Dwankhozi…By the Numbers

As our team prepares to leave for Zambia on Friday night, we are struck by the many different numbers associated with our trip this time around.

7: Individuals traveling in our team.

• Beth MacLean (Dwankhozi Director of Programs)

• Nick Baumgartner (Dwankhozi Communications Director)

• Dave Elliott (Queen Anne Elementary Principal)

• Katie Cryan Leary (QAE Kindergarten Teacher)

• Megan Klope (QAE 3rd Grade Teacher)

• Rene Yokoyama (QAE Kindergarten Teacher)

• Donna Verhasselt (QAE Parent and WorldReader Project Manager)

Our 2013 team, Nick not pictured.

10: Queen Anne Elementary T-shirts for Dwankhozi teachers.

Much of this trip will center around the partnership between QAE and Dwankhozi Basic School. What better way to invite them into the QAE family than with the very t-shirts QAE staff wear here in Seattle?!

20: One World Futbol soccer balls for the community.

If you’ve noticed, soccer balls take a beating in a short amount of time. Before you know it, all you have left is a tattered sphere that may or may not even hold air. This is even more true in developing countries, where soccer (or, football) is at the center of culture. We are so excited to bring over these “forever futbols,” which never go flat, wear out or require a pump. We are hopeful that when we return to Dwankhozi, we will find kids and adults alike still playing with these balls created by One World Futbol. Click on the link to learn more about their mission.

50: Kindles for Dwankhozi Basic School

In partnership with World Reader, and thanks to the amazing generosity of our donors, Dwankhozi Basic School will be receiving 50 Amazon Kindles, each pre-loaded with 100 books. World Reader staff will also join us in Zambia, providing teacher and student instruction for these new resources. WR will also train a local project manager for ongoing training, reporting, maintenance and continued development of this program.

600: Backpacks for Dwankhozi students

A backpack is significant for a student, both abroad and in the United States. Practically, it’s a single place to store and keep track of school items. At a deeper level, it symbolizes the belonging one feels from receiving an education. Backpacks and students go hand in hand. We’re thrilled to be able to give a small backpack to each student at Dwankhozi, and in the QAE purple and orange colors, no less!

While it’s fun to think about our trip in numbers, the quantitative details don’t do justice to the real potential this trip holds. Relationships. The bonds created between our QAE members and Dwankhozi teachers. The words, smiles, and laughs shared. The perspective each receives from hearing the other’s  story. The World Reader staff who are empowering Dwankhozi teachers and leaders to educate their students. So much life will be shared in this next week, we can hardly imagine just what will take place. There will no doubt be a time for giving, a time for learning, and a time for growing. And we are preparing to be a part of the amazing transformation that’s happening in this Zambian community.

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