August 20th, 2008 Living Compassion
Gasshō,
One of the most distressing and frustrating situations we’ve encountered in our work in Kantolomba is what goes on with the men. There are many aspects to the problem, no doubt many more than we are aware of, but here are the common themes that everyone speaks about.
- Jobs are scarce, applicants plentiful–85-90% unemployment nationwide.
- What a man does is to go to a job.
- All work other than going to a job is women’s work.
- Men do not help with anything in the home or the community.
- With nothing else to do, men drink.
- Women brew the illegal liquor that men consume.
- The alcohol, combined with poor or lacking nutrition, quickly results in death.
- Men can have more than one wife and any number of girlfriends.
- Women have no rights.
- When a man tires of a woman, he can simply throw her out with nothing.
- Women are beaten for attempting to avoid pregnancy.
- Children belong to the man.
- Raping a wife is not considered a problem or a crime.
- When a woman has produced many children she is called a “suitcase,” simply a bag for carrying children, and is discarded for a “fresh” woman, often one who is very young.
- The woman is expected to support the family.
- The woman seeks money to feed the children; the man takes the money for “brew.”
We have known all of this since shortly after arriving, but what could we do? We are white foreigners. We can offer opportunities; we can support people through education, a lunch program for the children, and some basic medical care. But we can’t come in and require wholesale changes in their social structure. And yet, in the time we’ve been working together, it has become increasingly apparent that the women are desperate, miserable, trapped, and suffering. It can sound noble to talk about not interfering with another culture or about the importance of allowing people to create their own destiny, but that’s not how we see it for ourselves! Around the world people have fought hard to end all sorts of oppression. In the United States today, minorities and women still work to achieve equal rights.
We are cautiously optimistic that a good approach to working for a change in this situation has opened up for us: Friday.
We have interacted with Friday through two month-long visits. First he stopped to help a bunch of musungus with a broken car. He was fair and honest and worked tirelessly for a whole month to resurrect that doomed vehicle. During that visit we learned he was in a custody battle with his former wife over their two children. She did not want the children but threatened to take them if he didn’t give her money. This whole situation is unheard of here, as far as we can tell. Single men simply do not raise children, even if the mother has died. A female relative is found to do the job of child rearing. Yet Friday fought to have his children and cares for them by providing meals and baths and school—a very good sign.
During the trip to Victoria Falls, he continued to impress us with his knowledge, discussing the political situations in South Africa and Zimbabwe and world politics as well, his attentiveness to the details of our trip, his sensitivity to the needs of the group, his awareness of the “big picture,” and general good-naturedness, regardless of what we asked him to do. While we washed dishes one evening, he told us he was raised with his father saying, “There are not men and women, there are just human beings.”
When he took us to Kantolomba, rather than sitting in the vehicle waiting for us (as every other driver we’ve had will do), he grabbed a pick and joined the step-building crew. He worked right along with the rest of the guys until quitting time. The next day he came dressed to dig, and once again matched the other men swing for swing. Since then he has helped to paint the building for the ceremony and served as translator for the event.
Friday making a spontaneous sewing machine repair.
All this background is to say that he looks like a very good candidate to start a “men’s consciousness raising movement” in Kantolomba. We need carpenters to put on the new roofs, fix the old roofs on our property, build tables and benches for the school, and put up a fence, but we have no one we can trust with the job. This is one area in which Theresa would not be qualified to lead, primarily because of the social issues previously outlined. She would not yet be able to question a man about the money he spent or challenge him if the supplies mysteriously disappeared—which they would do!
But Friday, speaking both Bemba and English and having his own truck, could oversee the securing of the materials, be responsible for the funds, determine which men were good workers, and get rid of those who were drinking on the job. He could communicate the requirements for working for/with Living Compassion. He would be able to explain that to be a part of the Living Compassion team one does not just go to work, finish work, and start drinking. Being on that team means everyone works together and everyone does all the work. So a day’s work could consist of carpentry and then perhaps gardening. They will all have to understand that Theresa is the “big boss,” and that she takes direction from a group of musungus on the other side of the world. They would also be expected to attend adult education classes that would include health education. Friday could also lead the kinds of discussion groups that we have with the women so that the men, too, could talk about what they need, what they feel is stopping them, and how those impediments might be removed. And, perhaps, Friday could slowly begin to mentor them in a new view of what it means to be a man, a husband, a father, and a contributing member of a community.
