We feel like the luckiest people on earth to get to arrive at “work” greeted by dozens and dozens of smiling faces, outreached hands, and little people saying, “How are you? I am fine.”
Today our work includes continuing the children’s photo project, meeting with the Leadership Team, and reading to the children. Veronica will train Foster and Ethel on taking pictures with a digital camera as it’s a new skill for almost everyone here. The goal: to get a picture of all 800 children in the program!
Like elementary children around the world, kids lined up about 10 children at a time to take turns getting their picture taken. It’s amazing how patient they are with the adults practicing their new photography skill. Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 shots to get the photo centered and the child smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. But the child does his/her best to sit still while Veronica or Foster line up the shot. We know we say this all the time, but they really are so adorable.
We are warmly greeted by the children.
Foster consults Veronica on the picture she has just taken. Veronica is in charge of "quality control" – Is the shot centered? Is the lighting right? Is the child smiling? It's very high-tech stuff!
Behind us in the yard, these boys are doing flips off this rock. They are quite the gymnasts!
A person can almost always find a game of soccer going on at the Living Compassion compound.
Donna had the brilliant idea to put nametags on the children to assist us in learning their names. With a little masking tape and a Sharpie, she, Josephine, and Susan started the task. The children loved wearing their nametag and it made a huge difference in interacting with them throughout the day!
Donna, Susan, and Josephine are surrounded by children wanting their nametag!
The children wait in line to spell out their name for Josephine and Susan.
Donna teaches the children a song to keep them entertained while waiting in line.
Susan, Monde, and Mary wanted us to take their picture together.
Even with all the picture-taking and singing and nametag commotion, the men's work on the Pulumusa stoves goes quietly and steadily on.
Just as Jen sat down with the Leadership Team for their meeting, a huge rainstorm began. It was an extraordinary experience. The rain soon got heavy enough that the sound on the tin roof drowned out any hope of hearing each other. We all just sat in silence. We marveled at how easily everyone became still. There was no fidgeting, no need to break the silence, no getting up and going to do other things. There was just sitting and waiting. It was meditation for us. A lovely experience.
Once the rain passed we proceeded with our agenda: a quarterly check-in and overview of where we are currently in the project and a look at what is next. But first we took a moment to remember and honor Christopher. This is the first time we have been back since Christopher, a young member of the cooperative, died of complications from AIDS. We talked of his death as a reminder that being kind to one another now and putting love and care as our top priorities is the only orientation that makes sense.
On to the business, we agreed that it has been a successful last quarter indeed. Perhaps you remember the agreements we made last trip: setting targets for the sewing cooperative and the stove business, building new desks for the classrooms, and sending weekly business reports back to the team in the U.S. They met all agreements! All parts of the project seem to be in good health, and we are poised to begin our next focus: English.
Over the next months we will be creating a holistic program to bring strong English literacy skills to the children in the program. We are in the first stages and will be consulting with both teachers in the U.S. and teachers and community development folks here to form a program.
Towards the end of the meeting we learned that Anne, the elderly woman who used to be part of the cooperative, had her blanket stolen—right off her bed when she was in it! They mentioned in passing that Foster, another cooperative member, had given her one of her blankets as a replacement. We were quite moved. It was not an extra blanket—people don’t have extra things in Kantolomba.
The Leadership Team discusses the many Living Compassion projects.
These girls wait out the rainstorm on the covered porch. The rains here start and stop abruptly, and the intensity of the downpour is impressive!
It's like the rains and the plants are conspiring to show us their most vibrant green possible!
While the Leadership Meeting is underway, Rebecca and a dozen or more children find a corner to read together. Our focus this whole year is on teaching and learning English. Dr. Seuss books are great for reading along together because of the rhymes and rhythms. Today we read The Cat in the Hat. The children can read aloud most of the words and can point out items like “cat,” “hat,” “fish,” “cake.” They love reading and want to read one book after another.
We are all enthralled in reading together. Thank you, Dr. Seuss!
These girls wanted to continue reading on their own.
Tomorrow is peanut butter day, so the women of the co-op spend the afternoon grinding the peanuts into paste. There is something peaceful and reassuring in hearing their soft voices amid the steady pound-pound-pounding of their pestles. On this cool summer afternoon, sitting together in the fresh, damp outdoors following a lovely rain shower, all is right with the world.
The women talk and work together grinding peanuts.
Here are more pictures too cute not to share!
The children just finished their lunch.
A beautiful smile!
Baby Dave is getting so big!
These girls found a quiet spot to read together.
Such a cutie!
More cuteness! (And check out the little one eating the mango in the background.)
Jen, in the yellow sweater, is carrying a plastic box on her head.
Smiles abound!
The Living Compassion Team
Back home at the guesthouse we ordered dinner from Kaunda. As we were walking away he called after us, “Jen, can you speak Bemba?” “Not much, I confessed.” “I will try in English. The stove,” he said, “the one you gave when last here…” and he gave the thumbs up sign with a huge grin. “Very little charcoal,” he continued. We were thrilled. At the end of the last trip instead of giving a tip to each of the staff at the lodge, we gave them each a pulumusa stove funded by a grant from a donor moved to support the stove project. We projected they may have been a little disappointed not to have a bit of cash in hand, and Eunice assured us they would be very happy with the stoves in the end. It was a pleasure to hear that Kaunda is saving substantially on charcoal costs every month! And imagine how happy everyone’s lungs are, not to mention the earth, to have less smoke to breathe. Yea!