THE Bishop of Taunton is enjoying a two-week visit to Zambia checking out an aid mission.

The Rt Rev Ruth Worsley has visited Kapyanga West, in Lusaka, and spent time with women in the village, sharing food and hearing their stories.

She also met Send a Cow project facilitator Caleb Mwambela, who is helping to provide training in nutrition, hygiene and agriculture to 4,800 households in the area.

Bishop Ruth and the Rt Rev Peter Hancock, Bishop of Bath and Wells, are travelling with a group of 30 parish representatives from across Somerset to celebrate 40 years of the link between the Diocese of Bath and Wells and the five Anglican dioceses of Zambia.

Bishop Ruth said: “The key is starting with what people already have and helping them to develop, which is at the very heart of Send a Cow’s approach.

“Caleb has shown the women how to build stoves and drying racks to keep clean pans from the animals, use tip taps for washing after using the basic toilet, gardening in maize sacks and chicken and goat rearing.

“A sense of pride is being restored within these communities and these women and we experienced such wonderful hospitality and generosity. We were sent off with gifts of gourds, maize, bananas and a leg of fresh goat.”

Paul Stuart, Send a Cow chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have Bishop Ruth visiting our work in Zambia during her visit to the country.

"To have a Bishop from the Diocese of Bath and Wells, an area where many of our supporters reside and where our UK office has always been based, seeing our work on the ground first-hand is really exciting.

"It provides a direct link between the support we receive from the Bath community and the impact that it has on families in Africa.

“Working with communities for up to five years, Send a Cow provides vital training, seeds and tools which enable families to grow enough food to feed themselves and lift themselves out of poverty.

"It’s an approach which we know works and which I’m thrilled that Bishop Ruth has seen it for herself.’’