Of course this will cost money. Friday now works at many jobs, including as a mechanic, to come up with the funds necessary to keep his family together in this extremely depressed economy. We are thinking of offering him a three days a week position, allowing him the alternate days to pursue his other occupations. Our men could work five days a week, and Friday could monitor their progress on his days with them. We’re thinking a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule for Friday would permit maximum supervision and progress.
One of the men at work installing new roofs made
possible through the Roof Loan Program.
The men dismantling the walls of a building beyond repair.
We feel good about investing in this approach because we realize we can go only so far working exclusively with the women. If the community is to become truly sustainable, the whole community must move forward together.
We ask regularly for financial support to continue these projects. Currently, we have eighteen of the nineteen loans needed to put roofs on the houses of the Living Compassion team before the rains begin. (Actually we’ve decided to fix up three of the houses on the Living Compassion property and rent them to single mothers on the team, thereby decreasing the women’s monthly expenses, while improving the property all at once—but more about that soon.) Now we’re hoping that there are those reading this who find it particularly inspiring to assist in this new program for the men. We estimate that it will cost about $200 US per month to secure Friday’s services. If you feel moved to support this project, please note “for the men” in the notes portion of your donation.
As always, we are beyond grateful that we are all engaged in this wonderful work together.
In lovingkindness,
Jen
Africa Projects Coordinator
Posted in Project Updates
August 13th, 2008 Living Compassion
Leaving day. Always a time of mixed emotions. Who wouldn’t look forward to returning to reliable electricity, hot showers (any showers at all we would settle for at this point), ample vegetarian food, air that is not constantly smoky (though we hear we have at least as much smoke to look forward to at home in northern California as we currently have here), roads that are not full of potholes, and one’s own bed. And yet, departing is difficult. Each time we come our commitment deepens, our friendships grow, and we feel more and more like Zambia is truly another home for us. It has become part of who we are. The folks here are part of our family, part of Sangha.
Jen left on the early flight. The one time we were hoping the flight would be delayed so we could get more business done, it was on time to the minute! So we flew around town dropping things here, packing up, saying last minute goodbyes. We all pretended it would only be tomorrow until we see each other again (or 3 or 6 months but…). These are good people over here in Zambia. We take great pleasure in knowing that many of you will get to meet Theresa in 2009, when she comes for the 8th Annual Bridge Walk, and see for yourself what a special person she is. (We are starting to plan the U.S. tour for September 2009. If you interested in seeing Theresa in your town, now is the time to let us know.)
We thank you again for being out there, for reading, responding, fundraising, for being part of the family, and mostly for caring. This is great fun what we are all doing together!
Ichibote (peace in Bemba) and Twatotela (thank you) until the next trip,
The Africa Team
Our boys get up to come say farewell.
Driving away from our home in Ndola.
The last sunset before Cheri leaves the country.
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
August 12th, 2008 Living Compassion
We’re coming down to the wire so today is a “hit it” day. We stop by the hardware store to arrange the roofing tin delivery, then hustle to the Department of Education to meet the officials for their tour of our project out in Kantolomba.
Stacks of roofing sheets in the store.
Loading the sheets to be transported out to Kantolomba.
As we arrived, we could see the carpenters were making good progress with roof demolition. That was a high-point of that particular visit since giving a tour to the officials was definitely not up-lifting. For whatever reason, and in stark contrast to the visit by the representative of the Permanent Secretary’s office, these folks could find nothing to like. We don’t know what it was all about since we have received a great deal of information that what we’re doing there is truly extraordinary. We will find out more on our next visit.
Christopher and Pascal dismantling one of the structures on our property that was no longer safe. Once the roofs come off they must knock the walls down or children will play in them—obviously a dangerous proposition since the walls can collapse at any time.
The women work to carry the poles that will be beams to hold the roofing.
As always, Friday gets in on the action, too.
Next, a quick meeting with the women for a follow-up discussion on birth control options and to pick up the dozen chitenge monk bags Georgina had made on the new machine. After a re-do of the property videoing, we met with Gaudencia to discuss roof flashing, make a decision about flooring, and pick a site for the VIP toilets (very fancy outhouses).
Cute faces come by to wish us goodbye!
