Back to the land - June 25, 2008
The sandwich crew of the day. One of our meetings.
At our usual morning meeting at the Chikusu's we heard about Dianna's time after she left her village. Josephine had taken her home with her for the night. Dianna took her first bath ever in Josephine's bathtub. Josephine said Dianna didn't come out and didn't come out until Josephine wondered if she was still there. In the morning Dianna got up and took another bath. This day Dianna was to have an eye exam and go to the doctor with other CRC kids that weren't feeling well.
The Land
This was a day on the land, our last full day to work there. I loaded a wheelbarrow full of cement pieces and Liz and I took it to the potholes, taking turns. It was really too much for me. I finally gave it to Liz and I brought the empty wheelbarrow back. I decided it was work for the younger people. That was really the only thing I couldn't do on the trip except for the blister problem. Now that the solar pump was up and running we could water things with the hose. So I watered the banana trees and other trees, as well as the bricks that needed watering twice daily.
One other team member and I stopped work before everyone else because we both had blisters. Lots of people climbed the water tower and a couple of very afraid, brave team members made it shakily to the top. I was busy taking pictures of them so I didn't go up.
The water tower and the view of the new houses from the water tower.
The team before us had painted a background on the warehouse and put their handprints on it. So today we painted the background for our handprints.
We left the land, we'd be back tomorrow to do our handprints. On the way back to Lusaka I sat beside Webster so we could get to know each other. He and Sharon care for 7 kids, his late brothers and their own children. Webster is so terrific with kids, he just loves them. He has been with Kathy and MWB the longest. He wants to take more courses to help defend the children who don't have anyone to care for them. He'd like to visit Vermont someday when he comes to the states - this is a dream of his. He asked me a lot of questions about where I lived and my life.
Zambian staff members Josephine and our Super Camp leader, Webster
Remember I spoke of load sharing, where the electricity goes off for a period of time, and you never know when that might happen. This night we held half of our meeting by battery light until the lights finally came on.
BJ told of her day navigating the Zambian system to get all the papers and information she needed for Alex's insurance coverage for his injured arm. What should have taken an hour or two took all day, as is the Zambian way. Offices would be closed, some would send her other places, one fax machine was out of talk time - come back tomorrow, and on and on. Kathy and Phillip said people have no comprehension of how hard it is to get something done in Zambia. Besides the slowness of getting ordinary things done there is a tremendous bureaucracy in Zambia, there is much incompetence and inefficiency.
This was Wednesday, our time with Mothers Without Borders would be over on Friday so Kathy began a long, serious talk about re-entry into our lives at home. Not something we thought about before we left the states. I don't know how I could have done it without this conversation. Re-entry was very difficult and knowing how hard it would be and how it would feel and how others would react helped smooth the transition.
Notes of the day:
The workmen get paid $3 a day.
A chicken costs 22,000 kwachas ($7)
Chicken houses of Mavis and a flowering tree in her yard.
The yard around our bunkhouse and Kathy (MWB Founder) and Phillip her husband.
Our bunkhouse and the bottled water supply.
Meeting and bus ride.
Remember I spoke of load sharing, where the electricity goes off for a period of time, and you never know when that might happen. This night we held half of our meeting by battery light until the lights finally came on.
BJ told of her day navigating the Zambian system to get all the papers and information she needed for Alex's insurance coverage for his injured arm. What should have taken an hour or two took all day, as is the Zambian way. Offices would be closed, some would send her other places, one fax machine was out of talk time - come back tomorrow, and on and on. Kathy and Phillip said people have no comprehension of how hard it is to get something done in Zambia. Besides the slowness of getting ordinary things done there is a tremendous bureaucracy in Zambia, there is much incompetence and inefficiency.
This was Wednesday, our time with Mothers Without Borders would be over on Friday so Kathy began a long, serious talk about re-entry into our lives at home. Not something we thought about before we left the states. I don't know how I could have done it without this conversation. Re-entry was very difficult and knowing how hard it would be and how it would feel and how others would react helped smooth the transition.
Notes of the day:
The workmen get paid $3 a day.
A chicken costs 22,000 kwachas ($7)
Chicken houses of Mavis and a flowering tree in her yard.
The yard around our bunkhouse and Kathy (MWB Founder) and Phillip her husband.
Our bunkhouse and the bottled water supply.
Meeting and bus ride.
There is grinding poverty, as you now can see, but there is so much grace in the midst of the suffering.
Quote of the Day:
The greatest and most blessed character virtue in all of humanity is charity. It is the main fabric through which all other virtues weave to make a perfect tapestry of life.
Vaugh J. Featherstone
3 comments:
Questions for you:
Where are you finding your ending quotes?
Why do the bricks have to be watered?
have you heard if diana has had her eye work completed? Will she go back to her family? Is their shunning permanent or will your visit up their cred with their tribespeople?
Will you be posting pix of the remainder of your trip?
It's hard for me to articulate how these postings have touched me. You have made sharing your experiences very real and memorable. The picture of the grandfather with the carved wooden bowl was just
incredible.
Thank you for sharing these images and words. They are strangely powerful.
The end quotes come from out meetings, we had a quote at every meeting. The bricks have to be watered twice a day for a month. It is just what has to be done to season them and finish the brick making process. I believe I talked about Dianna's eyes in the post before this. They are ever so much better. They are almost completely opened and her vision improves every day. I don't think she will go back to her family except for visits during school vacation. Her grandparents are getting too old to care for the kids. The visit definitely upped the credability with their community. I don't know about the shunning. This will help.
Thanks for your kind words, Patt. I really appreciate them. This has been a labor of love. And yes I will post some pictures on the remainder of my trip and our excursion to Livingstone.
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