News from SPF May 2012

EPIC Bush Telegraph

A combination of the acronym of our slogan "Empowering People In Community" and the common term for how news travels in Africa - bush telegraph - being by word of mouth.

May 2012 #7

Gordon May 2012

Hello everyone

This month has been busy again with a number of tasks on the go. The high school students went back to school for the second term and won't be back in the community until the end of July. Blair and I have been meeting with a lot of people to gather information to make plans for the projects that she will be working on - see her report below. She is going on home leave in the States from mid-June to mid-July so the actual project work will start in late July when she gets back.

Our Volunteer Interns have been very busy letting the community know about the program and what they plan to achieve and then getting the Kakulu Pre-school going again - see the full story below.

And MOST exciting was the opportunity to see the newly completed classroom block at Chilunga Community School ! There will be a full report and plenty more photos in the next newsletter.

Newly completed classroom block at Chilunga

As always - thank you so much for your support of SPF and the work that we do. Every dollar makes a difference and every prayer or good wish encourages me to keep on going. Sincerely, Gordon

Volunteer Interns Project

In early 2012, in response to our need for a solution to operate the Kakulu Community Pre-school more effectively it was suggested that we approach young people in our community to volunteer. The target was those who have passed Grade 12 but are sitting at home in the village as they have no financial means of getting to college or university.

I have to say that I was sceptical that this would work but we put the word out and we soon had 7-8 "applicants". We duly conducted interviews with all of them during which it became evident that this was going to be an effective project as all the youth were keen to get involved.

We selected four - Leonard, Winnie, Doslyne and Sylvester - and they went to Mkushi for the month of March 2012 for training - both theoretical and practical - in early childhood teaching at the private school of our friend Belinda Chitusa. They also received training in youth ministry programs from her husband, Pastor Geofrey Siame. The young women also participated in the GEMS club training for counsellors. At the end of their time in Mkushi we spent a day with them during which they did practical demonstrations of teaching and presentations to highlight what they had learnt during the month. We rounded out the day with a debriefing and planning session and it was very interesting to hear how their minds and hearts had been changed through what they had learnt.

Certificates of participation were presented to the Interns

They had a wonderful experience in Mkushi and were sad to leave but excited to get back to Kakulu and start work. We took a break for the school holidays in April but met a few times to discuss plans for going forward and do other education training sessions. The most interesting has been sharing TED Talks with them - they are amazed at the technology and love the information they receive. At one of the meetings Elaine Duchesene did a training session on public speaking which was meaningful to them all and we also did a Skype call with a friend in Canada.

Towards the end of April we held a meeting with community leaders to explain the program to them. The interns then spent time around the community recruiting children for the Kakulu Pre-school. This was officially re-launched on May 14 with 40 children enrolled and has been progressing very well through the month of May.

In late April the Parkland Celebration Choir in Alberta, Canada held a series of concerts and through those performances they raised funds to purchase bicycles for volunteers in our Zambian community. We were therefore able to purchase a bicycle each for these interns so that they can move about the community more easily as they do their volunteer work for SPF.

interns with bicycles

It is so exciting to see the growth and development in these young people through this project and the impact that they are already having in the community.

More photos of this group can be found in the related Facebook album.

Blair meets with Chilunga club leaders in one of the new classrooms

Blair's News

Greetings!

For the past several weeks I've been getting to know our community and its people. I've been meeting beekeepers, farmers, schools, clubs, and cooperatives to understand what activities are already happening, their successes and challenges. Gordon and I have been fostering connections with organizations and companies who share our vision for empowering people in community. We've been sharing ideas and getting advice.

At Sungula School, we've started planning to use Conservation Farming on the school's land. The teachers responsible for the Production Unit will work with lead conservation farmers to train the pupils and teachers. This is a great opportunity to teach this simple and effective technology to the younger generation and generate some income for the school from the crops. The school's crops failed for the past two years so we're hoping to turn things around.

Conservation Farming is also known as Farming God's Way. With both the school and conservation farmers in the community, I will incorporate teaching on spiritual principals, like faithfulness with God's gifts, with the technical training already taking place.

We are also considering options to empower our local beekeepers to improve honey production, quality and market access. There is much opportunity in this area, so please pray that we would embark on programs that will truly have positive impact in their lives and in the community. Many a beehive has been given out in rural Zambia, only to end up as food for termites instead of an income generating home for bees.

And my favorite thing-trees! I'm excited to plant tree nurseries with Chilunga Community School and others in the area. Tree planting offers environmental education, beautification, reforestation, and future income generation. That beautiful new classroom block at Chilunga will hopefully be surrounded by lovely shade trees and nutritious fruit trees in a few years.

Next week I'll be heading home to Missouri for my first visit in 2+ years. I'll be away for about a month but then I'll be back to Kakulu, hopefully refreshed and ready to roll.

Mushale no mutende - Stay in peace and good health, Blair

Photo Albums

Here are a selection of photo albums on Facebook highlighting the projects, teams and activities in our Zambian community

Conservation Farming

Water & Sanitation

Health Center Construction

Ichikuku Team (May 2011)

Donations

Donations can be made on-line using Visa/Mastercard and debit card (RBC, TD, BMO and Scotia.) Click the logo here to be taken to the Canada Helps web site to complete your transaction. Your tax receipt will be issued by Canada Helps on our behalf.

Cheques can be mailed directly to our address - Box 3099, Spruce Grove, AB T7X 3A4

We appreciate your contributions to the work we do.

Quick Fact

In 2010 we started a high school scholarship program. We now have seven students being sponsored for high school.

Thank you to all those who have committed donations to this program - you are huge blessing to these young people.

Contact Information

Milt Marchiel
Chairman of the Board of Directors

1-780-289-1803

SPF is a Registered Canadian Charity 814885547 RR 0001

www.simonpoultneyfoundation.org