Back to town for last minute errands: a color swatch from the paint store; roofing wire, a hand saw, and a tape measure for the carpenters; and a few pharmacy items for the gals. Then to Castle Lodge where we could go over a business plan with Eunice (including the spa, bridal boutique, and vegetarian menu) and meet with Sara, a fourth-year medical student from Stanford doing research in the Ndola clinics, whom we’d meet in town one day. The whole thing turned out quite well since Sara’s accommodations weren’t suiting her and Eunice was open to having Sara move up to Castle Lodge. Much better for a poor student who will now have access to refrigerator and stove as well as internet. (In the “small world” department, Sara has been to meditation at the Palo Alto Zen Center.) Unfortunately, they were way too much fun and by the time we took Eunice up on her offer of dinner, we had a very late night before departure.
Cheri and Eunice on one couch; Sara is on the right, checking email.
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
August 11th, 2008 Living Compassion
Saturday was a catch-up day—the standard type you know so well: to Castle Lodge to do email and send blogs; errands around town including roof materials investigation; and getting set with food in preparation for the daily power outage.
On Sunday, that being a quiet, church-going day for most of our friends in Ndola, we arranged to meet some of the folks we’d been attempting to find time with. In anticipation of this great social whirl Eunice begin to create a special vegetarian feast. Every Sunday Castle Lodge puts out a huge buffet lunch, but vegetarian fare is not a big part of what is on offer. While our spread was being prepared, we met with Gaudencia to go over building details that needed to be addressed so construction can continue smoothly in our absence.
Gaudencia and Jen working out the financials.
Cheri has Gaudencia and Jen pose.
During a Living Compassion Board call last week, we realized we have never explained clearly the financial aspects of the Community Center building. We concluded that if the Board wasn’t clear, probably no one else is either! Here’s the good news: The cost of the entire building is being covered by two very generous individuals here in the U.S. through a grant from the Dewey Dreams Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation. Their generosity makes it possible for the rest of the funds contributed to the work in Kantolomba to be used for all the other aspects of the project: feeding the children, providing schooling (which includes uniforms and tuition at schools other than ours), medical care, employment, home-improvement loans, and micro-finance.
A photo Theresa just sent us of one of the roofers working on the new building.
We think she has a future in photography!
Next came Godfrey. Over an amazing lunch of veggies, etc., prepared by Eunice’s visiting Chef from Amsterdam, we caught up with Godfrey about school, family, entrepreneurial pursuits, and all the latest Apple products! Like many folks around the globe he is fascinated by the iphone and eager to get his hands on one. He was very pleased with the 8 Gigabyte flash drive we brought him, but it created barely a blip in his exuberant “commercials” for the wonders of the iphone. So many things that are easily available to us simply are not possibilities there. And yet, for a young fellow like Godfrey the dreams and desire are as real and immediate as if he could just grab a credit card and head off to the nearest superstore.
Eunice thought it was so funny that we were thrilled to find a Coke Light in a bottle.
Imagine—a bottle of Coke that can be reused!
Cheri joins in the fun.
During lunch Agness arrived, looking smashing as always! Her dream is her own beauty salon, and we are scheming to get a partnership going between her and Eunice since it is part of Eunice’s dream to have a day spa at Castle Lodge. How do these people even know about these things, you may ask? Let me assure you the World Wide Web is bringing everything to everybody in a hurry. In the short term what Eunice needs is a good cook, and we can definitely attest to the fact that Agness is that. We hope it will work out for them to begin their adventure over food and let it expand to beauty treatments, healthy spa cuisine, lattes, and beyond! Part of our eagerness for this alliance rests in the fact that Agness is currently separated from her husband and children five days a week because, in this country of horrific unemployment, the only place she can find work is more than two hours away by bus. Currently she stays with her sister all week, works 14-hour days, journeys back to Ndola for her two days off, then goes back to Chingola to start the process all over again. It would be a huge boon for her and her family if she could get steady work in Ndola.
Jen, Agness, and Godfrey
When most of our friends departed, we joined the Mashano family to view progress on the Castle Lodge expansion and to learn about what’s proposed. Pictures cannot do justice to the “insaka” they’re building as home to the event pavilion, restaurant, and bar. It’s enormous. Very difficult to imagine it full of people. Maybe 500 capacity? These people think big!
Touring the site.
A view from one side of the giant restaurant insaka structure.
