The sun was shining this morning in Ndola for the first time this week, making the lush landscaping at Castle Lodge and around the neighborhood even more beautiful.
The first item on the day's plan was a visit to Northrise University, a relatively new school of higher education in Ndola. We met Moffat Zimba, the man who founded and now directs the school, a warm, quite, charming man who spent a number of years studying in the United States and earning degrees in theology before returning to his country.
It was a comfortable and informative conversation in which we learned about a number of projects started by Northrise graduates in local communities like Kantolomba, and created the possibility of future collaboration in Kantolomba with Moffat Zimba and his students.
Next was a stop at a fabric store for more cloth to use in the sewing projects.
Cheri and Jen choosing fabric at the Commercial Trading Company
Then on to Pantry Pride for groceries and to AquaVita to resupply our bottled water before going back to Castle Lodge for a quick lunch. The afternoon's schedule began with a meeting with Chipo, a young man who is interested in assisting in Kantolomba. He is a bright, capable-seeming person who had studied dental hygiene and now holds certificates that qualify him to do basic dental work including cleaning teeth, repairing simple cavities and teaching oral hygiene. We will be talking with him again on this trip to explore exactly how he might contribute in Kantolomba.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to a meeting with Theresa and all of the English-speaking members of the Kantolomba Cooperative: Nellie, Georgina, Josephine, Charles, Beatrice and Veronica.
Jen in the foreground, then Theresa, Josephine (out of view), Nellie, Beatrice, Georgina, Charles, Veronica and Cheri
These are the people who are seen as leaders in the community, and they were invited to continue the conversation that had begun in Kantolomba on Monday, which had revealed some serious misunderstandings between the Kantolomba and US Living Compassion teams. It was a long and, at times, difficult meeting and will be continued this week and into the future to assure that the people in the cooperative and all of the US team are in alignment on the direction, goals, and the "how" of the work we are all doing. [See "Cheri's Blog."]
It was late afternoon when the meeting drew to a close. The Kantolombans left while there was still plenty of daylight for their minibus trip back to the community. We ordered an early supper at the Lodge and welcomed the relative quiet of the evening and a night's rest before the next busy day.
Saying goodbye before the trip back to Kantolomba