The agriculture and construction projects continue to go well. Jake, Mike and Alden helped Joel build desks and tables for the clinic today at Dr. Thinus' house in Mufulira while I worked on Moringa at Joseph's house in Murundu. We will take the completed furniture to Joseph's house in the morning and once the doors are secured to the clinic, it can be moved there.
I was the only one going to Murundu this morning so I rode the mini bus from Mufulira to Murundu. This was my first time navigating Zambia on my own. The bus dropped me off in the center of Murundu and after a short walk in the wrong direction, I quickly found my way back on to the correct path and arrived at Joseph's house in short course. I was asked by several people on the bus and in the streets while I walked what I was doing/why I was here. I talked about both the HIV Ed in the schools and the agriculture work with people and they were very interested. I must stick out a bit here for some reason... j/k
Our planting bags are progressing steadily. We had our highest production day yet, 250 bags! That brings the total to 750. The shade house should be able to hold 1500 seedling at capacity. I expect to continue the planting bags for the rest of this week to fill as much of the shade house as possible before we all return to the USA. Joseph and company can of course finish filling the shade house after the STS USA team departs, but it would be a joy to see it full before leaving Zambia. The area for the intensive cultivation plot was tilled today and I have 1500 seeds soaking over night (approximately, I didn't count them all...). We have some minor bugs to work out with the sprinklers and sprayer hose and nozzle, but nothing that should be too difficult.
Take care wherever you may be.
Reuben
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
7/28/09 from Heather
Muli Shani Everyone!
Let me start by saying Tannen and Megan are greatly missed, as is the rest of the VanZwieten clan (though I am very happy to have fewer people to fight with over the shower in the mornings). I hope everyone had an uneventful trip back and is enjoying the luxuries of home in America.
Today was a wonderful day here in Zambia! My group (Carrie, Dan, William, and I) traveled to Luansobe, just around the corner from where our sports camp was held the past two Saturdays. We each have a classroom of about 30 students, which is a bit more than we would like but it is working out quite well! I should also mention that the students are fluent in Bimba, which means they are not quite so fluent in English -- in fact only about 10 of my students can say a few words in English, and only about 4 can actually speak and understand English. My class is made up of Grade 7 pupils ranging in age from 13 through 17. It is the older children who have a much better grasp on the English language, but we still have some words that simply do not translate from English to Bimba. Today we discussed the basics of HIV because the majority of the students could not answer the quiz questions I presented yesterday. Also, my translator was the teacher, so I am not quite sure that we were on the same page. Today I had one of the STS translators, a pastor from Tanzania, Chibesa and he was wonderful to work with because he has our same vision in mind. Also, he can understand me, even when I speak quickly, which happens frequently.
We went to our second school today, Kalanga Basic School, and did not have as much luck because, for the second day in a row, the students are completing their exams. We were told yesterday to come back at 13:00 hours today because testing would be over, but the Civics exam was about to begin so we could not have the students.
Not being able to go to Kalanga worked out alright though because the construction team was very busy building furniture for the Murundu clinic, Grace's Place, at Dr. T's house. Joel, Jake and Alden were already busy working on the furniture when we pulled up in our taxi (thank you Alfred for being a very trustworthy driver for us!). William and Dan joined in, as did Mike who was just returning as well, and by the end of the evening three desks and one exam table were completed. All of the furniture looks great and is very sturdy should there be any "screaming and wriggling" children, in the words of Joel.
Jami, Matt, Liam, and Rebbecca were at Murundu for the first time today and they said that it went quite well. To quote Matt "there were a lot of kids and Liam played with balloons." In other news, Jami has lost her voice today and is having trouble talking over a whisper. We have tried to encourage her to not talk as much, but anyone who knows her knows that is not going to happen, nor will telling her to slow down and not work so hard. Please keep her in your prayers so that she will have a voice back tomorrow and the rest of the week to teach the students all she knows in 4 days. She said that it's hard enough getting them to understand English, much less when you cannot raise your voice above a whisper. Jami did not lose her voice until the end of class today, so hopefully there will not be any time without a voice. Matt and Reuben had gone into town to get bread where they also picked up a Fanta for her. The Fanta did not improve her voice, but it did boost her spirits.
On an unrelated STS point, I NEVER want a pet monkey! Liam brought the neighbor's monkey into Dr. T's house to show to everyone. I was happy just taking a photo of it, but then my curiosity got the best of me and I followed the monkey and the pet monkey (hahaha) outside. Liam sort of threw the monkey at me, which I didn't have to catch because he clung to me like a tree branch. I moved a tad too close to the door and the monkey was off my back faster than he had gotten on it and onto the door frame instead. I tried to comfort him and pull him off the door, and the next thing I knew he had bitten me! No blood was drawn, so no panic please, this is not the next Outbreak The Movie in progress. The monkey came over today and I stayed clear of the critter altogether.
Adventures in Zambia are sure to continue! Please do not forget our whole team in your prayers, especially as the traveling for everyone back to America will begin in a few days.
Heather
Let me start by saying Tannen and Megan are greatly missed, as is the rest of the VanZwieten clan (though I am very happy to have fewer people to fight with over the shower in the mornings). I hope everyone had an uneventful trip back and is enjoying the luxuries of home in America.
Today was a wonderful day here in Zambia! My group (Carrie, Dan, William, and I) traveled to Luansobe, just around the corner from where our sports camp was held the past two Saturdays. We each have a classroom of about 30 students, which is a bit more than we would like but it is working out quite well! I should also mention that the students are fluent in Bimba, which means they are not quite so fluent in English -- in fact only about 10 of my students can say a few words in English, and only about 4 can actually speak and understand English. My class is made up of Grade 7 pupils ranging in age from 13 through 17. It is the older children who have a much better grasp on the English language, but we still have some words that simply do not translate from English to Bimba. Today we discussed the basics of HIV because the majority of the students could not answer the quiz questions I presented yesterday. Also, my translator was the teacher, so I am not quite sure that we were on the same page. Today I had one of the STS translators, a pastor from Tanzania, Chibesa and he was wonderful to work with because he has our same vision in mind. Also, he can understand me, even when I speak quickly, which happens frequently.
We went to our second school today, Kalanga Basic School, and did not have as much luck because, for the second day in a row, the students are completing their exams. We were told yesterday to come back at 13:00 hours today because testing would be over, but the Civics exam was about to begin so we could not have the students.
Not being able to go to Kalanga worked out alright though because the construction team was very busy building furniture for the Murundu clinic, Grace's Place, at Dr. T's house. Joel, Jake and Alden were already busy working on the furniture when we pulled up in our taxi (thank you Alfred for being a very trustworthy driver for us!). William and Dan joined in, as did Mike who was just returning as well, and by the end of the evening three desks and one exam table were completed. All of the furniture looks great and is very sturdy should there be any "screaming and wriggling" children, in the words of Joel.
Jami, Matt, Liam, and Rebbecca were at Murundu for the first time today and they said that it went quite well. To quote Matt "there were a lot of kids and Liam played with balloons." In other news, Jami has lost her voice today and is having trouble talking over a whisper. We have tried to encourage her to not talk as much, but anyone who knows her knows that is not going to happen, nor will telling her to slow down and not work so hard. Please keep her in your prayers so that she will have a voice back tomorrow and the rest of the week to teach the students all she knows in 4 days. She said that it's hard enough getting them to understand English, much less when you cannot raise your voice above a whisper. Jami did not lose her voice until the end of class today, so hopefully there will not be any time without a voice. Matt and Reuben had gone into town to get bread where they also picked up a Fanta for her. The Fanta did not improve her voice, but it did boost her spirits.
On an unrelated STS point, I NEVER want a pet monkey! Liam brought the neighbor's monkey into Dr. T's house to show to everyone. I was happy just taking a photo of it, but then my curiosity got the best of me and I followed the monkey and the pet monkey (hahaha) outside. Liam sort of threw the monkey at me, which I didn't have to catch because he clung to me like a tree branch. I moved a tad too close to the door and the monkey was off my back faster than he had gotten on it and onto the door frame instead. I tried to comfort him and pull him off the door, and the next thing I knew he had bitten me! No blood was drawn, so no panic please, this is not the next Outbreak The Movie in progress. The monkey came over today and I stayed clear of the critter altogether.
Adventures in Zambia are sure to continue! Please do not forget our whole team in your prayers, especially as the traveling for everyone back to America will begin in a few days.
Heather
Monday, July 27, 2009
7/27/09 from Reuben
We began the day bright and early at the saw mill to pick up the load of timber for furniture for the new clinic in Murundu (Grace's Place). After that we returned to town for painting supplies and were off in a taxi to Murundu. I was dropped off at Joseph's house for work on Moringa while Joel, Jake, Alden, Mike, Liam and Rebecca when to the clinic to paint and clean.
