I have just a few lines for you today. We have all touched down in the Heathrow Airport, anxious to embark on our last leg back home. It’s 7:00am on Tuesday here, and let me be honest, we’re spent.

We’ve been away from any internet signal for a few days, but those days have been filled with celebration, debriefing, and gratefulness.

We had dinner last night together with Moses before saying our goodbyes and went around the table sharing our favorite and most rewarding moments of this trip. Connections with teachers, conversations with parents, moments with kids. There were SO many. You will be hearing them over the course of theses next weeks, be certain of that.

We touch down in Seattle around 4:30pm today, on British Airways flight 049. It will feel wonderful to have our bodies back home again, but we will no doubt notice the large pieces of us missing, ones we left with our friends in Zambia.

I jotted down a couple notes at our hotel while we were together last night, in case I had access to this blog. Alas, I didn’t, but they went like this:

“Our hearts are full. Our are minds dreaming. And our eyelids flickering. Goodnight for the last time, Africa. We promise we’ll be back.”

Friday. It finally came, much to our sadness. A whole week has gone by, and to be honest none of us can really believe it. But today capped off a near-perfect week here in Zambia.

This morning, we visited a handful of government offices, beginning with the Ministry of Health’s providential and district offices. With the new land being donated to Dwankhozi this week, there is a large buzz in the community for a health clinic. We sat down with two different government officials and began the discussion of requirements, staffing, funding, supplying, and facility type. Both were excited by this development, acknowledging the need for additional medical facilities in the Dwankhozi area. They are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to health, often handcuffed by a lack of just about everything. Partnering with outside organizations is key.

Bertha helped Rene figure out a traditional headwrap during lunch today.

Our next stop was at the Ministry of Education (Is it just me, or is this beginning to sound like a Harry Potter plot?). All three District Educational Standards Officers met with us (one had attended the ceremony at Dwankhozi yesterday). We spent a whole hour together, talking more in depth about the e-reader project, listening to them vocalize Zambia’s main educational struggles (teacher-student ratio and resources), sharing similarities between Seattle and Zambia schools, and looking through district curriculum guides. They are particularly excited about using Dwankhozi as a model for expanding the e-reader project, utilizing our local project managers t0 train teachers in other regions. We discussed how Dwankhozi can share its success and progress with other schools in the district. Such exciting stuff, we all walked out the meeting downright giddy about these new developments and the care these Officers have for creating a culture of education in their country.

Megan showed students how to use this fun, twisting puzzle cube. They caught on quick!

We finally arrived at the school in the early afternoon with a checklist of last minute to-do’s. One of our items: share a few bottles of bubbles we brought with the Dwankhozi students. Words will hardly do justice to the pure, absolute, unfiltered joy these students wore on their faces while learning how to blow bubbles (soft breaths, not big breaths) and chasing them around the schoolyard. So I will stop there and just give you a couple pictures:

This student finally figured it out.

No words.

In the early evening we traveled a few kilometers (as always, traveling abroad exposes us Americans for our ridiculous refusal to not follow the metric system like the rest of the world), to a village near the school. In fact, it is Martin’s village! Sadly, he was still playing with friends at school but we’ve gotten to see him a lot this week. We got to meet his whole family: mom, dad, siblings (the baby his mom was taking to the clinic when the ‘Martin video’ was filmed is now getting so big!). What beautiful people. Lots of kids hanging around in the village, all coming up to us to say hello. It is such a tight-knit community, sharing resources, a well and living so close to each other. Within the village, a solar-reading room has been set up for students to study in the dark! It was remarkable that in a place with little power and limited space, a room had been designated so students can study at night. And grade 9 students will no doubt be using it soon with exams approaching! We were touched by the village’s commitment to educating their children and assisting them in this very unique way.

Beth holding the newest member of our team! We were humbled by the generous gift.

