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Two successful trips this year!
On February 28th Val Stokes accompanied Scott and Peggy Rogers on a task to visit every school, meet every student, purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser and hire a full time employee in Zambia. There were hopes to accomplish such a task in six weeks.
The vehicle had to be purchased in Dar Es Salaam, the closest port city next to the country of Zambia. We couldn't find any vehicles in Zambia that were in good enough condition that they could meet the challenge of holding up and making it over the almost impossible roads to visit our remote elementary schools. After two long weeks in Dar we found and purchased a 2005 Toyota Land Cruiser, after two more long weeks of pain staking patience we begin the long journey of registering the vehicle, and with very little time remaining we visited all ten high schools, all three colleges and ten of our adopted elementary schools.
My favorite experience was meeting the students and the teachers.
This was pay back time for me.
Over the years many people have asked me why I put so many hours into the scholarship fund and receive no money out of my labors. Seeing the happy faces of high school students, seeing the tears and hearing the stories of such tremendous hardships children and students go through over there just to get to school makes me know that what we are doing is real, it gives my efforts purpose and I know it is giving a life to someone who would have non with out our help.
One sponsor Phyllis Hansen has been supporting an albino Zambian boy, Augustus through three years at high school and now he has gone on to become a teacher with Phyllis's suggestion. This year she is supporting Augustus at Mansa Teachers college. I met Augustus, hugged him for Phillis and found that he is almost blind. I told him Phillis would be happy to try to send him a manual typewriter. Phillis thinks it is a twist of fate that she found a manual type writer in a second hand store after weeks of searching. In Augustus's words,
"Please send my tender greetings to my sweet angel Phillis Hansen."
Another sponsor Shirley Griffin has been sponsoring her student through four years of high school at Mpongwe High school. When I walked into Mpongwe high the principal couldn't wait to tell me that they had their first student ever to be accepted at The University of Zambia and his sponsor Shirley Griffin has agreed to pay for his 4 years at the University.
Then at the furthest elementary school away from any kind of a passable dirt road we were able to pick up the Principal (or head teacher as they call themselves) who was traveling back to his school on a bicycle. We had hours to visit since it takes us one whole day in a car to reach this school and it will take him two days on his bicycle. In a rather discouraged voice he said,
"we have never had a student from our school go on to high school. We have never had a teacher stay here long enough to teach the students to a point where they could pass the examinations to get into high school and even if they could pass there is not one of the parents of these children who could pay for their child to go to high school"
His face lit up like a light bulb when I said you get your students to stay in school and pass their exams and we will find sponsors in America that will pay for them to attend high school.
He thought I was God sent.
Chabala Village was just the same as this school six years ago. But since then we have been paying the salary of two teachers and they have stayed and now when I visited Chabala they have had their first student every graduate from high school, Esther. The head teacher took me into his tiny office and with hands shaking he handed me a list of thriteen students.
"These are students who have passed their exams and can go on to high school."
Oh I wish we could find sponsors for all.
The seeds have been spread and the harvest has begun!
Lastly our fantastic volunteer Val stokes who helped us purchase the vehicle in March. Returned four weeks ago to be there when a container of books and school supplies arrived at port in Dar Es Salaam. He has been waiting tirelessly for five weeks and now the books are in Kasama and he is delivering them to our schools.
He will have to share his story with you when he returns.
Peggy
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