Yesterday was our last day in Mazabuka and I asked each of the team two people to say few words. Internet and power challenges prevented us from posting this last night.....from
Zambia
Two weeks
have flown by - every day I look forward to seeing the children at the school
worksite. The highlight was a young girl bringing her library book to the well
for one of us to read the story book to her.
-Claudia
This is a
life dream come true. This week, I stood with an extraordinarily skilled
Zambian foreman named Hardwell on scaffolding and placed bricks and worked
mortar per his instructions -- and made some small contribution to the
construction of a school in rural Munenga which will teach, for generations to
come, children who would not otherwise have an opportunity to read and write. I
have been part of a team comprised of extraordinary people, working and
sweating alongside my "mortar mates": Siggy, whose tireless strength
and good nature is an inspiration; Peter, who is closer to a real-life super
hero than any other person I have ever met -- a natural leader who does
everything well and always has the interests and the benefits of others at
heart; Steve, who is keenly analytical, enthusaistic, intuituve, and good
natured in everything he does; Ben, who is a phenomonen of a man -- a soldier
and a preacher and a fiance and a friend -- who is enormously charismatic and
kind and fun; and Bob, who is an amazingly sophisticated interpreter and decision-maker
in the world of the law, and yet a humble and gentle man who is working to do
incredible good where it is needed most out of the inspiration in his heart.
The women we have worked alongside have been even more impressive (but I will
leave their praises to another among the crew, as I am out of time and out of
space). This has been a brilliant week and I am grateful to a degree that I
cannot express in words. Twalumba capiti, everyone. Twalumba capiti, Holy
Father.
- Dan
I sit
here at a table in a courtyard under unfamiliar stars, and my task has been set
for me. Dan has assigned me the task of talking about the women with whom I`ve
been hauling water, filling cisterns, and planting trees all week. So, I`ll
tell you that everyone I`ve been working with (Laurie, Anastasia, Jane, and
Claudia) have lugged capelas of menda with more enthusiasm than I ever could
have expected. But, as much admiration as I have for these women (and I have
plenty), we are not the real stars of this show. For every bucket of water that
I lugged to a cistern, the women of the village of Munenga will have to haul a
thousand. This school that we have helped to set in motion will be theirs to
maintain and cherish, and I know that they will. This evening, after a long day
in the sun (a day that did not end for the locals when we left exhausted on our
mini-bus), we were treated to a few speeches by the wonderful women at PAF. One
of them told us that we were an inspiration. I was baffled. I couldn`t imagine
anyone more inspiring than these women who allowed us to make a dream a
reality, and the people of Munenga who will sustain and build on this dream for
years to come.
-Tara
As we see this part of our African journey come to an end, I
am considering what to take from this week. It’s difficult, or maybe
impossible, to put into words what this experience has meant to me. I have
heard and read that Africa can be life changing and I can see why. While I will
reserve judgment on the question of whether and how Africa has changed my life
until I have completed my trip, I can say that there have been some very
remarkable things that have happened this week. The women have impressed and
amazed me. They have a strength, beauty and grace that must be experienced to
fully understand. I had no idea the women we would meet here and so it has been
a wonderful, unexpected surprise. And the children have also been outstanding.
They often look at you with a bit of wonder and uncertainty as you pass by on
the road, but as soon as you smile or wave, they break into big, beautiful
smile and wave back with absolute enthusiasm. It has been fun to sing and laugh
with them and to take their photos and experience their delight as you show
them their photo. I will miss the daily interaction with them. It has been a
wonderful week and I feel privileged to have played a small part in the
building of a school where children will receive a good, solid education close
to home. I am always a little sad to leave a place and I will be particularly
so when I leave Zambia and ultimately Africa.
LAURIE
I feel incredibly welcome by the people of Munenga.
They are genuine in everything they do.
When a person shakes my hand and smiles at me, I feel embraced by them
as I never have by other people that I have just met. They are incredibly hospitable. What has most
surprised me is that, while we are here to work on a project that will help the
people here, they want to know about us. They genuinely want to know my name,
where I come from, what my profession is and who my family is. The Zambians I
have met are a strong people, in their physicality, their faith, their
conviction, their love and their goals. I am so happy to have had the
opportunity to meet these incredible people. -Madryn
We came to the village of
Munenga expecting
to share our skills with the people of the community not expecting anything in
return. After the past few days we have
come to realize that the people of Munenga may not have many material things
but they are more than willing to share what they have and show their
appreciation for the efforts we have done.
Throughout the construction they have been incredibly patient with us
and taught us many skills that we have never practiced. Their ability to share with outsiders is
uncanny and they gladly receive us with warm smiles. The people have displayed a huge passion for
education and this build has given the people hope for a more enlightened
future for their children. The fact that
after every day of building we end the days sweaty, worn, and tired but somehow
still manage to smile has shown that this is good work indeed.
-Ben
I cannot convey into
words the glowing embers of love in my heart that I have felt from the people
here. It has been an unbelievable
experience from our enthusiastic welcome to our heartfelt goodbye. I learned so much about my fellow lawyers and
friends, and learned an incredible amount from the amazing people here. You occasionally get sore, but then you see a
72-year-old woman walk by with a cinder block on her head, and you just have to
shake your head in disbelief and carry on.
The children you pass by on the bus are so interested in us that they
run at the bus enthusiastically wave as we pass by. The
gratefulness that has been expressed to us all in assisting to build a
schoolhouse for the community and learning the stories of the people who have
lived here for their entire lives has been an unparalleled experience that I am
so fortunate to have shared in.
-Sig
It’s 23:00 as I sit here for my last evening on the tiled
patio at the Royal Laricio in Mazabuka. Six of us remain standing (or sitting,
as the case may be, and I leave it to the reader to determine who those six are).
This evening is a typical one and indicative of the past three nights here.
What is remarkable to me is that hanging out with the people I have met for the
first time on this trip feels as though I have been doing it for years. I can
only guess that this feeling is based on the experiences we have shared over
the past three days.
For me, driving to the work site on Tuesday was a hint of
things to come – after a 30 minute, bumpy and dusty drive down a dirt road
ended with an arrival at a construction site where we were greeted with a team
of smiling, dancing and singing people whose joy at our arrival was so palpable
that I couldn’t keep my eyes dry. After a brief introduction, hugs from
complete strangers, and a blessing in Tonga from a local, we donned our leather
work gloves and set to work.
Our construction efforts over our three days in Munenga were
full of stories and anecdotes, but the most impressive aspect of the entire
experience was how humbled I felt at being surrounded by people who, despite
having practically nothing of their own (by Western standards) and no exposure
to the way of life to which I have become so accustomed, were able to lift
bricks on their heads, mix mortar by hand, create a personal estate with clay
bricks and straw, and absolutely floor the most athletic of us (which was not
me, by the way) with their sheer physical strength and endurance. But even more
impressive is that, despite all of that, they have the best joie-de-vivre of
any culture I’ve ever seen. These people are truly happy, welcoming, and
curious about the world around them. Everyone from our Zambian project
organizers to the local children in the village were inspiringly appreciative,
and I can only hope that, one day, those of us in North America can live as
well as these people do.
So here we are at the end of our building experience, each
of us taking a little piece of the Zambian spirit with us. Even with the very
few years I knew Iain Beaudoin, I am sure he would have appreciated that his family,
closest friends, and others of us from the legal community are all gathered in
this part of the world in his memory in an effort to make an impact on this
part of the world..
-Steve