As we were driving away, besides waving to the kids until our hands nearly fell off, we were approached by a Dwankhozi parent walking towards our van…holding a chicken. Yes, it was for us. She handed it to Beth right through the passenger window, its feet tied but very much alive! We quickly named our new passenger ‘Chicken Beth,’ passing her to the back seat. We were all humbled, that this woman would give such a precious resource to us as a thank you for what Dwankhozi is doing in the community. In a way, I think we may have felt a tinge of guilt in that moment, accepting something very valuable when we are not the ones in need. But there is something to be said for allowing others to serve you, not only serving others. We came to get to know and serve this community in whatever way we could, but the equation has constantly been flipped around and we have been served in so many ways. There has been a mutual appreciation and respect between our two groups. And I think I can again safely speak on our whole group’s behalf when I say: we’ve fallen head over heels in love with these people.

We love these people.

And that is why, of course, we were all dreading the goodbyes this evening. Goodbyes to the teachers, students, parents, and Dwankhozi Zambia staff. However, I was struck by the absence of sadness in those farewells. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of heartache leaving this place and these people. But tonight there was so much laughter, so many smiles, so much joy, so much hope in the midst of the hugs and waves. And I think it’s because we all recognize the lasting power of our new individual relationships, the QAE/Dwankhozi partnership, the importance of our work together and the specific needs we are driven to help meet.

There has been so much buildup to this trip: fundraising, planning, traveling and finally arriving. Many would see that arrival and week spent here as the culmination, the payoff, the conclusion. Forgive the cliche, but the end of this trip is really the beginning. The beginning of so, so much more. This trip doesn’t end at Seatac Airport on Tuesday evening. It arrives. And I hope if you’ve been following along this week, you knew that too.

Goodnight from Zambia, the sun set once more this evening in the village.

We will miss these sunsets. That much is certain.

Good news! By the week’s previous standards, tonight’s internet signal is excellent. Which means…a lot of blog for you. Pictures and words. Bear with me, I promise it’s all worth it.

Today was a full, full day. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. On the way to the school this morning, we stopped at the nearest health clinic to Dwankhozi. Which is EIGHT kilometers away. Led by our resident nurse, Beth MacLean, we donated a large bag of medical supplies to the clinic. The staff was extremely grateful and gave us a tour around their facilities (which, honestly, wasn’t much). However, this clinic is so, so important to the community, serving around fifty people per day. We left recognizing the need for a clinic much closer to Dwankhozi.

This little guy was a little unsure about the camera, but had his thumb to suck on for some support.

When we arrived at the school, our group sat down with the Dwankhozi teachers for an hour to talk openly about this new partnership. I think I can speak for our whole group when I say it was one of the most rewarding parts of this trip. It began as a time of exchanging thank yous and gratitude, and then moved toward desires and practical advancements of this relationship. We discussed how students can best communicate with each other, how teachers will stay in contact, and which educational needs are most pressing (lack of textbooks has come up a lot). Emotional and productive. Heartwarming and vision-casting. A couple soundbites:

Getting goofy with Dwankhozi teachers and staff later in the afternoon. We love these people!

“While being here this week, you have motivated our students. And we are very grateful for everything you’ve done for us. Hopefully one day, we can come to Queen Anne and motivate yours as well.” –Mr. Chimbalanga, Headmaster

“In life, at important moments, it can be very hard to find the right words to use. So, in short, we appreciate your efforts and your vision. We are now better teachers. We are now better parents. We are now better pupils. Better everything. And at the end of the day, our children benefit. So we thank you.” -Maurice Masala, Teacher

A couple of friends tracked down Rene to take a picture with her.

Every teacher has recognized the universal aspects of teaching and learning, whether from Seattle or Dwankhozi. And let me assure you, this is no token trip these QAE teachers are on. Their commitment to education, both in their own city and the community here, is inspiring. As a Dwankhozi teacher said today in our meeting: “This relationship that has just started should not end here.” And it will not.