The Moringa project is progressing steadily. Myself and many of Joseph's sons worked on the planting bags most of the day. At day's end our count was 500 plus. Our current space will allow for approximately 1500 planting bags in the shade house. I ended my planting efforts a little sooner than expected today when the HIV ed team stopped by Joseph's house in Murundu around 1500. Three muzoongos (forgive the misspelling, its the local term for white people), me, Jami and Matt and four Zambians, Pastor Terry, Martinz, Carmelitar and Rebecca took a trip to the Congo border for some shopping.
We hope to start the intensive cultivation portion of the Moringa project tomorrow and continue to fill planting bags until the shade house is full. Our timber is secured in the hallway of Dr.Thinus's house as we all turn in for some well earned rest.
The Moringa project is progressing steadily. Myself and many of Joseph's sons worked on the planting bags most of the day. At day's end our count was 500 plus. Our current space will allow for approximately 1500 planting bags in the shade house. I ended my planting efforts a little sooner than expected today when the HIV ed team stopped by Joseph's house in Murundu around 1500. Three muzoongos (forgive the misspelling, its the local term for white people), me, Jami and Matt and four Zambians, Pastor Terry, Martinz, Carmelitar and Rebecca took a trip to the Congo border for some shopping.
We hope to start the intensive cultivation portion of the Moringa project tomorrow and continue to fill planting bags until the shade house is full. Our timber is secured in the hallway of Dr.Thinus's house as we all turn in for some well earned rest.
7/27/09 from Matt
It's been almost a week since my last blog, but here it goes. The kids have been great in all the schools that we have been to, and it is incredibly difficult to say good bye to them. However today we started with a fresh new intake of students, which should be a lot smoother than the last round. Jami, Pastor Terry, Martinz, Carmelitar and myself all went to Vineyard Basic today, and from what I can tell the kids are very intelligent, fluent in English and shy. I would have liked to have seen more HIV knowledge, but I guess that's part of why we are here. After we finished, we waited for a notoriously unreliable taxi driver to pick us up, but after a half an hour we walked to get a minibus.
The minibus seems to be a staple of third world countries and is still by far the most effective method to convert an atheist in the world today. If you aren't praying while you are bouncing on a seat that pivots backwards toward a back hatch that is wide open and tied down with twine, you are most likely clinically dead. However, we safely made it to Murundu basic a half hour late, and found that the students had been sent home. In America, I would have been pretty upset because Dan and I set this up a week prior, but here it seems normal. As a result, we got to tour the clinic, the agricultural project, and we went about 200 meters from the Congo to buy some material for a tailor in town. Both Reuben and I bought some before taking a chance on the long ride back to Mufulira in another minibus. Overall, it was a great day, which seems to be the trend here. I hope all is well at home; I will continue to keep you all in my prayers and I thank you all for keeping us in yours.
Matt
The minibus seems to be a staple of third world countries and is still by far the most effective method to convert an atheist in the world today. If you aren't praying while you are bouncing on a seat that pivots backwards toward a back hatch that is wide open and tied down with twine, you are most likely clinically dead. However, we safely made it to Murundu basic a half hour late, and found that the students had been sent home. In America, I would have been pretty upset because Dan and I set this up a week prior, but here it seems normal. As a result, we got to tour the clinic, the agricultural project, and we went about 200 meters from the Congo to buy some material for a tailor in town. Both Reuben and I bought some before taking a chance on the long ride back to Mufulira in another minibus. Overall, it was a great day, which seems to be the trend here. I hope all is well at home; I will continue to keep you all in my prayers and I thank you all for keeping us in yours.
Matt
7/27/09 from Liam
Hey ya'll! This is Liam. Today was a great day. I'm almost done with the painting. Today, Rebecca and I finished the sun painted on the wall in Grace's clinic. We have to put the background colors and the words Under 5 painted on the wall. It took about a week to get the regular first coat of paint on. I had to cram into a taxi of 8 people that couldn't go over 10 mph and the tail of the taxi was dragging on the ground. I got home and ate lots of food that was goooood! Went and hung out with some homies and one of them had a pet monkey... now my monkey. I'm thinking of different ways of smuggling it back to the USA. All input is welcome. Good night!
Liam
Liam
7/25/09 from Jami
Sleep has been in short supply the last couple of days as we've all tried to cram in as much as possible in our few short weeks here in Zambia. Time does has a significant way of changing once your feet touch Zambian soil! We rose early and almost frantically as we had to be out of the house by 8AM on the dot so that we (Dan, Carrie, Liam, Reuben, Matt, Heather, William, Joel, Jacabo, Rebecca, Carmiltar, Terry, Chibasa, and I) could arrive for the sports clinic on time and allow Dr. Thinus to arrive back at the house at 9AM to pick up Tannen, Megan, Jack and Jim for their return trip to the USA. We had to all say our fast goodbyes... jump into the van and off we went... on time. We were all sad to know they were all leaving us. We've all had such an amazing time together. We miss them.
The sports clinic today was awesome! How much fun is it to travel all the way to Zambia and get to play and teach tennis and basketball... two of my favorite sports in the world! Everyone will be glad to know that I didn't break anything and wore ankle braces on both ankles!!! I taught tennis to about 100 Zambian girls. The portable tennis nets worked out perfectly. We put chalked lines down that were scaled against a full size tennis court. The kids enjoyed helping us make the courts. I brought the special foam tennis balls for beginners to practice with, which worked out really good. Before we started, Reuben and I gave an exhibition on how to play tennis. That was fun and they all cheered for us. We hit some ground strokes and volleys. They liked the volleying the best. We had one court for boys and one for girls. That way the girls wouldn't get pushed to the side. Which seems to happen a lot with sports. But that wasn't going to happen with me there!!! For the last hour of "sports time" we had the boys leave the basketball court and the girls took over. I taught them how to guard and shoot... it was fantastic! The girls were so tired when we were finished but they seemed to have a great time. We had volleyball, basketball, tennis, football (soccer for us USA folks) and a new addition was martial arts. Matt did a demo after our tennis exhibition and the kids LOVED it. It was amazing to look up and see 50 plus Zambian boys all doing martial arts in unison. He had his own little army. It was really a cool addition. The last hour we had presentations, one for the boys and one for the girls. We went over some basics about HIV/AIDS and then the girls talked about gossiping and what we think about ourselves as women.
Another interesting part of the day was I met a Zambian boy, about 19 years old, who was deaf. He was so interesting. He could sign. There apparently is a school around here that is for the blind and deaf. I don't know anything about it except it exists. I cannot sign much. I only know how to sign the alphabet and how to sign I love you. So I did the best I could. I signed my name to him. He was signing in Bemba though... and I don't know that much Bemba... so we kind of had two language barriers. But we did manage to communicate. He taught me how to sign his name and my name, without spelling it all the way through. He was so smart and so much fun to get to know.
The day ended with 14 tired STSers and many tired kids. We hopped on a minibus and we ate our food as quickly as possible as we headed home. We spent the rest of the day resting and William and Matt put up a basketball goal at Dr. Thinus' house for the kids. It was awesome. I then I taught the kids how to shoot. Later in the afternoon, Elizabeth (Josephine & Shadi's little girl ~ 2 years old) fell asleep sitting in my lap, so cute! Later that night, Dr. Thinus and Shadi made a giant bonfire and we roasted marshmallows and sat by the fire. It's been cold here so the fire was a welcomed source for heat! All-in-all it was an amazing day!
Jami
The sports clinic today was awesome! How much fun is it to travel all the way to Zambia and get to play and teach tennis and basketball... two of my favorite sports in the world! Everyone will be glad to know that I didn't break anything and wore ankle braces on both ankles!!! I taught tennis to about 100 Zambian girls. The portable tennis nets worked out perfectly. We put chalked lines down that were scaled against a full size tennis court. The kids enjoyed helping us make the courts. I brought the special foam tennis balls for beginners to practice with, which worked out really good. Before we started, Reuben and I gave an exhibition on how to play tennis. That was fun and they all cheered for us. We hit some ground strokes and volleys. They liked the volleying the best. We had one court for boys and one for girls. That way the girls wouldn't get pushed to the side. Which seems to happen a lot with sports. But that wasn't going to happen with me there!!! For the last hour of "sports time" we had the boys leave the basketball court and the girls took over. I taught them how to guard and shoot... it was fantastic! The girls were so tired when we were finished but they seemed to have a great time. We had volleyball, basketball, tennis, football (soccer for us USA folks) and a new addition was martial arts. Matt did a demo after our tennis exhibition and the kids LOVED it. It was amazing to look up and see 50 plus Zambian boys all doing martial arts in unison. He had his own little army. It was really a cool addition. The last hour we had presentations, one for the boys and one for the girls. We went over some basics about HIV/AIDS and then the girls talked about gossiping and what we think about ourselves as women.
