News

Fatimah, a student in Joy's class, taking her meal. She and her three siblings were picked when we were going round the community. Fatimah and her mother are from Zambia but lived in the Congo for years. The father, who was Congolese and the breadwinner, passed on and they came to live in Kantolomba with relatives. Right now the mother goes around the surrounding area looking for odd jobs to make ends meet. At least the little ones have a meal here at Living Compassion that keeps them going before mum returns from her job hunting.

Little Miriam poses for the camera. She is five years old and is a student in Joy's class. Is she not so cute? She loves teacher Joy very much.

Lunch time at the property. Here Leonard enjoys his meal with his friends in class.

The students enjoying themselves singing at the property.

At the washing area, some of the Living Compassion students wash their hands after eating.

They say water is life, and we all need the commodity. Here little Alex enjoys a cup of the clean drinking water from the Living Compassion well.

Beatrice in class with her students.

Students from Beatrice's class at Living Compassion busy writing numbers.

Elias helping in Vero's class. At times when she is not feeling well he does some class work. He is very good with the children and the students love him.

Guess who? Yes, this is little Eunice. She is all grown and walks following her older brother Emmanuel when he comes to school. She is now 1 year 5 months old and already she wants to come to school at Living Compassion.

Little Emmanuel smiles for the camera. He is a student in Ethel's class, and his mum is one of the volunteers here at Living Compassion.

Little Mailes ready to go home after school and lunch.

Margret dishing out rice at the property.

Susan's class listening to her as she teaches.

Guess who? Yes, indeed, this is Dorcas Mukwemba, our very own student whose mum Audria is a volunteer here at the property. Dorcas is diabetic and in the past few months she has been in and out of hospital. When Jen was here in Zambia, Dorcas was admitted at the children's hospital where she stayed for three months. Now she is healthy and has started going back to school. Here she poses for the camera smiling.

Meet little Paul, a new student in Joy's class here at Living Compassion. At first he was the shy type and very quiet, but after a month in school he is one of the naughtiest ones in class. He stays with mum and two older brothers who go to Government School. They call him the baby of the family.

Susan in class with her students.

Susan's class listening to the recorder. A well behaved class.

The weather has changed here in Zambia. It is winter time and for the little ones this is too much for them. Teacher Ethel has drawn a timetable which begins with warm-ups outside in the sun. Here they sing together outside at the property.

This week was Child Health Week and here at the property, the Health Department sent us some trained mothers from the community in Kantolomba to do the exercise. Last time a nurse was sent in to do the exercise and was in uniform. This caused the little ones to panic, crying and running home, because in their little heads a nurse means an injection. Here, the mothers give de-worming and vitamin tablets without a problem.

Elias and Peter slashing grass along the outside of the property.

Enjoying lunch, students in Beatrice's class eat while showing that they really love the food.

Lining up for lunch, with their little boxes in their hands, the students stand in line while they wait for their turn to wash their hands.

Margret doing the dishes at the washing area.

Maureen and Jowen preparing veggies outside the kitchen.

Meet little Christabel, Audria's daughter. She is a cute little baby girl, three months old now. I captured her as she was brought in for her feed at the property.

Baby class in action at the property, a jovial class indeed. When you are with them you don't feel bored because they are a handful.

It's winter time here in Zambia and for the parents of Kantolomba to keep the little ones warm, they go to the nearest market to buy secondhand clothing called "Salaula," which means choose what you like from the heap of secondhand items. Here John, who is in Joy's class, was fortunate, as after selling vegetables at Masala market, his mum bought him the hooded jersey he's wearing to beat the cold.

Little lunch boxes lined up ready for lunch to be served in them in the dining hall at the property. These boxes are for Ethel's baby class.

Little Queen smiles for the camera. She's a very naughty girl.

A big smile from little Mapalo, who is one of the new students at the property.

Having lunch at the property. The twins Elijah and Elisha are all grown and are doing Grade 4 at Government School.

Jumping and running around at the property. The weather is chilly and to keep themselves warm at break time the little ones play on the lawn.

Little Junior isn't camera shy anymore. He is the youngest among the Living Compassion students and is a very bright boy and very talkative. He is the only baby in the family and lives with his Mum, Dad, and grandmother here in Kantolomba.

Michael and his friends are students in Susan's class. The class is all jovial and noisy. It shows that they are happy and enjoy classes.

Susan's baby John is now a big boy. Here with older brother Frank and mum at the property when he was brought in for his feed. He is now 8 months old.

Beatrice's students in class at the property. They are now behaving well and are able to do their work using the desks. Even using the computer in their class is done perfectly as they do not huddle together blocking the shorter ones.

Dave, one of the new students, is a very serious boy who does not like to smile, even when you make funny faces. But he is so cute, is he not?

Enjoying sitting on the desks at the property.

Little Maggie lost her mother just two weeks ago. An important part of our work at Living Compassion is to comfort and provide routine and care for so many children who experience loss at a very early age.

Lunch time at the property. The little ones have to sit on the floor in order to eat properly, as the desks are too high for them.

Reading at the property. Government School students sit in the main hall to read.

Government School students reading in the main hall. They now have desks to sit on while they read and when using the computers.

Michael Johan's son now all grown trying to lift a bag of mealie meal. So hilarious!

New students making a line outside at the property to have their names called out. Their little faces look so lost, but wait until they are here for a month. They will become naughty just like the others. Children will always be children.

Students in Beatrice's class singing and enjoying themselves.

Students in Joy's class busy with the Genki songs.

These are the desks that were donated to us. Though old, they will be of good use to us.