And so it is here, the last day of a great trip.
When we got to the property the sewing team was putting the finishing touches on the last blankets. Turns out they will far exceed the hope of 70 completed blankets. We shall get a final count at day’s end.
Brenda and Sophiya folding the finished blankets.
Jasmine had them put filler in the last ten blankets, to create a quilt feel. They turned out beautifully and we are certain you would all buy an adult-sized one for your bed - if only we could figure a way to get them back to the U.S.!!
Not a great photo but it does give a feel for the quilt blankets.
Eugenia laying out the top for a quilt, and Nelly quite pleased with a finished product.
We are always working to find new and fun products. This skirt was close but not quite. We shall keep at it.
Jen tries on a skirt they created as an experiment.
BUT, here is one product that IS working and will be available on Sangha Market before long (our next Zambia trip is early December and the team will pick up the product then so it will be on hand in time for the holidays!)—these fabulous aprons.
Nelly and Ethel show off the latest product.
Meanwhile, some of the older students were working on an art project with Duncan, Beatrice’s husband, young Duncan’s father. Duncan told us he would love to have us bring “fairytale” books next time we come as he really likes the illustrations and feels the vocabulary is good for his children to learn. He and Jen talked about how one difficulty with bringing books from the U.S. is that they are written for a U.S. audience. From the smallest detail - such as getting on a school bus to go to school - the books are filled with things children in Zambia cannot relate to. There is still great value in the children here reading the books, but we did talk about how fun it would be to write some Zambian children’s books. We told Duncan we will follow up on that idea next time we come.
A group art project.
It’s fun to see the children doing things that are a treat for them, and to realize they are things many children in the U.S. take for granted.
Also on the agenda for the last day was to visit the two most recent roof loan sites. Ethel and Mabel are the recipients. Neither woman has ever had her own home. Most recently Mabel has lived in one of the houses on the Living Compassion property and Ethel has lived with her mother. Both have been eager for a place of their own. Ethel is using the loan to build a simple brick home and put on a proper roof.
The field trip to Ethel and Mabel’s new homes.
Ethel’s son working on their new home.
Ethel, her son, and the bricklayer.
Mabel is buying an existing home and putting on a new roof. Roofs are by far the most costly part of a home in Kantolomba. The bricks are made with local mud and can be made by oneself or bought for very little Kwacha. Roofing sheets, the only thing that keeps the bricks from turning into mud when the rains begin, are very costly. Having a good, solid roof on one’s home is everything here—it is peace of mind and the beginning of a family being able to be truly sustainable. Without it, families endure the endless loop of losing a home and having to scrape together precious funds to build a new structure. Infinite gratitude to our roof donors!!
Mabel with her son, Cosmos, who is in the Living Compassion program.
Without the new roof soon to be added, this home would surely be amongst those lost in the next rainy season.
Back to the property to finish meeting with the various teams. We had the scholarship team and reporting team meetings still to do. It has been a fun process, talking with each team about what they hope to accomplish in the next six months. It was especially fun to check in with the scholarship team and hear about all they are doing. They go to every government school in the area that children from our program attend—about 10 different schools. Each month they meet with the school head and teachers to find out how our children are doing. A big job! They said they hear over and over that our children are the top students in the classes. We are certain this is due to the solid foundation they get in our preschool, as well as to the adequate nutrition and extra attention they receive by being part of the program.
Three of the scholarship team: Bernadette, Regina, Priska.
Theresa and Jen finished up their last business meeting, including finalizing a weekly schedule that will be posted for all to see, and some of the goals created for the cooperative.
Theresa with a solar light we brought from the U.S. There are three that will be awarded to the top scholars—a prized possession that will allow for night time study in homes that have no electricity.
The weekly schedule.
It was fun to see that everyone took an immediate interest in the finished product. Those who can read and speak English translated for those who cannot.
Reading through the new weekly schedule and cooperative goals.
So, drum roll, please… at the end of the day, the count was done and the sewing cooperative had made 96 baby blankets! Bravo!!
Jasmine working out the bill with the team.
Brenda and Pauline stuffing them into the suitcase for the ride back to Canada.
And then it was time for goodbye. It has been an outstanding trip on every count. We are deeply grateful for everyone on both sides of the large geographic distance we span—this project has become a family indeed! Please plan to join us in person at the Bridge Walk (or in spirit, by ordering yourself a fabulous t-shirt) to celebrate this transformation.
The team bids us farewell.
Our Castle Lodge family provides you with your last clue—just in time.
Deep Gassho (a greeting that translates “my heart and your heart are one”—truly appropriate) until next time!