[Tom] Sorry for the lack of updates the last few days, as our time in Nzinga was extremely busy and intense. Honestly, looking back on the last few days now, exhausted, sitting in the Joberg airport, I don’t even know what to write. So much has happened.
Eighteen people received certificates for graduating from our three day garden training provided by Cedara College, and they all have plans for creating plots that can be rotated properly in their gardens in the Creches (preschools) and schools and orphan drop-in centers they represent. They will immediately begin implementing what they learned, teaching the parents and other adults affiliated with their respective gardens. In two weeks when the folks from Cedara and the Department of Agriculture return, there will be more than 60 people in the village who have worked on gardens using knowledge they didn’t have several days ago.
Due to the unbelievable generosity of several people, over 20 people are now constructing fences for their own individual family gardens, and more will begin preparing their family gardens soon. They will all receive training and a “garden starter kit” when they have finished building their fence (their initial sweat equity).
There are so many emotional things that happen in Nzinga when we are there, but this time, something happened in the States that made us all really pause and understand the power of connection and the impact one generous person can have in the world… When we received the forty starter kits, we then needed roughly $1,000 to buy the fencing in order to kick off the greatly expanded individual family garden program before we left, so we made a request on our blog. The next day, we received a very generous donation from Diana Getz in memory of her recently deceased brother, who she simply described as “a generous person.”
We received donations from others as well, and the impact is something that will last for generations. It is the pride of being able to create something themselves, the relief in being able to better take care of their children, and the legacy of once again being able to pass on to their children the knowledge of how to plow the earth for sustenance that was lost over the past decades. And we will make sure they know of the generous people who made it possible.
As we get home and are better able to download and edit photos and video we will be sharing much, much more. For now, ngiabonga – thank you – for everything.