Relaxation

Fifteen travelers went to Simakanka and Livingstone for the weekend. Five of us stayed behind (Lucia, Ruth, Danielle, Dick and myself) as we had other commitments. We have all enjoyed the slower pace that the weekend brought and enjoyed catching up on leisurely reading, and cups of coffee and tea. Friday afternoon, Danielle and Lucia had a Tree of Life workshop at Garden compound and it was very successful. They have found that the ideology behind the Tree of Life builds a lot of self confidence in the young people. Ruth and I went to a farm that SWAAZ started last year which supports many groups of women in the communities we support.

Saturday, Danielle and I were interviewed on the radio by Daniel Mwansa who is one of our liasons in Zambia. He hosts a show called Close Mates which is broadcast on Monday evenings throughout Zambia. Teenagers and young adults call in with questions that they have about their relationships. We were called upon numerous times to share our thoughts-Danielle and I can both say that they are much more open about asking personal questions. We were happy to add our thoughts and can only hope that shows like this will continue to help young people make safe choices about the relationships they enter.

We all went to the Fountain of Hope and Danielle and Lucia held another Tree of Life Workshop. They worked with some amazing men who volunteer at the Fountain of Hope which is an organization that supports the street children in Lusaka. There are 24 boys who are living at the Fountain of Hope that Vasco and Kenny oversee and they are so compassionate and selflessly dedicated to the well being of many young children with no other options.

We ended our night with a treat-we were welcomed into Dr. Muka Chiluba's home for dinner. The 5 students from Bowdoin College joined us and we were fascinated with all the answers she was able to provide about AIDS/HIV. Dick has known her for a number of years as she was working at one of the hospitals in Boston for about 10 years. She is currently working for USAID and is hopeful that as a nation, Zambia is winning the fight against AIDS/HIV. There is still a lot of work to do, but she is on the frontier of making a difference. She also introduced us to Simakanka a number of years ago. It was a wonderful treat!