Calm Elections!

Last Thursday night Zambia time the election results were announced after over 48 hours of waiting. The winner was Michael Sata, and for the first time in Zambia's history a member of the Patriotic Front party has won.

Here is Sata getting sworn in:



We aren't really sure about what the dude next to him is wearing on his head but we will just ignore that!

We are beyond grateful for the way this election was handled. There was little rioting and violence. When Sata won, Banda stepped down from his office in a peaceful way and encouraged his supporters to do the same. We are so happy that Zambia was able to conduct themselves in a manner that is admirable.

We honestly are not sure of how Sata will lead Zambia. We are encouraged by his platform which says that stopping corruption will be a major part of his work. Sata also seems to understand that allowing foreign countries to come in to Zambia and own all the businesses and get all the governmental contracts makes Zambia a poorer country. Currently China runs all the major money making copper mines in the copperbelt region of Zambia. They treat their workers terribly and the Zambians working for them essentially are slaves to the mines. China also was able to get the contracts to fix the roads in Zambia which was through the government. They rarely hire Zambian workers and when they do, they do not pay them what is adequate. In fact, it is rumored that China gave the previous president Banda, over 50 million dollars to help him in his elections. That is ALOT of cash in Zambia folks! Sata has a vision for better education and more jobs for his country.

We ask you to continue to pray for this transition time. We also pray that Sata remains true to his word and that he can stand above bribes or anything else that might come to him. We pray Sata is able to help Zambia and not hurt them. We are hopeful!

On another note, Wangari Maathai, the first African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died after a long struggle with cancer. Maathai was an environmental activist that also faced and challenged many social issues within Kenya. To learn more about a very admirable woman please take a look at this video:

Election Day

Tomorrow morning when you wake up (Tuesday Morning) Zambia will be voting for their next president. This is a highly controversial election this time and many people dislike the current president, Banda. In fact it was controversial how he got into office the first time. They believe he will rig the elections for his favor. There are discussions about riots and other things that might happen if he wins. His opponent Sata is also a rather powerful man.

Banda:


Sata:



To give you an idea of how elections run in Zambia here is a photo of the ballots for the country being shipped in an open bed truck on the streets 10 days ago. If you can imagine there is alot of room for corruption.



We ask you to pray for peaceful elections and all of our staff and partners to be safe.

We also pray for the leadership in Zambia.

Thanks!

- Arise Africa

Sweet Andrew

This past visit to Zambia we became very concerned about one of our sponsored children, Andrew. Andrew is 12 years old and is HIV positive. He visits the clinic one a month and is on his medicine, (ARV’s ).

Andrew has always been a concern for us because of his illness. When Andrew entered in to our program he was malnourished and very lethargic. After aggressively feeding him for months, Andrew started to look better and actually be able to participate in school. I have never seen Andrew smile, and you can tell that life for him is about survival and nothing else. He doesn’t run around or play soccer or basketball. He has his head down in class because he is tired and run down. Here is a photo of Andrew in our container receiving food:




Andrew’s parents both passed away years ago. He lives with aunts and uncles in a tiny home with about 15 people. There is no food for Andrew at home and he comes to school dirty. He sleeps on a dirt floor and doesn’t have any help from guardians. We have worked hard to feed Andrew at school and give him soap and lotion. Brenda, who is in charge of Andrew through our child sponsorship program, sits patiently with him as he eats slower and needs more attention daily. We have treated skin rashes and worked hard to help this little guy. There are times that Andrew has tried to follow our staff home and he always is the last to leave school.

This past visit we noticed that although all that we had done, it wasn’t enough. Andrew is loosing this battle with HIV. He was extremely skinny again and slow to walk, slow to talk. There was very little life left in this child. We learned that Andrew has been having very bad stomach issues and cannot keep the food we are feeding him down. This is a sign that the virus is getting worse. It also is a sign that the medicine cannot work when the patient has no food in them. Brenda went to the clinic with Andrew and we received more devastating news, that his CD4 count was at 120. If a patient has a CD4 count less than 400 than the disease has moved from HIV to the AIDS virus. Anything under 200 is considered that the patient is very susceptible to any type of illness and ultimately death. We also learned that Andrew weights around 44 pounds, at 12 years old. This was crushing for us.