Another interesting part of the day was I met a Zambian boy, about 19 years old, who was deaf. He was so interesting. He could sign. There apparently is a school around here that is for the blind and deaf. I don't know anything about it except it exists. I cannot sign much. I only know how to sign the alphabet and how to sign I love you. So I did the best I could. I signed my name to him. He was signing in Bemba though... and I don't know that much Bemba... so we kind of had two language barriers. But we did manage to communicate. He taught me how to sign his name and my name, without spelling it all the way through. He was so smart and so much fun to get to know.
The day ended with 14 tired STSers and many tired kids. We hopped on a minibus and we ate our food as quickly as possible as we headed home. We spent the rest of the day resting and William and Matt put up a basketball goal at Dr. Thinus' house for the kids. It was awesome. I then I taught the kids how to shoot. Later in the afternoon, Elizabeth (Josephine & Shadi's little girl ~ 2 years old) fell asleep sitting in my lap, so cute! Later that night, Dr. Thinus and Shadi made a giant bonfire and we roasted marshmallows and sat by the fire. It's been cold here so the fire was a welcomed source for heat! All-in-all it was an amazing day!
Jami
Saturday, July 25, 2009
7/24/09 from Carrie
Muli shani (hello) from all of us in Zambia. The HIV education team (Dan, Carrie, William, Matt, Jami) finished its last day for the first week of teaching at Mutamba Basic School and Greyson Basic School. Around 9:30 in the morning we took taxis to Mutamba where we met with some teachers involved in an Anti-AIDS club at Mutamba. After a presentation Dan gave on Stop the Spread Clubs, the teachers eagerly agreed to partner with us, thus beginning a new phase of HIV education for the students at Mutamba. Carmelitar, a local 29 year old retired teacher, will facilitate the STS club at Mutamba, organizing weekly club meetings with club parents and "aunties." Carmeltiar will go in depth on the topics that we taught the students this week, covering basic biological information on HIV to reducing the stigma people infected with HIV may face by encouraging the students to understand that HIV affects everyone-mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. The teachers at Mutamba are very excited about fusing the club Anti-AIDS into the STS club.
Overall, teaching at Mutamba was a great experience; the students were cooperative and bright, active participants, which helped fuel a discussion based lesson. On the first day of teaching we had them begin planning for a presentation at the end of the week. In my (Carrie) class of 25 girls, the girls split up into four groups and began working on their project. On Friday morning each class room presented their projects. We had skits on sugar daddies, getting tested for HIV and songs on the effects of the HIV crisis in Zambia. The school-wide presentation was a big hit at the school. After saying our goodbyes to the students, the headmaster at Mutamba, Henry, invited us into his office to thank us for all our hard work during the week. All the teachers were very appreciative of STS, so much so that they wrote a combined 'thank you' letter to us. Henry had one of the students read the letter aloud to the HIV ed group. STS looks forward to the years to come of partnership with Mutamba Basic School.
We ate our lunch (PB&Js) on the walk from Mutamba to Greyson through downtown Mulfilira. Walking through the markets, eating lunch, laughing, and talking with the rest of the team was always a nice transition from one school to the next. I have been learning tremendously from all the rest of the group on how intricate teaching can be. It is like an art to learn to get the students to talk and open up. On Tuesday when I walked into the classroom full of girls staring at me from across the room, in the first five minutes I could barely get words out of my mouth, but after encouragement and support and mostly strength that is not my own, I have begun to enjoy teaching. In the mornings I would teach the girls at Mutamba and then help and observe Jami as she taught the girls at Greyson. It was a wonderful balance.
Once we wrapped the classes up at Greyson, the group set out for the market. Outside of Shoprite, the local grocery store, a group of little beggar boys always gather around the Muzungus (that would be us!). Most of them do not have shoes, so Dan bargained for a pair of shoes at the market for one of the boys. It is hard to see children walking around shoeless, knowing that they do not even have money to feed their empty stomachs. If you lived in Zambia, it would be nearly impossible not to adopt some of these orphaned children.
In the evening, all seventeen of us piled into the "Say Yes to Jesus" van and drove to Murundu where we were supposed to show the Jesus film in Bimba. Unfortunately, the speakers were having some issues, so we will have to come back next Friday. While in Murundu, Jami was offered some children for a good price from a drunk man. s.c.a.r.y. I wonder what the going rate for children is these days... Because of the large crowd, the hordes of children, and drunk men and the fact that it was dark, Murundu did not have the safest feel to it. When we got back, the girls received some excellent self-defense tips from the guys. Jami, me and Heather are well protected by the household of men!
Overall, teaching at Mutamba was a great experience; the students were cooperative and bright, active participants, which helped fuel a discussion based lesson. On the first day of teaching we had them begin planning for a presentation at the end of the week. In my (Carrie) class of 25 girls, the girls split up into four groups and began working on their project. On Friday morning each class room presented their projects. We had skits on sugar daddies, getting tested for HIV and songs on the effects of the HIV crisis in Zambia. The school-wide presentation was a big hit at the school. After saying our goodbyes to the students, the headmaster at Mutamba, Henry, invited us into his office to thank us for all our hard work during the week. All the teachers were very appreciative of STS, so much so that they wrote a combined 'thank you' letter to us. Henry had one of the students read the letter aloud to the HIV ed group. STS looks forward to the years to come of partnership with Mutamba Basic School.
We ate our lunch (PB&Js) on the walk from Mutamba to Greyson through downtown Mulfilira. Walking through the markets, eating lunch, laughing, and talking with the rest of the team was always a nice transition from one school to the next. I have been learning tremendously from all the rest of the group on how intricate teaching can be. It is like an art to learn to get the students to talk and open up. On Tuesday when I walked into the classroom full of girls staring at me from across the room, in the first five minutes I could barely get words out of my mouth, but after encouragement and support and mostly strength that is not my own, I have begun to enjoy teaching. In the mornings I would teach the girls at Mutamba and then help and observe Jami as she taught the girls at Greyson. It was a wonderful balance.
Once we wrapped the classes up at Greyson, the group set out for the market. Outside of Shoprite, the local grocery store, a group of little beggar boys always gather around the Muzungus (that would be us!). Most of them do not have shoes, so Dan bargained for a pair of shoes at the market for one of the boys. It is hard to see children walking around shoeless, knowing that they do not even have money to feed their empty stomachs. If you lived in Zambia, it would be nearly impossible not to adopt some of these orphaned children.
In the evening, all seventeen of us piled into the "Say Yes to Jesus" van and drove to Murundu where we were supposed to show the Jesus film in Bimba. Unfortunately, the speakers were having some issues, so we will have to come back next Friday. While in Murundu, Jami was offered some children for a good price from a drunk man. s.c.a.r.y. I wonder what the going rate for children is these days... Because of the large crowd, the hordes of children, and drunk men and the fact that it was dark, Murundu did not have the safest feel to it. When we got back, the girls received some excellent self-defense tips from the guys. Jami, me and Heather are well protected by the household of men!
7/25/09 from Jim -- Irrigation/Moringa Team
Two weeks are over. They were amazing. The irrigation / moringa team started out with plans to install a simple sprinkling system. This turned into a huge irrigation system that covers about an acre. We installed a submersible pump and pressure tank, over 2000 feet of pipe, 200 feet of electrical lines, 23 sprinkler heads, 11 gate valves, 4 hose bibs, and a misting system for our shade house. The shade house was built the second week, complete with a large work table. We have completed about 300 planting bags and have a capacity of 2000. The last 1700 will be completed next week. Each bag will have a moringa seedling that will be ready for planting at the beginning of rainy season (October).
We also almost finished the pump house. The concrete footer and block walls are done. The roof and door will be done Monday. The well had a dangerous opening with children always around. We covered the top with concrete and a safe cover will be installed on Monday.
We ordered the wood for the clinic today. Next week the painting, murals, shelving and furniture will be built. The clinic will be partially stocked and ready for operation.
Our entire team of 19, including Dr T + Tricia, worked together amazingly well and everyone's strengths were put to good use.
Jim (Bashi Tannen)
We also almost finished the pump house. The concrete footer and block walls are done. The roof and door will be done Monday. The well had a dangerous opening with children always around. We covered the top with concrete and a safe cover will be installed on Monday.
