Mwandi is a small town on the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

in the district of the same nameMposhi, K. Zambia: Administrative Division (Provinces and Districts) - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts. Citypopulation.de (2017). at https://www.citypopulation.de/php/zambia-admin.php of the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. The town is 120 km west of

Livingstone Livingstone may refer to: * Livingstone (name), a Scottish surname and a given name. **David Livingstone (1813–1873), Scottish physician, missionary and explorer, after whom many other Livingstones are named Places *Livingstone Falls, on the Con ...

, on the M10 Road to

Sesheke Sesheke is a border town in the Western Province of Zambia, in a district of the same name. It lies on the northern bank of the Zambezi River which forms the border with Namibia's Caprivi Strip at that point. The Katima Mulilo Bridge, comp ...

.MWANDI UCZ MISSION Area Info. Mwandi-mission.awardspace.com at The village is part of the region known as

Barotseland Barotseland ( Lozi: Mubuso Bulozi) is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of eastern and northern provinces of Zambia and the whole of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga Province. It is the homeland of the ...

. The town is the seat of a

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of the same name.

Etymology

Mwandi means "plenty of fish" in the Silozi language.Mwandi, Zambia - CMMB. CMMB (2017). at

Religion

The

United Church of Zambia The United Church in Zambia is the largest Protestant church in Zambia with coverage of all the ten provinces of the country The church formed on 16 January 1965, this is a result of the union of Church of Central Africa, Rhodesia (a mission work o ...

maintains a large mission at Mwandi. In addition, local traditional tribal beliefs continue to be practised.

Facilities

The hospital is the Mwandi Mission Hospital, which is listed as a Level 1 Hospital by the Zambian Ministry of Health.Ministry of Health (Zambia). 2012 List of Health Facilities in Zambia. (Ministry of Health of Zambia, 2013). The hospital is one of the village's largest employers. The village is close to the Shackleton Tiger Fishing Lodge, a popular tourist destination for fishing for

tigerfish Tigerfish can refer to fish from various families, and derives from official and colloquial associations of these with the tiger (''Panthera tigris''). However, the primary species designated by the name "tigerfish" are African and belong to the ...

named after

Robert Millner Shackleton Robert Millner Shackleton FRS (30 December 1909 – 3 May 2001) was a British field geologist who developed an interest in the geology of East Africa. He initiated structural studies across orogenic belts in Tanzania-Zambia-Malawi (in the late ...

Population

Approximately 8,000 people live in the village proper.Kamba, L. Mwandi Community : Mwandi Christian Hospital. Mwandimission.org (2017). at They are semi-nomadic cattle herders and fishermen. Infrastructure is poor, and electricity and clean water are not readily available, though recent development efforts have begun to change that. Most people live on less than $1.00 per day. The people are largely of the Lozi ethnicity, though there are also some people here of European descent. The area around the village includes anywhere from 25,000 to 33,000Magri, A. Mwandi village, the location of Home for AIDS Orphans. Homes4aidsorphans.com (2016). at people.

Culture

The village is a centre of traditional

Barotse Lozi people, or Barotse, are a southern African ethnic group who speak Lozi or Silozi, a Sotho–Tswana language. The Lozi people consist of more than 46 different ethnic groups and are primarily situated between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbab ...

culture, housing the Kuta council, which adjudicates disputes and legislates on issues related to the tribal people of Sesheke District.

Health

Mwandi, like all of Sesheke District, is in an area with a very high (>300/1000) incidence of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. As road infrastructure has improved,

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

has also spread to the village. The village is the site of a large health centre (the Mwandi Mission Hospital) which serves both its people, and the surrounding area. Average life expectancy as estimated by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

is 59 years.

Notable individuals from Mwandi

* Chief Inyambo Yeta IV of the Barotse Royal Establishment * Dan Van Zyl, co-director of the Home for AIDS Orphans, a registered

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

which provides a variety of services in Mwandi * Japudi (creature)Uncertain origin, at

References

{{reflist Populated places in Zambia