We realized that although we can try to feed, clothe, and take care of Andrew, we couldn’t in the conditions he is living in. How Andrew is cared for is out of our control when he walks out of the school’s gate everyday. We can’t monitor his medicine intake and if it is happening. We can’t keep him warm and clean at night. We can’t make sure he has food to eat for dinner with his medicine. And helping at school is not enough for him. It was a sobering realization to make. Our ability is limited and it wasn’t enough. Without a home to put Andrew in, we couldn’t help him.

After getting my act together and wiping the tears from my face, John and I talked and discussed with our Zambian team what to do. We approached a special home where catholic nuns take care of children in Andrew’s situation. They have a school, orphanage, and hospice center all in one compound. We asked them to take Andrew into their care. They were hesitant at first, given Andrew’s age, they like to take younger kids. After explaining how sick Andrew is, and telling them his weight, they agreed to take him for 6 months. This particular home is approached almost daily for kids to be allowed to stay with them; the demand by far outweighs the beds they have. We felt very blessed that Andrew was accepted.

Brenda and some of our other staff visited Andrew’s family to ask them if they could take Andrew to the special home. They agreed and were honestly relived. It was another body and mouth out of their home that they didn’t have to deal with.

A day or so later, our staff took Andrew to the home. We had him all packed up with his only belongings he has, clothes and a backpack we have given him. Brenda packed him soap and school supplies and a special kid’s Bible that she had been reading to him.

They arrived at the home and were met with wonderful people who were ready to help this kiddo. Andrew was overwhelmed when they showed him his very own bed and he whispered to Brenda that he had never slept in a real bed before. The other kids greeted him and gave them a tour of the home. There is a school that Andrew can attend if he feels well enough. We left Andrew and were told we could visit once a week and we would also be required to take him to the clinic once a month.

As I left Zambia it was the first time that I felt like I might not ever see one of our kids again. I thought about this on the plane with tears streaming down my face as John tried to comfort me and reassure me that we had done everything we can. Andrew is sick and has the odds against him. There is no doubt that he is in the best care possible. He is in a home where he is loved and cared for. He has food anytime he wants. He can truly be a kid, and not worry about the next meal or if he will be warm for the night. We can’t think of a better place for Andrew to be in this stage of his life. We are so thankful for this home and our partners in caring for Andrew.

Sometimes running a ministry is difficult because there is only so much you can do. And then you have to remember about your trust in God. It is a good lesson for us; we know that God is in control of this situation. We are called to do all we can do, but ultimately this is HIS child. We are beyond grateful for this home and for Andrew to have a chance at becoming healthy to where he can fight the disease and the medicine can work.

About a week ago we received an email in the USA titled “Breaking News.” When you run a ministry, this can be concerning to get an email from Africa saying this. Most breaking news is never good! But we were pleasantly surprised.

Bwalya informed us that he had just returned from visiting Andrew at one of our allowed visits. We learned that within two weeks Andrew was a changed child. His CD4 count was at 190 and he had gained 9 pounds. But most importantly Andrew’s smile is back! We received the following photo that made me cry, once again, luckily in my home and not in public.



We thank God for Andrew’s turn for the better. We thank Him for the home he is able to be at and the care he is receiving. We thank him for the smile on this child’s face, and we thank him for all the blessings he has shown us. We know that Andrew is HIS and we continue to pray for improvement.

