Overnight Jen's cold worsened. Although it was frustrating for her, she had no choice but to spend Thursday in bed and let Dave go to work in Ndola on his own.
First thing in the morning Theresa brought our car to the flat, where Jen and Dave are staying, to fetch Dave. They walked down to the car together, and then a strange thing happened. Dave climbed into the driver's seat! He has a brand new international driver's license that allows him to drive in Zambia.
The next few minutes were exciting, to say the least. Driving in Africa is always an adventure, even for those who are used to it. All the roads are full of potholes, and the cars swerve in every direction to avoid them. The roads are even more full of pedestrians, swarms of them, with push-carts of every description. Driving in Zambia is particularly invigorating because they drive on the left here--it's a lot to pay attention to! Cautiously, with his eyes wide open, Dave steered the car out onto Independence and into traffic with Theresa coaching from the passenger's seat. "Keep left! Keep left!" she kept saying. In this way, Dave set out on his maiden voyage over African roads, and navigated all the way to Kantolomba without a single accident.
Once in Kantolomba Theresa and Dave stopped first at the school to visit with teachers. The children had gone home already, but the teachers remained, having just finished cleaning up from the children's lunch. Plus, most of the team of thirteen was there. Living Compassion employs these women to gather trash and fix the roads in the compound. Theresa says they are completely changed people. They began receiving their salaries in April, and it has transformed their lives. Theresa said, "They are clean!" When Dave asked her what she meant, she explained that for the first time in their lives these women could afford to buy soap. They are wonderfully happy, she told us. They have employment; they have a way to adequately feed their families and make a difference in their community. It was worth all of the effort of the long journey to Africa just to hear this story and to see the difference we are making reflected in the smiles and the loving welcome of our Kantolomba friends.
The team of women in Kantolomba
The women escorted Dave to the Living Compassion property in Kantolomba to see the construction of the Community Center. What he found there amazed him. When we left in April there was nothing on the site but grass and stones, but now there are deep trenches with concrete foundations, block walls, and huge piles of dirt and rubble everywhere. It was an awesome site.
The first walls of the community center.
Not a single machine has been used in constructing the foundation of the building. All of the trenches, some of them so deep that the brick-layers must use a ladder to climb in and out, were dug with home-made shovels and pick-axes. The amount of human labor that has gone into the project has been immense. And it's perfect for the people of Kantolomba, as the strength of their bodies, combined with their courage and determination, are the only real resources they have.
Foundation trenches.
While the group toured the construction site, Theresa told the story of how the forty-five workers were hired. A community meeting was called to explain the vision of the Community Center and to invite anyone interested in learning about the project to ask questions of Theresa and Gaudencia. A crowd of several hundred showed. At the meeting the people were invited to participate as volunteers over three Saturdays to clear and level the land for the building. Eighty-five showed up to work. Gaudencia now pulls her workers from this pool of eighty-five willing and generous people. This strategy has paid off tremendously, she tells us.
James is the on-site supervisor of the project. Theresa tells us that when James first met the bricklayers (it turns out there are a number of trained bricklayers in the community), he felt some doubts. They have had hard lives, all of them, and look a little the worse for the wear. Once the work began, however, he discovered how much their appearance had deceived him. Not just the bricklayers, but all of the workers work hard and well. They work as people work who have not had the joy of steady work for years. James told us himself that he couldn't be more pleased.
James
There has been some delay, James said, due to a nation-wide shortage of cement. The economy in Ndola is better these days than it has been for some time, with the result that there is an enormous amount of construction happening, particularly at the copper mines. Gaudencia is spending the greater part of her days following up on rumors of cement deliveries in town. She is talking of attempting to import a large shipment from Tanzania. Somehow she manages to find enough every day to keep the bricklayers working. We are hoping the shortage resolves itself before it is time to pour the concrete slabs for the floor.
On the way back to town, Theresa took Dave by the Living Compassion house to visit with the children. They seem healthy and well. It is obvious that they love living with Theresa. No one could be more caring or attentive than she is.
Kaleshi and Stippo
Ann
We have seven children living in the house now. Yeta and Memory, the two oldest, have decided to go back to Ikelenge. Being the teen-agers that they are, they seem to have decided that other things are more important than applying themselves in the way they would need to in order to continue their education. We are hoping they will soon discover what they want to do with their lives so that we may assist them in accessing the possibilities available to them.
Dave left Theresa at the house and drove back to the flat in town on his own.