Look familiar?

Jac in yet another airport lounge working on emails. We just arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa an hour ago and are about ready to head to the gate to fly on to Zambia. As usual we had some white knuckle moments. They cancelled our flight out of KC and we had to scramble to get rebooked. But here we are! Onward...

Sent from my iPad

Solved the space issue

We are at the airport and headed to Zambia.  The last night panic was our 2 trunks which were filled to overflowing and the lids wouldn't shut.   Problem solved!  I took clothes out of my suitcase and substituted books.  The kids absolutely won't care I'm wearing the same 3 outfits!  One fun item we are taking is an envelope full of light-weight books, beads, and knitting needles from Joyce Russell, one of our ardent supporters.  Here's the really fun part --she included a picture of herself when she was in grade school.  The kids will love it!

Luggage

We should

Global Connections

Chipulukusu School Board meeting

Jac has been diligently working on a way to connect tablets to cell phones.  There is no internet connection or electricity at the schools but there are numerous cell phones.  We know data can be transferred this way so we're trying to make it happen.  The possibilities are endless...Zambian teachers connecting with U.S. mentor teachers, students sending messages to pen-pal students in the U.S., instant messages from school board meetings and on and on.  Technology is about to invade yet another corner of Africa!

Baby Sherri

Who said you can't reverse the aging process??  We can now zip decades off of someone and let them start all over again.  Right?? Okay, maybe not totally, but here's a sweet way to try.  Please meet Sherri Kirkpatrick holding baby Sherri Kirkpatrick.  Isn't she (the baby, of course) a little sweetheart?  She lives in Zamtan, Zambia with her proud mother, Jane Siame, who is one of our Kafwa.  I'm not sure the world is ready for two Sherri Kirkpatricks but they for sure get better with each duplication!

Baby Sherri reminds us one more time of the critical need to build programs that help babies, girls, and young women grow up in a healthy enabling environment.  We want to provide a supportive network so this baby has every possible chance in life.  Too often we fail little girls and they end up never reaching their potential.  We hope to start building classrooms in Baby Sherri's community next month so the school will be ready and waiting when she's old enough to start in a few years.

Yeah Rotary!

Water at last! A District Rotary Club on the East Coast notified us the Zamtan School is one of the awardees for a borehole (well) in a group grant proposal.  This is super good news!  We still do not know when the well will be drilled but at least it's in the pipeline (no pun intended!).  Water is currently so far from the school that it is not feasible for the Kafwa volunteers to carry enough water everyday to cook and wash dishes for 125 kids.  When the well is in, hot lunches will be provided every day.  Truly good news!!

Immunization blitz

Josephine (middle) explaining program

Josephine, the Wasaidizi health worker supervisor in Congo, notified us last week that she had been part of a select group that received a comprehensive 28-day immunization training course provided by the government.  At the completion of the course, a team mobilized to administer immunizations to over 1500 children.  At the conclusion, Josephine was appointed as the ongoing supervisor for the project.  According to her report, this was all due to the fact she was a  HealthEd Connect Wasaidizi that was known for quality care.