In the early afternoon, our community celebration to recognize the Queen Anne Elementary and World Reader partnerships began. The importance of the e-reader program now in place at Dwankhozi was especially stressed, since it is the first of its kind in all of Zambia. Students, parents, school government officials, community leaders, local chief representatives and our group were all in attendance. It was incredible. Maurice Masala emceed the event, constantly encouraging us all with shouts of ‘Manja! Manja! Manja!'(which means ‘applause’ and is pronounced ‘Mahn-juh’) after speeches from attendees. He kept the mood light and fun.

We were treated to some amazing performances today by the Dwankhozi student choir.

And there was a lot to clap about. David Elliott gave an amazing speech, addressing the students of Dwankhozi instead of the adults, encouraging them to assist each other in learning together. Just a taste of his closing words:

“Keep working, pushing, trying. You will ask for help from classmates, and from your teachers. And your teachers and our teachers will work together for you. And you may ask why. It’s because it’s you here at Dwankhozi, and all schools in Zambia, in Africa, and in Queen Anne, and America. You are the future of our world and you are the ones who will make our world a better place. We love you and Zkomo (thank you).”

David and Bertha attempting to recreate the current Dwankhozi Facebook photo. Successfuly? Ehhh…

The Dwankhozi student choir also performed twice during the ceremony. First was a traditional warrior dance performed by the boys. Wow! So much energy, dancing, singing, and even leopard fur dress. Later they performed a medley of songs for us, harmonizing together so beautifully. Maurice informed us the choir are the reigning district champions in Chipata. It showed. And yes, there is video footage of both performances.

A couple more items of note, one in relation to the picture below. We have noticed this week that in Zambia, holding hands is not necessarily a romantic gesture. In fact, we’ve seen lots of girls holding hands and walking together, as well as lots of boys. And there has been something so strikingly beautiful about it. A pair of friends expressing their platonic affection for each other, unburdened by immature labels or teasing. We have remarked to each other about the obvious cultural difference, and are always left feeling moved by these displays of friendship.

A truly unique and beautiful thing to witness this week. Unfiltered friendship.

Lastly, it was incredibly difficult to leave the school today. Physically and emotionally. Physically, because the students could hardly stop asking to have their picture or video taken (or to borrow our cameras to go off an have their own photo shoots). ‘Sorry, camera’s out of batteries!’ ‘My memory card is full!’ ‘No, no, we have to leave for the night!’ And emotionally, because we are so stinking attached to this community now. I’m wiping away tears at this very moment while typing. We only have one day left visiting the school, and over the past few days both our relationships with students and teachers have grown exponentially. We have been met with such love and acceptance this week, and have seen the joys and needs of this community up close. Now getting up to get a tissue. And we’re not ready to leave. Not even close. But we realize this is really only the beginning. And these tears, and inevitably the ones we will shed when we say our goodbyes to students tomorrow, are also for the gratefulness we feel to be a part of such an amazing organization and partnership.  We can’t wait to share stories and pictures with all of you, and not only dream about how where Dwankhozi Hope goes from here, but be instrumental in taking it there.

Of course, a sunset to finish this evening. It was particularly stunning as it dipped behind the tall grass. Goodnight from Zambia.

It’s already Wednesday night? This week is just flying by. Well, lots to catch you all up on so let’s not waste any time…

We arrived at the school just a little after 8am and were able to spend the morning observing classes and interacting with students and teachers. Our World Reader team continued to meet with teachers Daniel and Maurice, fine tuning their presentation to the rest of the faculty later in the day. By this afternoon, they had successfully completed the teacher instruction, guiding the rest of staff through the ins and outs of the e-readers, while painting a vision for how they can aid classroom learning.

A student wears a locally made Dwankhozi sweater in class today.

During this time, our QAE folks brought 10 disposable cameras to the grade 7 class (no one says ‘seventh grade’) to introduce a project for them. 10 students were chosen to each be in charge of a camera, with one simple assignment: go and take pictures of what’s important to you. Their friends, their family, their home, whatever it is. They will return tomorrow with a full roll of photos on the cameras. With quick lesson on how to operate the disposables, we sent them out, excited to see what will return to us tomorrow. The hope is QAE students will also participate in this project this fall, allowing students at each school to get a window into each others’ lives. How they’re the same, how they’re different. Only the QAE partnership makes things like this possible.

