New Adventures

My past month here has been a different experience from the time I was here before, but a chance to see other parts of Zambia and experience other things. As I said before, we visited many families in areas of extreme poverty. During this time of visiting, we also visited a man who was very sick. They said he had Tuberculosis, but that usually means the person is also HIV+. They do not say this because of the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. I have never been with someone so sick and it literally broke my heart to see him in the condition he was in. We prayed for him and I could not help but weep and pray for God to comfort him and his family. This was the first time I was faced with the reality of this disease in someone’s life. A couple days after visiting this man, we heard that he passed away. This was a huge loss for the community as this man was involved in many different projects benefiting the community. We attended the traditional funeral and burial which is a long event, and in the end we were exhausted. Although I didn’t know this man, I had spent that short time with him and I experienced the pain and heartache that him and his family were going through. At least I was able to stand with them during a hard time and know that there is hope in Christ in the darkest moments.

Though this was a sad story, there have been many other exciting stories. There is a teacher that I work with who is pregnant, yet could not afford a scan to see if her baby is healthy, much less pre-natal care. The scan was only about $10 and so I was able to help her and it was so exciting to see the picture and hear that she was having a boy and he is very healthy. The little things we do for others are those that they remember. Another exciting thing was that money for a stove and freezer for the school were donated. As I mentioned before, these things were stolen by a previous housemaid and therefore the school was struggling to prepare lunch each day for the children and teachers. We recently bought the new freezer and stove and I have never seen anyone so excited. Alice (the director of the school) was so thankful to be able to cook faster and keep food longer. We were also able to buy a part for the mini-van so that we can fix it to start picking up kids for school.

Recently, Alice and I went to see a beautiful area overlooking the Zambezi river in the middle of the bush where we want to take the kids on a picnic. It was so relaxing to just be in nature. We also went on a trip to a place called Kafue Gorge to see an area where Alice may open another preschool due to the need in the area. This town is in the hills and filled with all sorts of trees, plants, and other greenery. It overlooks a beautiful gorge where they generate electricity from the Kafue River. We ate so much sugarcane, bananas, guavas, corn, and other fruits and vegetables that grow in the area. It was beautiful.

I have really come to love the kids at the school and also the people I stay with. We have laughed together and have been sad together. Alice is teaching me to make African food and I made French toast and tacos for them (with homemade tortillas!). At the school I mostly help the children one on one or sometimes I help teach them songs or rhymes. If there is anyone that has resources to teach reading, writing, or other good teaching resources PLEASE pass them along. Most kids here can’t read until they are age 9 or 10 because not only are there few resources to teach properly, but also there are not many books available. I have also seen that the teachers are only taught that there are “slow learners” and “fast learners”. They don’t learn about learning disabilities. There is one child who doesn’t talk and he is four years old. I think he may be slightly autistic, but they have never heard of autism. They just say he is “dull”. Since I worked in a school for special ed kids, I may start trying to work with him one-on-one. As far as “social work” here, I have been trying to access the needs of the families and find out why there are certain problems with children. Mostly, it is poverty so lack of resources makes it hard to help in this area. Alice tries to help by forgiving them of paying school fees and providing lunch, but it becomes hard to run the school when so many people have problems paying school fees.

So this is mostly what I have been doing and learning recently. If you know of any organizations that can help a developing preschool in Zambia or you would like to support yourself, please contact me at erinnhartzell@yahoo.com. I am trying to help Alice raise money for the good thing she is doing here. I will also be applying for a work permit soon so that I can at least stay until May since it is more expensive to extend my visitor’s permit. Please pray that I get my work permit and also that God continues to lead me in the direction he has for me in Zambia. I still desire so much to work in adoptions and I am trying to find out more about that here in Zambia. Thank you for your support and prayers!