The colorful cooks’ aprons made by the women in Spokane Valley
were a huge hit! The aprons were immediately
donned and put to good use. In addition
to the women who regularly do the cooking, there are now a number of caretakers
from the neighborhood who volunteer to help.
The regular cooks take their aprons home with them so they can be washed
and cared for. They always bring an
extra with them back to the school, however, so the volunteers also have an
apron to wear. Of course the kids aren’t
as impressed with the aprons as they are with the food the apron wearers
produce. Now that’s good stuff! Today’s menu was Sample (a coarse cracked
corn) cooked in a huge kettle of water for over an hour. When the Sample was thickened, a pan of soya
flour was mixed with fresh milk and added to the pot. The finishing touch was a bag of sugar. Judging from the smiles on the faces of the
children, the cooks got the recipe just right!
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| L to R Rita Goehner, Doddie Williams, Dottie Gutgsell, JoAnne Dobson, Laura Carnie. |
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| Two of our 'chefs' in Zambia cooking school lunches |
The situation is deplorable for sisters Patricia and
Fally. When the CSS [the Child Support Specialists trained by HealthEd Connect] asked the
two girls how they were staying, the girls, ages 10 and 14, confided that they
often shift houses night by night, trying to find a place to sleep. With the passing of their mother, the girls
lived with only their father. Things
were difficult, but they could manage.
When their father re-married, however, everything changed. The step-mother treats the girls unfairly and
they feel unwelcome in their own home.
The girls want to finish their studies at Kafue Basic School, but their
constant shifting makes regular attendance difficult. Fourteen-year-old Fally is at risk of
dropping out, and engaging in other high-risk behaviors as she moves into her
teenage years. The CSS groups try to create a sense of stability for their
girls and equip them with skills to address their situation respectfully. During group sessions, children put on skits
and role-play how to speak to caregivers if they are being treated unfairly. |
| SIFE First Round Presentation |
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| Semi-final Awards Ceremony |
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| Ella |
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| Michelle and fan club in Zambia |
Some of the supplies are extra special too! Vivian Tresham, who passed on 3 or 4 years ago, was an accomplished seamstress who made dozens of baby weighing seats for me to take to Africa. Vivian had cared for her invalid husband for years and had few opportunities to engage in community service. After she got him settled for the night, she would often sew until the wee hours making the baby seats. She said it was her life line. Her daughter recently found some of the seats that Vivian had started but never finished. After contacting me to see if they were still needed, she completed the colorful little seats and now they're ready to receive little brown bottoms in Africa. Vivian's still bringing ministry around the world...her legacy lives on.
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| London in full Royal Regalia |
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| Danielle and Alisha |
Best is only seven years old, but is asked by
her caretakers to fill impossibly heavy containers from the dip well in her
compound of ZamTan. “I see her with the
heavy containers and I ask her: ‘How will you manage?’” says concerned Child Support Specialist member Imelda. “She is very shy and says
she has no choice. If she doesn’t fetch
the water for the family then she won’t get anything to eat. And they send her during meal time so she
isn’t even in the house when their own children eat!” A double orphan living with relatives, Best’s
story is not unique. Often, orphans kept
by extended family members are treated unfairly. The CSS members know they can’t change her
situation easily, but they hope that by attending the CSS groups, her self-esteem
will be strengthened and she will find a place where she feels loved. “We want to do some classes for caregivers in
our community on how to treat orphans,” Angela reports. And they are doing just that!
