This morning, walking down to breakfast at the guesthouse, we had a lovely talk with Mumba, a young woman who has just started working here at Castle Lodge. She is clearly very bright and well-educated. Her English is impeccable. She wants to work in marketing. She asked what brings us to Zambia and was very interested to hear of our projects.
What struck us most in the conversation was an experience she shared from her school days. She attended a Catholic high school whose mission included educating young people to be full citizens of their community, aware of all sectors of their city. One year Mumba's class was taken on a field trip to Kantolomba as a way of exposing the students to communities less privileged than their own. She said the children there did a little performance for them, then Mumba and her classmates went on a tour of the area. She has always remembered that experience and says it allowed her to fully appreciate the things she has. She recalls that she and her friends vowed to each other that they would not complain about the small things they did not have when there are so many children who do not have shoes, or schooling or even enough food to eat. We could relate.
At 10:00 AM, Agness (our friend from St. Joseph's guesthouse) met us here at the lodge to discuss the possibility of her teaching Anne (one of the children in the Living Compassion house) how to plait hair and do manicures, pedicures and facials. Anne is at a point in her education where she cannot continue on a traditional academic track due to her low test scores and has chosen to go into hair dressing for her livelihood.
It was a pleasure as always to see Agness. She is a stunningly beautiful young woman with a big heart and a strong desire to participate in life. Theresa arrived with Anne and Ken (we were scheduled to go see a potential school for Ken later in the morning), and we all discussed the structure of the lessons. Both gals are eager to begin. We arranged for Anne to go to Agness's house five mornings a week for training.
Ken, Theresa, Agness, Anne, Jen. It is standard procedure in Zambia
to answer one's cell phone even if in a meeting.
We were reminded as we talked that Agness has a dream of opening her own beauty shop one day, and it was easy to get excited about the possibility of helping her get a loan to make that happen. We can imagine her shop quickly becoming a favorite of the locals--she is talented, charming and has a way of making you feel like you are the most special person she has met. Working in the shop with Agness would be a perfect way for Anne to get started as a beautician. Anyone out there interested in providing a loan to help start a small business, send us an email!
We called Muyunda to take us to see the school for Ken. We are seeking a situation that will provide Ken with a lot of much-needed individual academic assistance. He is in grade 8 and will sit for major 9th grade exams a year from now. He is working hard but has a long way to go to catch up with his peers, who have had a decent, consistent education their whole lives. His early years in Ikelenge, a very resource-poor village in northwestern Zambia, left him with a poor start on an education, and what he did receive was in another language.
While waiting for Muyunda, we received a call from Mr. Chaila at the Water Affairs Department. The compressor truck that was promised to us two days ago had suddenly become available. We knew our best shot at having the truck get out to Kantolomba was to have one of us go with it so we dropped Dave off to accompany the men who would drive it out.
The compressor truck
The rest of us proceeded to Chiwala Boys School, on the outskirts of Ndola. It is amazing how quickly the city gives way to the bush, and as we went by small villages, Theresa and I remarked how wonderful it would be to live in such a place if there were ample food and water--as Theresa said, "away from the hustle and bustle of city life." Of course, there is not enough food and water, and though graced with beautiful landscape, the inhabitants of such places often endure great hardship just to survive.
The beautiful open land just outside Ndola.
Two friendly gentlemen greeted us at the school entrance, and one agreed to take us on a tour. We were impressed by what we saw. The school is well-kept, the classrooms are simple and functional, the students we met were open and welcoming. Ken is quiet and can be hard to read, but he seemed to enjoy the tour and to like the school. The highlights for me were the science lab, where there was a group of students mixing up some concoction in test-tubes (brings back Chemistry lab memories), and the HUGE nchima cookers (nchima is the staple food here, a stiff porridge made from maize) in the school kitchen. We saw the cooks making lunch and agreed that they must be in Olympic-athlete shape to pull-off stirring those pots with the canoe paddle-sized spoons.
Touring the school.
Chemistry class
Cooking nchima
The tuition is quite reasonable, and we will call the Deputy Headmaster (who was not there today) on Monday to see about officially enrolling Ken.
