Tree of Life and other adventures

Today, June 26th adventures were endless. The focus of today was to present a social-emotional curriculum to the organizations in Zambia that we work with. We had about 10 people come to the guest house and listen to Cheryl, Wendy, and Lucia present The Tree of Life. Some of the organizations that were respresented included SWAAZ (southern women against aids in africa), ZANCOB (zambian association nysunga communities without borders) ZOCS (zambian open community schools), Chipego Women of Hope, and one representative from the Simon Kipatwe School, which is a government school across the street from our guest house. All of the representatives were receptive and excited about the possibility of using this program with students. Social emotional curriculum is so important to children that CWB support and has often been a challenge they have voiced to us. As you know, CWB is supporting orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) and many children have had traumatic experiences. It is great that we have finally found something that will serve as a great tool for so many. The tree of life curriculum can be adapted to any age group and much of the discussion at the end of the workshop was about how teachers can adapt this program and reach more people. It was a great opportunity to see Wendy, Cheryl, and Lucia in action, and was definitely very helpful for us to learn more about what these amazing teachers in Zambia are doing to support OVC.

Those that did not attend the workshop went to visit the Zambian Museum and the former presidents house. They learned a lot of the history of Zambia and also found it interesting that the furniture and house have been preserved for many years. Their afternoon was spend at this great craft market where bartering was learned by many! It is quite challenging when bartering to think about the exchange rate and get a reasonable price for our purchases. Earrings, necklaces, handbags, and other things were all put on display in a "SHOW AND TELL" when they got back to the guest house!

Members of the ZANCOB board (Zambian Association Nysunga Communities Without Borders) came and met with Dick, Maria, Amy, Danielle and Ruth. It was great to exchange our concerns about the upcoming year for Garden as well as hear about the good work they have been doing. For me, it was a great opportunity to rejoice in their hard work this year, and I especialy noticed their efforts during the Garden Certificate Ceremony as it was well attended and could not stop complimenting their successes. It is hard to express in words the power of the Certificate Ceremonies. Some of you may know, that Bernadette, the former director of ZANCOB retired and there was no preschool teacher at Garden . The last year has been a work in progress through transfering administrative roles, and it is incredible how much work they have done to increase the preschool program to 54 students and a full time teacher. I am very proud to represent First Baptist Church Lexington as a partner of Communities Without Borders and pass along to those at my church that Garden Compound is working hard to reach as many students as possible .