Bales of thatch still to be used to finish the roof.
Then across the street to the open space they’ve negotiated to take over from the city. It’s a beautiful spot, large, open, lots of trees, but in recent years it’s become home to some unsavory characters. The Mashano, of course, don’t want that sort of influence next to their huge investment, and they’ve convinced the city to give them five years to turn it into something beneficial to the community. Their plan includes a wedding site, picnic areas, a water feature, a playground for children, and lots of little nooks for meditation or quiet conversation.
At the rate these folks move it will very likely be completed by the time we return next year.
Gaudencia and Mr. Mashano (Eunice’s dad) at the park site.
Home to electricity. Oh, joy!
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
July 25th, 2008 Living Compassion
We planned an early start so we could stop by to see Mrs. Chekalekale of the District Education Board, before hustling out to Kantolomba to get the carpenters started removing the first roof. We thought we were just checking in to make a plan, but she had arranged for all the officers of the Board to be there so we could set a date and time for their tour of Kantolomba. We were most grateful that she is so organized, since we were quite eager to get to Kantolomba to get the carpenters started. We had our second pleasant surprise of the day when we found they’d already taken the roof off the first house!
Pascal.
Christopher on the roof.
The old roofing sheets.
On the way to the property we passed Josephine and Baby Cheri on their way to the clinic. Baby Cheri was going for her final dose of the medication she’s been taking since being born to HIV positive parents. Later Josephine showed us the baby’s medical records. She got a good check-up. She is not HIV positive!
We raced back to town to have lunch and fix dinner in preparation for our standard evening power outage. After our home chores were completed (a big part of life here, by the way), we returned to town to pick up gloves and a wheelbarrow for the carpenters, an iron for the seamstresses, and a new valve for the water tap. While we were there, we checked on galvanized tin sheets for the roof. We were unsuccessful in locating tie-dye supplies, but have a lead for tomorrow.
Cheri checking out the new wheelbarrow.
The tin roofing sheets.
Back in Kantolomba, while the carpenters were finishing spiffing up the job site, we spoke with plumber John about installing a spigot up the hill so the women won’t have to carry those giant buckets of water so far. His response was the one we happily receive each time we make a request of him: “No problem.” Such a relief!
Delivering the new iron and thread to Georgina.
Beauty tries out the new wheelbarrow.
John with some plumbing parts to fix the existing water tap.
John immediately got to work fixing the tap.
Cheri and John making plans for the new garden water tap.
Always fun to photograph our pig friends.
The house with roof completely off.
A beautiful view of the sky from inside the roofless house.
While we walked the newly added property and videoed the current site, Friday fixed the new sewing machine—that man can do everything!—a d the gals got to take it for a test drive.
Friday fixing the machine.
Georgina takes it for a spin.
Then Nellie.
And last but not least, Josephine.
Though late and at the end of a very long day, we decided to stop by Castle Lodge for internet, only to learn that they are out of electricity and water. Home to a dark house, grateful we made our dinner earlier, and that at least we have water!
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
July 24th, 2008 Living Compassion
Today is the day our friends leave us. Friday brings the big vehicle and once again we load the folks and their luggage, this time for a trip to the airport. Ndola airport is so small it is possible to check in, check bags, and then drive down the road to Strawberry Café for a latte—which we do. We had plenty of time since the flight from Johannesburg was more than an hour late.
Back to the house for a quick lunch while Friday switched out the big van for the smaller truck, then out to Kantolomba to meet with and interview the carpenters. We have hired Pascal, an older, experienced fellow, and Christopher, who it turns out is Josephine’s husband. We like them both. Friday feels they have a good chance of doing the job well. Their most important qualification–they don’t drink.
Our new plumbers.
We did a walk-around of the property, creating an order of priority for the work. It is challenging in the extreme to do this kind of project in a foreign country with two different languages. Things have different names, things are done in different ways, just getting clear on terms can be epic, and there’s still no guarantee we’re talking about the same thing! We were so grateful that when people were talking about needing a crowbar, the tool they wanted was the one we also call a crowbar. In a world of “planks” for rafters, “iron sheets” for galvanized tin, and “bore valve” for “spigot,” finding a crowbar to be a crowbar is a great relief.
We got to see the new pots in action.
Theresa talking through the carpentry plan.
Never a shortage of cute faces!
