We all made it back to the U.S. safe and sound. So very much has happened since we wrote the last blog from Zambia.
We intended to spend Saturday–our last full day in Ndola–partly in Kantolomba, partly with the children in the house saying our goodbyes, a bit with Steve drawing up a contract for the community center construction, and partly in a quick wrap-up meeting with Godfrey. Alas, life had a different plan. On our way out to Kantolomba we received a call from Steve saying he was in his office and could go through the contract with us now if we wanted. Sure, we figured, why not just get that out of the way. Mere minutes into our meeting we were poignantly aware of our naivete. We spent the next four hours with Steve, Gaudencia and Wom (Gaudencia's husband and business partner) creating a concise yet thorough contract line-by-line. We all felt gratified at the end, but needless to say we missed our opportunity to go out to Kantolomba. We made Theresa promise she would say our goodbyes to the women and tell them we so look forward to our return in July. She assured us the women would understand.
Cheri signing the contract.
Then Gaudenacia.
Next Steve,
And Finally Theresa signs as a witness to make it official.
We left the contract meeting with only enough time to grab a quick bite to eat, and then make it to our appointment with Godfrey. As expected we finished our business with Godfrey very quickly, but it is the unexpected that always catches us. In transferring the last of the blogs, Godfrey discovered that most of our flash drives were infected with a virus. He suspected that our laptops might have been infected as well. We figured since our day was already so far outside the plan that another couple hours working to clear viruses couldn't hurt. Godfrey patiently walked through each of our flash drives and computers to clear things out. Have we mentioned he is a Saint?
Jen gives Godfrey moral support as he works on our computers.
Dave and Jen set off to say goodbye to the children in the house, leaving Cheri with Godfrey to finish the virus clean-up. It was a pleasure, as always, to see the children, and we had a great game of Frisbee. We are encouraging the children to speak English, explaining that it is a big part of their ticket to opportunity, so we played a Frisbee-English game. You had to say an English word, any word, each time you threw the Frisbee. Everyone was a bit shy at first, but a few minutes into it they were belting it out: house... car...apple...banana...
Ken gets ready for the game.
Yeta sends it flying.
Even "Auntie B" (as the children call Theresa) gets in on the action!
Finita, Womba, Stippo demonstrating a hand clapping game.
As dusk approached we said our goodbyes and told the children we would see them when we come again in July. It is fun to realize we will be there again so soon!
We got home in time to have the only dinner any of us had the energy to prepare: cereal.
Our traditional group shot in front of the house.
Sunday, our last day in Ndola, was a whirlwind of packing, tying up communication with the local team, and saying our final goodbyes. After we checked our bags, paid our exit tax, and cleared immigration, we sat in the departure lounge of the tiny Ndola airport waiting for our flight.
Suddenly everything was quiet. We had left our Zambian cell phone with Theresa so there were no more calls, no more meetings to race to, no more loose ends to tie up. Anything that wasn't attended to would wait until July. We could see, beyond the small ERJ airplane we were about to board, an exquisite African sky--sharp blue dotted with perfectly formed, white clouds. We looked at each other and smiled, "Way to go, team."
Looking out the airport window.
We say it at the end of every blog I think, but truly, this was a miraculous trip. We joked on the way over to Zambia this time that if we were able to accomplish even 25% of what we were hoping to in any one of the four main areas on our list, we would count ourselves a success. Instead we are feeling like we completed nearly all of it. There is a first-ever source of clean water in Kantolomba. The electricity is being installed on the new property as we speak. The blueprints for the community center are complete. The contractor is breaking ground this Saturday! (and she is a woman!!) Our relationships with our colleagues in Zambia deepened many-fold, including meeting several key officials in Ndola. We have people both in Zambia and here in the U.S. poised to make the medical center a reality once the building is complete. And, perhaps most important, we are so very grateful for the Sangha, the worldwide community of people, who are the engine behind all of this--you. It is the interest, participation, and energy that all of you bring to this that makes it possible. Thank you.
Stay tuned as we hope to continue being able to give regular updates even when we are not on the ground in Ndola. Theresa and Godfrey are working together to create a system for us to be able to receive photos and text that we can pass along to all of you. Barring that, know that we will be back online with the blog when we arrive in Ndola in early July. Ichibote (the bemba word for peace) for now.
Gassho,
The Africa Team