Sunday morning started with early blogging, then a walk to Michelangelo's to check email. The restaurant was closed, unfortunately, so we headed to the flat for coffee and conversation, then an early lunch.
After lunch, we taxied to Castle Lodge for a rendezvous with Theresa, Veronica, and the kids from the Living Compassion house. The kids look terrific and seem happy. They are obviously profiting from Theresa's loving care.
The children arriving at the guesthouse.
The younger ones are going to a new school now that maintains a much higher standard of education. Theresa says they are all learning quickly. The school requires all the students to speak only in English all the time. We could see the difference this has made immediately: the children joked even among themselves in English rather than in Bemba or in Lunda, their native language. After talking a bit, we broke out our computers to show them. The children took to the computers immediately, as children everywhere seem to do. While we coached them, they took turns typing out sentences in English.
Learning the computer.
Everyone got to write a sentence in English.
After cokes and cookies, we spread out for a wild game of Frisbee. After a while, Theresa, Jen, Cheri, and Dave broke off with Ken and Ann, the two oldest children in the house, to talk with them about the next steps they wished to take in their lives.
Frisbee with the kids.
Ann is finished with school. She has gone as far as the school system allows and is ready to choose a means of livelihood. She told us that she would like to learn the art of hairdressing. We readily agreed that this would be an excellent way for her to support herself, and we committed to sponsor her through the training program that will teach her this skill. Theresa will look for an appropriate trade school.
Ken is not yet ready to take that step. He is in grade eight. In one year he will take an important set of exams that will determine if he is eligible to continue schooling through high school, or if he will need to choose a trade at that time. He very much would like to continue his formal education, he told us. Unfortunately, he has been struggling in school ever since coming to Ndola. The younger children have adapted well, having still the flexibility of mind to absorb a new language (Bemba) quickly and easily. The older ones have had much more difficulty. They are being taught English and other subjects in a language they do not know. In addition, the school Ken has been attending does not offer the sort of attention that he needs to assist him in meeting this challenge. It occurred to us as we talked with him that we need to look around for another school, one like the younger children are enjoying. The next year will be important for Ken, and he will need all the help he can get.
Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by exclamations of concern from the other children. Tracey had taken a hard knock above the eye from a Frisbee and was bleeding. For the next few minutes we raced around, looking for ice and towels, while Tracey attempted to pull herself together. The blow had nearly knocked her out.
Attracted by the commotion, a young woman walked up, told us she is a nurse, and offered to help out. She was obviously American. Curious, we asked her about herself as she attended to Tracey. Her name is Carrie. She is from Boston, she told us, and had been living in Africa for four years. Currently, she works at a research institution down the road from Castle Lodge, a lab that is attempting to create a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. It was fun exchanging stories with her. Her adventures run parallel to ours, full of sketchy food, sketchier internet access, and taxis. After a while, Carrie's friend Katie joined us. Katie, from England, works with Carrie on the same research project. Katie borrowed some time from us on our satellite modem. We look forward to maintaining Carrie and Katie's acquaintance now and in future visits.
After our afternoon together at Castle Lodge, all that remained was to walk down the hill and into the city with Theresa, Veronica, and the kids, so that they could get transportation home. This was perhaps the most fun of all. While we walked, we talked informally amongst ourselves, getting to know each other better and enjoying just being together. For the Americans it was another opportunity to just be in Africa, attending to the special sounds and smells and sights of this place. We all said good-bye at the mini-bus station and headed separately to our homes, looking forward to another day.
Leaving the guesthouse to walk into town.