NEw folks

The rest of our team safely arrived in Lusaka on Saturday. Stephanie and Avery’s flight arrived almost 2 hours late so there was alot of waiting around at the airport (pretty typical for Zambia). But we got everything together and made it back to Shakespeare Lodge minus one bag which was full of donations and not personal items thankfully. Caroline and Michael spent the morning securing nesting boxes for the new chicken “fortress” at Destiny. In Caroline’s words, “Who are the natural predators of chickens in the chicken fortress? Humans and ants. This is hard to plan for.” Hopefully, with the well built fortress the chickens will be secure and live a long life. Shortly after we went to check on the progress that John and Bwayla were making putting up a basketball goal for the kids. We really tried our best to scale it to regulation height, but the goal was Zambian crafted and looked quite a bit different from a regular basketball goal. To begin with, the backboard was made out of wood and the inner square on the backboard was quite a bit smaller. To top it all off, the net was red, white and blue. A very interesting mix of sorts. The kids will have alot of fun with that once we teach them how to play. We also made a trip out to see one of our sponsored kids and his family. We checked in to see how schooling was going with the children and how the family was managing. They were also provided with new clothes for school (which everyone was extremely excited about). Our visit was short because we were due to pick Callie and Kelly up from the airport. At the time of their arrival, 100% of the electricity at the airport was out (also not unusual for Lusaka where there are regular rolling blackouts). After collecting everyone we made it back to the Lodge to make pizzas and get some rest.

On Sunday morning we headed to church and had a great time. We all were happy that one of the speakers was out and the keyboard was not working! Sometimes it can be a bit loud and it was great to hear just voices. After church we headed to the market and bought souveiners. We finished Sunday off having dinner with the Zambian and American teams.

Today is a big day and we will blog later tonight!

The crew

Arise Africa Engagement!

Yep you heard it, Caroline and Michael (our chicken farmers) are engaged! Michael popped the question while they were in Victoria Falls last week. Caroline has received many questions from kids this week about her ring! We offered for them to get married this Sunday at Peter’s church but they kindly declined only because their parents would be upset. Caroline has received many suggestions and ideas given from Zambian women who are experiences Zambian wedding planners. It has been quite educational to learn about Zambian ceremonies. Also Caroline has been asked if she will have 7 or 8 children. She’s thinking more like 10 (jk)

Alright folks we’re tired but all is going well!

- The Crew

Turn right at the tomato stand…

Well it is 5am on July 20th and I am up thanks to jet lag. But I slept much more than I did two nights ago!

Yesterday July 19th was absolute chaos. After sleeping for only two hours last night (hello jet lag) John and Bwalya and I headed out yesterday morning with a large list of things to try to accomplish. We first met with and scouted out a new school to maybe work with. We got a tour and met the headmaster and John found a tiny kitten that he couldn’t put down. After taking iphone photos of john and his kitten we went to our next stop.

We went to exchange our car for another one because the brakes were acting quite funny and when we applied the brakes it sounded like a dying cat was in the trunk of the car. Seriously it was damaging to your ears! We got a new car, (Toyota Corolla) which is so much better except for the fact the passenger door is the only one that will unlock with your key. So the passenger has to get in first, then reach in and open everyone else’s doors. I will take it over the dying cat noise!

Then John, Bwalya and I headed out of town to check out an orphanage we had heard about. We are trying to gather as much information about orphanages right now as we plan to start one in the next year thanks to Kershaw’s challenge! We haven’t met our goal yet but are getting there and are beginning to plan. We began driving and chatting and then realized that the directions that had been given to us said to drive down one road for at while and turn right at the tomato stand. Well, let me tell you one thing about Africa, there is a tomato stand about every ten feet on the side of the road. As we were driving we realized we had a problem. There were so many possibilities as to where to turn right! We kept driving and all three of us arguing about if we were going too far and had a great discussion on the Zambian stock market (of course I am with John and Bwalya!). We finally stopped at some shops (think mud huts in the middle of nowhere) for us to buy some phone time so we could use Bwalya’s iphone to try to look it up on the internet. After failing to find it on the internet and two cokes and a Fanta later, we were defeated. We turned around and stopped by another orphanage on our way home that we had heard about out there while asking for directions! We toured this orphanage and saw the homes and asked many questions.

