The Cane Press

That's Linda. No, on the left--that's ME, you weirdo. Linda's the Crisis Corps Volunteer who commissioned the first cane press to be made. The second one belongs to the ZP, and everyone I talk to about it says "Oh, man, that's a good idea." Wish it was my idea. Oh well. I did invent peanut butter, after all.

This little beauty will be used, probably by a group of women from the village, to make fresh sugar cane juice to be sold on the street--with a percentage of the profits also going to the Kuunika Foundsation Orphanage. I think I'll require them to draw up a business plan, and eventually pay the cost of the press back with their profits, so another one can be bought with the money, making this deal a sort of franchise.

Thanks to Brett (two T's) from Chicago, Norma from Twin Falls, Ryan and Amie from Lynden (Washington), and The General Fund (we were about $14 short so we dipped into the reserve).

If you were wondering, sugar cane juice has a surprisingly light, refreshing taste that's vaguely floral and not too sweet. It's best when spiked with lemon, lime, or ginger.

Lemosi gets schooled

If Lemosi were an American and knew me well, he'd hate me. I'm a seat-of-the-pants type of guy, and Lemosi is not. Every time I've seen him, he is dressed nicely with a clean and pressed shirt (though he's dirt poor). Though his phone is held together with rubber bands and was probably made in the 1500's, he managed to call me 8 times when he heard I'd come to his school while he was out on an errand. He was mortified that I'd come during school hours and he was not there. He always speaks politely, smiles like he's Miss Teen USA, and sometimes you can tell he's nervous. We're paying for his last 4 terms of "high school" (Forms) and the accompanying exams. He's extremely grateful for this gift, and having talked to several people about him, I can say for sure that he's a hard worker who will use his schooling to the best of his abilities. I've also told him that since Daddy Zikomo helped him out, maybe he can throw some volunteer time our way sometime. He agreed and wrote it down.

Thanks for this one go to Jack and Jasmine in Pasadena (right?), Matt and Brielle in Eugene, Erika in (crap. crap. i'm horrible. tell me. i'll edit the post when i figure it out.), Jill in Minneapolis, and Rebecca and Mike in Vancouver, B.C. Now that's teamwork, gang (picture that with a denim ballcap on backwards and a thumbs-up).

The Kids

This is Clement, Henry, Mdiuzani (sounds great on the tongue when you get used to saying it), and Rita. They took a "nicer" picture than this, but I liked this one best. These four have received their school fees courtesy of Nick and Jori in Twin Falls, Idaho. Also, courtesty of Tom and Shanna in Twin Falls, their all-important national exams at the end of the term are also paid for. They're all polite, attentive young folks, and I especially like the girls--they're not afraid to speak up (even though culturally girls are more shy), their English is great, and they have things they want to do after Forms (high school). Generally, these are four great people.

Matthews Jimu, the fifth who was going to get money from this donation, hasn't been coming to school. This happens a lot, and I was firm, telling him we wouldn't pay for a student who doesn't show up. He was crestfallen. I told him that if he can get the Head Master to write me a letter, convincing me to give him a second chance, we'll see about getting him some funding. Stay tuned on that.

***

Things are going really well with the Zikomo Project. There is a transfer fee of $30 plus 1% for the money to get from the U.S. to here, but we minimize the effect of that by sending BIG amounts all at once. On this last transfer, in the end we paid 2.5% to get the money here (that doesn't include PayPal fees), if you figure the $30 in. I don't think that's too bad, do you? More photos are on the way. So far everything that was requested has been covered. This is good.

Hence the Silence

I've been having visa problems lately, and am being pulled in a lot of different directions, not the least of which is settling into a new home out in the village, an hour bike ride away from technology. Hence, I haven't gotten other photos up yet. Do not fear.

All gifts that have been sought up to this point have been given right away. So this is great! In fact, I have to turn several willing donors away each time. I hope no one gets frustrated with that, because it's AWESOME. Most recently, the requests for clothes/shoes for Mattis and a Hope Kit (HIV/AIDS awareness teaching aids) for me and whoever I can find to replace me were met.

Photos soon.