News

The new fuel-efficient stoves are a big hit in the whole community. Living Compassion gifted a stove to each coop member. Word got around the community and we have started a program for people to be able to pay for a new stove in installments that work for their budget. This will save people a lot in the long run and is very good for the planet as well! Here community member Doreen Nankamba shows off the stove she is paying for.

Meet Debora Mwansa, another happy customer who is paying for her stove. So far she has paid K400 and only has K100 to go!

Coop member Joan with a happy smile and the brand-new stove belonging to her neighbor, Mercy’s grandmother. Mercy is in the Girls Program and lost her mum a few months back. Joan is helping watch over them and make sure the family is OK. This is a big part of how we take care of each other in the Living Compassion community.

And it’s wonderful that we have beautiful veggies in the Living Compassion gardens that we can cook in our new stoves. Here is Doris showing the green leafy veggies that she’ll take home tonight.

Here are some faces of Kantolomba! Patrick Banda, age five, is in Memory's class.

Nambela Chushi, age ten, is in Grade Four at Twatemwa School.

Jane Chanda, ten years old, is in Grade Four at Twatemwa School.

Victor Chileshe is eleven years old and goes to Twatemwa School.

Our girls Marian, Christin, and Angela show the recently introduced K200 notes they received in their stipend.

Remember the little baby who was sitting outside his parents' house a year ago? Yes, this is our very own security guard’s son Stanley, all grown up and going to school. He is three years old and so cute.

The team resting in the shade after lunch.

Memory and Malila showing the instant porridge they brought to Living Compassion for breakfast. The porridge is made of maize meal and powdered milk and comes in little sachets. It is mixed with hot or cold water, according to one's liking. It’s yummy to both grown ups and little ones.

Theresa’s granddaughter just turned 2!

Here is Charity, Regina’s daughter Chola, and Beatrice. Regina is in the hospital, recovering from an injury to her leg. Chola came to Living Compassion after visiting her mum to say "thank you" to all the team members who are helping take care of her mother.

Docus with her baby, Natasha, and Ester at Living Compasssion after picking cassava leaves from the garden for their home consumption. Cassava is widely grown here in people’s small backyard gardens. After harvesting, the roots are dried and ground into mealie meal. Most cassava is grown on a large scale in the northern province of Zambia.

Siblings Christin and Jacob after lunch. Christin is in Grade Three, while her brother is in Grade Two at Twatemwa Primary School. They live with their mother, who is a hair dresser. Look how she braided her daughter’s hair!

Joyce Kazembe, 13 years old, is one of our Grade Seven girls at Oremus. She has a little brother and baby sister and lives with her mom, who works as a maid to put food on the table. Joyce loves mathematics and says she likes solving numbers. She is a brilliant student at school.

Little ones Rose, Prince, and Nelia, looking healthy and clean!

This is Natasha Mzinga, the granddaughter to Older Foster Bulasho. She replaced her grandmother when she retired. She loves her work and takes care of both of her grandparents.

Little Kasuba, seven years old and in Grade One at Twatemwa School here in Kantolomba. He loves hanging around Living Compassion at lunch and after school to play football with his friends. He says he wants to play for the Zambian team one day. He lives with his grandmother, who sells at our market here in Kantolomba.

Our faces for this week, Daniel, Purity, and Chanday, are all six years old and in Teacher Memory’s class. They live near each other right here in Kantolomba.

Nelia, Rose, Sandra, and Leticia showing that balancing things on your head starts at an early age. This has been taught by our elders ever since we were very young. The more one grows, the bigger the weight one can carry.

Meet little Mirriam, one of the cute girls here at Living Compassion. She loves school, and each morning she wakes up early to come here even if her mum is not ready. So each day her mum first prepares Mirriam before she heads to work as a maid in nearby Lubuto. Mirriam is only four years old and the only daughter to her mum, who is sixteen years old.

We’ve had some late rains and are planting veggies on our new plot just outside the property. Here Charity and the other team members are preparing the land.

After work it’s time for lunch. Our lunch is always yummy and we enjoy the food prepared. Here the team is lining up to get the food.

Christin and Felistus enjoying their lunch together; these two are best friends.

Mirriam doing Memory’s hair. Mirriam is the mother to Bertha and little Theresa. She is a mother of nine children and lives with them here in Kantolomba. When it comes to braiding, she’s the best. She charges from k15 to k150, depending on the hairstyle, but she plaited Memory's hair for free.

Some of the team members who talked to the U.S. team on Tuesday. We also walked to the part of the property which is bare now and used as a playground by the little ones. It was a fun afternoon, and everyone is looking forward to saying hello to the U.S. team again on future calls.

Joyce is continuing to practice her photography skills. Here is Regina sweeping.

Audria is sweeping, too.

And here is Elizabeth sweeping.

Susan and Jowen. It feels so good to take good care of the Living Compassion property!

Our team is considered frontline workers, and we were among the first to receive the cholera vaccine. Here we all are after getting the vaccine.

Memory took this photo of Rachel and Joyce helping with the cleaning.

Here are Felistus Chisanga and her Dad, Charles, who is one of the coop members. Felistus has been in the program since she was very little. She has finished Grade 12 and is hoping to start studying civil engineering in July.

Coop member Mirriam going to the dining hall with a bucket of nshima on her head. She is the mother of eight children, including Bertha and Mirriam (who is in Grade 11 at Oremus). She is a hard worker and loved by all.

Jowan making sure all the weeds are uprooted. Notice the roofs behind her. This is what our team members' roofs looked like before getting roof loans to improve their homes. Today none of our team gets soaked when it rains. Thank you so much, Team USA!

Pauline loves cooking. She is very proud of her work and is always making sure that food is served on time. We call her The Leader in the kitchen.

