Muyunda collected us at 9 AM to take us to Mr. Chaila’s office at the Water Affairs Department. We know that if we have any prayer of finishing the well this trip we must make it top priority. The next step is for the Water Affairs Department to come out to the site with the compression truck to blow out the bottom of the well and clear any sediment that may have fallen in since the well was first dug. They will then seal the bottom to keep the water flow unobstructed from here on. The issue is that there is one compressor truck and it is in high demand.
As luck would have it Mr. Chaila was in the office and reported that the truck was finishing up a job that afternoon and very likely they can head to Kantolomba for our project tomorrow. We are cautiously delighted—we have learned not to count on something until it has actually happened.
Next, to the Permanent Secretary’s office (she is the highest official at the provincial level of government) to make an appointment for a meeting. She is a lovely woman who has helped us a great deal by pointing us in the right directions and fostering our relationships with local officials. Esther, her secretary, tentatively scheduled us for tomorrow afternoon and asked us to call in the morning to confirm.
We had a few minutes between completing our in-town business and heading out to Kantolomba so we stopped by Aquavita to pick up our drinking water supply. Every office we frequent in Ndola throws a mini homecoming party each time we return. Huge smiles, hugs, and lots of eager questions. The folks at Aquavita wanted to know how America is and how long we will be staying in Zambia. They always seem a little surprised when we report that America is fine and we really like being in Zambia. It is so very true for us. We are acutely aware of all that our life in the U.S. offers us and that spending time in Africa provides us with much our life at home never could—we are privileged indeed.
Our friend at Aquavita
The first ride out to Kantolomba of each trip is great fun. We begin to anticipate seeing all our buddies and the catching up on the progress of the projects. When we pulled into the property we jumped out of the car, marveling at the changes on the building site. The men working greeted us with big smiles, obviously pleased at our excitement. They proudly showed us the completed foundation and the growing walls. We agreed with Theresa that it is miraculous to stand in an actual physical building that for so long was just a drawing on paper and even longer a dream in our hearts.
Veronica, Theresa and Jen inside the structure.
The men laying the bricks.
James, Theresa and Dave surveying the part of the building that will house the medical clinic.
The Living Compassion women look wonderful and greeted us with their usual warm welcome. There was one notable difference, however, from their usual greeting—it was in ENGLISH!! Oh, how fun to hear them ask us, “How are you?” and then for them to respond with ease, “I’m fine, thank you.” when we asked them. Theresa says the adult English lessons are going well, that the women are ecstatic to be given the opportunity to learn.
Some of the team showing us a new shade structure they built.
The women then took us over to the classroom for our first glimpse of the new school program—the 10 to 16 year olds. The boys were in class (the girls come for the second half of the day). The women decided that separating boys and girls into two classes would create an environment more conducive to learning. We are in full agreement. It works especially well for the girls—affording them room to be strong and capable without needing to worry about outshining their male peers.
The boys in school.
Theresa and the two teachers.
Jen showing the distance we travel to get to Zambia.
We remarked to both Theresa and the teachers that it must be a huge job educating these students. A few of the youngsters have had a bit of schooling but most have never learned to read or write. Theresa agreed that it is challenging indeed, “But,” she said with a huge grin, “The best part is that they are eating.” And what a pleasure it was to see them eat their midday meal. This is another big thank you moment for all of you reading. It is your participation from afar that is making the difference of life and death for these young people halfway around the world.
The older students eating!
As we were sitting talking with the women Evaristo appeared. For those of you who may not have read past blogs, he is our local high school genius. Against all odds he recently won the national JETS—Junior Engineers and Technicians in Science— competition. He looks great! We have been sending extra funds to Josephine who cooks a good lunch and dinner for him each day to ensure he receives proper nutrition as he works diligently to complete his high school education with flying colors. When we asked how he was feeling about his major, final-year high school exams that begin later this month he reported that he is well prepared. Now knowing Evaristo as we do we are confident this is more than true. He says he is finding his new laptop (donated by Living Compassion) very useful. When he received it in July it was the first time he had ever operated a computer, first time seeing the internet. We will never forget the look on his face when he got it that what he was seeing on the computer screen was stories and pictures we had sent from Kantolomba, including pictures of him, and that they were traveling to people all over the world. Getting the World Wide Web for the first time is a big moment!
Evaristo, Dave, Theresa, Veronica.
