So Busy, So Happy!

I am busier and happier than I have ever been in my entire life!  Since being back in my village, every day has been a whirlwind, always moving.  I have been back for about a week and a half, and already so many things have begun.  Yesterday was probably the most exciting day.  The water pump near my home, which serves about 30 families, has been broken for a year or so.  My family has put so much work into rebuilding my home, and to give back to them, I really want to repair this borehole.  So I spent time finding the man who knows about taking apart and repairing boreholes.  He lives in a nearby village, and goes to the church not far from my home.  On Saturday, I went to the church, but was told he would be arriving late.  I went home to wash clothes and dishes, and when I went back to the church, I found him.  I invited him to our village meeting the next day, a Sunday, at my home to make plans for repairing our water pump.  I didn't want to get my hopes up on Sunday, so I spent the morning tutoring 3 girls in my village, knowing that my plan may not work out.  Things have a way of both happening as planned and not happening as planned in Zambia (usually the latter), and you just have to accept whatever happens.  Make peace with it.  At 15:30 the man arrived, but my village was not at my home.  I called the children to tell my village that they must come on time, as the man to repair our borehole has made a long journey and is at my home.  They quickly organized, and the man with water pump expertise, myself, and 8 men brought our tools to the borehole to begin the job.  The women and children gathered as we took apart our water pump.  It turned out that the only things needing replacement were the bearings, some rubbers, and a nylon nut.  I came to town today to price the items with the coordinator for the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program, and the pricing is even lower than I expected.  For the whole job, it will cost each family less than $2 (or 10 kwacha), equal to one bottle of cooking oil.  To have water for years.  Now, the only hurdle is to call upon these families to put together what they have to repair our water source.  My host brother things it is very, very possible, as "water is life."

Other than that, I have started an Anti-AIDS club at our school, and after teaching the students about HIV/AIDS education, I would like to begin creating dramas with them to sensitize the community on HIV and safe sex practices.  This week, I am also holding our first meetings for my nutrition program at our clinic for the most malnourished children (there are a lot of them at the Under 5 weighings, as we are still in hungry season and nutritious foods are in short supply), and re-starting the HIV/AIDS support group that once existed at our clinic.  I have also been approached by many in my village and in neighboring villages about starting a pre-school, and will hold our first meeting for the pre-school committee in about a week.  It is so much, and I have been running around like crazy, but have also not forgotten to admire the bursting field of sunflowers on my bike-ride to and from the clinic, the intensely beautiful sunsets, or sitting in my new mango tree at the end of the day (which I realized the other day as I was bucket bathing looks exactly like the tree tattoo on my shoulder!).  I also take time to laugh with my friends in the village, A LOT.  Almost every day.  I used to be way more stressed in the village, but meditation amidst the chaos is something I have recently found. I have also been devouring books before I go to sleep, as well as writing tons in my journal.  If you have any books you are finished with and would like to send my way, it would be so greatly appreciated.  Sending so much love back home!