Recognize this handsome young man? It’s Martin! And yes, he is in charge of a camera. If you haven’t seen DH’s video about Martin, check it out at: https://dwankhozi-hope.org/martin-video/

We sat down with the grade 9 students one by one this morning, getting to know each of their names, ages, villages, and dreams of what they wish to become. This is a class full of hopeful doctors, lawyers, engineers, veterinarians, pilots, and accountants. Each student will take their graduating exams later this year, with dreams of moving on to secondary school. We are inspired by the commitment and desire each student shows.

Our trusty bus that has taken us everywhere this week! And bravely driven by Moses Masala.

With many teachers participating in World Reader training this morning, the students had some time to kill together in the late morning. We took it as a chance to…hand out the new backpacks we brought for everyone! Students each received a new backpack (through a type of semi-controlled chaos) in either the purple or orange QAE color. The bright colors looked great on each student, acting as a type of symbol of their connection to Dwankhozi. As we drove away from the school in the early evening, we easily spotted a group of students in those bright purple and orange colors…Dwankhozi sighting! Students were obviously very proud and thrilled to be sporting the new bag.

Apparently the new backpacks also make great new hats.

Our other morning adventure revolved around…you guessed it, cameras. The novelty of picture taking has not worn off for Dwankhozi students yet (not even close), but today we switched it up and put the cameras in THEIR hands. We gave a handful of students a quick lesson on how use the ipad or camera and let them roam. It was quite a sight to see. Some students turned into professional photographers right in front of us, playing with zoom, filters, and styles of shots. We weren’t sure if there would be any room left on our memory cards when they were done!

What was so cool to see were the pictures of students unfiltered, only around their friends, striking funny poses together and being themselves. There is, of course, a certain level of reservedness when we are here. To them, we always are the novelty Americans with lighter skin visiting them at their school. It’s not a problem, it’s just a fact of life. But when it was a more familiar face behind the camera, these kids let loose and it was a beautiful thing to see.

Students had a blast taking over our cameras today.

Tomorrow we will have a large community celebration at the school. There will be food, speeches, performances (we hear the grade 9 class has been practicing a traditional dance). Parents have been invited to come and we are humbled by the love everyone here has shown us. We’ll also get a chance to sit down with the Dwankhozi teachers and meet together about how this school partnership can continue to grow. Yes, you’re right, tomorrow’s blog post is one to look forward to.

I wasn’t sure if there would be a sunset picture tonight, but wouldn’t you know it, this was staring us in the face as we pulled into the hotel parking lot. Bedtime once more in Zambia. Goodnight.

These sunsets just see to keep finding us here. And you know what? We’re not mad about it.

(Note: this was written last night but our internet signal was not cooperating)

Another day gone, and another night we are grateful for a bed to return to. Today gave us a handful of unexpected turns, but we once again left Dwankhozi with full hearts. Some highlights:

Dwankhozi students carry their drum to our dance party during free time.

The main reason the day’s schedule was flipped upside down at the school was…because the local Chief came to visit! Rural Zambia land governance still operates heavily under familial heritage, and it was a BIG deal the Chief visited Dwankhozi Basic School. Although he had previously given the land for the school to be built on, he had never come in person. There was a daylong meeting between the Chief, his advisors, school administrators, and members of the PTA to discuss a new arrangement to give more land to Dwankhozi, with a vision to build a clinic and maybe a secondary school in the future. Finally, after many hours together…they agreed! Dwankhozi will receive 800 x 1,000m chunk of land bordering the current limits. We are thrilled with this development and the potential it holds for this community!

A shot of the lunch we enjoy daily at the school. Those parents are somethin’ else.

