Hard to believe today was our first business day here—feels like we’ve been here a week! It was a huge day out at the property in Kantolomba and we have three or four cameras clicking at any given time (several of the team here have become quite proficient reporters!) so we shall rely heavily on the photos to tell the story.
Phil joined Beatrice’s class as soon as we arrived. Phil has done a great deal of work to prepare a curriculum for our English pilot program for 3 and 4 year olds and she was eager to see how the existing classrooms at Living Compassion are run.
The program is primarily a food program and our classrooms are for the youngest children who are not yet in grade one. Once they are old enough to go to school the students go to government school and return to us for lunch each day.
Theresa tells us that without exception the teachers in the government schools report that the children who come from Living Compassion are by far the most prepared when the enter grade one. This is due to the committed efforts of the women in the cooperative who teach the young ones.
Beatrice’s class
Beatrice at the chalkboard
Meanwhile, outside, Jen and Theresa were busy greetings the parents who had brought their children to enroll in the pilot program. It worked brilliantly to send word around the community about the program, inviting interested parents to come on Monday. There were a handful of mostly moms, a couple dads, who were there first thing Monday and the very fact that they made it top priority to be there demonstrated the commitment we were looking for. By noon we had more than the number we needed!
Theresa organizing the process
Jen taking down names of moms and children
Gift Chamanda, age 3, was our first candidate. Who could resist?
And then his shoes!!!
Gift’s younger sister waiting patiently on her mom’s lap.
Next candidate: Deborah Bwalya, also 3.
Naomi, who has quickly found a special place in our hearts (good thing there seems to be an endless number of special places in our hearts!) is already in the Living Compassion program and is a bit old for this pilot project.
But Deborah, 3, is now just the right age!! You might go back to the blog archives from the summer of 2009 and see pictures of her when she was tiny and we were so taken with her animated faces!
And while all of this was happening others on the team were over working on the surrounding area of the classroom for the new program (good thing we have so many photographers!).
The program is an experiment to see if starting children with English very young, 3 and 4 years old, and immersing them for 5-6 hours every day, will essentially allow them to be bi-lingual—as comfortable in English as they are in their native Bemba. This would exponentially increase their chances of succeeding in their future schooling as well as have them be ambassadors of English throughout the community.
The men working on the fence. And this is no ordinary fence. This is a magic fence. When you step inside this fence you step into the ability to speak English!! You step into the English-only zone. We are playing with fun ideas such as donning a finger puppet once you enter to remind you to access the part of you who DOES know how and loves to speak English. An English-speaking subpersonality! Ah, the practical applications of practice.
Pascal using a handmade tool to create a flat spot on the plank to affix to a post.
Just as we went to photograph Pascal and Charles working together they walked in opposite directions and, we thought, made quite an interesting photo.
One side of the completed fence.
Here the women are headed to fetch more bucket-loads of water to continue transforming the dirt area into a play yard
It is already looking far more inviting.
And soon it will look like the other parts of the Living Compassion property that not so long ago were also just dirt. Beautiful!
Inside, a ton of scrubbing revealed that there was once a layer of concrete on the floor. We thought it was a dirt floor but it is actually quite smooth. We have reed mats to put down and it is going to work perfectly.
Back in the existing preschool rooms it was time for lunch
And play!!
Jen and Theresa got to spend some time with Charles’s students. Charles teaches the older students who do not attend government school. Their parents do not have the funds or have pulled them out if they are not doing well and do not want to pay the fees or for some, they simply do not have any adult in their life who can or will pay for the small tuition required to attend.
Jen records a conversation with the students
Theresa shows off a fabulous bag handmade by one of the girls who also attends Rose’s Girls’ program. These bags are cleverly made from old maize sacks that they stitch a beautiful pattern onto and sew it into a bag. Yes, watch for these on Sangha Market!
Then, before we ate our lunch we were treated to a visit from the second of the Living Compassion baby boys to be born in the last 3 months (3 new baby boys in 3 months amongst the cooperative members!). A baby being born is always a miracle and even more so somewhere like Kantolomba AND two of these little guys beat some extraordinary odds.
One of them is this adorable bundle, Emmanuel. He was born one month ago to his mom who found out only one month before that that she is HIV positive. Her husband refused to accept it and would not allow her to be treated. She got very sick with a cough and people were extremely concerned for her health and that of the unborn baby. Soon she was able to get proper care and Emmanual was born healthy and received the needed medicines to prevent transmission. So far so good. We shall tell you the story of our other baby when we meet him later this week.
And now here are just some other great shots from the day.
One young girl we saw was preparing to press her uniform before going to school. She heated coal and put it in the iron. Hard to imagine any child in the United States willing to iron their clothes before school let alone if it took this much effort!
A group homework session at the Living Compassion property
Remember Twaibu??
And Regina? They are barely kids anymore! We are going to follow up with many of the first 100 children (both Twaibu and Regina are among that crew) so more soon…
Enjoying the end of the day together.
Fun shot!
And, back at Castle Lodge in the evening, it wouldn’t be a trip to Zambia without the occasional power outage. Turns out the power company is going through another shortage so they systematically (ish) cut power to each neighborhood on certain days at certain times each week. Looks like we will be in the dark Saturday, Monday and Wednesday evenings. All good practice.