By Mal Keenan
Educational: Fully understanding that when I brought four teachers to a foreign country, I became a travel guide, schedule planner, and Zambia expert…whether I had the answers or not…my super great team always looked to me for guidance…Responsibility 101
Funny: Being handed a roll of pink toilet paper at Shine on Monday before tea and white bread breakfast. Wondered if that was my Thank You gift for coming back…then realized everyone got a roll…no paper in the bathroom as it would just get stolen.
Promising: The older kids that have graduated Shine are still in school – most in grade 8. One of the students I’m keeping track of is Jonathan. He has shifted out of the government school (celebrate) and is attending African Vision of Hope School (on scholarship) near Kablonga compound. He walks an hour to and from school, but is driven to move forward in life. Need to figure out how he can attend college in the US.
Frustrating: Last week I was trying to navigate ridiculous traffic in Lusaka for over two hours with people everywhere – finding a place to park – standing in very long line – only to learn there were NO bus tickets to Livingstone available. Drat! (Worry and Anxiety had also set in at that point)
Informative: Demonstrating the gradual release of responsibility for teachers and then talking more about the “We Do” – something that is not part of the classroom instruction here in Zambia.
Enlightening: Discussing the importance of English Language learners with teachers, sharing the stages of language acquisition with them, and talking about how to best balance English and Nyanja in their classrooms.
Uplifting: Seeing the kids at the My Father’s Homes in Chongwe – these beautiful children are growing up in safe and loving homes with a mamas who care for them…what a blessing for these most vulnerable orphan children.
Inspirational: Talking with teachers at Mango Grove School and learning how they are deeply committed to their profession and to their students…these teachers earn almost nothing in salary, yet walk 45 minutes one way to teach every day at the community school.
Aggravating: Every night at 6ish the power goes out. It goes out ‘til at least 8:30…some nights 10:00. Lots of lesson planning in the dark with headlamps on and lots of peanut butter sandwiches as there’s no electricity to cook dinner.
Hopeful: Students like Pierce – my new seven year old pal at Shine. He has the spark. He is quite smart and has come to school every day with a letter for me…and every night I write him back. Others that give me hope include Joseph, Chrisma, David, and Frieda.
Challenging: Driving to Shine each day – avoiding holes and big rocks in the red dirt, scraping the bottom of the car anyways because there were five of us weighing the car down…and then keeping an eye out for small children,dogs, and other pedestrians walking along the narrow alleys in the compounds. So many “Jesus Take the Wheel” moments. 🙂
Amazing: Seeing all the books A to Z has sent to Shine Reading Academy’s library – an oasis in the middle of a poverty and despair.
Remarkable: Watching the four Crystal Lake teachers do what they do best. These women are skillful, intelligent, and have a gift to share with the teachers and students here in Zambia. Ann, Mariann, Anastasia, and Kalan have done an outstanding job and I’m blown away by their love for literacy and passion for teaching.

By Ann Yanchura

Children are walking to school in the morning – often in the dark – in bare feet. 31 third graders sit in a classroom that has two benches, a half dozen tiny chairs, and a wooden pallet for seating. Mothers take turns cooking rice or maize over a fire for 260 students every day so that they have a meal. 30 parents come to school daily for 3 hours after the children have gone home so that they, too, can learn to read and write. Children take turns using a pencil because they don’t have their own, and they sharpen them with an old razor blade. Younger brothers and sisters help scavenge at the roadside dump to find useful things for their families. Teachers walk 45 minutes to school every day over a route that includes walking on the side of a terribly busy road with no sidewalk and then along a dirt road that is dusty in the dry season and flooded in the rainy season. Then these very same children and teachers spend hours together at these schools without enough seats or books or pencils or food. And still they smile and study and hug complete strangers who come to visit. The children are hard working, well mannered, and cheerful. The teachers are committed and caring, strict and challenging. I can’t explain it, but I feel honored to be a part of this. I can’t tell you how many times adults and children at these schools have shaken my hand or hugged me while saying, “YOU ARE WELCOME HERE.”

By Mal Keenan

Last year I thought ahead and jotted down directions to Shine Reading Academy to make sure I could find my way back without trouble as there are no street signs in this part of town. The team had a real good giggle reading my directions as we drove to Shine on Monday morning as the Zambians stared at five white women traveling along in a small blue Toyota Fun Cargo.
Directions to Shine Reading Academy:
At roundabout (the car wash one) – go straight through heading towards Kalingalinga
Turn left at stoplight (Ok, no longer there…we now use Golden View Investments as landmark)
Go past Deliverance Church, God Knows Hair Salon, and Petroda Gas
Stay left (arrow sketched streets in margins) – pavement ends
Keep going past “bend down boutiques” (street vendors) on right
Quick left at electrical pole (drawing included)
Go all the way down dirt road to the wall with PM/PN spray painted on it
Go right – follow arrow on brick wall (watch out for holes in road)
Travel over smoking garbage dam – be careful of dogs and children
Go right off garbage dam and then take quick left past Kalikiliki Hospice.
Continue up hill, stay left and avoid big rocks (still heading east)
Turn left at small yellow sign “Big Digas and Sons” – look for cinder block building with big metal door
Look for two water storage tanks – old white one & newer green one – school is on left

