News

Zilo Lungu and Mirriam Sibale are both volunteers here at Living Compassion. These mothers love what they do and they are grateful for what Living Compassion is doing for them. They cherish every moment they spend here.

Our beautiful garden is looking good. Some veggies grow fast with the rains that we are receiving almost everyday. The sweet potato leaves are very good veggies. We also have beans, pumpkin leaves, and okra.

Bertha doing what she loves to do, which is sewing. Here she sews a client's shirt.

These little ones used to be in Malila’s class in the Living Compassion preschool and were selected for Grade One at Hands of Mercy School. From left to right, we have little Moses (age 7), Thomas (age 8), Tamara (age 10), Patricia (age 8), and Cynthia (age 6).

Memory with some of our students who are now in Grade Two this year at Hands of Mercy School. The girls are Ester Bwalya, Getrude Katende, Angela Phiri, Lisa Pule, and Precious Longwe. They are still our babies because they come to Living Compassion everyday after school to eat.

From left to right is Moffat Bwalya, Grace Lungu, and Stanlely Choma, all ready to go to school after lunch here.

Here's Brenda with our beloved Living Compassion sign, which is due for its periodic maintenance.

Team members Doris, Jowen, and Docus posing under the sign.

John works on the sign.

Little Sara is in Teacher Memory's class. She is four years old and is the granddaughter to our very own Martha Mwanza. Sara is saying hello to all the USA Living Compassion Team.

The rains are progressing each day, and the weeds are growing fast. Our Living Compassion team makes sure our surroundings are kept clean. Here some of our team members are clearing weeds.

Joseph helps out his mum by lighting the new eco stove. His family was one of the community members who purchased an eco stove through the Living Compassion micro-loan program. He says the stove has helped the family save charcoal. Joseph used to be a student in Charles's class and is now in Grade Six at Twatemwa School.

Our cute face this week is Elizabeth.

Pauline and Zilo in action in the kitchen, dishing out the nshima from the big pot into the buckets.

The young women sometimes help out with classwork. Here Blessing is helping Teacher Beatrice. Blessing is one of the young women in the Girls Program. She is 21 and loves doing business.

Memory and Ann in class, making sure that the slow learners come nearer to the board.

Our “babies” (preschoolers) at Living Compassion are sending love to all.

Here is our cute face from Kantolomba. Little Helen Mubanga is a student at Twatemwa School right here in Kantolomba. She has six other siblings, and four of them are students here at Living Compassion. Helen lives with both her parents, who are vegetable sellers at our market in Kantolomba.

A very dedicated parent helping out. Doreen has three children in the program here: a six-year-old girl and a set of four-year-old twins. She loves joking and helping at Living Compassion because she is so grateful that her children are cared for here.

Our very own co-op member, Audria, makes sure that our surroundings are neat and clean. She is one of the caretakers and looks after the little ones when they are around the premises.

Here is Teacher Ann with some students in the library. Our little ones can be full of energy at times, and one needs to be patient with them!

Students from Teacher Malila's class sit in class, patiently waiting for their lunch. Teacher Malilia says these little ones are ready to go to Grade One next year!

Some of the team members share a light moment together after sweeping the compound. Natasha, on the left, took the place of her grandmother, Older Foster, when she retired. Doris is in the middle and Natasha is just out of sight on the right.

This is how we do it here at Living Compassion! Feeding the little ones is our passion! Here are Brenda, Charity, and Emelda stirring the huge pot of nshima.

Greetings from Kantolomba, compliments of the season, and a happy new year! Here is our cute little face, four-year-old Diana Banda, a student in Beatrice's class.

We had this great opportunity to take this fun and lovely photo of Peter's twins Joseph and Sheba, Aunty Theresa, and their younger sister, Silvia. They are in Ndola for a holiday. Joseph is in Grade Nine, Sheba in Grade Ten, and Silvia in Grade Five.

Memory in her class doing pre-science with her students. She is a qualified teacher who was trained at a teacher's college here in Ndola, with tuition paid for by Living Compassion. She is imparting what she learned in college. We are glad and so proud to have her.

Onesta helping out in Memory's class. She really enjoys teaching the youngest students.

We all work as a team here at Living Compassion. Here Onesta sweeps the dining hall after lunch. Keeping things clean and tidy is high priority.

Susan Mwanza helping, too.

Our main staple food eaten here in Kantolomba is nshima. Here is a bucket that will serve an entire class of students.

Relish is what we call anything that goes with the nshima. Today the relish is beans. We all love beans day!

After serving all of the children, the team gets to sit down and enjoy their own lunch together. Here is Natasha Moyo, our retired staff member Older Foster's granddaughter, and Ester, our late coop member Peter’s daughter. They are eating rice and egg, which is another favorite. Ester is older sister to Sheba, Joseph, and Silvia, who are in the photo with Aunty Theresa above.

