The first official activity this morning was a meeting with two women, Chongo and Kateule ("call me Kate," she suggested), sisters and both Zambian lawyers. We have been scouting around for someone who knows Zambian law well, and Kate was recommended by our Castle Lodge friend Eunice. We had a very interesting conversation with them, and agreed to have Kate do some preliminary research about possible legal structures for the team in Kantolomba. It came to our attention earlier in this visit that there may be legal conventions in Zambia that could have an impact on our work there; so it will be helpful to have someone versed in Zambian law as a resource.
The lawyers, Chongo on the left, Kate on the right
Eunice's fluffy butterball of a dog, Nala, coming to the lawyer's meeting
Just after our meeting, Friday arrived to take us to Kantolomba.
A typical Ndola street on the way to Kantolomba
A billboard on the outskirts of Ndola
All the children were excited to see us, and especially to have their pictures taken and then to be able to see the photos.
Some of the captivating children of Kantolomba
We wanted to walk around the compound with Friday to get a sense of where the electricity, water and other building projects are and what the next steps will be in each of those areas.
Friday, Cheri and Jen inspecting some of the plumbing at the building
The hammermill building; vents at the back are to allow air to circulate
Walking from the hammermill building, a view of Brenda's house, one of the buildings that received a new roof.
After touring the building projects, we adjourned to one of the big rooms where straw mats had been laid out. On the way to lunch we saw Veronica with her baby Elizabeth, and standing near Veronica her 16 year old daughter Mercy, holding her new baby, Veronica's grand daughter.
Veronica with Elizabeth
Veronica's daughter Mercy, with her daughter Baby Veronica
The cooperative members had their traditional meal of nchima, beans and a peanut-based sauce, while we, the "musungus" settled for veggie sausage, cheese, and bread that we had packed at Castle Lodge. Once everyone had finished eating we resumed the conversation about how the cooperative is going to become self-sustaining in the long run. There was a sense of optimism in the air that had been lacking the day before, with the cooperative members participating in the discussion and an excitement about possibilities beginning to emerge.
Finishing lunch and beginning to talk about next steps in the Project
As the conversation drew to a close, we could hear the children outside, and little faces began to appear at the windows. There was a ceremony approaching, and everyone was ready: prizes were to be given to the two best students - one boy and one girl - in each of the younger and older groups of students.
Queen, the best youngest student choosing a blue pen as her prize
James, the best youngest boy student
Mercy, the best girl student in the older group
Philip, the best boy student in the older group
And the last prizes given were to the best workers: Violet, who has not missed a single day of work, and Winter, who was voted the hardest working man.
We said our goodbyes for the day and drove out the gate and down the very, very bumpy road toward Ndola. Looking back, we appreciated the view of the building and the gorgeous Zambian sky.
View of the buildings and magnificent sky.