The end of the trip was a whirlwind of wrapping up details and getting ready for the big journey. Not much time to stop and blog. We hope this photo essay will give you the gist.
Eunice declared Tuesday "Eunice and Jen Day," and she and Gertrude took Jen everywhere she needed to go. Jen was dropped off at Theresa's house for a meeting, while Eunice and Gertrude went to shop at Masala Main market. Much to our surprise we met two ADORBABLE puppies Theresa has adopted! She got them for security reasons.
But there is no denying she has fallen in love with them!
On to Kantolomba where Eunice and Gertrude enjoyed a tour of the property. Eunice has been very impressed by the quality of the work in Kantolomba and is eager to help spread the word locally about this dedicated group of folks working to improve their own community.
As a first support of the cooperative, she brought some chitenge to order a skirt for herself.
Imagine her delight when they made 2/3 of the skirt right there while we were chatting!
We took some photos of the gals posing with a picture of a book of poems a high school student back in the United States has published to raise money for the project in Kantolomba. There is never a shortage of reasons for inspiration!
Jen fell down on the job of photo taking for the rest of our day, but the three gals, Eunice, Gertrude and Jen had a fabulous day eating lunch and completing errands while continually brainstorming all the ways we can work together to forward the Living Compassion endeavor. We feel very good about the LOCAL connections made on this trip that will further the sustainability of the project. Americans being interested is wonderful and essential; Zambians getting interested is the key to sustained success.
In the evening a local OB doctor and U.S. medical researcher came over to meet Jen and receive some forceps a U.S. donor had sent with us. They were THRILLED to see brand new instruments for delivering babies. The doctor was very interested in the project and eager to help as things progress. More local interest!