Ndola Living
Trip Start
Oct 02, 2006
1
8
13
Trip End
Ongoing
Ndola, Zambia
Monday, November 27, 2006
Well its time to pack up those bags again and mosey on out of the awakening mining town of Ndola. I was just telling a friend how my idea of accomplishment and fulfillment has come in ways I never expected. It was masked by my own imperfections and stubbornness for a long time. Ndola has truly been kind to Carrie and me. The people are beyond the limits of beautiful, their smiles and pace of life tell it all. As many of you know, our primary task was to photograph as many students as possible at Northrise University. And let me say, if you havnt heard of Northrise University or successful campaigns in Africa, let me introduce you, the two are synonymous (I'll be boasting more about NU at a later date!). While we learned about students lives, their personal beliefs and world views, we completed our mission in 6 days. Getting to know the students was such a rewarding experience, I was able to meet some of their families, play soccer, and spend time with them in a local children's hospital. I couldnt have scripted a better spent time.
With our first task completed we began other adventures, namely spending time and working at a suburban orphanage/school. A short distance away from the busy streets of Ndola is a village compound called Mapalo (meaning "blessing" in the local dialect). The streets are made of rutted out dirt and the homes are overflowing with children and chickens alike. School and health care are a luxory few families can afford...if the children are fortunate enough to have a family. Nothing seems to make sense in places like this, sometimes I wonder if I have found Alice's rabbit hole and have made my way into a tortured wonderland (with AIDS rather than the Red Queen mercilessly yelling "Off with your head!"). Luckily there are people like Emil and Peter Doubon who are willing to make a difference. Mapalo school educates and feeds 315 young children 5 days a week. These are children who make soccer balls out of discarded trash bags and the meal they receive at the school is typically the only one they receive for the day. There are no desks or pretty little posters on the wall. There is not a school bell telling the children to play on a green field or eat a motherly prepared meal. There ARE dedicated teachers and administrators and poorly constructed rooms used as temporary classrooms.. Carrie and I were lucky enough to do a few art classes with the "preschoolers". Just to give them a crayon and some paper and see their proud little faces with the finished product was enough to break my heart (thank you to all those who sent over the package, the kids loved it!!). The problems are great but man to see these kids smile makes all the worries seem so distant.
Ill keep it short, but the other experience we had was taking a tour of the only Childrens Hospital in Zambia. It was if I were in Vietnam at a GI hospital, only for children who hadnt been a part of a conventional war. I prayed for babies dying of Dysentery. I sat with a child who had broken both femurs and was waiting (legs hanging from a rack) for the weekly visit of an orthopedic surgeon. There was AIDS and malaria, and malnutrition to the extent that babies no longer looked like living humans. I wish I could say I saw a smile or heard a friendly laugh, there was none. The only thing worth smiling for was the compassion and care many of the nurses gave to these children. Those women are what Angels must look like.
Alright, on to Tanzania and a few more uplifting experiences!
Love you all,
Shawn
