It was a long, fun day yesterday. At the same time that we were working at the school the road the school is located on was being paved. This is the first time that this road has ever been paved and the timing could not have been better for us. The people of the compound are also excited as they will no longer get clouded in dust every time a car drives by. Joy put together a short video that includes mostly the children who live around the school. These children were new to us as the school is a little ways from Mary's house where we have conducted school up until now. There is definitely no shortage of children in the compound. Many of the people asked about the school and we told them to come back Monday to register their children. Joy and I wish we could be there Monday morning, as we are excited to start the official process of registration and actual classes. We are also providing St. John's Ambulance with an office to start working from. They are an international non-profit organization with a facility in Matero, another housing compound across town, and they have long desired to open a branch in Bauleni. They are the group that provided the wheelchair for Bisa and earned our undying gratitude. Of course, their funds are very limited but the services they will provide far outweigh their inability to pay rent. Among other things they will provide in-home care and assistance for people in Bauleni. They currently have 1,000 people in Matero who receive similar services now. They also have a cadet program where they train children in basic first-aid. Needless to say we are excited about partnering with them. Anyway, the work will continue on the site and we hope to install windows, basic furniture and a fence as soon as we can fund those projects. But school does commence tomorrow. -Ken Hoffman Masau and the kids are clearing and leveling the front area for a patio and eating area. You can help fund the patio and our other planned projects by clicking on the donate button at the bottom of the home page. (or elsewhere on the site)
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In order to be become a "Community School" in the eyes of the Zambian government we first need to become registered with the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS). We found our way to the offices today. Talked to a lady, I think she was the 'Secretary' herself. For my weekend reading pleasure I am now reading the Republic of Zambia's Operational Guidelines for Community Schools. They will come out and inspect the site and give us a report on what else we need to do. I have a feeling tables and chairs, or benches, will be a requirement. So, doors should be in this weekend and the latrine should be functional as soon as the door is on it, with a lock, so the surrounding neighbors don't think it is a community latrine. Next, we will see what we can do about desks and chairs. This is the latrine! It is basically a hugely deep hole in the ground, lined with cinder blocks, then covered with plastic and sheet metal with concrete poured around that to keep it in place. When the door and a sheet metal roof is on then the hole will be punched in it, and we will be good to go (pun intended). "No.... I'm told, you do not sit down." And...."Don't worry, we are used to it!" Mary says while laughing at us! I am wondering.... "But, where will I go?!" It is very rudimentary, but it's what is necessary for now so that we can have students coming right away. There are water pipes drawn from the bore hole, and they are very close to the house already, but the cost of building the septic tanks are prohibitive right now. So we will all, yes.... even me, make do with a latrine for now! ( I do think I'll invest in a can of air freshener though!!) There is so much to do before students begin using the school site. The most important, being the building of the latrine. It is close to being finished. But it will still need the grass privacy fence around it. Hopefully students will be filling the rooms by the end of the week. Measurements have been taken for the windows and doors and they should be in by this weekend.
The children will be divided into 4 smaller groups next week and we will hold two sessions per day, a morning and an afternoon session. Right now the classes are too large and the abilities too various. Ken and I will begin one on one and small group tutoring in the late afternoons for the especially academically needy. There are definitley some children with significant developmental delays. This Saturday, a phisotherapist will come out to meet Bisa (introduced in the previous blog) and give advise on what we might be able to do in order for him to be able to push his new wheelchair using the strength of his arms. Also introduced in the previous blog is little Edward. I picked him up today, and he is no longer 'light as a feather'! He has actually gained weight!!! He is still shy, but he smiled and waved and came to me to hold him. I felt sustenance!!! The food we have been able to provide his family is definitely helping!! It is an overwhelming task, what we have taken on, but the children are so happy.... it is all so worth every moment and dollar spent!! They need education, but so much more as well... so far this is what we've been able to do.10/28/2011 This is Bisa and his parents. Bisa is a 14 year-old boy who was born without the ability to speak or to walk. He had an older sister who was born with the same disabilities but did not live past infancy. Bisa has spent his life being carried by his parents or pulling himself around with the strength of his arms. But now, thanks to our good friend Jim Anderson, his friends at St. John's Ambulance and freewheelchairmission.org, Bisa has a wheelchair that works for him in the rough terrain of Bualeni. It was so wonderful to see him eye to eye with the children around him, rather than looking up at them from the ground. This was an incredible day! The wheelchair pick up! Meet Taonga, Chisome and Rachel. Rachel is the young woman in the middle. When we met her, the day this picture was taken, she looked terribly thin, tired and gaunt. We found out that both of her parents had died of AIDS. We were very worried that she might also be suffering from the disease. We were able to get Rachel a medical card for the year and she was tested for HIV. Her results were negative! She was simply malnourished. While malnourishment is not a good thing, we were still thrilled because malnourishment is something that we can do something about. Today, Rachel looks much better. She comes to the school each Saturday and helps out with the little kids! On each side of Rachel are the twins Taonga and Chisome. They are 12 years old and live in the same house as Rachel. Their parents have also both died. The day after finding out that Rachel was negative for HIV we found out that Taonga and Chisome both tested positive. We were devastated. The HIV medication is free in Zambia. It took a few weeks to get them started on the regimen, but they are now taking it. The doctors say that the medication will make the girls feel week and sick for a few months, but then their bodies should adjust to it. As of today, Taonga is feeling well and comes to class on a regular basis. Chisome, is not feeling very well at all. She is week and often sick to her stomach. We hope that the doctors are right and that she improves once her body adjusts to the medication. We do our best to provide 'shima', the basic staple food along with vegetables and a little fish called Kapenta to the girls and the 'Grandma' who cares for them. Nutrition is vital to all of them. Meet Edward. Edward is a 5 year old little boy who has the size and stature of a two year old. He appeared to be malnourished and not thriving. When we met Edward he did not speak, did not make eye contact and did not interact with other children. We have been able to provide Edward's family with Nshima and vegetables on a regular basis. He now comes to school, smiles, talks and plays with friends!! Appleseed students at AISL. As part of the Global Issues program at the American International School, where we work, we were able to bring 13 of out Appleseed kids to AISL. Our friend Jim provided them with shoes through on organization called Altrusa, based in San Diego, California. This was an amazing day for these 13 kids! The project continues and AISL kids are meeting and planning more activities for more of our Appleseed students! In addition, we have been able to provide necessary medications to a few adults in the Bauleni Housing Compound. Even though they may have medical cards, the card only provides diagnosis, but not treatment or medicine. A few people had heard that Mary's friends were helping others and have asked Mary if we could help them as well. If Mary brings us a prescription from the doctor, we take it to the pharmacy and fill it.