On the way out to Kantolomba, we stopped at the gas station (LONG LINES!) where Dave and the compressor truck driver were topping up with fuel. Luckily the truck is diesel, which is in far less demand than standard petrol. We handed off lunch to Dave and agreed we would all meet in Kantolomba.
At the filling station.
When Theresa and Jen arrived in Kantolomba, there was "nothing" to do. The students had eaten lunch, and we were all now just waiting for the compressor truck to arrive. We sat quietly on a reed mat under the lovely thatch shade-cover the women have built. It was one of those precious moments in life. There was a gentle breeze that washed over us as we sat silently, enjoying just being in one another's company. It is easy to project that this wonderful group of women appreciate having the opportunity to gather each day and serve their community. It is certainly a pleasure for us.
The team under the thatch shade.
About 30 minutes later the truck arrived and we all stood and cheered. Such a happening quickly draws a crowd. By the time the Water Affairs men were ready to begin blowing out the well, dozens of people had gathered to watch. Within ten minutes a giant gush of water erupted from the well followed by great cheers of equal force. The idea was to blow the water out of the bottom of the well until it ran clear of any sediment, at which point they would pour cement into the bottom to create a plug that would prevent any further sediment from contaminating the water. We watched for the next hour-and-a-half as the water blew dozens of feet straight up into the air. At one point Theresa, Dave and Jen had to walk under the spray to go talk with one of the workers, and we laughed later as we looked at each other covered in speckles of sediment.
Jen greets the arrival of the truck.
The workers sinking the pump.
The water erupts.
Everyone gathered to watch.
At 4:15 the main machine operator began to be concerned that the water was not yet clear of sediment. He told us that he thought there may be a break in the pipe, letting dirt into the well. If he is right, it would mean getting the drilling rig back out to the property, redrilling the last 20 meters of the well, and putting in new casing pipe. Our hearts sank knowing it would take another many months to make all of that happen. All we could do was wait while the water kept pumping and hope it began to run clear.
We decided to take care of some other business while we waited. As you may recall, we had discovered that Beauty's new house does not yet have a roof. It desperately needs one SOON to protect the bricks from the coming rains. Today was the day to meet with Beauty and tell her we will give her a loan to be able to buy the roofing sheets right away. We knew it would please her; we had no idea how much.
We went inside the existing building with Theresa and Beauty to talk. We asked Theresa if she had told Beauty yet about the loan. She said she had not so we had Theresa translate as we explained. When Beauty heard that we wanted to give her the funds now for the roof, she fell to her knees in a prayer position, lay down on her side and then the other in a grand display of gratitude and relief. In those moments we so wish we could bring all of you into the room, just for an instant. The gratitude expressed goes to the thousands of people who participate in Living Compassion. We are the fortunate representatives who are here to witness it, and we make our best attempts to communicate it back to all of you. We so hope you are getting a sense of the difference you are making in these people's lives.
Beauty gratefully receives the loan.
We met next with Theresa and Veronica (Theresa's assistant coordinator) about their plan to expand the food program. Last January 50 children graduated from our pre-school program and went on to first grade in various neighboring government schools. The problem is that these schools do not provide a lunch, and though the students took a step up in education, they took a step down in nutrition, and Theresa has been very worried about them. Veronica and Theresa had figured out that the crew of women who cook for the pre-school could handle cooking for 25 more children in each shift. This works perfectly, as the first graders also go to school in shifts and half of them would be available to eat with the first group of our pre-school children and half with the second. The only additional resources needed would be the extra food--no more labor or cooking supplies are necessary. Cheri is not with us on this trip so we joked with Theresa that it sounded like a great plan but that we would "run it by the boss first." Theresa smiled and said, "Yes, of course, I understand. But, I know it will happen. We have a good boss with a very big heart." We had to agree.
At 5 o'clock the water was still pumping and sediment still coming out. The man operating the machine was convinced there was a problem, but Mr. Chaila who we had talked with on the phone was equally sure there was not. The men working on the well had not eaten all day, and we agreed that it was time to pack it in. We will continue in the morning and let it go for now. Tomorrow is a new day.
Jen steals a quiet moment with Baby Jen before heading home...
While Dave enjoys the company of the gals under the thatch.