which was originally squatted.
The first inhabitants lived in shacks made from mud, poles and
grass roofs.[1]
Living situation
At first, water supply was a difficulty, but as of 2014 the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company
(LWSC) would rather connect people to the supply than risk the spread of disease.[1][2] In 2008, it
was estimated to have 10,000 inhabitants.[3]
Health problems result from factors such as overcrowding, bad sanitation and lack of transport
and employment opportunities. Poor drainage of sewage leads to outbreaks of cholera.[4][2] Lack
of proper drainage also leads to regular flooding.[5] Misisi is ranked as one of the five worst
slums in Sub-Saharan Africa.[6]
While the official language spoken in Zambia is English, the people of Misisi tend to speak a
number of local languages, in particular Nyanja and Bemba.
Project Zambia
Misisi is one of the main places in which Project Zambia works. Much of the work takes place in
the adjoining St Lawrence's Centre, which houses the Home of Hope, an outreach programme
removing street children from Lusaka and offering them a safe haven and attempting to reunite
them with their families, a Community School, bakery, Agricultural Project for a few examples,
but a significant amount also takes place in the compound itself, such as the provision of clean
water. Project Zambia also works in the St Catherine's Centre, in the middle of Misisi; it is a
school offering education to local children of Misisi. Project Zambia's continued work in the St
Catherine's Centre, with the work of Mr Peter Tembo, the co-ordinator of the St Catherine's
centre, has seen its expansion from a few buildings acting as a temporary school, to a walled
compound that has continued expansion with each year that Project Zambia continues its
involvement.
Redevelopment
In 2019, President Edgar Lungu announced plans to redevelop the Misisi and Chibolya
settlements. They were one of four initiatives submitted to the Abu Dhabi Fund for
Development.[4] Whilst residents were concerned about eviction, Minister of Housing and
Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela announced that under the Urban Renewal plans, the
government would build 12,500 housing units in Misisi and also Kuku, which would house 50,000
people.[5]
Footnotes
1. Nkole, Nkole (10 October 2018). "Misisi:
Township where a Mrs Edwards hailed –
Zambia Daily Mail" (http://www.daily-mail.c
o.zm/misisi-township-where-a-mrs-edward
s-hailed/) . Daily Mail. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20191027153825/htt
p://www.daily-mail.co.zm/misisi-township-
where-a-mrs-edwards-hailed/) from the
original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved
7 May 2020.
2. Chanda, Davies M.M. (17 February 2017).
"Life in Misisi township" (https://www.time
s.co.zm/?p=10253) . Times of Zambia.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
80703221900/http://www.times.co.zm/?p=
10253) from the original on 3 July 2018.
Retrieved 7 May 2020.
3. "The U Foundation" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20080626193913/http://www.theuf
oundation.org/Misisi_Compound.html) .
Archived from the original (http://www.theu
foundation.org/Misisi_Compound.html)
on June 26, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
4. "Zambia: Misisi, Chibolya to be demolished,
modernized using Abu Dhabi funds-
President Lungu" (https://www.lusakatime
s.com/2019/11/28/misisi-chibolya-to-be-d
emolished-modernized-using-abu-dhabi-fun
ds-president-lungu/) . Lusaka Times. 28
November 2019. Archived (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20191129214316/https://ww
w.lusakatimes.com/2019/11/28/misisi-chi
bolya-to-be-demolished-modernized-using-
abu-dhabi-funds-president-lungu/) from
the original on 29 November 2019.
Retrieved 7 May 2020.
5. Mugala, Mike (1 April 2018). "Kuku
residents: To move or not to move? –
Zambia Daily Mail" (http://www.daily-mail.c
o.zm/kuku-residents-to-move-or-not-to-mo
ve/) . Daily Mail. Archived (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20191027211313/http://ww
w.daily-mail.co.zm/kuku-residents-to-move
-or-not-to-move/) from the original on 27
October 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
6. Lwenje, Elizabeth (29 January 2017). "Govt
plans Misisi, Kuku townships uplift –
Zambia Daily Mail" (http://www.daily-mail.c
o.zm/govt-plans-misisi-kuku-townships-up
lift/) . www.daily-mail.co.zm. Archived (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/2019110300015
3/http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/govt-plans-
misisi-kuku-townships-uplift/) from the
original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved
7 May 2020.
External links
The Zambia Society Trust (http://www.z
ambiasocietytrust.org.uk/misisi.htm)
Groundwater quality assessments in the
John Laing and Misisi areas of Lusaka
(https://web.archive.org/web/20070804
003501/http://www.science.uwc.ac.za/
earthscience/Jaco/Yongxin-21.pdf)
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Misisi&oldid=1182027614"
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18:04 (UTC). •
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