Then the three of us ate a quick lunch and met with a realtor to help us look for land for the orphanage. Given that buying land over here is as complicated as possible, we know we have to have professionals help! This particular realtor wasn’t very helpful but we realized we were at the top realty company where they sell the big properties that are a bit pricey than our orphanage budget. That is when she politely told us that we should look in the paper or go to another reality company to help with what we are looking for. So we left and went downtown to another realtors’ office. We chatted with them for a while. We are pretty sure they thought the three of us were crazy as we emphasized the importance of a CLEAR title and that we didn’t want property that we had to beg some chief for. We made a plan to meet the next day to go look at some properties.

Then we headed to another development that we had been recommended to where they are selling plots of land. We briefly stopped at Pizza In to order dinner since it was buy one get one free night. John went inside to order and came back outside telling us that we needed to pray for him because he had gotten so frustrated with the woman at the counter he had walked out, without ordering the pizzas. This was at the end of a LONG DAY. Bwalya and I listened to the story, wanting to laugh, but we emphasized with John and patted him on the back and then I took the money in and ordered our pizzas.

We met with the developers of the land and saw two possible plots that would work for us. It was very encouraging to see that the land was in a great place in the city, and close to two really good schools we could send our kids to. It also is land in our budget. By the end of our tour Bwalya was asking about plots for himself to build on! He was drooling over this land! We made fun of him for a while and then took off to go pick up the pizzas we had ordered.

We got home to meet Caroline and Michael who had been at Destiny school all day working on their chicken-farming project. Let me tell you, chicken farming is more intense than the three pet chickens my dad bought me at the feed store (after I begged, and begged, and pleaded) when I was 11 in Devine Texas. They had been in town all day with Isaac and the rest of our team buying wood and all sorts of supplies. They have all these fancy drawings that they have made themselves about the construction of this coop. It is impressive! They were as exhausted as we were. We all ate the pizza and I took some drugs and went to bed.

One thing that was so great about yesterday was that John, Bwalya, and I spent a lot of time in the car together, I mean like all day practically. Once we got a car without a dying cat noise, it was quite peaceful. But it was a GREAT time to catch up and discuss EVERYTHING we needed to. We covered so many important topics and the conversation was very effective. As the day ended and John and I walked over possible land we will buy, I couldn’t help but be blown away at God’s work. I looked at John and said, “Could you have ever imagined we would be looking at land to build an orphanage on?” “Not in a million years, it is so awesome!” was his response. We are constantly humbled by the generosity and support we have received as Arise Africa grows. And we only wish that all our supporters, (especially Kershaw’s challenge supporters!) could be here with us to see the impact it is having! I am sure you too are jealous that you didn’t get to ride in the back of a Toyota Corolla for hours looking for the token tomato stand to turn right at!

Off to another day!

- Alissa

on the ground and rolling

I arrived in Lusaka today and met the rest of our Americans who have been here for a few days.

John, Megan, Bwalya, and I wasted no time heading to the coffee shop and organizing all our calendars together for the next few weeks. It was complete chaos as we tried to coordinate so much we need to do. It was rather entertaining as I only had about two hours of sleep.

We all then split and headed to our respected places and started working on our lists! John and Bwalya and I headed to buy a basketball rim for a hoop that we are having welded for one of our community schools. (they don't make basketball hoops you can buy in Zambia, so you have to get one made) After John and I somehow managed to buy an $80 basketball only to have to return it, we headed to Destiny school where our other Americans, Caroline and Michael were already there and meeting with folks and working on their chicken farming project.

We hung out at destiny for a long time today and we got to see all our sponsored kids and other friends we have there. We left with Caroline and Michael feeling like they have a good plan for the next day.

We had a great steak dinner at an awesome restaurant and then headed to bed.

Big day tomorrow folks!

- The crew!