A day with the Compassion Project Team

I had an opportunity to go for a short run before breakfast on Wednesday morning, just as the sun was coming up.  I passed many children that were walking to school.  I came across one other runner, who gave me a big smile and a thumbs up. 

Sun rising in Choma

After breakfast, we joined Bruce and Ginwell and Mwaka to spend a day out in several villages to see how the compassion projects work here.  Ginwell and Mwaka work with many people and BIC churches in quite a few villages here and train them in water and sanitation, crop diversity, how to farm as a business and conservation farming.  They are teaching the locals how to do these things so that the locals can then go and teach others in their village.

We first visited with the “committee” of the first village we were visiting.  The committee for each village consists of several members, all chosen by the village community.  The committee decides who and what type of economic development project they will do.

meeting with the committee

The first village we visited is the oldest economic development zone here.  All of the people are maintaining the growth and work, and require minimal visits from Mwaka or Ginwell.  There are 5 BIC churches in this zone.  There are various levels in the economic development zone (levels 1, 2, 3).  Level 1 is the top level, where the person is able to maintain on their own.  There are 17 farmers in level 1 in this village.  There are over 300 families represented in level 2; over 700 families in level 3.  We saw how they managed and cared for maize, various vegetables, beans, sunflowers, growing plants (deforestation), chickens, and dairy cows.  The last village we visited we saw the pump that had been installed to draw water for the community.

BIC church

Drying sunflowers

Beans

Goats

Growing trees

Sharing about their dairy cattle

By the water hole

Farm with chickens

They are doing a lot of great work here in training the local people to be sustainable. 

For our evening meal, Michello invited us to join her and her family in their home for a traditional Zambian meal—including, n-shima, of course.  She served beef stew, greens with peanut sauce, cabbage and n-shima.  It was delicious!

It’s been nice to have a little bit of time to catch up with Joleen.  She used to work in the office with me in PA.  Bruce, Joleen and their family are doing well here in Zambia.

My brain is on overload…so many things to process from my time today…actually from this entire trip.  From the things we saw and learned today, what a great program enabling the people to help themselves.  Without programs like this, many people would not have the opportunity to make any money for their family or send their children to school.  What a privilege to be able to partner with programs like this!