Back to School- Part 2

As I continue to peel off the layers of my adventure, more and more  thoughts come to my mind.  One, why do I feel compelled to write down the details of this place and to share their story to people thousands of miles away?  As I begin to answer my own question I share with you the reader that their story must be told.  These people in this barren waste land  and others like them might be offered hope to grow beyond their harsh circumstances.

My last post told a little of school life in the bush, but just a little.  I showed you pictures of the new school, painters finishing up, the pile of new desks in one room and two students excited about this new building.  I shared a couple of photos of two guys with their new soccer uniforms that could have never imagined having such a thing.  But there is more to this event and building!

The people in the village gave us a party.  The dedication of this new school, oh yes and a new well, was the focus. As we turned off the main road onto what I would call a wide trail, our driver had to put our vehicle into 4 wheel drive.  The sand, not unlike a bad snow here, came up to the middle of the tires most of the trip.  We drove quite a distance from the main road in what appeared to me, the middle of no where.  For the students in this village to go to a school they walked to the main road to begin their trek to their 'local' school. They sought out Zambia Works (Zambia Works  is our organization in Africa) and plead their case. To grasp how much they wanted this school and well,  a chief walked about 10+ miles to the Zambi Works office just to plead the case.  He then walked back home. How passionate are you about anything in your life?  This is passion and sacrifice that paid off.

Enduna (Chief) and Alan Project Manager!

At the dedication there were several chiefs, Enduna's.  I am still trying to figure out how many people fall under a 'chiefs reign'. However, there were several chiefs sitting with us.  One chief was singled out as he gave his land for the school.   Property is their only wealth and to give it away is a precious gift.  He was an older man and he now left a legacy of giving, of education and hope.  The younger man in this photo is Alan.  He was the project manager and unlike many of the men in his village he worked very hard and claimed the prize as being a great leader.

Each Chief was given a flashlight.

This is the 'witch doctor' dance that was part of the ceremony. A chief was dancing too. It was a bit provocative.

Another unique story behind this school, is how it was built. In this culture the women do most of the work.  In poor parts of the world 'community effort' and 'team work' do not exist.  It is survival for me and it is each person for themselves. This school changed some history.  A brick making machine was brought to the site to make the blocks for the school.  The men began to participate in helping to make the bricks.  Their involvement  helped the process to go faster and the school was built in record time.  The news of this spread and the 'me too' factor kicked in, other villages stepped forward wanting a school of their own.   Other villages are now wanting to do the same.  Competition is a great motivator!  The schools that we dedicated, the clinic and our projects brought Zambia Works onto the governments radar.  In another blog I will share more of this story.  It is so cool. Today politics is not a subject I want to deal with, so stay tuned, it will come up eventually.

Hands of Hope brought 'new' T-shirts to give to the men who worked on the school project.  New anything is a gift.  The logo gave them bragging rites to their school project.  The next day we saw several men biking on the main road wearing these new shirts. It was awesome!

The ladies (all of the ladies) were given a new scarf!  It was so fun and exciting to see them wrap their heads up immediately upon receiving them.   The suckers?  A bonus!

What is a celebration without candy? We brought suckers.  Upon our arrival we decided to not give them out because we did not bring enough.  Our message was not conveyed and we suddenly see them being handed out. My prayer and fear was that some kids were not going to get them and how sad that would have been.  I know many of you reading this do not believe in prayer or miracles but I do.  I watched one happen before my eyes.  There were suckers for all of the kids, some older children got them and we had one bag left over.  Impossible?  Not for God :)   I wish I had more pictures of kids, but they were scared of 'white' people. :)

The photo below shows the deep hole that was dug to obtain the sand that the bricks that were made from. The bricks are what the school is made out of.   Finding sand is not a problem, lifting it out of of the hole is the bigger issue.   

Sand Pit. This photo does not do the size of this hole justice.

New Kitchens!

In the next photo you will see ladies preparing their meal just before the 'party'. Note how they cook.  The bricks are left over from the school.  They were not wasted.  When I took this photo I had not been to enough villages to grasp the significance of this picture.  I just saw ladies cooking and I was fascinated by how these people live.   I now know that each section is a different person's kitchen.  So, besides a school several ladies got kitchens out of the deal!  Note the 5 gallon water bottles in the back ground.  The wonderful thing is that their well was just a few feet away!  :)

It took a village, a group of ladies raising money through Hands of Hope, a chief desperate to see his peoples lives improved to pull this off.  They will treasure these gifts and cherish the memories of this day, as will I.   

 To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. 

G. K. Chesterton