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Barrington High School group aids Zambian drought victims

As the men unloaded the bags of food from the truck, a woman noticed the kernels of corn spilling to the ground. She immediately dropped to her knees, trying to gather as much food as she could to feed her family. Many paid little attention to the woman, as it was a common sight during such a drought. But what was not so common was the man standing nearby, Hands of Hope partner Binwell Chilbesa, who bought the family a bag of maize soon after witnessing the event.

"This particular woman had caught my attention" Chilbesa said. "As I watched her pick through the dirt to find a few kernels of corn, I thought how desperate her situation must be that this was the only option she had to feed her family. I was in a position to help her and so when I purchased a bag of maize and gave it to her, she was so shocked that she fell to her knees and wept in gratitude."

For the past four years, Zambia has been suffering from a devastating drought, one that is not only taking a toll on people's land, but their health as well. November through February is known as the rainy season in Zambia, and during that time, people grow abundant crops and store grain to sustain their families until the next rainy season. However, the drought has made this impossible.

"During a normal rainy season, a lot of areas are flooded, and people make use of the water for their gardens," Vicky Wauterlek of Barrington Hills, founder of Hands of Hope, said. "These water sources have dried up. Without a source of water, it is not possible to garden in the extremely sandy soils of the western province of Zambia."

With the lack of food, many have made cassava, a drought-resistant root vegetable, their main food source. However, the sole consumption of cassava is not providing the people of Zambia with the diverse diet that they need, as it is usually balanced out with the consumption of maize and rice.

Cassava's tubers and leaves contain cyanide and without proper preparation cyanide toxicity causes an irreversible spasmodic paralytic disease known as konzo, which is now breaking out in various areas of the western province of Zambia. According to Andy McGlashen and Michael Boivan from Michigan State University, konzo is known as "bound legs" in the African Yaka language, as the disease causes the knees to bend inward and the feet to point toward each other as the victim loses control of the lower limbs.

Due to the extremity of the drought, there has been a dramatic increase in poverty. While the Zambian government has attempted to help in the past couple of years, there is little they can do because of the struggling economy.

Hands of Hope Teens at Barrington High School last fall raised money to help with a project called "Change for Change." Several clear plastic bottles were handed out to club members to collect money. The group's effort filled more than 20 bottles with change.

"For many of us, it is quite difficult to imagine true hunger," Hands of Hope Teens President Hannah Cremer said. "But for the families in the villages we work with in the Western Province of Zambia, this is a reality. With the drought occurring, the normal crops cannot grow, which is detrimental to the community. It is important to help these families so they can stay healthy until the next cycle of crops comes in. This will allow them to focus on work and schooling instead."

To learn more about Hands of Hope Teens, visit Facebook.

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