We ordered the wood for the clinic today. Next week the painting, murals, shelving and furniture will be built. The clinic will be partially stocked and ready for operation.
Our entire team of 19, including Dr T + Tricia, worked together amazingly well and everyone's strengths were put to good use.
Jim (Bashi Tannen)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
7/23/09 from Heather
Hello from Zambia! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our fearless leader Tannen!!
The past two days have gone really well with the girls at Pamodzi, the school Megan, Tannen and I are teaching. The first day (Tuesday) was a tad disheartening because all of the girls sat in the back, right hand corner of the room and would not move up to the front of the class near the muzungus and really didn't know what to think about class participation. Wednesday and today really made me change my mind! These girls are engaged, very intelligent, funny, participating in every discussion, and all around amazing!! The future of Zambia is looking very bright because of these incredible young women.
Yesterday we discussed life choices and how to make good decisions. They seemed to really like our 3 part system for making decisions:
Step 1 -- Is the choice Lawful?
Step 2 -- Is the choice Wise?
Step 3 -- Weigh the pros and cons of the choice
Today we discussed topics specific to females, which in an all girls school would really be all of the topics discussed. We talked about how women need to be support systems for each other and not use gossip to put other girls down or gain popularity. The girls really enjoyed our main activity of listing all of the good things girls can be on the blackboard and the promises God made and what he thinks about each and every one of us (we are wonderfully and fearfully made, God loves each of us, etc.). Then each girl blew up a balloon and wrote something mean someone had said to them on the balloon. We then taped the balloons over all of the good things on the board to show that the hurtful things people say about us can cover up all of the good things God wants us to know about ourselves. Each student then got to come to the front of the room and *POP* the balloon with the hurtful thought and say "That's a lie!" The whole activity went over very well and the girls seemed very empowered. (And a word of advice, should you every come to Zambia, the #1 fashion no-no is wearing tight pants.)
The school was in testing today, so we had to go early which meant we had more time in the afternoon to go to Murundu and see the orphans get fed -- the place was pure chaos! We also had the chance to check out the new clinic and see the artwork Liam has been doing in one of the rooms. We then went over to Joseph's house where all of the work is being done on the property to provide a well and shade house for the trees being planted and it looks amazing! Thanks to Joel, Jim, Jack, Alden (though apparently construction may not be his favorite thing), and everyone else that is making the project look so good and help so many. I also got to practice a few "football" skills, which really could only be considered football because it involved me throwing a foot ball as high in the air as I could and watching the kids scramble to catch it. Has anyone mentioned how serious these kids are about sports?!? They put competition a whole new league!!
But now it is time for bed because this week has been a long one. I hope that everyone reading is doing well and will continue to keep our crew in your prayers.
Heather
The past two days have gone really well with the girls at Pamodzi, the school Megan, Tannen and I are teaching. The first day (Tuesday) was a tad disheartening because all of the girls sat in the back, right hand corner of the room and would not move up to the front of the class near the muzungus and really didn't know what to think about class participation. Wednesday and today really made me change my mind! These girls are engaged, very intelligent, funny, participating in every discussion, and all around amazing!! The future of Zambia is looking very bright because of these incredible young women.
Yesterday we discussed life choices and how to make good decisions. They seemed to really like our 3 part system for making decisions:
Step 1 -- Is the choice Lawful?
Step 2 -- Is the choice Wise?
Step 3 -- Weigh the pros and cons of the choice
Today we discussed topics specific to females, which in an all girls school would really be all of the topics discussed. We talked about how women need to be support systems for each other and not use gossip to put other girls down or gain popularity. The girls really enjoyed our main activity of listing all of the good things girls can be on the blackboard and the promises God made and what he thinks about each and every one of us (we are wonderfully and fearfully made, God loves each of us, etc.). Then each girl blew up a balloon and wrote something mean someone had said to them on the balloon. We then taped the balloons over all of the good things on the board to show that the hurtful things people say about us can cover up all of the good things God wants us to know about ourselves. Each student then got to come to the front of the room and *POP* the balloon with the hurtful thought and say "That's a lie!" The whole activity went over very well and the girls seemed very empowered. (And a word of advice, should you every come to Zambia, the #1 fashion no-no is wearing tight pants.)
The school was in testing today, so we had to go early which meant we had more time in the afternoon to go to Murundu and see the orphans get fed -- the place was pure chaos! We also had the chance to check out the new clinic and see the artwork Liam has been doing in one of the rooms. We then went over to Joseph's house where all of the work is being done on the property to provide a well and shade house for the trees being planted and it looks amazing! Thanks to Joel, Jim, Jack, Alden (though apparently construction may not be his favorite thing), and everyone else that is making the project look so good and help so many. I also got to practice a few "football" skills, which really could only be considered football because it involved me throwing a foot ball as high in the air as I could and watching the kids scramble to catch it. Has anyone mentioned how serious these kids are about sports?!? They put competition a whole new league!!
But now it is time for bed because this week has been a long one. I hope that everyone reading is doing well and will continue to keep our crew in your prayers.
Heather
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
7/22/09 from Reuben -- Irrigation Project
The team continues to work very well together and make steady progress in Murundu on the irrigation system for the vegetable garden, and the shade house for the Moringa planting bags. Our delivery of timber arrived from the Congo yesterday and we had put nearly every piece to good use by the day's end today. The shade house is completed except for the spray system that will tie off the of irrigation and water the planting bags as the seeds germinate. We plan to begin the Moringa planting bags tomorrow and complete them in the coming days.
The team visited Joseph's orphanage in Murudu for the first time of this year's trip. There is space for a four room clinic (Grace's Place) at the orphanage and after we complete our work at Joseph's house on the irrigation system and shade house, we plan to build furniture for the clinic. We are staying busy every day and enough supplies are available to fill the needs of our work. The whole team remains healthy and excited about continuing the work and we look forward to sharing pictures of the irrigation system coming to life.
The Zambians are amazing and working with them every day teaches me more than I can put into words. The boys help us in the fields in the mornings before they go to school and Joseph's wife prepares lunch for us each day. Some of the young men help us as well and the work would not be nearly as far along without everyone's efforts.
Take care and be well,
Reuben
The team visited Joseph's orphanage in Murudu for the first time of this year's trip. There is space for a four room clinic (Grace's Place) at the orphanage and after we complete our work at Joseph's house on the irrigation system and shade house, we plan to build furniture for the clinic. We are staying busy every day and enough supplies are available to fill the needs of our work. The whole team remains healthy and excited about continuing the work and we look forward to sharing pictures of the irrigation system coming to life.
The Zambians are amazing and working with them every day teaches me more than I can put into words. The boys help us in the fields in the mornings before they go to school and Joseph's wife prepares lunch for us each day. Some of the young men help us as well and the work would not be nearly as far along without everyone's efforts.
Take care and be well,
Reuben
Greetings from Zambia from Matt
So, I have been in Zambia for a grand total of three days, and have loved every minute of it. The people are wonderful and just about everything is an adventure. The first school we went to had examinations and could not let the students meet with us, but we found a replacement and have been teaching at two schools every day. The first school is called Mutomba Basic, where I teach 22 students. They are incredibly intelligent, more polite than any student I have ever met in the states, and hungry for knowledge. However, there is a language barrier that has me simplifying what I say to the point that I no longer use complete sentences when I talk. Jami has been making fun of me for it, but if I don't, the kids will not understand. At the second school, Greyson Basic, there are far fewer students and I have been teaching a single student named Sydney. He is in sixth grade, shy, and will have a personal tutor, HIV educator, Life skills coach, for the whole week. I don't blame the students because they wait an hour each day for us to come after school lets out and they do not pack lunches, 12 hrs without any food is not something that the candy we give them can satisfy. Either way, I have taken all of their names down and will be praying for each and every one of the students while I'm here and will continue when I get home. I can see God working in their lives and I would like to see how they make out in the coming year.
I have been working with two translators, Martin and Sydney, who are amazing men of God. They have a joy and a passion within them that is easy to see and comes out while they speak with the students. Its great to allow the students to express themselves in Bemba (their native language), because otherwise I would be struggling to get anything meaningful out of the students. I was a little worried about our progress with the students on the first day, but as time has passed I can see that they are opening up to us. Today, we did an awesome demonstration using Coke Zero and Mentos to illustrate what pornography does to your sexual appetite. With each day, I believe that our team will help to change these kids lives for the better.