After the roofing project was laid out, we were sent to town for thread for the new sewing machine. Georgina, Nellie, and Josephine will now set to work stitching some monk bags for us to bring home. We also picked up a couple of hammers for the carpenters. Tools have a way of making their way to new homes so the women are vigilant about keeping track of everything, locking it up at night, and distributing it at the start of a workday.
Our new friends at the sewing shop.
Back home to a dark house. We seem to have hit a pattern here with the power being turned off promptly at 6 p.m. each day, coinciding perfectly with the end of daylight. Not a fun or easy way to live, but one that puts us very much in touch with how the folks we’re here to serve live every day of their lives. Their electricity NEVER comes on; our toilets might not flush perfectly, but they flush; our refrigerator and stove don’t work without electricity; they have neither. (Good to keep things in perspective!)
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
July 23rd, 2008 Living Compassion
Cheri woke up with a sudden awareness that since Josephine is not breast-feeding she has no protection against a next, unwanted pregnancy. (She stated her husband is opposed to contraception.) Our trip to Kantolomba to visit the preschoolers is suddenly put on hold as we begin the process of finding out what we can do for Josephine.
We have a couple of concerns: 1) is she already pregnant, and 2) would she be willing to take a Depo-Provera shot, given the misinformation she had received from someone earlier. At some point a health care provider told her that taking ARVs and using any type of contraception other than a condom would “cause a bomb in her body.” Needless to say, this frightened her. We checked with our medical people who assured us that, while all medications interact with one another and there is no guarantee about side effects, there’s no evidence that combining ARVs and Depo-Provera would have negative effects. Josephine, with Baby Cheri only 2 ½ months old, really doesn’t want to be pregnant again. We stopped by Dr. Obi’s to see if we could get what we would need to provide Josephine with a shot, if that’s what she chose to do. Sure enough they had everything right there and off we went.
The clinic.
We called a meeting with Josephine, Theresa, Karen, Cheri, and Jen. We all wanted to be very sure Josephine understood exactly what was happening. We were concerned that if she became afraid of “the bomb,” she might stop taking her ARVs after getting the shot, and of course that would have disastrous results. One interesting outcome of all this is that we discovered Josephine has very good English. Rather than simply have Theresa translate into Bemba what was being said by the three English speakers, trusting that it was accurate and that Josephine understood, we asked Josephine to reflect back what she was getting from the conversation. To our amazement she understood perfectly and was able to say back to us in her own words what the information was. She wanted the shot!
We all left nurse and patient to complete the task, and moments later Josephine emerged from the temporary clinic room with the biggest smile we’ve seen from her. Since then she has been a different person. She smiles, she laughs, she is interactive, and almost talkative.
We’ve subsequently learned that all birth control, HIV testing, and ARVs are free in Zambia. The women can go to the clinic and get the shots on their own. We will encourage them to do this and feel confident that when they understand what needs to happen they will take responsibility for doing it. After all, this is the group of women who, when learning that their new solar flashlights should have the battery completely discharged once a month, came up with the date of the 18th and all, without fail, follow the protocol religiously.
Flashlights charging on the roof.
This attended to, we walked down to the little school to make necklaces with the kindergarten class. Having sufficiently destroyed any discipline or hope of learning for the day, we left the little guys and made our way back to the building where the tiny children were getting lunch and the big kids were engaged in a wild game of something involving a giant baseball we’d brought.
Jan and Nellie help the children with their beads.
Jill helping to tie the necklaces.
Proudly sporting their new jewelry.
The older children playing.
The women were finishing up with lunch and dishes so we gathered in the little insaka outside the kitchen to deliver the new, enormous cooking pots (gifts from two of the retreatants) the women have desperately needed for months. They have been feeding 350 children using pots not much bigger than those we have at the Monastery. Finally we were able to find some that will work for them, making their work so much easier. Next came the piece de resistance– an electric sewing machine. The women were beside themselves! Amidst the bedlam of expressions of joy and gratitude, the three seamstresses set to work reading the manual, figuring out how the machine operates.
The pots the women used to cook with.
Receiving the new pots.
Great excitement unpacking the new sewing machine.
Georgina and Josephine look at the new machine with love in their eyes.
