For a long time we traveled to Zambia as much as four times a year! That seems impossible to imagine now, even before COVID. But we were young and strong and the project was young and not yet so strong. Being together in person—the U.S. part of the team along with the Zambian part of the team—was the only way to establish and maintain new facets of this wonderful fledgling journey of transformation we found ourselves on together.
Not so anymore!
On a recent Good News update we spoke about some of the young women in the girls program who have left the academic track and embarked on learning a vocational skill. Benadette chose catering school. She started the course a couple of months ago and Theresa reports that she is LIT UP! Theresa said that even Benadette is surprised by her own excitement. It seems she had a story in her head that she had ‘failed’ on the academic track and that her options were going to be limited. In fact, she is thrilled, loves what she is learning, and is enthusiastic about the possibilities this opens up for her.
“And,” Theresa added as she relayed the story, “a couple of Benadette’s friends from the community have joined her.” This is truly remarkable! These are young women in Kantolomba who are not in the Living Compassion program. They are friends of Benadette’s who see how excited she is and see that there ARE options for young women who did not finish school. “There is a sort of, ‘If she can do it, maybe I can, too’ attitude amongst her friends,” continued Theresa, “and her excitement is contagious. Her friends want that, too.”
For these young women, Benadette is the source of inspiration, the one who is showing them what is possible—their own peer, in their own community. It’s a significant moment in the evolution of the project. It seems a perfect parallel to what we each discover in our own practice—transformation is local!
Gasshō
Jen