By Mariann Zimmerman

So far this trip has been amazing. Today I taught a lesson to about 20 students about using True and False. They definitely know what is true, but false needs a little more work. The best part was bringing out the non-fiction texts on animals, colored pencils, and paper. The look on their faces when the handbell rang let me know they liked what they were doing and were disappointed we ran out of time. With a promise that I will be back tomorrow, I collected their work and sent them on their way with new pencils. Success!

By Anastasia Gruper

We arrived at Shine today to observe teachers; they were seeking feedback on how they teach! Mal and I were disheartened teacher Anala was absent today. However, it gave us another class to teach. Mal and I put our teacher hats back on and headed into a guided reading lesson. At the end of our lesson, we asked a question about what students would like to be when they get older. Our word bank of examples
students shared were amazing: teacher, police officer, lawyer, pastor, doctor, nurse, astronaut, and model. As the students poured their effort into drawing pictures of their future professions, it became clear to me that their hopes and dreams are real. Although they face extreme difficulties, these students will become what they hope and dream to be.

By Kalan Gott

True or false? A a 16 inch jump rope can light up the life of a child more than any iPod or cellphone. True or false? Six woman and two men with associates degree can run a school for 260 students on $1 per student per day. True or false? A group of 5 women from the U.S can plan to inspire and influence the lives of Zambian students and instead find themselves inspired and influenced. Today Anastasia and I taught a lesson on fiction and non-fiction using true and false to introduce the vocabulary. While teaching the lesson I started thinking about true and false situations in life. The fiction and non-fiction we live everyday. I know today that I feel like I am in a story. A make believe place where children only get one meal a day. But the truth is this world is real. This life is non-fiction. A political, social, cultural story leaping off of the page and into my heart. This world is real, fact, truth, and it is hard and beautiful all at once.

By Ann Yanchura

You know how you hear about being “in the zone”? I’m no athlete, but I know how it feels to be so focused on something you are doing that you don’t know what’s going on around you. One of the reasons I agreed to Mal’s request to come to Zambia with A to Z is that I recognize that I need to step outside of my comfort zone. I would never call myself terribly spoiled, but I know how lucky I am to live and work where I do and have the family and friends that I have. One of my specific vanities is that I love my living and sleeping comforts and was scared about what I would find here in Lusaka; I was grateful to find that our accommodations here are cozy, clean, and safe. That’s a relief and will allow me to focus my attention on my work in the schools. When I do, I will get “into the zone” of teaching, listening and learning.
It’s my fervent prayer that I will have the chance to grow braver and smarter as I age. This seems to be the place to do both. Think of stepping outside of YOUR comfort zone to try something that will benefit you and someone else. Get into a new zone – and you don’t have to go to Lusaka to do it

By: Anastasia Gruper
With innocence we arrived at O’Hare airport at four am, a large bag and teaching supply bin to check and a carry-on bag in tow. At six am we embarked on our journey to Zambia, Africa as our first leg of plane rides began. Our trip to Washington DC was pleasant and we arrived in good spirits. We had one hour to roam the Dulles airport before boarding for our second leg to Ethiopia, a 12 hour trek. We each said a little prayer in DC for our bags to transfer with us and we were delighted to see our teacher bins, wrapped in differing colors of duct tape, rolling towards our plane as we boarded in Ethiopia for what we thought was our last leg of the trip, a three hour flight to Zambia. After traveling for thirty hours exhaustion was eating our insides, we were disappointed when the pilot announced we were landing in Zimbabwe; this was not on our itinerary. As we waited for an hour for some passengers to exit the plane and others to join the ride, we walked the aisles to gain sanity. When the plane took off again, we were anxious to reach Zambia. Waiting in line for customs to check our passports was grueling. However, as we crossed the turnstile we were relieved and sighed in relief when we saw our teaching bins had made it on every flight we did. We had arrived with supplies and excitement to begin our Zambian adventure.

Today I had the priveledge to hear author Joan Bauer speak passionately about her books, writing, and reaching the vulnerable children in our lives. She spoke of the gifts our students possess and how we as teachers cannot fail them. What really grabbed a hold of me was when Mrs. Bauer talked about humor and despair sitting on the same couch in life.  And who’s sitting in the middle? Hope.

Next week I will be working in Zambia at Shine Reading Academy, filled with hope, determined to reach the resilient children sitting before me. As I try to understand the despair in their lives, I’ll bring humor and joy into the classrooms. We will laugh together as we read and write. What will I be looking for in the middle of it all? Hope.