February 8, 2018

Thanks to a donation from American friends, the children at the Twabuka school will also receive their first meal of the morning.

A few months ago, a group of American tourists on vacation in Zambia visited “our” school in Twabuka, in the Sinde district. As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by the assistant director and friend Emmanuel Moonga, who introduced them—among other things—to our school cafeteria project. These people had planned to just stop by the school and then go about their day, but instead … they stayed there for over an hour, talking with the teachers and greeting the students in their classrooms.

Once they returned to the United States, their impression of the children and their way of life remained so strong that, around early November, they decided to contact us to ask for information about our project and suggestions on how they could help the school from the United States. At first, we were taken aback by such a request: our program is for friends or, at any rate, people who know each other, and this call was coming from strangers who, on top of that, are on the other side of the ocean; However, we explained to them how our project works, how it got started, and so on. After asking a lot of questions, they told us they would think it over.

About a month later, we received another video call: this time, there were no questions—just the news that, with great enthusiasm and conviction, they wanted to join us from Florida, Texas, and New Mexico. They told us that they would like to provide these children with breakfast in the morning and supplement their current lunch (which, given the number of students, is certainly not a lavish meal at present…). Our new friends have committed to providing a budget equivalent to ours for at least one school year!

I recall that, as of today, we send 1,200 euros each month to cover the nine months of classes needed for all 338 children; from the United States, an additional 1,400 dollars (about 1,200 euros, exchange rate permitting) is sent to pay for breakfast and a supplementary lunch.

Total budget: about 2,400 euros!

We have now received the first donation from the U.S., which we have forwarded to the school (here are the reports on incoming and outgoing payments). Starting this week, with the help of a new cook, the school has begun serving breakfast to the 338 children, as well as a lunch with more protein. Breakfast every morning will consist of porridge and a dark corn-based polenta (called samp), as well as bananas, which will arrive in the next few days. A new large pot will also be purchased for the morning.

For now, they’ve decided to send the money directly to us in Italy; we’ll see in the coming months if we should have it sent directly from the U.S. to Zambia to cut out a step.

At the school in Twabuka, they are truly happy, and so are we, at the idea that two groups of friends who don’t know each other and live thousands of kilometers apart are coming together to lend a hand to the school and its students. The enthusiasm you’ve all shown for these initiatives since 2012 is contagious—and it’s even reached across the ocean!

The project is therefore continuing as usual, and as always, it needs everyone’s ongoing support. The only difference is that starting today (at least for a year), we have more friends helping us support these children and young people so that they can receive an education and, we hope, go on to lead independent lives.

Thank you all so, so much for being a part of this and bringing the project to life. The commitment continues.