Malila is in class with her students teaching them how to write numbers. She makes sure everyone is able to hold the chalk properly and to write the numbers on the board and in their books.

And here is Malila and some of her students during break time.

Some of the coop members serving the food. Left to right are Elizabeth, who took her mum’s place when Eugenia retired, Mary, and Charity.

Benson Mulenga, who is in Beatrice’s preschool class, getting his food. Nutrition is a key activity here.

Our cute face this week is Pauline Banda, a student in Teacher Memory's class. She loves singing and next year she is going to Grade One at Twatemwa school right here in Kantolomba.

Thursday the Living Compassion coop members received their stipends. Here is Aunty Veronica busy taking note of the accounts. Veronica put herself through accounting school using her stipends. It is always a very exciting day when we receive our stipends!

We start with our cute face of the week. Stanley Kunda is in the class taught by Teachers Memory and Onesta here at Living Compassion. He is 4 years old and he likes school. He is the son of our very own Living Compassion security guard. Here he is playing with a toy he made himself. He was proud to show it off!

Some time back, a group of our young women got some training in local tree planting. We were hoping they were going to be part of a new government program where young people were going to be part of large-scale tree planting initiatives. Unfortunately, those programs have been put on hold. But the good news is that we still have several of the little trees, and they are growing!

Look at this beauty!

And here is a sweet, little one growing between two larger trees. We are happy to be caring for our trees while the U.S. team cares for theirs!

It’s hot now and our water company's water level is becoming low. Here, cooperative member Susan is carrying clean water from Living Compassion for consumption at her home.

And here is Mary doing the same. Mary is our very own Margaret Chisenga’s daughter and took her mother’s place in the coop when Margaret retired.

The whole Living Compassion community gathered as we buried our friend and colleague.

He was loved by so many in the community.

The cooperative members in our white shirts and matching blue chitenge gathered around the gravesite. Many in the community tell us that it is at times like this that they see what a family the Living Compassion project is.

Peter’s daughter Esther has taken her father’s place in the cooperative. She and her brother Goliath are now the heads of their household, as their mother passed away a couple of years ago. It was a poignant moment for us a week or so later when Goliath came to Living Compassion to help his sister carry the bags of mealie meal.

Mealie meal day is quite a joyous occasion every month. Each cooperative member receives two bags of mealie meal to ensure that their family has plenty to eat. Here, cooperative member Zilo (left) and her relative Queen carry the bags. Queen is from a village in Zambia's Eastern Province.

Charity says thank you for the bags of mealie meal. She says it is such a gift not to have to struggle at home.

Our cute face for this week is Justina Kangwa. Justina is 12 years old and is in Grade 5 at Twatemwa primary school. She often comes to Living Compassion to play. SO CUTE!

Here Justina is playing with the little ones. She is very good about looking after the smaller children.

Students eating together. In our culture, eating together and sharing food is a symbol of love and unity that is taught at an early age.

We were so pleased to learn of a new government program that is bringing a truck around to various community schools to teach young children about computers.

Here are some of our children who attend the local government school, getting to use the mini computer. They had so much fun. The best part for us was knowing they can relax and learn because their little bellies are full!

Plaiting hair is a business for many in the community and also a lovely way to sit and spend time together. Here Christine Kalenga is plaiting Malila’s hair.

Natasha sweeping. She is the mother of Edna, our Grade 7 graduate in our previous post. We take great pride in having our entire surroundings clean.

Rechel, one of our nursing graduates, and Chola, retired coop member Regina’s daughter, help each other carry a bucket of water. It’s all about teamwork at Living Compassion!

Blessings, member of the bakery department, gives a big smile as she fetches water.

Freshly baked scones being sold. Yum!

Memory helps out with a bakery customer.

A clean environment is very important here at Living Compassion, and everyone participates in cleaning. Here, Karen helps Onesta clean the baby class before the little ones come in for school.

We’re not the only ones who enjoy spending time at Living Compassion. Chickens from around the community come to spend some time in the wonderful shade that all our trees provide.

Edna (front) and Mercy (second from right), with some of their classmates from outside Kantolomba.

Esther with her very proud mum, Living Compassion co-op member Zilo.

Left to right: Mercy, Esther, Karen, Edna, Cynthia (from outside Kantolomba), Joyce.

Edna and Mercy with Edna’s mum, Living Compassion co-op member Natasha. We seem to have caught Mercy in a tired moment after a big day of festivities!

A group photo at the end of a very special day. We boarded the bus and all headed home together, happy and proud!

Here are Karen Banda, Mercy Bwalya, Joyce Kazembe, and Edna Phiri a couple of weeks ago, looking so tailored and smart in their uniforms after returning from school. In Zambia many schools have their graduation ceremony before the national exams take place. These girls are taking their exams this week and we wish them all the best!

Mercy Bwalya won the Most Improved Student Award. We were all SO proud of her!