MCT Campus

The threat of a drought in San Diego has alarmed many, but for some places in the world, even a few gallons of water can save lives.

San Diego State students, through the national nonprofit organization, Compassion for African Villages, have recently helped make clean water a reality for one village in Africa.
Compassion for African Villages was started by SDSU alumna Tsitsi Mutseta, a native of Rundongo, Zimbabwe, with the goal to support and provide for the orphaned children in the village.

Mutseta had lost most of her family members, along with most of Rundongo’s population aged 18 to 40, to epidemics such as HIV, AIDS, cholera and malaria. Survivors of her family include her mother and eight children passed down from her late siblings, who then became part of Mutseta’s responsibility.

Mutseta was working three jobs while going to school to help the orphaned children of Rundongo, but when she got diagnosed with breast cancer, she could no longer handle the workload.

Mutseta soon found help from a fellow SDSU student, and the organization was born.
Nursing senior and president of the SDSU branch of Compassion for African Villages, Jennifer Ferrell, said the campus organization was started in 2007 to assist Mutseta on her mission.

“She was taking on so much and not asking for any help and simultaneously starting her battle with (breast) cancer,” Ferrell said. “I thought, “how can someone do all this on her own?’ It’s impossible.”

Ferrell said Compassion for African Villages is constantly working to maintain the education of Rundongo’s orphans. The organization provides the children with school uniforms and supplies, and pays for their teachers. Ferrell said previous teachers sent to Rundongo by Zimbabwe’s government stopped getting paid when government stability began to weaken.

Compassion for African Villages has already seen results from its efforts.

The organization funded the building of two water wells in Rundongo in mid-August. One is located at a local school, and the other is located near Mutseta’s mother’s house.

“Clean water was a first step because cholera is transmitted by dirty water,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell said the long-term goal of the organization is to start working on health issues because education will help prevent the spread of HIV and related diseases.

The rapid death rate was one of the main reasons Mutseta started working on sending money to her village, she said. There is no health clinic in Rundongo, and no one knows the exact disease causing the deaths because no one can diagnose patients.

“It’s not in the works yet, but we’re hoping to get some of us down there (to Rundongo) to educate them about health,” Ferrell said.

During the fall semester, Compassion for African Villages is focused on getting the local community involved in the San Diego Super Run, which raised $8,500 for the organization last year.

Members of the organization sell T-shirts, hats and scarves throughout the semester and have a booth set up at Kobey’s Swap Meet at the Sports Arena every Sunday.

Ferrell said the organization is also working on getting a band to host a concert this semester in support of the organization’s cause.

For more information about the organization and to donate, visit www.compassionforafricanvillages.net.