New Sight

"There's joy and wonder everywhere when you see the world through the eyes of a child." Mwenya has been at the community school at Garden for the last three years. We were surprised to see him this year since his classmates all went to grade 1 in government schools. We learned that he did go to grade 1 but with the recommendation to have him sit at the front of the class since his eyesight was poor. This accommodation was something that the school didn't feel was their responsibility and sent him back to our school claiming that he was still not ready. In working with him for the past two years, we know that he has a bright future and we were so happy to be able to make it possible for him to have a pair of glasses. The pure joy expressed by him and his family was a memorable moment for many and even brought his classroom teacher to tears. We are so hopeful for Mwenya and many others to have the opportunity for a positive future.

Hugs All Around

The power of a smile, a hug, or a handshake goes a long way in Zambia.

Cuddle Dolls

For a number of years, dolls have been knitted and donated to many of the children we support and to children who are orphans or vulnerable children. This year, my grandmother (Janet Irwin) knitted 13 dolls for me to bring. What a joy it was to share them with some of the children we have been working with. To see the smiles on the faces of the recipients was priceless. Eda was one of the students in the older class. She often was responsible for caring for her young baby sibling during the snack break and did it so effortlessly. She has such a big heart!

Teachers at Garden

Mumbi and Carol have been the teachers at Garden for more than five years. They have worked so hard to prepare the children for government schools. Solana Baer, Sabrina Freiberg-Dale, Lilly Brownell, Maddie Miller, and I spent four days teaching. We worked on concepts such as alphabet, numbers, colors, and animals. We are all so impressed with the teachers that go above and beyond to support the children in Garden, from taking urine samples for the health screening to providing food for students who may not have any. We are so lucky to have them!

Books, Books, Books

Stephen, a teacher at Sekelela is holding one of the books that was purchased for the school by Communities Without Borders. The books will help support their facilitation of lessons for the 368 pupils that attend their school. Purchasing local curriculum books is one of the major needs identified by our new partners and we were able to provide the necessary funding to purchase approximately 300 books for Living Hope and Sekelela Community School.    

First of many celebrations

Mary from Living Hope

Bertha and Lise Johnson

What a wonderful time we had at Living Hope on Monday, June 29.  Lise Johnson, a long-time supporter and volunteer of Communities Without Borders, got to meet the two recipients that attended the Healthy Kids, Brighter Futures Health Workers Training. Mary and Bertha, who were both sponsored by Lise, were so excited to share their experiences with us about the training they received. They have started taking records to document the children, their illnesses, and the type of treatment that was recommended. We look forward to having them assist us with the upcoming health screenings.

Be positive, patient, and persistent

Sorry for the delay in posting! We did not have access to the internet in Dubai and the internet has been down at our Guest House since we arrived on Sunday. Our short overnight in Dubai was a success-we all took a tour of some of the major sights and were shocked at the incredible amount of wealth that is present in Dubai. For many of us, it is challenging to see that extreme of money in Dubai to the other end of the spectrum in Zambia. Hopefully you will get to see more daily posts of our adventures. We purchased some thumb drives that create an internet connection, so hopefully more blogs and pictures to come. The last five days have been amazing so we hope to catch you up. We have been having a wonderful time!