Our World Reader team (led by Zev and Kimee from WR, and our Donna) began instructing Dwankhozi teachers on using the 50 e-readers we brought to the school and painting a vision for how to incorporate them into classrooms. Tomorrow, Dwankhozi teachers Daniel and Maurice will teach additional staff. This is a great, empowering program we are happy to be a part of and keep reworking the vision in order to best equip our teachers here.

Rene and Megan walk to our next activity…with quite an entourage in tow.

With all of that going on today, students did not have class but still came to school. So, in order to pass some time this morning, Beth and Renee began a dance party with music on their ipads. Students were hesitant, so we asked them to go get some of their drums…which turned out to be a perfect idea. Banging out a beat, students circled up and began teaching our QAE teachers the beginning steps to their dances. Don’t worry, video footage was captured!

Our team getting their groove on, learning some Zambian dance steps. One Beth MacLean in particular was getting into it.

Since the Chief’s presence dominated most today, we were not able to introduce our new ‘One World Futbol’ balls until the last hour we were there. However, many students were still around, and got to test out the new ball on the field. The joy on their faces was unmistakable, as older and younger kids alike romped around in a large free-for-all game. It was a serious upgrade from the ball made of plastic bags they’d be using only moments earlier (not an exaggeration). David Elliott was especially impressive as the goalkeeper! Tomorrow we’ll distribute the rest of them, saving a handful for two other nearby school’s we’ll be visiting on Friday.

A student tries out the new ‘forever futbol.’ Not surprisingly, they caught on pretty quick.

Tomorrow holds much, much more if that’s even possible. However, this blogger needs to get some shuteye before then. So, I’ll stick with the pattern and end with another Zambian sunset on the socc-…I mean football pitch. Until tomorrow, thanks for your support. We read your comments and feel the love all the way across the Atlantic.

Another sunset behind the goalposts. These never get old.

First full day in Zambia…check.

We woke up this morning with much more energy, anxious to finally visit Dwankhozi Basic School. And honestly, words can hardly do justice to our time there with the students and teachers (sidenote: I would include more pictures in these posts, but our flaky internet connection only allows for a small handful each night before bed). Regardless, we want to give a small glimpse into our day today:

The Dwankhozi sign off the highway. English majors: don’t freak out. The alternate spelling is interchangeable here in Zambia (but be honest, how many of you actually caught it the first time?).

We arrived at the school sometime after 9:00am, although students had already begun their day at 7am (yep, 1^st-9^th graders). Immediately we were welcomed by the faculty, and were so glad we fought through our tiredness the night before to have a meal together. Sharing handshakes (a special kind here in Zambia, be sure to ask us to teach it to you when we return) with friends felt so natural, rather than meeting for the first time then and there.

We toured around the school, checking out all the classrooms as teachers taught lessons (for some reason, students seemed less focused on the lessons when we walked in). We then got a chance to sit an observe some classes, with some of our QAE teachers stepping in to help teach from time to time!

Students can hardly contain their amazement as Katie shows them how to take pictures.

Students then break for lunch around 12:40pm (most of whom don’t have any lunch to eat), have an hour of self-directed learning/studying from 2-3pm, and then are often assigned various tasks from 3-4pm (cleaning, recreation, etc). During these breaks, most students were very interested in checking out our cameras, posing for pictures, and seeing themselves on a screen.

QAE Principal David Elliott drew quite a crowd this morning…

Can you guess which one is the Principal from QAE Elementary?

A handful of parents prepared us lunch at the school, and we ate traditional Zambian food with some of the teachers. A traditional meal consists of: a big slab of Nshima, a cornmeal-like product that you break little pieces off, flatten them in your hand and use as your silverware (we’re trying our best to use forks as little as possible during these meals, it takes practice!), some kind of meat, rice, and a vegetable-based dish. A-mazing. Let’s just say we haven’t lost any weight as group yet.

Today also gave us a chance to see the ever-present needs of Dwankhozi Basic School firsthand, and continue meeting with teachers and faculty about how our community can help meet those needs. We are particularly excited for the beginning of the E-reader training tomorrow with our World Reader friends, Zev and Kimmie. Zambian Project Managers will be trained on the ins and outs of the Kindle, so they can continue to be a key resource when we leave at the end of the week. More on this project as it unfolds over the next few days.