Next was the delivery of necklaces to the littlest children. These necklaces were made by a third grade class from Sacramento (the ones recently featured in an email about the Bridge Walk). It took us a little while to get everything ready. The children waited very patiently while we simultaneously untangled necklaces and subjected them to off-key renditions of “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and “B-i-n-g-o.”
Back to town for a meeting with Dr. Obi at his clinic to talk about birth control, HIV (for the first time the numbers are not going up), and other major health concerns. Next was a visit to the clinic Emory University operates, doing research through couples HIV testing.
The youngest children wait patiently for their necklaces.
Our work during this part of the trip complete, we returned to Castle Lodge for a traditional dinner of nchima and relish–along with curried veggies and “sausage” to take care of lingering fears of starvation. Part way through the meal the lights dimmed, then went out completely, leaving us in total darkness. After a bit of a wait, we could hear attempts to get the new generator up and running. Eunice came in shortly after we’d affixed a flashlight to the chandelier, and commented, “Ah, a romantic dinner.” Might as well put on the best spin possible—and of course she was right! We were all feeling ourselves to be among the luckiest folks on earth.
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
July 22nd, 2008 Living Compassion
At least once every trip we have a day that feels like it goes down in the history books of the project. Tuesday was definitely one of those days. The ceremony was successful beyond our wildest dreams. We took video of most of it and hope we will have a chance to share it with you at some point. For now, we will let the photos tell the story.
We arrived to find the women had worked magic with the toilet paper streamers. The building looked great!
The banner team set to work immediately putting on the last minute touches.
Blowing up the heart balloons. It was so much fun to work as a team to get the place ready!
Outside the women washed the reed mats as seating for the children during the ceremony.
The banner is ready and Luke and team hang it.
Finally all is in place and we await our guests.
The Permanent Secretary was not able to make it herself and sent a charming representative in her stead.
Cheri greeting the government official.
Early that morning we had put together a simple program for the event.
Jen is handing one to the government folks.
Once we were all seated, the women sang a beautiful welcome song to begin the ceremony. This doubled as stall time for the media who arrived late and needed time to set up their microphones and cameras.
Grace, Eunice’s mom, did us a HUGE favor and agreed at the last minute to be the mistress of ceremonies. (She is at the end of the table reading the paper). She did a fantastic job!
Theresa and Jen gave some background on the project. Theresa began by saying, “I never imagined that I would in my life do something as great at this for this community of Kantolomba.”
Next we were treated to a wonderful surprise: The youngest children had prepared some songs expressing their gratitude to Living Compassion for all they have done. The lyrics to one: Teacher, teacher we came here empty handed and now we can read and write.
Then the older children delivered poems they had written for Cheri (“Mother Cheri”) as the head of Living Compassion (also a complete surprise).
Two of the poems:
Before God answered our prayers through you our future was very uncertain. We were out on the streets with no one to take care of us. It was when you came with your generous help that we found ourselves saved at school. Once again we are now assured of a bright future. We thank you, Mother Cheri.
I was once hopeless and beaten. My life was gloom. No food, no education. I did not enjoy life. I did all sorts of bad things because of my situation. I was frustrated. Now I am able to smile and enjoy life. Once again, the Bible says you reap what you sow. God will reward you for your work. Thank you, Mother Cheri.
It was easy to project that the whole room was very moved.
Cheri, beyond surprised by the focus of the children’s messages.
Before delivering a speech, the government official expressed how impressed he was by the project and specifically commended the teachers for the quality of the children’s English.
Cheri then spoke, sharing her gratitude for all we have received in working here in Zambia.
Appropriately, the Living Compassion team ended the ceremony with more beautiful singing.
We took the government folks on a tour of the property after the ceremony.
They were very supportive of our efforts.
When the guests were gone and the dust settled, we congratulated one another on an incredible day indeed. Then the musungus headed to town just in time to shop for pots for the cooking team before the stores closed.
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
July 20th, 2008 Living Compassion
Last week we arranged with the Permanent Secretary to be the guest of honor for an official ceremony to recognize the presence of Living Compassion in Kantolomba. Her office suggested that 10:00 a.m. Tuesday would be a good time so we set aside Monday to prepare.