Now for the fun part. I was initially sad because I missed a trip to 6 flags the weekend I left, but when I rode in Dr. Thinus' van from Ndola to Mufulira, I knew that I wasn't missing out on any of the excitement. The van is a petrol powered roller coater on these roads. Never let me complain about the roads in Boston again, there are potholes here that could swallow a school bus! We are staying with 19 people in the house right now, so the basics like privacy, modesty, and showers are in short supply. Fortunately, deodorant is not and we all are getting along great. I love shopping here, but because we are white, they charge us close to double for everything. If you keep that in mind, you get a really good idea for how much you should be paying. As for the food, I don't eat this well at home. We have had beef curry, stew, chicken carbonara and enshima with fresh chicken. When I say fresh, I mean I carried out the boiling water this morning to where they were being plucked. Pointing this fact out tends to turn some people into temporary vegetarians, but it doesn't work on me, it was all delicious.
I'm glad that I could write a blog for this evening, and I thank you all for your prayers. Please continue and I hope to write more in the coming week as the first half of our team departs. I love you all and hope that all is well.
Respectfully,
Matt Porter
I have been working with two translators, Martin and Sydney, who are amazing men of God. They have a joy and a passion within them that is easy to see and comes out while they speak with the students. Its great to allow the students to express themselves in Bemba (their native language), because otherwise I would be struggling to get anything meaningful out of the students. I was a little worried about our progress with the students on the first day, but as time has passed I can see that they are opening up to us. Today, we did an awesome demonstration using Coke Zero and Mentos to illustrate what pornography does to your sexual appetite. With each day, I believe that our team will help to change these kids lives for the better.
Now for the fun part. I was initially sad because I missed a trip to 6 flags the weekend I left, but when I rode in Dr. Thinus' van from Ndola to Mufulira, I knew that I wasn't missing out on any of the excitement. The van is a petrol powered roller coater on these roads. Never let me complain about the roads in Boston again, there are potholes here that could swallow a school bus! We are staying with 19 people in the house right now, so the basics like privacy, modesty, and showers are in short supply. Fortunately, deodorant is not and we all are getting along great. I love shopping here, but because we are white, they charge us close to double for everything. If you keep that in mind, you get a really good idea for how much you should be paying. As for the food, I don't eat this well at home. We have had beef curry, stew, chicken carbonara and enshima with fresh chicken. When I say fresh, I mean I carried out the boiling water this morning to where they were being plucked. Pointing this fact out tends to turn some people into temporary vegetarians, but it doesn't work on me, it was all delicious.
I'm glad that I could write a blog for this evening, and I thank you all for your prayers. Please continue and I hope to write more in the coming week as the first half of our team departs. I love you all and hope that all is well.
Respectfully,
Matt Porter
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
7/21/09 from Dan
Greetings to everyone in the States! Since I have not updated everyone, I will give some reflections on my time here since arriving this past Friday. But to start, I will tell you of the progress of today. First of all, the HIV Education Team 1 (William, Carrie, Jami, Matt, and Dan) went to two schools today, one in the morning at Mutamba, it was our first time there this week. It was a great school, with a highly organized administration. We asked for 6 classrooms and for 20 people to be in each classroom, single gender. The Deputy Headmaster said "No Problem" (a common Zambian phrase). And lo and behold, 20 minutes later we walked into each classroom, with the exact number of seated students. I have been here 6 times, and that was a first. We found that they knew very little about HIV/AIDS, so most of us spent our time going over HIV/AIDS information, to set a foundation. I had a great group of guys (Grade 8 and 9), they were very lively and, as the class went on, they became very talkative. In Zambia, the students are used to lecture style, so to transition to more discussion based teaching takes time. But these young men caught on fast, with the help of candy. Then the Deputy Headmaster gave us a ride to the other school (Greyson Basic), which was VERY GENEROUS. This was our second day at Greyson and unfortunately some of the students that we had yesterday were not in school this time. Also, the pupils had to cut out early, so our time at this school was a little less regulated, but we taught as much as we could. Then we took a trip to the Copy Shop (took a long time). Then, in preparation for an illustration for tomorrow, we bought two liters of Coke Zero and walked back to a side alley and dropped half a pack of Mentos in and watched it fountain into the sky (the boys on the street enjoyed it thoroughly). Then we stopped at the corner store and enjoyed an ice cream under the retiring sun. It was a great day here in Zambia.
The HIV Team 2 (Tannen, Jami, Heather) spent the morning working on future STS things for the upcoming semester, they have been the busiest of bees in this hive. Then they went to Pomodzi Girls in the afternoon and tag-teamed a group of 25 girls. We have been to Pomodzi many times, so it is always good to revisit a place and encourage old friends and make new ones!
The Agriculture Team (Jim, Uncle Jack, Reuben, Alden) nearly finished the irrigation system, only some final sprinklers are left to put in. The project has become a larger scale project than even they expected. They have irrigated around an acre from a single well, which is a pretty impressive feat.
The Construction Team (Joel, Drew) got the wood for the shade house today and nearly finished the shade house already. They have a couple hours of work left tomorrow and then they will turn their efforts toward building furniture for the clinic.
The Health Team (Mike, Jake) worked in a clinic today, diagnosing and treating Malaria, treating a baby with pneumonia, and making home visits in the community. Pretty impressive!
And Liam continues to paint, make new friends, and prove himself to be a lot more of a Zambian than any of the rest of us lame "Muzungus."
As far as reflections go, it is good to be back in a place that is truly beginning to feel like a second home. It is strange to walk through the streets of Mufulira and see the things that have changed and how many things have stayed the same. This place and the people soak into you, especially when you drink of the experience time and again. As things in your own life change, things here change too, but in a different way. It is fascinating to be here, it always is. I am looking forward to and asking God to open our eyes to His movements, His hand, His face. So continue to pray for us, that He would give us open eyes to see Him and open doors to share Him with others. Thank you for your prayers. They are what makes what we do of Him. Please continue...
The HIV Team 2 (Tannen, Jami, Heather) spent the morning working on future STS things for the upcoming semester, they have been the busiest of bees in this hive. Then they went to Pomodzi Girls in the afternoon and tag-teamed a group of 25 girls. We have been to Pomodzi many times, so it is always good to revisit a place and encourage old friends and make new ones!
The Agriculture Team (Jim, Uncle Jack, Reuben, Alden) nearly finished the irrigation system, only some final sprinklers are left to put in. The project has become a larger scale project than even they expected. They have irrigated around an acre from a single well, which is a pretty impressive feat.
The Construction Team (Joel, Drew) got the wood for the shade house today and nearly finished the shade house already. They have a couple hours of work left tomorrow and then they will turn their efforts toward building furniture for the clinic.
The Health Team (Mike, Jake) worked in a clinic today, diagnosing and treating Malaria, treating a baby with pneumonia, and making home visits in the community. Pretty impressive!
And Liam continues to paint, make new friends, and prove himself to be a lot more of a Zambian than any of the rest of us lame "Muzungus."
As far as reflections go, it is good to be back in a place that is truly beginning to feel like a second home. It is strange to walk through the streets of Mufulira and see the things that have changed and how many things have stayed the same. This place and the people soak into you, especially when you drink of the experience time and again. As things in your own life change, things here change too, but in a different way. It is fascinating to be here, it always is. I am looking forward to and asking God to open our eyes to His movements, His hand, His face. So continue to pray for us, that He would give us open eyes to see Him and open doors to share Him with others. Thank you for your prayers. They are what makes what we do of Him. Please continue...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
7/18/09 from Heather
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to have 100 Zambian children running at you with all the speed and fury of a Cheetah? Well, the three newbies (Carrie, William, and me, Heather) found out just how that feels, but we'll get to that in a minute.
The day started fairly early with Dr. T's cheerful morning wakeup call followed by a quick breakfast. We piled a bunch of soccer balls, basketballs, and volleyballs into the back of the van for the sports clinic we would be running later in the day. Everyone piled into the van and off we went to Luansobe for a day of sports and fun (and a little work of course).
The plan for the day was to clean up the sports fields and basketball court then have a little fun teaching the students a little more about the sports they loved to play. The clean up turned out to work fairly well because the older male students were put to work with shovels scraping the grass that had grown up over the edges of the basketball court. The next age bracket of boys picked up rocks from around the fields and courts. The young children were tasked with picking up the trash and the billions of little husks and scraps from sugar cane from around the same area. I got the bright idea to have a contest between my team of about 10 boys and Tannen's team of the same. I lost the attention of these young boys fairly quickly, though I kept the contest going by myself with only the help of a 2 year old who could not understand a word I said. He would collect a piece of trash, show it to me, then take the single item (wrapper, stick, bag, etc.) to the heap. Tannen of course took home the gold on the most trash collected, but this is mainly because, like the lovely Maria from the sound of music, she began singing at the top of her lungs a Zambian song she had learned -- which of course sent the kids running. Kids, I may mention, including my 10 little hooligans who began piling trash in the competition's pile instead of ours. The favorite song of the day was one involving the phrase "everything is double double, everything is triple triple" which I'm sure you could have heard from space as there were at least 40 kids following her around by this point.
