Update from Nakatindi Community School
December 2011
Nakatindi Village is located approximately five kilometres from Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma in the Livingstone area and is our main Sanctuary Retreats Philanthropy project in Zambia. To find out more about the project, please click here.
Luckson, head guide at Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma, shares his latest visit to Nakatindi Community School along with Sanctuary guests:
"We got to the school shortly before the bell rang for the pupils to go for break.This is an exciting time as the pupils know that it is food time. It was interesting to see both the boys and girls run to the feeding point. They each were carrying plates in their hands. The kids ran and all queued up.They made two parallel lines.There was a lot of laughter and giggles,almost like a pack of hyenas!
What surprised us was the discipline the kids had. There was no pushing and everyone stood with their plates in their hands. Their faces smiling and their eyes bright. It was just magic to see. Words can never express it. You have to go there and see it for yourself to appreciete it! One by one they received a potion of Nsima (African polenta or corn porridge),beans and green vegetables from the garden that we built for them. Some kids sat in the blazing sun,while some sat in the eaves of the classrooms. Some were sharing plates, probably because they were siblings and because they could not afford their own plate from home.They ate very quickly.
In a few minutes time, they had cleaned their plates.One by one they raced to the tap to drink that we newly installed for them. You could see the joy on their and satisfaction on their faces.There may have been up to fifteen kids at the tap at a time.They reminded me of baby elephants at a water hole, not beeing able to use their trunks well,stepping on their own trunks and falling down,trumpeting and chasing one another.
The kids started chasing each other and laughing, while the others sat and wrote or painted in their books. There was such a hive of activities. We could not stop laughing and taking pictures.When all the kids have had their meal, now it was time for the cooks to sample what they had prepared for the kids. It was a little difficult to see their faces as the hut they were in had a lot of smoke from a wood fire. One of my guests could not understand why someone could not suffocate with all the smoke and the heat in such a small hut that is poorly ventilated. My answer was clear,they have done it before!
Finally,the bell rang and soon the school was deserted as all the kids were back in class.We were very glad to see the kids back in class with full stomachs.This helps them concetrate in class. Come all, I will help you explore the village! It is an experience of a lifetime. It is the children you will never forget!"