An older woman came to Mary just yesterday and asked if she could come to school, as she has never learned to read or write. And another woman from the compound has said that she would like to help at the school by teaching the children to sew. We are thinking of asking her to sew school uniforms for the children. Zambian children take pride in having a school uniform to wear. RHO Appleseed School: How it began......
We’ve always known that we wanted to help those less fortunate than us. Little did we know that the small act of hiring a part-time house keeper upon arriving in Lusaka would have such a huge impact on doing so. Mary, has become so much more than a housekeeper, she is our great friend and is the reason we have been able to help the children of Bauleni. Mary has a heart of gold. She, like us, has a huge desire to help those less fortunate than her. This is saying a lot. Mary lives in a very small, 2 room house. She has no running water, no stove or oven, but more love in her heart than anyone I’ve known. Before working for us, she had been unemployed for quite some time. But when she was working, and the pay is not much, she shared what she had with the local orphaned and homeless children that surround the Bauleni Compound (her neighborhood.) After about two weeks of working for us Ken drove her home and asked her about all of the children that he saw playing in the streets, in the garbage heaps... they were simply everywhere. She told him that many were orphaned (either single orphans, meaning they have lost one parent, or double orphans, meaning both.) Many of them take shelter from other kind souls who live there, but everyone is very poor and can offer very little. Very few have an opportunity for education because even the “public” schools charge tuition, have huge huge class sizes and very little in terms of supplies. So public schools are really not much of schools at all. With Mary’s help we were able to start a Saturday School. The first Saturday there were 25 kids. The second, 65. The word continued to spread in the compound and people began knocking on Mary’s door asking if their children could join because they cannot afford to send their kids to the public school. Mary then began holding classes on Wednesdays and Fridays after she returned home from work. The number of kids just grew and grew. Soon they were asking if they could come every day, including Saturdays, which is the only day of the week Ken and I could be there to help.This is when Mary’s daughter, Newlyn and her sister, Fanny stepped up to help. Fanny took charge of the little kids, ages 3 to about 7 and Newlyn took the older ones, 8 to 17 year olds. More children kept showing up so we all kept on working. Newlyn and Fanny continue to volunteer their time. But they know that we will start paying them just as soon as possible. While it seemed impossible to help everyone, it was also impossible to tell them no and so we all continued do what we could. Ken and I providing lesson plans, snacks and whatever supplies we could round up and Mary, Newlyn and Fanny providing the actual teaching during the week. As the children continued to multiply we knew that we had to find a more acceptable space to teach them in. This Saturday will be the last in the little space with no roof and no floor. On Tuesday, November 1st we will sign the lease on the new building. It is a partially built house, but much larger than the other and it has a brand new roof and a lovely concrete floor! We still need to put in the windows, doors, plumbing and electricity. But it is a start and is a mansion compared to what we have been using! We are all very excited! As we get to know these children and the people in their community who care for them we’ve come to realize that while they need education, they need basic sustenance first. We do what we can to get those who need it the most, medical care and food. A medical card for the year costs a mere $5.00 for an adult and $2.50 for a child. What is so shocking is that most cannot afford it. The care is minimal, but certainly better than no care at all. We were able to get medical cards for 3 of the children who live with an elderly woman. She is not related to them but gives them shelter. One of the girls looked very sick, her entire family has died of AIDS and we were afraid that she might also have it. But her tests came back negative for HIV and she was told that she is severely malnourished and needs to eat. Ken and Mary went to the woman who cares for her to find that they have no food or way to cook any food. So, we got them a cooker (small barbecue), charcoal, shima (the local corn based staple similar to cream of wheat) and some vegetables. We are committed to keeping this little family of orphans and the person they call grandma fed. When we went to there place which is probably about the size of your living room at best we met "grandma" who had extreme pain in her legs and has trouble standing up and walking. The grandma did not speak english. We gave grandma some advil and excedrin. We told her it was only for the pain and wouldn't heal her but it would help. She had told Mary she was in so much pain that she could hardly sleep at all. When we went back later she said how much better she felt and she slept better than she ever had. Mary said she would take the three children to the clinic the next day. Michael also tested negative but the two twins, Taonga and Chisomo were HIV positive. As happy as we were the day before, we were that devastated when we found out. Our friend, Jim had told us that there is free medicine for people with HIV but most Zambians do not know about it. The girls are now on a regimen of Anti Viral Medicine that will hopefully allow them a long life. There is more to tell, and more people whom we have been able to help. But for now I’ll close with this: We are reminded of the story where the old man is on a beach where thousands and thousands of starfish are washed up and stranded. He is throwing them back one by one when someone comes along and says, "Why are you bothering old man you can't make a difference? The old man picks up a starfish and throws it back in the ocean and replies, " I made a difference to that one."
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AuthorsKen and Joy Hoffman. See the'Who We Are' page. Archives
February 2017
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