Thursday was our Celebration Day with the cooperative. The morning was spent doing errands, including getting ready for the afternoon activities.
First stop, the bank where we met Theresa and Martha to withdraw funds for the next stage of materials for the hammermill building (we are thrilled at the quick progress John and crew are making), and for the t-shirts that they will buy to go with the new uniforms. Once a year we purchase a new chitenge for each member of the cooperative and a t-shirt to go with it. They still have every uniform they have received over the years and they remain in remarkably good condition. Theresa had told us they had all voted on a white t-shirt this year and when we inquired about whether there would be an issue with keeping them clean she responded not at all, they love to compete and see who can keep their uniform the cleanest.
We asked Theresa if Martha enjoyed being the one to come with her to do the errands in town and she told us it is a great honor and that she has to be careful to rotate that duty to be sure everyone has a chance.
After securing all the provisions, drinks, cookies and new mugs—we discovered that they drink tea out of plastic cups and decided to get them each a mug to create at least one less health hazard--we had a quick lunch before going out to the property for the afternoon.
Arriving with our party supplies
Truly, this event is the highlight of the year for us. It has become a marker of our progress and a celebration of the increasing depth of our connection. It’s a party: singing and dancing, drumming, hugs, smiles-- an all around good time that transcends the Bemba/English divide. Sadly, though we have dozens of photos of the day, very few came out well. We’ve chosen the best ones but please know that one day you will have to come and see for yourself if you really want to experience this beautiful community we have here.
We had a special addition to the celebration this year. Jane saw the family portraits we took in May on the blog and having spent much time in Africa she knew how much it would mean to folks to have their family photo enlarged and framed. This she did and brought all 40 of them with her from London! It’s impossible to describe the thrill and delight with which each person received their gift.
First we distributed the snacks.
Cheri pours the juice into their shiny new mugs.
Family photos are given out.
Muyunda insisted on photographing each person holding their photo. Lest you mistake Martha’s serious looks for lack of enthusiasm, you must know that they always prefer to have their photo taken when they are not smiling.
Margaret.
Winter
Handing out the chitenge is the best part. This throws the festivities into high gear as everyone sings and each member dances to the front ceremoniously to receive their new uniform. Old traditions break down and new are formed as even the men dance forward.
Angela collecting her uniform.
Everyone gets a huge kick out of the men donning their chitenge, a tradition Winter started one year.
Lucy and Brenda were wild on the drums!
And the annual group photo. Don’t we look smart? We imagine you are starting to know the names as well as we are but here it is if you would like to have a cheat sheet: Top row, left to right: Theresa, Cheri, Susan, Charles, Jen, Ethel, Eugenia, Nelly, Young Foster, Muyunda, Martha, Peter, Agness, Beatrice, Margaret, Shadreck, Anna. Middle row: Winter (standing), Lucy, Foster, Josephine (leaning over), Priska, Bernadette, Angela. Front row: Joanne (standing in for her husband, Ruben), Regina, Beauty, Violet, Mabel, Brenda, Maureen, Sophiya. You may notice that the names are spelled differently with some regularity; we are merely attempting to keep up with the new spellings we’re given.