After cleanup the students were allowed to play the different sports with little STS team member involvement then the real fun of the Sports Clinic began. Dan and William (my husband) were in charge of basketball. If you asked either one of them when the last time they picked up a basketball it was before the word "teen" was in their age. Nevertheless, the kids seemed to have a wonderful time and even learned something. Megan led a group in soccer (football) drills to the boys who were not too busy playing a very rough game of football on their own. I have never seen such young children have such incredible football skills!! Watch out David Beckham (or whoever is impressive in the world of football today -- obviously I am not a follower of the sport myself).
Now the sport few kids really knew much about was volleyball, but boy did we have a large group of people to teach the eager students! Thanks to Gino from the Florida Beach Volleyball Tour, we were able to supply the school with a volleyball net installed by many members of the VanZwieten family, Joel Wolf, and a few others. The net looked great and the kids seemed to have a wonderful time, including watching a few "pro" exhibition matches and even participating in a few of their own.
After the sports came the "short" STS presentation. Because we were told it wouldn't last more than a little bit, the three newbies (remember them? The ones attacked by the so-called Cheetahs?) agreed to watch the kids who were too young or too hyper to sit through the talk. Let me say, bad idea to anyone thinking about such a task. By the time the search and rescue team came for the naive newcomers, the total kid count was well over 100 and the total body count could have been 3 had Drew VZ not delivered a secret message that stated simply, "We can't hold them back much longer! Send HELP!"
All in all, the day was so much fun and very productive. The students got to help clean up their community, play some fun games, and learn about HIV/AIDS, all good goals for a Saturday afternoon.
I pray that everyone reading this is doing well and is continuing to keep this trip and its members in their prayers.
Have a great night,
Heather
The day started fairly early with Dr. T's cheerful morning wakeup call followed by a quick breakfast. We piled a bunch of soccer balls, basketballs, and volleyballs into the back of the van for the sports clinic we would be running later in the day. Everyone piled into the van and off we went to Luansobe for a day of sports and fun (and a little work of course).
The plan for the day was to clean up the sports fields and basketball court then have a little fun teaching the students a little more about the sports they loved to play. The clean up turned out to work fairly well because the older male students were put to work with shovels scraping the grass that had grown up over the edges of the basketball court. The next age bracket of boys picked up rocks from around the fields and courts. The young children were tasked with picking up the trash and the billions of little husks and scraps from sugar cane from around the same area. I got the bright idea to have a contest between my team of about 10 boys and Tannen's team of the same. I lost the attention of these young boys fairly quickly, though I kept the contest going by myself with only the help of a 2 year old who could not understand a word I said. He would collect a piece of trash, show it to me, then take the single item (wrapper, stick, bag, etc.) to the heap. Tannen of course took home the gold on the most trash collected, but this is mainly because, like the lovely Maria from the sound of music, she began singing at the top of her lungs a Zambian song she had learned -- which of course sent the kids running. Kids, I may mention, including my 10 little hooligans who began piling trash in the competition's pile instead of ours. The favorite song of the day was one involving the phrase "everything is double double, everything is triple triple" which I'm sure you could have heard from space as there were at least 40 kids following her around by this point.
After cleanup the students were allowed to play the different sports with little STS team member involvement then the real fun of the Sports Clinic began. Dan and William (my husband) were in charge of basketball. If you asked either one of them when the last time they picked up a basketball it was before the word "teen" was in their age. Nevertheless, the kids seemed to have a wonderful time and even learned something. Megan led a group in soccer (football) drills to the boys who were not too busy playing a very rough game of football on their own. I have never seen such young children have such incredible football skills!! Watch out David Beckham (or whoever is impressive in the world of football today -- obviously I am not a follower of the sport myself).
Now the sport few kids really knew much about was volleyball, but boy did we have a large group of people to teach the eager students! Thanks to Gino from the Florida Beach Volleyball Tour, we were able to supply the school with a volleyball net installed by many members of the VanZwieten family, Joel Wolf, and a few others. The net looked great and the kids seemed to have a wonderful time, including watching a few "pro" exhibition matches and even participating in a few of their own.
After the sports came the "short" STS presentation. Because we were told it wouldn't last more than a little bit, the three newbies (remember them? The ones attacked by the so-called Cheetahs?) agreed to watch the kids who were too young or too hyper to sit through the talk. Let me say, bad idea to anyone thinking about such a task. By the time the search and rescue team came for the naive newcomers, the total kid count was well over 100 and the total body count could have been 3 had Drew VZ not delivered a secret message that stated simply, "We can't hold them back much longer! Send HELP!"
All in all, the day was so much fun and very productive. The students got to help clean up their community, play some fun games, and learn about HIV/AIDS, all good goals for a Saturday afternoon.
I pray that everyone reading this is doing well and is continuing to keep this trip and its members in their prayers.
Have a great night,
Heather
Thursday, July 16, 2009
7/16/09 from Tannen
Drew, Liam, Megan and I met some locals downtown at 8 am and headed out to Murundu for the morning. Drew and Jacabo (Shadi's son) painted while Liam and Rebecca (the Enfys teacher's sister) started sketching for the under 5 clinic at Grace's Place. Right next door is a shaded area where they have the afternoon feeding program for 200+ kids, and this is where the women meet. My cousin Renelle packed something for us that is somewhere between playdough and clay and can be used to make earrings, buttons, beads, and other things. We had fun putting the different colors together and then cutting it into round or square pieces and cooking it in a make-shift oven (a pot with coals over and under it). I am interested in finding out what supplies they can find locally to do something similar to this, but I am pleased to see the women excited about making some crafts and earning money for their families.
The woman who will be heading up the educational component of Enfys is planning to focus her efforts on the women and the younger kids. She said that "if you educate the women, you educate the whole household," which makes a lot of sense to me. Things like good hygiene, learning English and how to read and write may be a starting place, and they seem eager to learn.
Public transport doesn't always work at the same pace as we would like, especially from the village. Today was no exception, and Drew, Liam, Megan and I found ourselves waiting for a taxi in Murundu for over an hour. This gave us some extra time to play with the kids, since 30 or so of them had followed us to the area where the combi/bus comes. Drew and Liam are very comfortable hanging with the local crowd, and they get plenty of attention. Megan and I took to teaching a group of kids the electric slide, and it has to be more fun here than at any wedding back in the day. The kids love to hold our hands, poke at our funny white skin and hair, and do about anything that we can come up with on the fly. I'd like to just sit and hang with them all day, but the taxi did eventually come and that was the end of it for today.
This afternoon was our last at Butondo High School. The students have been working on HIV-related projects this week and they presented them today, so Drew and Liam joined us to listen in and help judge the competition. They put a fair bit of work into them -- one group visited a hospital, another group taught HIV education in a basic school, another group surveyed people in the community, and others presented skits, poems and songs. It was great to see what they came up with! There are a lot of bright students and they were overall a great group to work with this week.
Dr T and my dad are teasing me for writing a novel, so I think that's my cue. Hope all is going well back in the states! Thanks for reading our updates. :)
Tannen
The woman who will be heading up the educational component of Enfys is planning to focus her efforts on the women and the younger kids. She said that "if you educate the women, you educate the whole household," which makes a lot of sense to me. Things like good hygiene, learning English and how to read and write may be a starting place, and they seem eager to learn.
Public transport doesn't always work at the same pace as we would like, especially from the village. Today was no exception, and Drew, Liam, Megan and I found ourselves waiting for a taxi in Murundu for over an hour. This gave us some extra time to play with the kids, since 30 or so of them had followed us to the area where the combi/bus comes. Drew and Liam are very comfortable hanging with the local crowd, and they get plenty of attention. Megan and I took to teaching a group of kids the electric slide, and it has to be more fun here than at any wedding back in the day. The kids love to hold our hands, poke at our funny white skin and hair, and do about anything that we can come up with on the fly. I'd like to just sit and hang with them all day, but the taxi did eventually come and that was the end of it for today.
This afternoon was our last at Butondo High School. The students have been working on HIV-related projects this week and they presented them today, so Drew and Liam joined us to listen in and help judge the competition. They put a fair bit of work into them -- one group visited a hospital, another group taught HIV education in a basic school, another group surveyed people in the community, and others presented skits, poems and songs. It was great to see what they came up with! There are a lot of bright students and they were overall a great group to work with this week.