Theresa met us in town, and we spent the morning collecting all the necessary accoutrements: chitenge table cloths, material to make a banner, multi-colored toilet paper to decorate the walls, balloons. and flowers. We were quite curious to see what Ndola would have to offer in the way of flowers. Theresa led us into a shop that carried a most impressive array of fake ones, and we all easily agreed on three purple arrangements. The Living Compassion team in Kantolomba decided yesterday that purple will be our color (we plan to paint the interior building walls purple). When choosing balloons, Theresa insisted we buy the heart-shaped ones since, she noted, we all (she included herself) have such big hearts.
Our flower arrangement.
In the truck with all our goodies.
Everyone got a chuckle out of this one.
When all the little errands were complete, we gathered at the paint store. We had set an ambitious goal to paint the largest room of the new building before the ceremony. After carefully choosing a purple that seemed closest to what the team had described they want for the walls, we gave our color swatch to the paint technician. He looked up the formula and broke the bad news that they were all out of one of the necessary ingredients. Argh! We decided to simply paint it white for the time being and come back another time for the purple coat.
Picking out the paint color.
A quick stop to buy some items from our friend Mathilda at the craft market.
With our car full of goodies, we set off for Kantolomba to meet up with the team there. Most of the musungas got to work painting the walls white. Theresa, Cheri, and Jen met in the insaka to lay out plans for hiring carpenters who will be charged with putting on the 19 roofs made possible through the recent roof loan program.
Luke stirs the paint.
Cheri launches the painting project.
And Theresa is next.
Scott.
Jan and John.
Friday gets in on the action.
While we were painting, the glazier was installing the windows.
Theresa and Cheri enjoy different views from the insaka during the meeting.
Before leaving we made a detailed plan with the women about how the ceremony day would go. We agreed to take care of making a Living Compassion banner and getting drinks and snacks for the guests. The women agreed to get everything decorated and ready to go. We are excited. Can’t wait to see how it will go!
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
July 19th, 2008 Living Compassion
Today started with some domestic chores, then lunch at the Big House. There seemed to be a pattern forming of electricity at lunchtime and no electricity at dinnertime, so we decided to go with the prevailing current and have our dinner in the Buddhist tradition, for lunch. Our meal (lunch or dinner or breakfast for those still on U.S. time) was red sauce with tofu over penne, broccoli, and the long awaited Party Bread, which had been cut up and made into garlic bread. Definitely worth waiting two days for.
The long-awaited Party Bread.
Enjoying the meal.
After eating we quickly cleaned up so we could fit in a walk to Strawberry Café for some internet access, coffee, and those famous peanut butter milk shakes before going to Kantolomba. The walk took us through a beautiful neighborhood with lots of green lawns, trees, and flowers. We discussed our day’s visit to Kantolomba, where Scott, M.D., and Karen, R.N., would sit in on Dr. Obi’s patient visits while the steps team continued work on their project.
We found great seats outside at the café, but alas, no internet. The sky was uncharacteristically cloudy and it looked like rain, but Friday assured us that was impossible. Even when the clouds are very dark, it never rains in the dry season.
In Kantolomba, we arrived to another happy welcome. The steps team immediately got to work, and the remaining folks met with Theresa to discuss the plan for the next day, which included finding chairs, making a Living Compassion banner, and deciding on decorations for the building celebration scheduled for Tuesday. As we met we noticed that patients were arriving, the first an old man walking with the support of two women. They sat in the shade to wait. Soon Dr. Obi arrived with his wife Carol, also a nurse. He greeted us all warmly and seemed especially interested to meet Scott and Karen, fellow medical people. Together they went into the make-shift health assessment room, and soon Theresa began bringing in the patients one by one. Dr. Obi visits only once a month ,seeing ten patients during each trip; it is important to make sure the people being seen are the ten most in need.
The steps team back at work.
Dr. Obi and nurse Carol arrive.
The clinic is held in the one building that was on the property when it was purchased: a cement structure with a tiny window and, today, due to a “brown out,” no electricity. It’s very dark inside and it takes a bit to adjust to the dimness; the door is left ajar for light. Dr Obi has six new patients today. The first is a 53-year-old man who looks 75 or 80, is obviously not feeling well, not moving well, and complaining of leg pain. He has a history of a stroke. Carol takes his blood pressure, which is 230/130–dangerously high. A taxi is immediately called to take him directly to the hospital. A “bypass fee” is paid so that he can go be seen on arrival without having to go through the red tape of first being referred by a local clinic.
Inside the medical room.
Posted in 2008 Trip Blogs, July 2008 Trip
