Well I’m finally back in Zambia! It felt surreal at first, I almost couldn’t believe I was here again. Jonathan, a Pastor in Lusaka, picked me up from the airport and we got straight to work. We purchased some “template” clothing items for the Back to School Program, then his family and I made the 5 hour drive to Serenje. On Wednesday we used the clothes we bought to measure all the children at the Hope Center. This is the easiest way to do it, then we can order all the clothes in Lusaka (capitol city) and pick them up when they’re ready. The alternative would be to go to the local market area in Serenje and pick out the clothes with the kids individually. Standard sizes aren’t as easy to come by here as they are in America, so it’s a bit more of a challenge here. Even by doing this in Lusaka, it’s no simple Wal-Mart run.
The end goal here is to get all the kids in school with uniforms, shoes, back packs, pencils, notebooks, and so on. This was made possible because Brooksiders donated enough money to cover school fees and supplies for all the children of the Hope Center through Basic School, which is grades 1 through 7.
When I finally made it here (3 ½ days, 2 delays, and a 17 hour flight in the middle seat), it was easy to jump right back in. It felt almost as if I had never left, like maybe I was just away for a little while on vacation or in a coma. It’s been good to see some old friends, and I still have a lot more I want to visit (hopefully I’ll have some time for that). Working with Navice again feels good too. The only thing that didn’t feel natural right away was the driving (not only is it the opposite side of the road, but it can be pretty crazy). Anyways, so I’m really enjoying my time here. I hope it doesn’t end too soon!
Jack
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