Boom Soap

Orphans happily displaying Boom Soap

 

When was the last time you became super excited about receiving a gift of laundry soap? ?  At least 15 of the orphans in Chipulukusu can tell you exactly when because it just happened!  Gershom, the HealthEd Connect Zambian representative who took the picture of the children meeting at the church said, "Yesterday was a very good day for the children who attended the classes where I had time to take two photos with children and their Mothers [the CSS volunteers] Maurine, Esther, and Joyce.  The children were very happy to receive the Boom soap.  You can see the excitement."  Soap is a treasured gift and one the caregivers would have been as excited about as the children.  In lieu of soap, a flat stone is frequently used to painstakingly scrub dirt from clothes.

Connector Specialists

Sherri Kirkpatrick sharing program updates at Board event

HealthEd Connect proudly unveiled its newest program Thursday, October 18 at a gala event at the Graceland Independence Campus.  In the planning for months, the new Connector Specialist program was announced with fanfare.  Designed to connect young professionals with the passion and programs of HealthEd Connect, both groups are to be sure winners.  Actually, getting to the bottom line, the women and children we work with will be the real winners from this partnership.

Josh Mahlik, Lisa Ash, and Callie Streich visiting with board member Jeff Manuel

Amy Hughes sampling the food -- definitely not nshima!

Eighteen Connector Specialists living coast to coast have been selected as charter members of the group.  Those who were present to share in the festivities were:  Callie Streich, Amy Hughes, Matt Jones, Lisa Ash, Josh Mahlik, and Julianne Jones.

How cute is this!

Proudly wearing new school uniforms at Chipulukusu

Aren't they adorable?  Somehow, someway, some of the caretakers of the students at the school in Chipulukusu managed to scrape together money for uniforms.  Many of the kids will wear their uniforms every day until they totally wear out.  Having uniforms is extremely important to school children because they visually proudly proclaim "Hey, I'm going to school!"    Since we do not want a school with "haves" and "have nots," we now have the task of finding a way to provide uniforms for the little ones who absolutely cannot purchase one even though it only costs about $7 or $8.  Due to the initiative of the caregivers, however, the proverbial train has left the station and some of our kids now have the dreamed of uniform.  Now the goal is to get uniforms for the rest.

What a Center!!

The amazing Kafwa in front of their new Center

The kids can hardly wait!

The view of an unheard of feature -- a soon to be
roof-covered veranda

The walls are up and we're getting ready to add the roof for the Kafwa (health worker) Center in Chipulukusu, Zambia.  And what a Center it is!  The window and door grills are decorative and very classy looking.  Somehow they managed to save the lone little tree (shown behind the kids) on the property which gives it a nice ambiance.  The really cool stuff, however, will start when the Center is put into action!  Countless lives will be touched through programs yet to be dreamed of.  If anyone ever deserved a 'home' for their ministries it's the Kafwa who have been volunteers for over 20 years.  Absolutely amazing ladies!

Resident artist, Lenge

Lenge is an amazing little artist for having had no opportunities to dabble in art before.  Twelve years old and living with his 4 siblings and single Mom in a mud and tin-roofed house, life has been tough for Lenge and his twin sister, Mulinda.  Several months ago, his teacher, Penelope, noticed a growth under Lenge's eye that she was concerned about.  She talked to his mother who said she was also concerned but had no money to pay for transportation to the doctor much less pay for surgery to have the growth removed.  Kafwa health workers to the rescue!  With their small emergency fund, the Kafwa arranged transportation to a good medical facility and fees for the visit.  The doctors (pro bono) removed the growth and Lenge can now see well without obstruction from the growth.  Lenge's mother is deeply grateful that Lenge received the help he needed and that her twins now have a chance to go to school.

More walls rising!

The amazing Kafwa in front of their new Center

The kids can hardly wait!

The view of an unheard of feature -- a soon to be
roof-covered veranda

The walls are up and we're getting ready to add the roof for the Kafwa (health worker) Center in Chipulukusu, Zambia.  And what a Center it is!  The window and door grills are decorative and very classy looking.  Somehow they managed to save the lone little tree (shown behind the kids) on the property which gives it a nice ambiance.  The really cool stuff, however, will start when the Center is put into action!  Countless lives will be touched through programs yet to be dreamed of.  If anyone ever deserved a 'home' for their ministries it's the Kafwa who have been volunteers for over 20 years.  Absolutely amazing ladies!

Umbrella Ladies

Zamtan Kafwa showing off new umbrellas

The Kafwa in Zamtan, Zambia faithfully provide critically needed services to their community.  They carry a formal "case-load" of home-bound patients, facilitate support groups for the orphans, intervene in caregiver situations where orphans are being neglected, support the school program, cook porridge for the school children and, in general, make their no-electricity-little-water-extremely-low-income community, the best it can possibly be.  When we asked them in June what they most needed to make their job easier, they said "umbrellas."  They told us when it rains, no one has raincoats or umbrellas so they get wet and chilled when they go about their activities.  Likewise, in the hot months, the sun can be brutal if there is far to go.  The Kafwa are putting their new 'luxury' umbrellas to immediate use.  Don't they look charming posing for the picture??  You might notice they lined up according to umbrella colors.

Go Mateo!

Matt (far right) with friends and new HealthEd Connect supporters

Matt Waite, better known as Mateo in Zambia, has been spreading the word about the life-changing experiences he had during his two trips to Zambia.  He's one of HealthEd Connect's most enthusiastic boosters.  He recently had an opportunity to share about his experiences with his church group in Kirkwood, Missouri.  Now we've got another tier of people excited!

The Amazing Apron Ladies

Barbara and Joseph Holst (left) two of the original Spokane supporters

Remember all of those amazing ladies that made dozens of aprons for the healthworkers and cooks in Zambia?  They all gathered in Spokane a few weeks ago to hear Sherri tell stories about the people they so honored with their sewing skills.  They even prepared a beautiful African center piece to get us all in the mood.  Their ministry goes around the world!


Sherri and Rita Goehner - one of the apron-lady spark plugs!

African Center piece