visit Orkidstudio's project blog: orkidstudio.co.uk/blog/sachibondu-designing-for-health/79/

On top of this, as my University research project I will be investigating the possibility of providing a cancer and palliative care ward at the centre in a future phase, only one exists in the entire country so far, and current cancer patients in the region have very few options for treatment.

Every donation, no matter how small is sure to help make a huge difference through this worthy cause!
Thankyou So Much

Peter