Our visit with Rabecca in Lusaka, Zambia

Women walk through a typical market in the Kanyama community in Lusaka, Zambia.

Soon, though, the roads and the scenery became rougher as the smells and squalor of the slums surrounded us. Garbage piles, disheveled children, makeshift market stalls, tin-roofed shacks and mountains of charcoal — the cooking fuel of the underprivileged — line the ramshackle road. It was worse than the safari roads we had traversed earlier.

We arrived at the center, and when the big gate opened, the contrast was striking. The place was clean with trimmed hedges and a sense of order, smiling faces and obvious good cheer.

An oasis in the middle of a desert.

It’s difficult to describe the chaotic energy of the many children inside coupled with the sense of order I felt. There was no electrical power during our visit, but the business of the center was not affected.

Kids in the Early Childhood Development program in Lusaka, Zambia, learn fundamental skills such as the alphabet, vocabulary and basic math and language skills.

We were made very welcome and shown around the center and introduced to many of the staff. There is a dentist on-site, and we also met the doctor whose office was full of young patients. We saw the library and children working with tablet computers. One room was full of children busily writing letters to their sponsors. In another area, staff was handing out TOMS shoes to all the children. What a great corporate concept to donate these shoes where they are so badly needed!

Center Coordinator Chabchecker Muleya graciously answered all of our questions. The community center obviously reflects his fine management. If only all sponsors could see the good work their money provides and how they really are making a difference. It’s impossible to really appreciate the work Children International is doing here until you see it with your own eyes. A big thank you to all the staff and volunteers for all your hard work!

Rob and Janice Hinton meet Rabecca for the first time.

Finally! Meeting Rabecca

After our tour, we were off to finally meet Rabecca and her parents at their home. Her father, who spoke English, was over the top in his gratitude and recounted things from previous letters I had written Rabecca. We sat in their very modest, clean living room and chatted. We were told proudly of how well she had done on her exams and shown a photo of her in the choir in which she sings. The home had a family feel with obvious warmth and love for Rabecca.

My wife and I had brought some gifts donated by coworkers. Rabecca and her mother went through the clothes and shoes together. I presented Rabecca with a Team Canada hockey jersey with Rabecca’s name and a “#1” on the back. Everyone at work had signed it. Rabecca gladly posed and hammed it up for the camera in the jersey.

Rabecca shows off the hockey jersey she received as a gift from Rob and his coworkers.

Rabecca always had a serious look in her yearly photos so, in my letters, I always encouraged her to smile and told her that she was a beautiful little girl. The world is made a better place when she smiles. You can see from the photo evidence I provide here that this is indeed the case!

She was quiet and reserved at the beginning but seemed to warm up very quickly. She has a beautiful smile and a wicked sense of humor. Soon, Rabecca was holding my hand as we walked through the mall. It was totally cool to get a real sense of her. She is sweet and soft-spoken, very polite and loves to laugh.

We took the whole gang out for lunch and then off to do some shopping for clothes, toys, foodstuffs (such as corn meal to make the staple food nshima) and household items. While at the store, Rabecca saw a large dolly and picked it up straight away. The doll was never out of her arms the rest of the day; she was still holding it as we drove away.

Janice and Rob Hinton pose for one final photo with Rabecca and her parents, Paul and Gladys, before they leave Zambia.

All too soon, it was time to go on our way. This was indeed a special day, and one I will never forget. It’s my hope that this visit will allow for more personalized correspondence between us going forward. I felt privileged to bear witness to the benefits of collective sponsorships through Children International on the lives of these kids.

I heartily encourage anyone in a position to do so, to make a visit. It’s good for the soul.