Welcome to the blog I will be using to prepare/process/update/debrief on while in Zambia this year. I have added a few posts from a previous blog as well to give a taste of what this process has looked like already and in previous trips. This will be my third time in Zambia,-my first trip was with Habitat for Humanity and Ridgepoint and the second was for Ridgepoint and Winning at Home. I am very excited to see some familiar faces while I am there!
Before we go any further, I will make a very honest statement here: I am not an English/grammer major. Nor do I care to be, this is not an essay for a grade. I am pretty good at putting my voice into things, and that is what this is. It's often messy, might be confusing at times, and could probably be judged along the way. My prayer is that you know this is my heart, please be gentle.
Also- "Mapalo"- oh it's a great word in Bemba- it means "Blessing." Here's a little blurb from a past blog post that explains why I love this word....
The village our team worked in in Zambia in 2011 was named “Mapalo” which translates into “Blessing.” Sounds nice right? Here is a history on this village, now Mapalo, once called “Chipulukusu.”
“Chipulukusu in Bemba means “safe haven for criminals” – not exactly pride-worthy. It got this name because around 20-30 years ago, people would commit crimes in Ndola (the closest city) and run to Chipulukusu to escape getting caught. As a result, the village was not well kept – and homes were built haphazardly and with very little resources.
As the years passed, more people moved into the community to live in these homes and rainy season after rainy season, the homes started to deteriorate. Pretty soon this became a much bigger problem as the structures started collapsing and killing their inhabitants. For the past 10-15 years, around 30 homes collapse each year taking 10-15 lives with them.
Habitat for Humanity has stepped in to help. Large progress has been made.
It was this improvement that spurred the community members to get together to change the name of their village – an attempt to wipe their troubled beginnings and provide hope to those around them. The new name of the village is Mapalo, which in Bemba means “blessing.”
Blessings don’t often happen overnight. It takes careful, diligent planning to establish relief and rebuild a community. It takes effort-from more than one person. It takes time and commitment.
So- that's all for this morning, but I am sure more will be coming soon. I leave May 30th, so we are officially one week out and I am also officially starting my Typhoid and Malaria meds- hooray!
Blessings
Ms. Mavis
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