Dr T and my dad are teasing me for writing a novel, so I think that's my cue. Hope all is going well back in the states! Thanks for reading our updates. :)
Tannen
7/16/09 from Oom Jack -- Irrigation System
The last two days Jim, Alden and I have continued to work on the irrigation system. After making a few measurements of the well and the irrigation field, we have decided to use a medium to high pressure (50 psi) impulse driven sprinkler system with a submersible pump (there is electric available). We were able to purchase a suitable pump in Kitwe, a small town about 50 miles from here. With the help of some local men we were able to drop the pump into the well and make enough connections to pump some water. The well was pumped down to make sure that it had sufficient capacity to supply the irrigation system. After the test we have confidence that it does.
Today we went back to Kitwe and purchased the remaining supplies needed to begin the installation of the emitters. Tomorrow we hope to have enough of the plumbing done to begin testing some of them.
We have a very good team here that I enjoy working with. We are making good progress and at this time are further along than I expected to be.
"Oom" Jack
Today we went back to Kitwe and purchased the remaining supplies needed to begin the installation of the emitters. Tomorrow we hope to have enough of the plumbing done to begin testing some of them.
We have a very good team here that I enjoy working with. We are making good progress and at this time are further along than I expected to be.
"Oom" Jack
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
7/15/09 from Megan
Today Tannen and I went to visit the women's craft group in Murundu with Hilda. There are about 15 women using strips cut from plastic bags to crochet handbags - they're very well designed, and I was impressed by the ingenuity of their hook-making. They file down pieces of thick gauge wire that they can find lying around, and then cut a notch in the end to form a hook. They learned the bag technique from Villages of Hope, a non-profit down south that we visited back in February. There's a national craft fair that they plan to take their bags and beaded jewelry to later in the year.
I should also mention that we went to Twatasha clinic yesterday with the musketeers. The head of the clinic is a wonderful Catholic nun who trained as a nurse in Germany (I gather that she must be fluent in at least 4 languages), and she took a good chunk of time out of her morning to show us how an HIV test is conducted. Of course, she needed a volunteer, so Tannen and I decided that this would be a good time to experience first-hand exactly what we are always recommending that our kids do. So we got tested. It was a little bit scary - there's always this thing lurking in the back of your head saying, but what if... I have hugged kids with sores, what if one of them was positive... I have been working in a country with a 1 in 6 infection rate, what if I got a cut that I never noticed and somehow exchanged blood with someone... The scenarios you construct in your head don't even make sense, but when it comes to waiting for that little tester strip to tell you whether you need to be on some serious drugs for the rest of your life, it's amazing what you come up with.
I am happy to report that we're both HIV negative, though I can't say much for our pain tolerance, since we both yelped pathetically when pricked in the finger. I have a new appreciation for the relief of that moment when a tiny little strip of paper tells you that you have nothing to fear - and exactly how much we are asking of these kids who might have much more reason to be afraid of a positive result.
In the afternoons, we've been at Butondo High School, which is in the midst of exams for the 12th graders. It was a little bit crazy getting organized the first day, but both yesterday and today went well. This year's format is much more interactive than we've done in the past, and the kids are really getting into it. We've had them brainstorming projects to raise HIV awareness in their communities, and they'll be presenting them tomorrow. One group went to visit a local hospital today (and one kid got his hand x-rayed, just for fun), and another went to visit a basic school (for grades 1-8) to talk about HIV. I'm impressed by how quick they are at taking the initiative and doing things, with just a little motivation from us.
Now time for more endabas, the never-ending meetings which haunt our every waking moment. It's going to be all kinds of crazy when everyone else arrives on Friday and Saturday...
Love to you all,
Megan
I should also mention that we went to Twatasha clinic yesterday with the musketeers. The head of the clinic is a wonderful Catholic nun who trained as a nurse in Germany (I gather that she must be fluent in at least 4 languages), and she took a good chunk of time out of her morning to show us how an HIV test is conducted. Of course, she needed a volunteer, so Tannen and I decided that this would be a good time to experience first-hand exactly what we are always recommending that our kids do. So we got tested. It was a little bit scary - there's always this thing lurking in the back of your head saying, but what if... I have hugged kids with sores, what if one of them was positive... I have been working in a country with a 1 in 6 infection rate, what if I got a cut that I never noticed and somehow exchanged blood with someone... The scenarios you construct in your head don't even make sense, but when it comes to waiting for that little tester strip to tell you whether you need to be on some serious drugs for the rest of your life, it's amazing what you come up with.
I am happy to report that we're both HIV negative, though I can't say much for our pain tolerance, since we both yelped pathetically when pricked in the finger. I have a new appreciation for the relief of that moment when a tiny little strip of paper tells you that you have nothing to fear - and exactly how much we are asking of these kids who might have much more reason to be afraid of a positive result.
In the afternoons, we've been at Butondo High School, which is in the midst of exams for the 12th graders. It was a little bit crazy getting organized the first day, but both yesterday and today went well. This year's format is much more interactive than we've done in the past, and the kids are really getting into it. We've had them brainstorming projects to raise HIV awareness in their communities, and they'll be presenting them tomorrow. One group went to visit a local hospital today (and one kid got his hand x-rayed, just for fun), and another went to visit a basic school (for grades 1-8) to talk about HIV. I'm impressed by how quick they are at taking the initiative and doing things, with just a little motivation from us.
Now time for more endabas, the never-ending meetings which haunt our every waking moment. It's going to be all kinds of crazy when everyone else arrives on Friday and Saturday...
Love to you all,
Megan
7/15/09 from Liam & Drew
We painted today. In the under 5 clinic room, each wall is going to explain a step in which Moringa takes to grow and prepare it for eating. There are going to be things like banana trees and sunsets and stuff in the background. We recruited Rebecca (a teacher who is helping Enfys), Jacob (Shadi's son), and Joseph's son to help.
The kids must have asked my name and how old I am 100 times. The same kid asked me at least 20 times. Now Liam just tells them "Muzungu." They are very observant of our skin color. They taught me a new word - "Jinga" which means bicycle.
The one fish that I (Drew) ate was sub-par. Liam ate some guppies, too. Don't ever eat those things! EV3R?!?!!
Drew dominated Liam in an imaginary game of soccer. Liam destroyed Drew in an imaginary game of volleyball (as they say, the malaria pills give you some pretty weird dreams).
Liam likes the African pace of life, but it drives Drew crazy.
Working in the village is good. It is an amazing experience to be here and we hope to come back.
Liam and Drew
The kids must have asked my name and how old I am 100 times. The same kid asked me at least 20 times. Now Liam just tells them "Muzungu." They are very observant of our skin color. They taught me a new word - "Jinga" which means bicycle.
The one fish that I (Drew) ate was sub-par. Liam ate some guppies, too. Don't ever eat those things! EV3R?!?!!
Drew dominated Liam in an imaginary game of soccer. Liam destroyed Drew in an imaginary game of volleyball (as they say, the malaria pills give you some pretty weird dreams).
Liam likes the African pace of life, but it drives Drew crazy.
Working in the village is good. It is an amazing experience to be here and we hope to come back.
Liam and Drew
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
From Bashi Tannen -- Irrigation System
We laid out the whole project today, which consists of almost one acre of vegetable gardens and moringa groves. Once the irrigation project is complete, hopefully we will have a Garden of Eden that will provide food for 200+ orphans, the church planting school, and funds for the orphanage. Hundreds of feet of ditch were dug & most of the material was ordered or purchased. Jack's knowledge of farming was put to good use - for someone who claimed he doesn't know much about irrigation systems he sure has an incredible hidden talent! There is a lot of potential and the soil quality is good. With irrigating, the garden should be able to produce year round instead of only during the 5 month rainy season.
By the end of tomorrow we are hoping to have the pump wired and pumping water. The irrigation network system will not be in place yet since we are waiting for the manufacturing of the pipes (plus this is not exactly a one day project anyway).
Jim (aka, Bashi Tannen)
PS from Dr T: The Zambians would gladly compliment these two gentlemen with the following expression: "MWA BOMBENI EPASHILI PAKULEKA" (well done, keep it up!).
By the end of tomorrow we are hoping to have the pump wired and pumping water. The irrigation network system will not be in place yet since we are waiting for the manufacturing of the pipes (plus this is not exactly a one day project anyway).
Jim (aka, Bashi Tannen)
PS from Dr T: The Zambians would gladly compliment these two gentlemen with the following expression: "MWA BOMBENI EPASHILI PAKULEKA" (well done, keep it up!).
