Dreams

PTA meeting at Chipulukusu

We loved meeting with the PTA groups at the schools while we were in Zambia.  Over 125 caregivers plus 25 or so children performers, attended the meeting at Chipulukusu -- the Kafwa Center was filled to capacity!  The children did a great job of singing, making little speeches, and sharing memorized verses.  You could tell the parents were bursting with pride!  When we asked them to share their dreams for the school, they had an impressive list.  They wanted:

To extend the school through grade 12
Tailoring and cooking classes
Night school for the adults
Computers
Do well so government recognizes school is good
Children to go on field trips
And finally....a School Bus!!

A couple of those items are definitely not in the cards but it never hurts to dream!

Water!

Jan Armstrong, Rotarian from KC Club 13, playing with children in Zamtan

More good news for Zamtan!  We were notified earlier that Zamtan had been selected as a participant in a District Rotary project that is installing boreholes (wells) in 8 schools.  Of course, we want the borehole yesterday since we need it both for the construction of the new classrooms as well as to prepare school lunches for the children.  So,while we were in Zambia we invited two of the local Rotarians who are partnering in the borehole project to join us for dinner.  By the time they left they had promised to make Zamtan the first on the list for a borehole.  We thought dinner went rather well :-)

Oh Happy Day!

Pssst!  Did you hear the good news?

It took TWO YEARS, countless long trips to Kitwe by Gershom, numerous frustrating meetings, innumerable failed attempts, etc, etc.... but we finally succeeded!!  We now have a bank account in Kitwe for the Zamtan school so we can transfer funds for construction of the new classrooms.  Seem impossible that this should take so long?  Not when you know the red tape in Zambia.  In order to open a school bank account, you must have a letter from the Ministry of Education.  In order to get a letter from the Ministry of Education, they must first visit the school.  In order for them to visit the school, you must visit them in their office and extend a formal invitation.  In order to visit them you must catch them in their office....and on and on for two years!!  But finally, with the help of our friend Conrad Bwalya from USAID, we were introduced to the right person, got the appointment and letter within two days and opened the account.  The foundation for the classrooms has already been dug and the community is ecstatic!

Personal burden of a health worker

Sinkhani on final day of training (Mary is third from R on front row)

I shared a bit of this story earlier along with a picture of the gentleman who said he would try to help us.  While we were in Malawi, Mary, one of our Sinkhani health workers asked to talk to me alone and shared her very sobering story.  She has a 7-year-old that was born with both male and female genitalia which has resulted, among other things, in urinary incontinence.  Up until now, the father has refused to give permission for the mother to seek medical help for the child.  Just by chance, a few nights later we met two gentlemen at the guesthouse in Lilongwe where we stayed.  They were watching the World Cup which made it easy to strike up a conversation!  It turned out they were both very influential men:  one the president of the Malawi Teacher's Union and the other a physician.  AND they run Living in Hope, a not-for-profit organization for handicapped children!  We told them our story and they immediately volunteered to help.  They were even optimistic that being Malawians they could successfully talk the husband into having the child seen and hopefully transferred to South Africa for surgery.  We are so very hopeful that the child can be helped.  We'll keep you updated when we learn more.

Can you hear it??

Soyamsabika health workers in Nepal are still pursuing that elusive little heart beat that is suppose to come through loud and clear on a stethoscope.  Alas, such is not always the case.  It can be very difficult to hear at times.  Pinkey brought the health workers in Kathmandu together this month to practice again.   Next step?  They will practice on family members.  After accuracy is confirmed, the health workers will begin taking blood pressures as an on-going service.    The ladies in the rural areas were busy planting wheat this month so a practice session will be arranged for them at a later time.

Spam

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The school cooks in Zambia won't believe...

The school cooks in Zambia won't believe it!  These incredible ladies have totally outdone themselves making exquisite aprons for them!  Never has a pot of nshima cooked over an open fire been presided over by such a classy apron!  Each apron has a unique patchwork double pocket with a potholder, sturdy loops for the ties AND is reversible with a different color lining complete with another pocket!!!  These would be the run-away hit at any bazaar but instead they are going to village women who will... View or comment on Sherri Kirkpatrick's photo » Google+ makes sharing on the web more like sharing in real life. Learn more. Join Google+

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