Joyful hearts as we set off for the last day in Kantolomba.
We were spotted upon arrival!
Bruce caught up with us in a matter of seconds!
The second Good News recording, completed early this morning, was the last strategic item on the list. It meant a day of just pure participation—heaven!
It is heartwarming to know that, as we fly out tomorrow, all these same activities will be happening here at Living Compassion.
Dancing with Joy (double meaning intended) and her students.
Reading in the library.
Elizabeth, Veronica’s youngest. As we alluded to a few days ago, Elizabeth had so far refused to attend school. The novelty of our visit had enticed her to check it out, and she has been coming ever since!
Veronica helping one of the very few lefties in the crowd to learn to hold his pencil.
Pauline and Martha tending the garden.
Regina’s daughter, Malita, came to get water for their home, and mom and daughter agreed to pose for a photo.
Wednesday is beans day, which makes Tuesday beans sorting day. Joanne gets started.
After the first lunch shift, the youngest children set off with leftovers in tow (or, in this case, on head).
As the government school children started arriving, Veronica was tickled to greet Aaron, one of her former preschoolers, now in grade 1. She said he and his sister are both “VERY clever.”
Veronica with brother/sister team: Aaron and Esnat.
Late morning, a group of us walked to the graveyard. We wanted to visit the burial sites of Mable and Sophia, members of the cooperative who died in the last year.
Regina returning from seeking permission from the graveyard caretaker for us to enter.
Visiting with Mable.
Mable’s grave-marker.
With Sophia.
As we were walking back to the property, Theresa translated the song they had sung at both graves. “It means, ‘We have been together. We have been together eating and working and praying… and now you have gone.’”
It is a difficult reality that, while Living Compassion has made a tremendous difference with the causes of child mortality, HIV makes many adults extremely vulnerable to the numerous, prevalent health threats.
Back at the property, word had gotten around that we have been asking about the first 100 children. A number of them approached to greet us and we got some great portraits!
Alfred Mwansa
Brenda called out from across the yard, “Jen, my baby, Monica, now grade 8,” great pride in her voice!
Monica Chipili, Brenda’s oldest daughter.
Gome Sichilineti
Edna Chongo
Cosmos Mwenya, one of Mable’s three sons, now cared for by Monica, Mable’s sister, who is now part of the team.
Gift Mumba
Agness Kabwe
Theresa poses with Sylvia Chanda.
Ichipiyanga. A broom. We have always been taken by the beauty of the handmade brooms used for cleaning at the property. Regina knows the local artisan who makes them and was able to get one for us. Twatotella!
It was so fun to walk into the large hall where the computers were set up and see Peter taking a turn with the typing program. There is clearly a new level of interest in computers. Peter is among a number of the team that has their set of tasks and tend not to be very involved in the education part of the program. Apparently, he had seen the action in the last few days and asked Joy if he could try it out! Yea! It is precisely the way we hope these opportunities will spread—they are presented, people who wish to learn are trained, and others start to notice and ask to join.
A group of students back in the U.S. wrote letters to some of the Living Compassion children (grades 1 and 5). We shared the letters with these classes and the children wrote responses. This afternoon, as we were putting those responses in an envelope to bring back, several older children, who were leaving after their lunch and typing, asked to see them. They decided to write a few more responses.
Writing responses to the letters from U.S. students.
The children in the U.S. had asked about ichiyenga, a popular local game played with stones. Veronica wanted us to take a photo of the children playing the game to print and send along with the letters back to the U.S. students.
It took us 5 tries to get a shot with one of the rocks in the air!
Oh, this is both the hard part and the celebration!!
It was time to go, not just for the day but to say goodbye after another fabulous trip.
We are never sure how it happens, as we don’t see anyone stand up and gather folks, but at a certain point everyone starts migrating to the veranda—in from the garden, in from preparing tomorrow’s beans, in from scrubbing pots, in from the library, in from classrooms, in from the computer room, in from the tuck shop, in from digging drainage ditches…. For a few lovely moments the far corners of the property are still as we all assemble from our various tasks to acknowledge the accomplishments—all we are participating in together.
The team sings a beautiful goodbye song.
As we transitioned from celebration to goodbye, the mood was a bit sad, but only for a moment. Then Joanne waved and shouted a big “Hello to Mama Cheri!” and everyone wanted in on the action. We all had a big laugh.
Hello, Mama Cheri!!
Thank you to the whole team in Kantolomba who carries out this inspiring transformation day in and day out.
And thank you to all of you who participate in the countless ways you do.
It is an honor and privilege to facilitate the bridge between our teams, separated by an ocean but one in our hearts!
Twatotella!