Third Time's A Charm

Today was our third craft day at the faith based schools and a great day it was! We went to Free Baptist located in a compound (slum) and held in a church. Two classes were in the main church with two more in an annex. The annex looked like it was added on to the side of the church and then holes were knocked through the church wall to gain access. The rooms are quite dark as there is a small window in each for light but that is all. The children sat on benches at tables, crowded together in a space suitable for far fewer children. However, as we found in all the schools, they are well-behaved, eager to learn, polite, and know what it means to be patient, wait your turn and share the few supplies they have.

We had a lot of activities going on. Ryan, Sarah, and Jannean worked on the Rainbow looms with two different groups of childen. These same groups also did the trading cards with Sandra and Suzanne. These were cards done by children in the states with their drawn self-portrait on the front and information about themselves on the back such as name, age, and interests. The Zambian children did their cards to be taken back to the states and then received a card from their American friend. Another group did yarn pictures with Carol and the youngest ones made snails with googly eyes with Linda and Janet. Ron circulated and helped where needed. We left supplies, soccer balls and dresses made for the girls when we left the school. 

 After lunch, we visited Helen DeVos School which is a wonderful school where children from the faith based schools can go if they qualify on the entrance examination. It gives the students hope for the future through a solid education. A special time in the visit was talking with Abraham, a talented young man who lived at House of Martha before it closed. He is doing well, enjoys school and is planning for his future. 

 We returned to HOM to discover our wonderful kitchen staff prepared an awesome traditional Zambian dinner for us: two kinds of chicken, two kinds of okra, eggplant, cabbage, n'shima, rice with carrots and green beans, pumpkin leaves, and fried caterpillars! Everything was delicious! Six of us were adventurous and ate the caterpillars while three abstained. It was certainly a meal we will remember and added to our Zambian experience. 

Carol