IT’S WORKING!
Usually when we’re here our schedule is along the lines of: wake up in the 6-7 o’clock hour depending on the previous day and evening, meditate, have breakfast, catch up on internet (email and blog), get ready for the day, and leave Castle Lodge in the 9-10 o’clock hour. Over time we’ve realized that if we don’t get some of that “taking care of the human” activity in before our day of engagement with the larger world begins, the humans get lost in the shuffle. After a few days the hardships inherent in being in an environment like this-- water, electricity, internet outages, food procurement, and plain old “very few things go as planned” nature of a less developed country--begin to take a huge toll.
However, it suddenly dawned on us a few days ago that our schedule keeps us from having a full and accurate picture of the project as it exists for the folks in Kantolomba. We have their word for how things go on a daily basis, but, in truth, that’s all we have. We’ve never seen the whole thing for ourselves. Marshalling all our willingness, we hatched a plan to leave Castle Lodge at 7am in the hope of arriving in time for the start of their day at the compound. All went well and we drove in as the first children began to straggle through the gate.
Well! Our mental pictures of how it all went were tame indeed in comparison to what we actually encountered. The teachers were positioned outside their classrooms ready to receive their little charges. The cooking team had huge pots of water boiling ready to receive staggering amounts of nshima destined to fill the hungry bellies of a few hundred souls, large and small. The men were preparing to walk to a nearby farm to cut saplings for the floor of the pit latrines. Charles, teacher for the older students, was on the sapling cutting crew so Theresa was pressed into service as substitute teacher for his classroom. The bricklayer and assistant were laying rows of bricks and arranging for the lumber and rebar for the rim beam (the final layer before the gable gets bricked in). The sewing team was cutting, ironing, and stitching away.
The entire compound was a beehive of activity.
The students arriving for class.
Getting hundreds of dishes ready for the day.
We challenge Theresa to balance the largest pot on her head.
Little Jen, who just turned three in April and is now eligible for the pre-school class, arrives for school.
Big Jen offers her sunglasses to try on.
The older pre-school students.
The oldest students.
Copying lessons from the board.
Little Jen comes up to learn her numbers.
Time to cook the next round of nchima; Jane takes a turn.
We take a quick break from cooking to see the progress on the hammermill building.
Class gets out and before lunch is served it is barely contained chaos. Mama Cheri entertains.
We couldn’t resist this smile!
Cheri with Marion, Josephine’s oldest daughter.
Cheri with Marion in 2007.
And a piece-de-resistance of cuteness as we leave the compound.