The killing of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis, United States of America, by a white police man and the global response challenges all of us who’ve been repulsed by this killing, and the many injustices it exemplifies.
Floyd’s brutal killing occurred in the USA where the Black Lives Matter Movement originated in response to the centuries of injustices and violence black people in that country have suffered. But these injustices are not restricted to the USA. They are experienced and seen in countries around the world, including the United Kingdom.
We, at Zambia Orphans Aid UK, wish to reaffirm our commitment to provide the means to break down social and economic inequality and injustices. We believe in the power inherent in each child, woman and man. We work with Zambia Orphans Aid Zambia to identify indigenous partners in Zambia committed to and working towards unleashing the potential of each vulnerable child. We do not initiate projects; we solidify self- respecting relationships with our partners, by providing the required financial inputs and other support they need for sustainable local capacity and capability building.
However, we reaffirm that black lives matter. In doing so, we commit ourselves to reinforcing our way of working with our partners in Zambia to demonstrate that their lives and those of the vulnerable children they serve matter for what they are – a part of the human family.
We believe that Floyd’s brutal death and the injustices it highlights, should push us in the NGO community to revisit the relationships we have with our grassroots partners in Africa. Based on the knowledge we have of Africa and the African people, let us redouble efforts, and work together to put in place platforms to ensure fair treatment of people of African descent and other ethnic minorities.
Let us support grassroots efforts for cultural shifts in homes and communities – the bedrocks of racial biases.
Signed:
Lord Andrew Turnbull, Chair, Zambia Orphans Aid UK
