30 March 2010

Easter as we head toward winter?

We get up early in the morning, and it is enough to experience the cold. As the season's change here, midday can still be very warm, but you can feel it at 5 am and you know autumn and winter are setting in. The same not wanting to get out of bed feeling that early in the morning.

And a few weeks ago I was having trouble understanding Easter at this point. I think at SHADE we have all been through quite a lent journey and we are looking for signs of Easter.

A few days later we were driving to work on one of these cold mornings, and a field we go by everyday was covered in flowers. These white and pink wild flowers were covering the whole field. And then I noticed them on the side of the road and another field. You see it ad finally cooled down enough for these flowers to bloom. And now I take note of them all over the area. And spring and flowers aren't the only meaning of Easter- but there has been something reassuring and calming in these flowers.



A few days later it was my week training at the centre, and Akim came to me to tell me something about the chickens. And lately when he has come to tell me about the chickens- it means I need to get them something or something is wrong. Living things are very needy. I was already a little stressed but braced myself to her and and decide how to make a quick plan. (Getting medicine and chicken feed without transportation is a little difficult) But instead without changing his normal tone he told me our first layer has laid an egg!

I carried the egg around for a day to show all the staff and students. We had just started the layers on the laying mash and in the midst of everything else, when I wasnt even thinking about it- we had our first egg.

And it looks like an egg should, and even nicer than the store bought ones. Since we have had a few other complications- but eggs coming from our work and our center...





Happy Easter Everyone! The signs are here indeed.

With Hope,
Hannah

25 March 2010

Friendship

"Oh, the comfort- the inexpressible comfort of
feeling safe with a person.
Having neither to weigh thoughts,
Nor measure words-but pouring them
All right out - just as they are-
Chaff and grain together-
Certain that a faithful hand will
Take and shift them-
Keep what is worth keeping-
And with the breath of kindness
Blow the rest away."

-Dinah Maria Muock Craik

22 March 2010

HAPPY WORLD WATER DAY!

During our Nutrition and Hygiene classes at the center last week we discussed disease travel and water.

My favorite discussion was on the gender roles associated with water, and some of the reactions when our students starting listing all the ways typical gender roles have women using the water on a daily basis, but men's role generally more related to income. It was a great discussion and helpful for talking about who in communities to train about what.

We also started sharing words for water in different languages, that I thought I would share with you:

Amanzi (Zulu/ ndebele)
Metsi (Setswana)
Mai (Swahili)
De L'eau (French)
Amenshii (Bemba)
Mema (Kaonde)
Manzi (Chechewa)
Omeva (Oshiwambo)
Mvura (Shona)
Emanti (Swati)
Agua (Spanish)
Vaetral (Afrikaans)

Think about all the ways you use water, all the ways your use less water, the grace in water, the life giving water, and the power of water.

If any students write water Psalms I will post them too.

Peace like a river,
Hannah