Students strike a pose for the camera.

At the end of the day, all of the students gathered together and sang beautifully together about how “we are happy in our school” now that our group had arrived. Each of us also formally introduced ourselves to students, although some names were a little more difficult for them to catch on with: Renee was a little tricky and “No, not neck…it’s Nick.” David Elliott then stood and shared a few words about the vision for this partnership between schools: students learning about a world outside of their own neighborhood, each community teaching the other about education and values, and dreaming a little about how this partnership can evolve in the future.

Beth and Moses were especially rockstars today, spending hours and hours in the car driving to Malawi to pick up our luggage while the rest of us stayed at the school. Everyone give them a cyber high five!

Kids play football (soccer) until the very last drop of light disappears.

And there is another beautiful Zambian sunset to end with. Things we’re excited for tomorrow: distributing QAE-colored backpacks to every student, donating medical supplies, introducing “Forver Futbols” (see last week’s post), beginning World Reader Kindle training, and much, much more.

Bedtime in Zambia. See you here tomorrow.

We made it! After a long, loooooong couple days of travel, we touched down in Malawi early this afternoon and were greeted by a warm welcome from Moses, ready to head across the border into Zambia. Let’s run down some headlines of the trip so far:

We are…exhausted! Zambia is nine hours ahead of Seattle, and by our count we spent nearly forty hours in transit mode. Whew! Our beds are looking very cozy right about now, and we’re all ready to sleep off our jet lag and be ready for a great day tomorrow.

Our group checking in on Friday night at Seatac

Our bags…decided to take the scenic route to Zambia and will arrive tomorrow. Thanks to a delayed connection, they got lost in translation in South Africa, but are scheduled to show up tomorrow. I’m sure we will all gain a new appreciation for a fresh change of clothes.

After arriving…Moses drove us to his sister Rhoda’s house in Malawi, where she had prepared a delicious Zambian meal for us, and told us about her job working as a Nutritionist for the local government. She travels around African countries, educating communities on how to eat right and adopt such a lifestyle. What a kind, smart, welcoming, generous woman.

A delicious lunch stop at Rhoda’s in Malawi.

Tonight reminded us…why we are here. It would have been easy to fall into a deep slumber at 6pm and call it a night (ok, maybe even 3pm). But we didn’t, and here’s why: Nine faculty members of Dwankhozi Basic School met us at our hotel tonight and we all shared a meal together. We laughed with each other, learned from each other, and drew a vision of how this week will unfold, leaving lots of room for surprises of course. Our QAE members will get to join Dwankhozi teachers in their classrooms tomorrow, observing, assisting and seeing firsthand some of the real challenges they face. Kimmie, from World Reader, joined us and shared WR’s desire to help incorporate E-readers into teachers’ curriculum more seamlessly. Two worlds coming together, breaking the ice, and quickly realizing our worlds are far more similar than one might think, particularly when it comes to education.

Our team having dinner with the DBS faculty tonight.

Just for you to get some perspective, some of those challenges Dwankhozi teachers face are: class sizes reaching 70-80 students (yes, you read that right, SEVENTY to EIGHTY), a lack of involvement from parents (many of whom can’t read/write and therefore can’t help their child at home), classrooms literally filled from wall to wall with students (leaving little room to do anything but sit). These are just a few of the differences between Queen Anne, Seattle and Dwankhozi, Zambia. A side note: many of these size issues are due to Dwankhozi now being a heavily sought after school because of student passing rates (so that is something to be thankful for and proud of).

As I begin to doze at my keyboard, I will take that as a sign to finish today’s update. I’ll leave you with a glimpse of a jaw-dropping African sunset as we drove this evening.

Wow. Just wow.

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.

Make sure you are subscribed to our blog (enter your email in the box on the right side of this page). We’ll be posting daily updates about our trip and we want you to be a part of it as well.