On the drive out to Kantolomba this morning someone asked Theresa about the word “ubuntu” they had seen. What she shared inspired us all and set the tone beautifully for the day ahead. She told us that yes, she herself has a big heart, but that it is her vision for all of Kantolomba to be one big heart. And she can already see that one heart in action: people in the rest of Kantolomba see how the Living Compassion team is a close-knit community who support one another. When there is a loss in the community, as is all too common in this part of the world, the community gathers together for the funeral. They are there for one another. Theresa can see how the Living Compassion team is modeling living in one-ness for the rest of the community. And not only that, the Living Compassion team is modeling how to live in love and how to live as community, for people and projects all over the world.
Our conversation with Theresa was broadcast as a Good News Update on Tuesday, August 20. Listen to the podcast here!
When we arrive at the property, we learn that Joy is unwell and in need of medical care. Theresa goes with her to the central hospital in Ndola. With our pre-school English teacher out sick, Phil stepped up, said yes, and went over to the schoolroom to participate as a substitute teacher alongside Susan, Joy’s kind, patient, skillful teaching assistant and all-round hero.
Joy and the English pre-school students; beautiful smiles all round!
We met with Charles to talk more about offering an after-school English program to students in grades 7-12. The students are on summer vacation from school at the moment, and Charles told us how, every time they see him around the property, they ask him when they can start their classes with him again. We discovered we have a promising situation: Charles is very willing to teach, and the students are very willing to learn. Charles’ first goal is to support the students in grade 7 to improve their English so that they can pass their exams. They take 7-9 subjects (an impressive feat!) - and take all of their exams in English (an even more impressive feat!), and must pass the English exam to be able to move on to the next grade.
Charles and Anna talk about possibilities for offering English to the group of older students
Intent on keeping our commitment to our blog readers (and ourselves!), we went back over to the carpenters’ corner to get a good photo of their craftspersonship - the bed frames they have been working on to sell in the local community.
So you can delight in the different shades and textures of wood in the beautiful Kantolomba morning light, as we did!
While we were taking the photo, a group of new friends came over and were trying to express their bafflement - we project - at why we would be interested in taking a photograph of a bed frame when we could be taking a photo of THEM!
“Seka!” (“Smile!” in Bemba). Our photo session begins...Here are (left to right) Fred, Elijah (twins), Eva, Dave, Enoch (also twins)
We had a raucous good time with our photo session. The children roared with laughter when they saw the photos of themselves on the digital camera screen, and picked out things in the surrounding landscape for us to take photos of: a tree! a chicken! the school! They repeated after us in English (we used the opportunity to get in a spontaneous English lesson, too!).
How about take our photo by the fence?!
Now by the bed!
Here are our friends “sleeping” by the bed frame.
Putting the finishing touches on the bed frame before it goes out for delivery to the customer.
A good deal! The frames get delivered by hand to customers anywhere in Kantolomba (only minutes, literally, after completion).
You need to hire a van if you want to have the frame delivered outside of Kantolomba, as some customers have done. Theresa explained that customers find out about the bed frames by word-of-mouth, or by seeing the high quality work pass by them in person as it is carried through Kantolomba to be delivered!
We got to have a direct experience of how not all students in Kantolomba are as fortunate and supported in their learning as those who study with Charles and Joy. We were talking to Naomi, who is thirteen and in grade 7, and found out that she does not know how to read. It is sobering, and humbling, to think of her making the best efforts she can to do well in school without having this basic skill. Veronica was able to offer some insight into the situation in the local schools: they have huge classes (sometimes 60-80 students), the teachers are overwhelmed, and the students do not receive the support they need to learn to read, and it is possible for no one to notice that they are not reading. Veronica told us about her own experience - and it is one that we keep hearing - that Veronica’s mother taught her to read, that Veronica taught her son to read, and that if it is left to the schools to teach the students to read, it does not always happen. We are committed to offering as much assistance as we can to these young women. We have sent out word for them to meet with us on Wednesday so we can talk about getting some support in place for reading skills training.
“Do you want to learn how to read?”
“Yes”
“Are you willing to work hard?”
“Yes”
Jen works with Naomi, guiding her through the simple sentences at the beginning of this storybook and encouraging her to repeat them. We could hear that Naomi was really catching on after a few rounds through.
Twaibu (who has been featured in every trip blog since we have been writing!) announced that he could read, and so we put him to the test. He passed with flying colors.
While we are going to be here for just two weeks—and could easily want to be here for a whole year to work with these amazing young people—we are focusing attention on how inspiration can ignite in just a short time and spread. Theresa’s experience is a perfect example: she was talking to us today about how her passion for learning English came from a teacher she had for a short time when she was young, an American nun named Mrs. Cox. Theresa would imitate Mrs. Cox’s pronunciation and would gather her family around to read to them in English. Mrs. Cox caught her doing this one day, and gave her great encouragement and support. She encouraged Theresa to read everything in English she could get her hands on. And Theresa did.
Spreading Inspiration: This board features a wonderful quote Theresa said she thought up and posted. It fits beautifully with one of the themes that has been emerging and seems to be at the center of this trip—we have to want it. The Buddha’s teaching—we must each work out our own salvation diligently—applies everywhere. It is the students who really WANT to learn that we are reaching out to. We can all support each other like crazy and, in the end, it is up to each of us to decide where we want to go and how we want to get there.
Over in the sewing room we are thrilled that Pantolomba production is already underway!
Chitenge waiting to be cut and sewn into Pantolombas.
Mr Phiri the tailor takes the measurements from a pair of Pantolombas so that he can learn the design and replicate it. Beatrice (knitting a headband in Zambian national colors) and Veronica look on.
By the end of the morning, Mr Phiri has deftly sewn together the first sample pair of the new Pantolombas! Aren’t they beautiful?
From the doorway of the sewing room, we see Phil, Susan and the pre-school children coming out of the schoolroom and making their way to lunch.
The children line up and follow instructions in English to “wash your hands”!
And now the good part!
Here’s a mini-gallery of some of the other children having lunch: a joy to watch their skillful coordination as they mold their nshima with their hands.
After lunch, the pre-school children return re-fueled to the classroom with Phil and Susan
A little post lunch goofiness.
We get to hear the children speak to each other in English:
What is your name?
What is your mother’s name? What is your father’s name?
Where are you going?
What color are your shoes?
It is a jaw-dropping delight to hear how much they can say, testament to the work the pre-school English team is doing: Joy, Susan, and Phil. Joy and Phil have been in weekly contact since the program was launched last year.
As the Living Compassion team sits down to have lunch, we take out a computer and follow up on our encouragement from the meeting on Saturday for the team to begin using the internet as a tool of learning. We encounter technical difficulties, and so it is an excellent workshop in modeling patience and perseverance when technical challenges arise! We will continue to persevere with the internet connection so that we can have a workshop in actually using the internet, too!
“Let’s google Veronica Lungu...”
A few more shots give a further window into our day:
This is the first cast we have ever seen in Kantolomba. This girl told us she fell from a papaya tree. She was excited that her cast is due off on Wednesday!
Without meaning to, we got this beautiful photo of Regina, which has a perfect view of her healthy ankle! Avid blog readers will remember that this right ankle was the one with a 3” diameter, incredibly deep wound when we first met her over six years ago. It had become life threatening. Through the help of Theresa and team, she went every day to the clinic in town to have it cleaned and re-dressed. She survived and is now a veteran member of the cooperative.
As the afternoon winds down the women take up their knitting. Another day well spent for the whole team. More tomorrow…