Macha, Choma District, Southern Province, Zambia

Macha is one of the chiefdoms in Zambia's Southern province in Choma district. It is 72 kilometers away from the main town, which takes more then two hours driving on dirty, bumpy roads. Roads can become impassable, especially during the rainy season. The area around Macha is mainly occupied by the Tonga people. These people practice both arable and pastoral farming on small scale basis.

Up to 2004, basically Macha was regarded as an inferior place where nothing was expected to happen. Major activities only took place in the first part of the 20th century, at which time the Brethren In Christ Church established its mission station at Macha. In that period the church, the hospital, and a few schools were built. Also houses were build to house – mainly international – personnel at that time. After this initial period developments and consecutive progress scaled down to a mere trickle. Hope dwindled, and no further development was anticipated, although the community kept on longing for access to new facilities which could enhance their standard of living, fueled by information about developments in towns or world wide.