Naomi is the cute face for this week. She is seven years old and lives with her grandmother. She is a very bright little girl in Memory’s class.

We had a big celebration on April 18 in honor of Mama Cheri’s birthday! Happy birthday, Mama Cheri!

Some of the team members sharing cobs of maize. Regina harvested the maize in her field the previous day and brought some to share with the Living Compassion team members.

Miracle, Grace, and Peace sending their cute little smiling faces to you. They just love the camera!

Faith and Mercia after lunch, saying "Please take my photo."

Meet little Ishmael, who is in Teacher Memory’s class. He has a very cute smile and loves playing football. The ball they kick around is made of old clothes, which his brother made for him. He lives with his grandmother, as both his parents have passed on. He has a big brother in Grade Eleven at Lubuto Secondary School.

Nelia, Rose, and Theresa enjoying the pictures from one of the books in the library here. The book shows different types of animals from around the world.

The little ones lining up to get their lunch. One can tell just by looking at their faces that they really enjoy it!

Meet little Nonde Chilufya. She is six years old and in Memory's class. She lives here in Kantolomba with her older sister who is married. Her parents and other older siblings stay in the village in Kasama, Northern Province.

This is the cassava root, which is widely eaten in Zambia. The root itself is eaten as it is, and some dry it and grind it into flour which can be prepared into another type of nshima, which is usually made from maize. Other than roasting it, as shown here, you can also boil it and eat it with roasted peanuts. The leaves are eaten as a veggie.

Now that we have both StarLink and solar power, the Living Compassion children have access to the internet, which they use to help research their school work.

One of our young women, Joyce, is starting to do a lot of work assisting Auntie Theresa. We have our eye on her as a potential future leader.

Mirriam and Diana getting ready to plait a customer’s hair.

The Library is cleaned every other week. Here, Younger Foster and Mirriam are cleaning. We do like to have a good time when we’re cleaning!

A member of the community saying to photographer Joyce, “Take a photo of me! I appreciate what Living Compassion has done for our community, bringing clean water.”

Most of the coop members have side businesses they work on in their off-time. Here Martha is showing off her brooms, made of grass that is collected and woven into a broom.

We have been having heavy rain here, and weeding is done every week. Here Joyce is pitching in.

Charles is weeding, too.

Jowan putting a bucket of water on her head, as a member of the community looks on.

More cleaning fun! We clean everything on Friday afternoons. Here are Docus, Emelda, and Felistus cleaning.

Astrida Bwalya, 9 years old, is in Grade 3 this year. She has three older siblings and two younger ones. She stays with her mum; her father left the family to marry another woman in Twapia. Her mum sells veggies at the local market here in Kantolomba. She loves going to school, and her favorite subject is English.

Mildred Mwansa is 8 years old and is in Grade 3. She is the daughter of very own cooperative member Charity. Mildred is the last-born in a family of five other siblings. Her mum is the bread winner. Mildred started coming to Living Compassion when she was small. She loves singing and is doing well in school.

Little Peggy Banda, 9 years old and in Grade 3. She is the first-born daughter of our very own team member Ruth. Ruth is the daughter of Sofia, one of the beloved, original cooperative members who died some years back. Peggy has a two sisters, and they live with mum in their family house. Peggy is a good girl both at school and home and loves teaching her siblings what she learned at school when she gets home.

Meet Christabel Mukwemba, who is 9 years old and a Grade 3 student at Oremus School. She is the daughter of our coop member Audria. Christabel is the last-born in a family of eight other siblings. She lives with her family right here in Kantolomba. Her mum is the bread winner of the family and takes care of everyone. Christabel wants to become a doctor when she finishes school so that she can take care of her mum. She recently lost her sister Docus.

Meet Gloria Nyirongo. She is 8 years old and in Grade 3. Gloria is the second-born in a family of three, with two brothers. Her father was hit by a car in Lubuto as he was coming from work three years ago. To make ends meet, her mum sells fritters by the roadside on the way to Lubuto. Gloria is a very cheerful girl and loves reading.

This is Mercy Bwalya, 12 years old and in Grade 7. She recently lost her mom, and her father is also no more. Mercy lives with her grandmother, who sells vegetables to make ends meet. Mercy is a bright student and loves English. Most of the time when not in school, she comes to Living Compassion to be with her friend Edna.

Please meet Ester Nkandu. She is 13 years old, in Grade 7, and is the daughter of our cooperative member Zilo. Ester is the second-born in a family of four. She is shy and does not talk much, but she’s a very good student. She loves English and reads a lot in the library when the girls come to Living Compassion.

This is Karen Banda. She is 12 years old. Her mom had her at an early age, when she was only 15 years old. Karen has a younger sister and little brother. Karen’s mom and dad recently separated, and her mom now works as a maid. Karen is a great student at school. She loves singing and wants to become a pilot when she grows up.

Edna Phiri, all grown now at 15 years old and in Grade 7. She is the daughter of our very own cooperative member Natasha Phiri, who is exceptional on the team. Everyone loves Natasha, and she works extra hard for her children. Edna is the first-born and has a younger brother and sister. She is a very good student and loves reading and learning computers. Edna wants to become a doctor when she grows up.

Mangoes are in season at Living Compassion. Pauline, Veronica, and Foster share out the fruit.

The rains are finally here and yes, everything is green and weeds are growing fast. Here, Pauline and team are clearing weeds. In the background are our three water tanks!

The team is always in high spirits when it comes to work. Cooking for the children is their passion—along with making sure that the food is served on time! Here Susan, Florence, and Docus are sorting beans.

Memory showing her passion for teaching. After being trained as a teacher, she has helped a lot with the children here at Living Compassion. Parents have come to appreciate how much their children have progressed. Keep it up, Memory!