The Motorized Ox Cart

Each time I decide to blog about Mongu and the remote villages we serve outside of Mongu, I struggle with reminiscing with you the reader about my adventures, reporting facts about the poverty, the people, the broken lives, the hope, the miracles I see God performing and sharing the awesome changes we are seeing take place before our eyes from the work of Hands of Hope.  I blog because I want others to catch the vision of what a few dollars can do when collectively gathered and used solely for the economic development in the Western Provence of Zambia.   In essence teaching them how to 'fish' not just be fed.

It has been said a picture is worth a 1000 words.  But even pictures cannot convey the smells, the sandy grit that covers your feet, the flies on the beautiful faces of the children, the smell of smoke from the grasses that are being burned off, or from the fire outside of the huts cooking the maize, that permeates everything.  So with each blog I will post, the desire is to give you adequate word pictures allowing you to imagine 'you are there'.  A daunting task :). 

Yesterday, I extolled the virtues of the cabbage.  In past blogs I have written about the remote villages we have chosen to work with.  This blog is about miracles and blessings. What my blog and pictures cannot capture is the area surrounding each garden.  With out the wells and the daily attention to watering this is a barren waste land.  The only green for miles, comes from the beautiful gardens our farmers are growing. (or perhaps a green shirt)

The work of Hands of Hope in Zambia for the past 4 years has been under the radar.  We were just another NGO that chose to work in a 'forsaken' desert.  Garden by garden, well by well, school by school, project by project miracles have unfolded. The success of what is happening is becoming known and causing others to take note!  Hands of Hope by the grace of God has taken the proclaimed impossible and seeing the impossible come to life!  

Last year an organization from Europe decided they wanted to partner with us.  They are much older, larger and felt they knew best what we needed to help our farmers. Our farmers crops were producing great vegetables but getting them to the market fresh was impossible.  

The normal method of getting produce to their market, is an oxcart.  Because of the hot sun and the very long distances (10 + miles or more)  their produce wilts and making it harder to sell.  The 'older, larger'  organization that wanted to partner with us and 'help' our farmers was to get a motorized oxcart. (This quite funny to me in that this is an oxymoron - pun intended). We responded with "thank you" but "no thank you".
  
The vision of those over seeing our farmers and business growth for the Western Provence was grand. It seemed liked too grand of a plan for this poor part of the world.   We needed a truck!  We needed a BIG truck.  

Last year 2012 we got the truck!  It was a former military truck.  The really delightful part of the story is that the BIG truck was purchased in another African country.  It was painted camouflage for military purposes.   Our director picked it up and drove it to Mongu.  No one stopped him. Border by border they waved him through with salutes; no stops, no harassment, no fees or taxes to pay, just a clear sailing trip to its new home.   No one messes with the military.

This motorized oxcart has transformed our remote farmers lives.  The word is out! Our cabbages are big, beautiful and fresh!  Those buying them travel a great distance home, so to start out with fresh produce gives them a wonderful edge for coming home with fresh produce.   

Our farmers have secured loans from us.  They are given help in planting and growing their produce.  Wells are part of the package for water is critical in growing crops.  They are learning to make this a business. The success of their hard work and willingness to be taught have paid off on so many levels. Each farmer is charged a small fee for the delivery service and though they have only known the oxcart as transportation for 100's of years, they are experiencing the blessings of this awesome gift - The Motorized Oxcart.  

This big green truck has caused a 'stir' among other farmers who previously were sought out as first choice providers. Our farmers can now compete.  Our remote, out of the way farmers are now in the game and winning.  Their lives are changing. Their produce is the best.

 Just after our return home to the states we were told that the other farmers who had been 'trumped '  by our farmers are asking how they can be part of the produce pick up.  I do not know how this will play out but God took the impossible and made it possible, the least likely people to succeed are!  

Vicky Wauterlek enjoying the success of the Big Green Motorized Oxcart.