July 2, 2011 Blog
There was excitement in the air today as we arrived at the property for the big work day. The cooperative members arrived early, at "7 hours" (7:00am), and had already started painting. We arrived at 8:30 hours with Muyunda. Transportation (here everyone just says "transport") is something we always have to plan for. Very few people own their own cars. This week, we have been using Martha's (our accountant) car, and she has had use of her employer's company vehicle. But since it's the weekend and she needs her car, we rely on Muyunda to arrange a taxi for us. The National Trade Show is in town so taxis are in higher demand. Lucky for us, Muyunda has many taxi-driver friends he can call. He and his friend came to pick us up at Castle Lodge. Having to constantly consider how we will find transport requires giving attention to something many of us in the United States don't have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
The jobs at hand today are painting and sewing. It is a beautiful, warm, spring-like Zambian winter day, so the sewing machines are moved outside while the sewing room is being painted. Today the sewing ladies get to work alfresco!
The painting started early this morning.
Sewing in the sunshine!
Muyunda trades his camera for a paintbrush for awhile today!
This barrel serves as a ladder to reach the high spots.
There are several painting crews underway. One is working in the main room, one is in the building our nurse, Rose, will use for individual consultations, and one is working on the sewing room. The team members using the paint rollers have found sticks that fit nicely in the roller handles so that they can reach the high places. How utterly practical and economical; no fitted, expensive handles needed here!
Reaching the tops of the walls with custom-fit branches.
Painting the sewing room.
Beauty balances paint, making it convenient for Estella to reach the bucket.
Peter has great balance!
The groups seem to naturally form themselves into working teams. Some folks have paint brushes (there aren't enough brushes for everyone to have one), some keep the paint pans filled and near the painters, and some have rags, water buckets, and brooms to clean up drips and spills that happen along the way. There seems to be no discussion or vying for one job over another - just everyone picking up a task and fitting into the larger activity. From a Westerner's perspective, it appears there is a lack of individual preference or ego "seeking better accommodations," but rather there is simply a communal focus.
Crews gather in the Main Room to divide the paint before going to their painting location.
Charles and Lucy are painting buddies.
Pauline, Sophiya and Bennendetta use rags to clean as we go.
Pauline is part of the cleaning crew. Members of the cooperative each brought rags from home to use today.
Eugenia and Estella are another pair of painting buddies.
Margaret is attentive to Rebecca keeping the paint tray close-by and conveniently reached.
Within 10 minutes of everyone working, the music begins. Agnes starts singing a capella and the others readily join in. It is hard to describe the beauty and calming nature of the singing. Imagine this: a person is working along and the option arises to listen to the voices of conditioning commenting on how well (or not) you are painting OR to give one's attention to the voices of the community singing in harmony, rhythm, and joy. There really is no contest!
The songs are sung in Bemba, so we English-only speakers miss much of the content. But here is one of the songs loosely translated:
"We see the work you are doing, (insert name), we see the difference you are making. We see the paint. We see the roof. We see the buildings. (insert name) we see the work you are doing."
We hear the names, "Rebecca," "Jenny," and even though she isn't here in person, "Cheri" sung out again and again. We also hear, "Agnes," "Veronica," and other co-op members being named. Where conditioning would offer judgment while we work, this community offers kind recognition.
We are painting to music. Here Martha leads the singing.
Pascal keeps the paint stirred. It is a common practice here to add water to the paint to make it go farther. We discovered it required fewer coats to leave it the original consistency.
It is a joy to participate and work as a team!
There is no room for self-hate for drips and spills with the support of a cleaning team!
It would be hard to overstate how diligently the sewing ladies have been working this past week. We have brought them dozens of pieces of chitenge and hope to leave here with many finished garments. They are doing their best to make it happen. We have recruited two additional team members to assist in sewing today, Foster and Susan. They have arranged a neat training system: while Nellie measures and cuts the fabric, Georgina describes everything she is doing and why. For example, "Nellie is cutting away the strip of cloth off the top of the fabric because we don't want the manufacturer's words to show on the skirt." Susan and Foster are quick learners and within half an hour are working on their own. Meanwhile, Jen has the arduous task of pairing together complementing patterns of chitenga. The skirts have different panels, so we want to choose colors and patterns that are pleasing to the eye.
Georgina and Nellie can be found steadily working on the chitenge garments.
Georgina, Susan, Foster, and Nellie - our Saturday Sewing Team!
Jen spreads out the chitenge and receives mixing and matching inspiration!
Nellie using the new sewing scissors.
Susan enjoys a cool drink of water that one of the painters thoughtfully brought out to the sewing team.
Duncan, the artist who painted the Living Compassion signs, stops by for a visit. Duncan is Beatrice's husband.
The "clinic" team has finished painting the second coat on the walls. Remember, the first coat was done a couple of days ago. We love seeing the "before" and "after" pictures!
Here is the clinic before its first coat of paint.
Fresh paint immeasurably brightens up the room!
Here is the clinic painting crew wrapping up.
Jen joins in the painting fun.
This is a side room off the Main Room. Theresa envisions enclosing it and making a new library here. We agree!
The painting is finished around 13:30 hours (1:30 pm) and the team is ready to rest. There is not much clean up to do - only the brushes and paint pans - because we have been cleaning as we go. The seamstresses have some finished products to show for their labor and we enjoy trying them on for size! The rooms are put back in order while the paint dries and sewing machines are moved back into their freshly painted home. After a short rest in the courtyard, we begin the walk through Kantolomba to Lubuto to find a taxi home.
Sweeping out the last of the water from the floors.
Rebecca loves the bright colors of this long meditation-length skirt.
Painters rest after a full morning of good work.
Foster, Susan, and Georgina finish up some final sewing projects.
Veronica plops down to rest on the cool grass!
The group heads home after a satisfying workday.
Along the road, we can easily tell which are cooperative members' houses because they have sturdy, metal roofs. We walk by Josephine's house and find Marian sitting on the porch. Marian has been sick and in the hospital this week. Even though she looks very tired, she is sitting up, and that seems a good sign. We are told Josephine is asleep inside - she has been staying with Marian around the clock in the hospital where they provide family members only a stool to sit on. She surely is exhausted as well.
We see many of our children along the walk and are greeted with smiles and waves "hello." One by one, the women in the procession say good-bye and take their leave as we pass their houses.
Jen points out Anna's house to Rebecca. Anna is one of the original cooperative members.
Marian, Josephine's daughter, recovering from an illness last week.
Georgina with Baby Dave (left) and Baby Cheri (right), who are not really babies anymore! Yes, that is Dave donning a dress. That got a good chuckle from all the women.
Here is an example of a home without a proper roof. In the rainy season, the chances of this room caving in are quite high. If it happens at night while people are sleeping, it can be deadly.
The unofficial theme for this trip and for this time in our practice seems to be "participation." Whether it is painting a building in Zambia or joining in the Bridge Walk Participation game or recording and listening, we are all joining in to make a difference and end suffering. If Agnes and the other ladies could see the participation of everyone around the world, they might sing:
"We see the work you are doing, Sangha. We see the difference you are making. We see the participation. We see the pledges. We see the compassion, Sangha. We see the work you are doing."
There are few things more fun than working together. Today was a very fun day!