December 1, 2010

Dave and Michael flew from Johannesburg to Ndola Wednesday morning, and Brian shortly after. A bunch of folks from the Zambian team came to meet us at the airport. Yes, the connection that spans the Atlantic has narrowed to zero miles! Theresa, the director of the project here in Africa, team members Martha, Veronica and Martha (two Marthas), our dedicated driver and reporter Muyunda, and Friday had huge smiles and huge hugs for us. It felt truly like greeting old friends. Michael was amazed when Friday took his suitcase from him before they finished shaking hands!

 

 

We loaded up and drove to Castle Lodge, our Zambian home, to drop off our things. We had only a short while to get our baggage situated before it was time to head out to Kantolomba.

 

 

When we arrived in Kantolomba, the entire team was waiting for us. Meeting with these beautiful people was an exquisite experience for all three of us. How do they manage to have such big hearts and dazzling smiles here in this place where there is so much hunger and disease? What has moved them to say yes to the opportunity to serve as they do through the Living Compassion project in Kantolomba? And where did they learn such love? Every single member of the cooperative gave us hugs or handshakes, and afterwards, while we were all gathered, everyone began to sing. We did not understand the words, but we got their meaning: you are welcome here and you are part of our family.

 

 

 

After the celebration, Theresa treated everyone to a tour of the property. There is so much to see here now, and so much of it is new!

 

First we took a tour of the building. It is in its final stages after three years of work. It is the space where the team feeds kids, where classes are held, where Rose gives medical care to team members and their families, and where the girls’ program meets.

 

The first stop was the cooking and dining room. The team feeds the children in this space. They pass through in shifts since there are so many—400 total!

 

 

 

Next stop was the sewing room, where the project’s tailors create garments of all sorts. This is the cooperative’s first money-making business and their first step towards financial independence and sustainability. The ladies proudly showed off their new sewing machines, purchased during our last trip to Zambia using money from a generous grant that we received. We learned that the tailors now make all the clothes for the people in the cooperative, including the lovely dresses that the ladies wore who picked us up at the airport. 

 

 

The cooperative's most recent commission came from a group of supporters in San Diego. They had the idea to make aprons out of chitenge, the colorful fabrics that are traditional here in Zambia, to sell on Sangha Market as a fundraiser for the project.  We are to bring one hundred aprons back with us when we return to America next Thursday. When we stepped into the sewing room we found the tailors hard at work. 

 

 

There are three classrooms in the building, and we stopped in each. Each classroom has a home-made chalkboard, but little else at this point. The children sit on the floor. One of our projects on this trip is to set up the cooperative’s carpenters to begin making desks for all the classrooms.

 

 

 

 

From here, Theresa led us outside. The property is so beautiful now! Folks here have put a lot of care and attention into the appearance of the place, understanding how important it is that the physical environment that they live and work in represents the change that they're realizing for the people in Kantolomba.

 

The cooperative has also planted a number of fruit seedlings out by the entrance to the property. We observed that these baby trees are a perfect symbol of the entire program: we planted them because we care; they are babies in this world, just like the young children the project takes in and cares for; and we are committed to nourishing them so they can grow and flourish. 

 

 

The cooperative planted a flower garden recently, using plants donated by Rose, our nurse and the coordinator of the girls’ program. It's the first thing you pass when you come through the front gate, and it says, "Come on in and stay for a while."

 

The entire property has become a splendid manifestation of the care and attention that the cooperative brings on every level.

 

Next, everyone followed Theresa up to the hammermill building. This building will house a machine to grind maize into meal. This machine is a key part of the cooperative's plan to develop income. The other big piece is growing corn. There has already been great success on this front: last growing season the cooperative rented a lot of land and grew lots of corn! Besides providing income for the project, this program would benefit the people of Kantolomba by providing an accessible source of mealy-meal in manageable, affordable quantities-- two things that don't currently exist.

 

During the tour, Dave and some of the carpenters looked at the state of the plumbing fixtures. Afterwards we went around on a second plumbing-centered tour. 

 

 

As we walked around to look at the pipes behind the building, Brian made a friend.

 

 

Next we poked our heads into the tuck shop.

 

 

Our next stop was the recently built pit latrines. 

 

 

 

After our stop by the pit latrine, Brian and four of the men split off to take a soil sample. We hope to find out the composition of Kantolomba's soil to see if we can use it to make compressed earth blocks.

 

 

It was time to say goodbye for the day. On the way out of Kantolomba we ran into Francis, who is an electrician. We had made plans to contact him to work on the electrical, and we were able to make arrangements with him on the street.

 

 

We went into town for our first city adventure of the trip. To do: get on the Internet to tell US team we've arrived safely (we couldn't get online at Castle Lodge earlier), and scout the shop we'll get supplies for the plumbing projects from. 

 

 

 

After our errands we headed back to Castle Lodge for some well-earned rest. It was a long, but joyful, day!