We are both working in a community called Linda Farm. The project is intended to help a community of disabled adults and their children sustain themselves by raising and selling chickens locally and growing vegetables to feed the community. You can learn more about the farm by clicking on another blog I found:
Aaron is working directly on the "blind" farm, helping prepare for a new community pre-school that is opening there. He works with a local man, Bilton and this week had a young crew of 3 boys help him as they broke up rocks, clay and cement to regrade the land in front of the school so water would run off away from the building.
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| Aaron's boss and his daughter |
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| The crew |
Each day, Aaron has come "home" dirtier than the day before. My favorite story week one, is that not only did Aaron clean out the chicken coop, poop wise, he had to mix the grain and audit the number of chickens in the coop! Guess his finance skills were welcome by Bilton! Think they started with 70 birds, focused on 20 and ended up chasing 50 that "flew the coop" so to speak, as the boys forgot to close the gate! Of couse, a few chicks got away, so Aaron had to chase and grab them. He captured a dozen on his own! Oh, if only we had a picture?! The visual will have to work. His week ended with planting flowers in front of the school and the sale of 3 chickens, whose proceeds go to help sustain the farm. Aaron can now pick out a good chicken, by the size of its breast! Who knew?
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| First 2 birds sold for the day! |
The children, all 65 of them, have been meeting in a three small rooms, each less than 100 sq. feet, waiting for the school to get ready. Sydney, check it out. Two teachers, sometimes one volunteer and 65 kiddies in pre school!! No chair, desks or supplies yet, but hopefully donations will start coming in? We also took a couple pictures of local people (approximately 90 live in the community), how they cook outside, and we tried to give you a sense of size and look of a family house, of which there are a total of 10-12.
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| Greens and onions |
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| Mixing "NshIma"- daily food staple |
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| Typical House |
As for the the neighborhood around us and what we have done in our spare time, we are very close to a soccer field, a large water tower, which is our landmark, and always people walking. Most women carry child, food or water on their head plus often have a kid or two tagging along. Most are clean and dressed well. Everyone is friendly and often say hello with a big smile to the 2 new "muzungu." or white people who are in town! Town, per se, is a 40 minute walk away, consisting of 3 or 4 blocks of stores, grocery markets, gas stations and of course, a cemetary. Who would have guessed there would be a Jewish section!?? There was a small Jewish population from late 1800's to around WWll. Early settlers came as farmers and traders. There is still a Chabad House that serves the area, however, it is in Lusaka, Zamba's capital, a mere 6-7 hour bus trip from here. Otherwise, we would check it out for the High Holidays. Will have to find services as I have before, live on the web.
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| My walk home |
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| check out inscription |
We either walk or take a taxi to town, for the equivalent of a dollar each, to buy groceries, water, delicious homemade Italian gelato and eat out. Otherwise, we are provided 3 meals a day at the guest house.
As for my assignment, I am at the community vs public primary school. I have been teaching 2nd graders, about 45 boys and girls, 8 -10 years old, and recently, picked up 7th graders, ranging in age from 12 to 18. They asked for help with punctuation and environment studies (pollution, recycling) as they prepare for exams to get into secondary public school---at a cost we think, of $250/year, an enormous amount of money by Zambian standards. The community school targets vulnerable children and orphans, who otherwise, may not go to school. It is sponsored by local committees of parents and teachers. These parents do not have the money to send their children to school. Resources are equally scarce here, although, most kids have desks or tables they share with 3 or 4 others. skill level varies enormously. There are kids who absolutely "get it" while others struggle painfully or just try to be invisible. Teachers seem to treat everyone the same, moving ahead whether the topic was understood or not? I have not established enough credibility to take pictures my first week. Will provide more observations and share pics next post.
For those observing, L'shona Tova and a happy, healthy new year.
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