7/14/09 from Jake
Hello from Zambia! This is my fourth day in Mufulira. I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay thus far! Today we visited the Chawama clinic to observe the healthcare system in the town. Although rather undersupplied, the nurses still manage to serve the healthcare needs of nine thousand people. I spent the morning with a retired anesthetist, who serves as the local doctor, observing how patients were assessed and medication was prescribed. Later that afternoon, we sat in on family planning sessions, as a nurse administered birth control to help local women better plan for their next child. Overall, it was a very interesting and educational day learning about differences in care here in Zambia. A long walk back provided me a chance to take in the beautiful countryside and a meal of rice, onions, tomatoes, and tiny fried fish this evening should provide me ample energy for tomorrow's adventure.
Monday, July 13, 2009
7/13/09 from Tannen
We're here in Muf!! Its nice to be back. :)
Yesterday after church we headed down to Murundu to check out the situation for the agriculture projects and see how things are going with Pastor Joseph and Hildah (Enfys Orphanage). Between yesterday and today "Wom" (Uncle) Jack and Jim surveyed the area where they are planning to setup an irrigation system and formulate a plan. They have plans to irrigate nearly a full acre. They went to Kitwe this afternoon to find the right material (pumps, pipe, etc.), & order what was needed. The work to build it will commence tomorrow.
In the morning the rest of us headed out to take a look at Grace's Place, which is the house that was recently built with rooms for an under 5 clinic, STS counseling center, and storage for supplies. Liam has been making sketches tonight so that tomorrow him and Drew can start working to paint the under 5 clinic and the STS counseling center. We plan to buy the paint as soon as the shop opens in the morning so that they can begin.
There is another clinic in Murundu, and we went to take a look at this in the morning as well since the 3 musketeers - Jake, Aldin & Mike - may spend some time volunteering there and also donate some supplies. This clinic is always over-booked, and the people often wait outside for the whole day to receive care. The single-room clinic that Joseph is building will help to lessen the load and allow more children and pregnant mothers to have care. Right now there is only the one clinic in Murundu which is serving the entire village of 18 - 20 thousand people, plus people from surrounding villages. We learned that yesterday alone 3 children died, and many were walking along the road at the same time as we were for the burial of an 8 year old girl. Unfortunately, this is the norm and there are frequently even more (last Sunday, for example, 6 people died). The majority of deaths is with children, and many of them die of malnutrition. The coffins are typically taken to the grave site by bicycle either that evening or the following morning. We hope that the irrigation system and the intense cultivation of Moringa will help by providing vegetables throughout the year and increasing the nutritional content of the food which Moringa is especially good for. The clinic should also help by providing some care and assisting with the distribution of Moringa. We are proud of the work the Joseph, Hildah, and others are doing to bring hope to their community & help those who are in need.
Megan and I spent the afternoon at Butondo High School. We had about 50 kids there for our program, and as usual we did some on the fly re-orgs. The sessions that we are running are very interactive and we had a great group of students to work with, so we had fun. We are planning to be there in the afternoons from Monday through Thursday of this week.
Tannen
Yesterday after church we headed down to Murundu to check out the situation for the agriculture projects and see how things are going with Pastor Joseph and Hildah (Enfys Orphanage). Between yesterday and today "Wom" (Uncle) Jack and Jim surveyed the area where they are planning to setup an irrigation system and formulate a plan. They have plans to irrigate nearly a full acre. They went to Kitwe this afternoon to find the right material (pumps, pipe, etc.), & order what was needed. The work to build it will commence tomorrow.
In the morning the rest of us headed out to take a look at Grace's Place, which is the house that was recently built with rooms for an under 5 clinic, STS counseling center, and storage for supplies. Liam has been making sketches tonight so that tomorrow him and Drew can start working to paint the under 5 clinic and the STS counseling center. We plan to buy the paint as soon as the shop opens in the morning so that they can begin.
There is another clinic in Murundu, and we went to take a look at this in the morning as well since the 3 musketeers - Jake, Aldin & Mike - may spend some time volunteering there and also donate some supplies. This clinic is always over-booked, and the people often wait outside for the whole day to receive care. The single-room clinic that Joseph is building will help to lessen the load and allow more children and pregnant mothers to have care. Right now there is only the one clinic in Murundu which is serving the entire village of 18 - 20 thousand people, plus people from surrounding villages. We learned that yesterday alone 3 children died, and many were walking along the road at the same time as we were for the burial of an 8 year old girl. Unfortunately, this is the norm and there are frequently even more (last Sunday, for example, 6 people died). The majority of deaths is with children, and many of them die of malnutrition. The coffins are typically taken to the grave site by bicycle either that evening or the following morning. We hope that the irrigation system and the intense cultivation of Moringa will help by providing vegetables throughout the year and increasing the nutritional content of the food which Moringa is especially good for. The clinic should also help by providing some care and assisting with the distribution of Moringa. We are proud of the work the Joseph, Hildah, and others are doing to bring hope to their community & help those who are in need.
Megan and I spent the afternoon at Butondo High School. We had about 50 kids there for our program, and as usual we did some on the fly re-orgs. The sessions that we are running are very interactive and we had a great group of students to work with, so we had fun. We are planning to be there in the afternoons from Monday through Thursday of this week.
Tannen
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Flight
Oom Jack and Bashi Tannen (Uncle Jack and Tannen's dad) slept most of the 16 hours from Atlanta to South Africa. They and the rest of the group then ate at Pierre's house, slept, and are now on board for the final leg to Zambia. It's a good trip so far because those two enjoy sleeping and eating. When they arrive, they will sleep again and be ready for REAL preaching and dancing at the Sunday services. The service lasts for most of the day.
Karen VZ
Karen VZ
Thursday, July 9, 2009
2009 Zambia Trip
The first five members of this year's STS team just left Atlanta on a nonstop to South Africa. The plane was about an hour late. They will stay overnight with a friend that has helped them through the years, David Jordaan. The next day they plan to fly to Zambia. The group is made up of Liam Benkert (an artist from California), Megan Sheridan (an aerospace engineer from California), my brother Jack (an agricultural engineer from Ohio), Jim Sr. and our son Drew. You can watch Megan packing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2u47OgTQA4. We all had similar packing experiences. Jim and Drew took four complete volleyball set ups, volleyballs, several pounds of moringa seeds, a moringa capsule maker, several containers of moringa powder, 100 STS team shirts, tools, many new volleyball shirts for orphans and the necessities to live in Zambia for a couple of weeks.
Jami heads to Zambia later this month with another group. Next week her job takes her to Huntsville where Tannen lives. It would have been so wonderful if they were together to organize like they did to start STS so many years ago.
Three medical students from California will be added to the first group when they get to South Africa. They have supplies for the new "Grace Place" clinic. "Grace Place" is named for Holly's daughter. They helped fund it. While in Zambia two years ago, Holly had several sick days. We were so excited to find the cause of the sickness would have the middle name Grace.
The medical students had planned to go to Central America for HIV/AIDS work that is similar to that of STS. Plans were cancelled because of unrest in the country so at the last minute they bought tickets and joined our group. Hopefully, Liam and Drew can paint murals on the walls while the three set up the clinic. I spent last night forming ideas for wall paintings that will combine the trauma program, clinic work and Grace Place theme. I dream of using medicine, moringa, toy animals, stickers, and trauma information to help women and orphans through rough times.
Next week, Jack and Jim plan to start building an irrigation system for moringa and garden vegetables. Megan and Tannen are scheduled to run HIV/AIDS programs at two schools. The blogs should explain what really happens. Every year the plans are very different from the results.
Karen VZ
Jami heads to Zambia later this month with another group. Next week her job takes her to Huntsville where Tannen lives. It would have been so wonderful if they were together to organize like they did to start STS so many years ago.
Three medical students from California will be added to the first group when they get to South Africa. They have supplies for the new "Grace Place" clinic. "Grace Place" is named for Holly's daughter. They helped fund it. While in Zambia two years ago, Holly had several sick days. We were so excited to find the cause of the sickness would have the middle name Grace.
The medical students had planned to go to Central America for HIV/AIDS work that is similar to that of STS. Plans were cancelled because of unrest in the country so at the last minute they bought tickets and joined our group. Hopefully, Liam and Drew can paint murals on the walls while the three set up the clinic. I spent last night forming ideas for wall paintings that will combine the trauma program, clinic work and Grace Place theme. I dream of using medicine, moringa, toy animals, stickers, and trauma information to help women and orphans through rough times.
Next week, Jack and Jim plan to start building an irrigation system for moringa and garden vegetables. Megan and Tannen are scheduled to run HIV/AIDS programs at two schools. The blogs should explain what really happens. Every year the plans are very different from the results.
Karen VZ
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