End of Workshop with the Girls

I finished up my workshop yesterday with the larger group of girls. They drew pictures and discussed a time when they got angry. They also shared how they can appropriately deal with their anger. We ended the session with the girls making their own sock puppets. I sewed on buttons for the eyes, and the girls used markers to draw the nose, mouth, body, etc.. I was hoping to have the girls do a puppet show, but we ran out of time. So, instead, they used the sock puppets with one another to express different feelings and emotions (i.e. sad, lonely, excited, depressed, happy, angry, etc.). It went well overall, although I noticed I was having a bit of difficulty again handling the larger class size. It got a bit noisy and disorderly at times. I'm learning.

On Monday evening, an UNZA friend accompanied me to a Rotary Club meeting. I met the president there, and he shared a bit about their club. They have about 32 members, and there are 6 clubs in Lusaka. This club in particular has a few projects going, which he'd like to discuss with me in more detail sometime this week. One project is building a school for the deaf, and another is building water wells in some of the outside provinces. I'd like to see if there's a possibility of any clubs in California to help them with their efforts here in Zambia. That night at the meeting I was informed that they had planned to have a business meeting, so there wasn't enough time to have me as a special speaker. However, the president gave me a few minutes to introduce myself and inform them of my relationship with Rotary, as well as what I am doing in Lusaka. I passed out some of my business cards and hope to make connections with the Rotarians. I was told that they'll be attending a conference in L.A. next mid-June. It'd be nice to join them there. The president gave me their Rotary flag/banner. I would've liked to have given them a flag in exchange, but I promised to be back next year. I will present them with one then.

Last night we had a famous Zambian reggae artist and his wife, who is also a famous musician, over for dinner. His name is Maiko Zulu; her name is Sista D. It was great learning more about their journey as artists and what they are doing for their community. Maiko has been personally involved with Kondwa, and both he and his wife have been promoting children's rights. They've done a concert in London to raise money for the kids; they've also performed in West Africa and some southern African countries. I think Maiko's music would do quite well in the Bay Area, particularly Berkeley, Oakland, and even San Francisco. Maybe a possibility to have them visit the US to spread their good message, their voice for the people, women, and children.

This morning I will be meeting with my professor from San Jose State University who is here in Lusaka. He will be introducing me to a woman originally from Minnesota who has set up a program here in Lusaka targeted at street children. She is a social worker and has dedicated her life now to helping the kids here on the streets. There is a vast number of them, and it is no easy task to tackle. I'm looking forward to meeting her and learning more about her approach to helping them and the community.

Thank you everyone for your ongoing support! I'm pleased to say that I am still in great health, despite the adjustments my body has had to make to a bit of difference in diet. The dust and diesel here also take a slight toll on the body. I'm holding up very well. One more week and I'll be at the airport getting ready to return home. Have a great week everyone!