Evaristo told us he brings his computer to the Living Compassion center when it needs charging. Oh, right, we had not yet been inside the building to see the electricity installed—monumental! The women have cleaned the building beautifully and it now houses our small stash of medical supplies and a comfortable place for our tailors to sew. It was fun to see all the cell phone chargers lined up—a little community electricity center.
Electricity!
The medical supply stores.
One of our intentions for this trip is to buy as many of the properties adjoining the Community Center as possible. There are two rows of three houses each that are directly next to our fence and we are eager to acquire that land both to afford some quiet for the Living Compassion students and teachers and to be able to greatly expand the school program over the next couple of years. The additional land could accommodate a very large building allowing us to serve about three times the current 200 children in the school. Additionally, this will protect the children from close proximity to the moon-shine operations just on the other side of the fence. A week or so ago a fire under one of the stills got out of control and nearly set the little “palapa” school house ablaze.
We toured the properties and talked with some of the owners. They are all eager to sell—we have already agreed on a price that is reasonable for us and works well for them—though some do not want to leave until after the coming rainy season. The rains are due to begin in the next couple of weeks. For folks in the U.S. rain means carrying an umbrella so you don’t get wet getting to your car. In Zambia life changes when the rains arrive. Roads wash out, mosquitoes breed, roofs leak and houses (those constructed from un-fired mud brick) collapse. But rain also means food. People are hungry in October, the hottest, driest month of the year. When the rains come anyone who has an extra square foot of land will plant a garden and eat. When we next arrive in January the land will be transformed—lush, green, bursting with life. Moving in the rainy season is just not an option. No one will be selling houses. It is impossible to build something new. We will buy the houses now from the families who have already lined up their next option and wait until April or May for those who are not ready.
One of the next door properties.
An interesting fact we have learned is that in Kantolomba (and other very poor areas) when someone sells you a house it does not come with the roof. Roofing material is very expensive and people take the tin sheets with them when they leave a house. This makes it tricky for us as we will have to decide quickly whether to put new roofs on these dwellings or let them return to mud as the rains wash the bricks away.
We then walked down to visit the classroom of the smaller children. They steal our hearts every time with their choral greeting, “Good morning Madame and Sir. How are you?” We stayed only a few minutes to minimize the chaos the teachers have to deal with in our wake. It was a pleasure to meet some of the new women who are employed to manage the expanded school programs. We look forward to the day that everyone who chooses is gainfully employed. It is possible.
Cute as ever!
The preschool team of women.
Even with all these wonderful progress reports and reunions with dear friends, our favorite moment of the day was greeting Violet, another of the Living Compassion women. For many years she has been without any teeth–well, she had one tooth. Since we first started working in Kantolomba she has joked with us that she would love to have teeth. In July we began taking steps to make that happen. A month ago she received a brand new, beautiful set of dentures. Her smile was stunning!
Violet and her new teeth!
Walking back to the property we saw that Beauty’s (another of the Living Compassion women) new house, still under construction, does not have a roof. Though the house is well-built, it is crafted with un-fired brick. I asked Theresa if Beauty is concerned that the roof is not yet on and the rains are coming. “Very concerned, Jen.” When I asked why the delay she reported, “money.” Ugh. It makes our hearts sink. It is such a telling example of the trap of poverty. Beauty and her family were able to save enough money to start building a larger home to accommodate their growing family but have now run out of funds at a crucial moment. If they cannot find the money to put on a roof in time their entire investment will be lost as the mud bricks melt back into the earth under the rain. We will talk with Beauty and arrange to make her the first Living Compassion micro-loan to allow her to get a roof on time.
We finished up in Kantolomba and returned to the guesthouse for a good lunch. We are committed to staying well fed and rested so we can go 100% for our short time here.
We got a call from Peggy that our luggage had arrived and went to collect it as part of some in-town errands. For the record, the Ndola airport is the simplest, easiest airport we have encountered. We love it. Yes, our luggage gets lost every time, but it seems always to be in the U.S. side that the problem occurs and the folks in Ndola track it exactly and we receive it fully intact with no lost or damaged items.
Later in the evening the guesthouse lost power long enough for us to remember just how much we depend on electricity—no hot showers, our refrigerated items beginning to go bad, and NO internet! We are very fortunate. We went out for dinner.
The best part about being out in Ndola after dark is calling Stanley—the world’s cutest taxi driver—who takes us home. He was excited we were back in town and asked after all our fellow travelers who had been with us in July. We call Stanley the DJ taxi driver because he always has great music. He played Bob Marley for us tonight. Life is good.