A few weeks in Zambia

The crazy Violas who are doing an amazing
job here in Zambia

As you may be aware we have spent the last few weeks in Zambia, staying with the wonderful Viola family who live just outside the town of Kabwe. Chris and Rebecca Viola head up a charity called Driven Ministries which they set up when they moved out from their home in the United States with their family, of four children, three years ago.

Driven Ministries has a heart to help create sustainable community initiatives by either partnering with local people who have a similar vision or bringing in programmes like the Leadership for Life which has a proven record within the community development sector. They work within the more challenging areas of the town and their outreaches extend to a daily sports outreach similar to the one we set up in South Africa, where they also support the children who attend those clubs with school fees and basic needs to ensure that they get an education and amongst other things Chris is involved with the weekly pastors meetings and he has recently started visiting inmates in the local prison.

Our new Leadership for Life
TEAM KABWE 

We came to Kabwe last August to deliver the Leadership for Life programme to around 70 local pastors and or youth workers, since then these people have been putting the leadership principles into their own lives and it has been great to catch up and hear some of those heart warming stories.

Maz running the training of local people who
we have now trained to deliver the
Leadership for Life programme

Last week we ran a week long training for those wishing to be able to share the Leadership for Life programme to their congregations and communities, eleven people joined us on Sunday evening with the training running from 8.00am to 8.30pm every day till lunchtime on Friday where we celebrated with a traditional braai. Most of the week was spent with the people practicing the flow and key 'nail it' points of the programme, sharing it back to myself and Maz, plus the rest of the team, for us to evaluate and encourage where perhaps some points were missed.

Practice Practice and more Practice
makes perfect, well nearly!

We were very encouraged by the progress of everyone and after the initial shyness, of which the Zambians seem to be quite adept at, we drew them out of the shells and they became more and more confident of not only standing and sharing but understanding the material and the ways in which it is communicated, which is very interactive, rather than the 'rote' teaching that they are used to either delivering or hearing!

The TEAM sharing the 'flow' of the programme
to each other

As with most things it's always good to get out and practice what one has learnt, so it was great to follow up on an amazing opportunity that I (Tim) had created for some of the Driven team to share the Leadership for Life programme with 40 inmates in the local maximum security prison on Monday morning. Chris, Precious and Coach Chris (members of the Driven Team) will be sharing module two, three and four over the next few weeks in what we hope will become and rolling programme in which every inmate and guard in the prison will receive the programme over the next few months.

The TEAM outside the prison

You may remember that we have shared the Leadership for Life programme into the prison in Toamasina, Madagascar, which is a very challenging place, Kabwe prison is much more westernised with modern security procedures for us entering from outside and with the inmates in prison issue 'uniform' rather than their own clothing as we have seen in Madagascar. However that said the men who we shared the programme with are much the same, having made some wrong life choices along their journey which has meant that they end up being removed from society.

The response from the inmates during and after the training was so good, they were very engaged with the activities, joined in with the repeated mantras and we are hopeful to see lives transformed as they pick up their 'life pens' and start writing different stories for themselves, understanding that leadership is all about others rather than self.

Filming a real life story with Ackim

During our time here we have also spent time with a local filmmaker who we've been out with to capture a few of the stories of where people have applied their leadership mindsets which have resulted in real projects that are either benefiting their community or their families finances. As you can imagine it was wonderful to see how the programme has a tangible impact into the lives of those we share it with and we can't wait for the film to be completed and for us to be able to put that on a platform for you all to see.

Out in the veld

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time back here in Zambia, the people are very peaceful, if not a little reserved compared to some other places we have visited in Africa, we have been able to go out for walks most evenings, even venturing out on the kids bikes to go further explore the African veld, and local villages which remain unchanged with mud huts and subsistence farming. Our time out running has been fun if not a little hot with the humid conditions that this rainy season brings. 

Chickens or eagles?!

So it is now time to move on and we are also looking forward to catching up and working with those who we have relationship with in Zimbabwe, tomorrow we will journey from Lusaka to Harare and then onto Mutare where we will spend a further week with friends there before making our way to Bulawayo where we hope to update you with news of how the people there have been lifting up their heads and taking responsibility for their own lives and the lives of those around them as they start to see themselves as leaders following what we shared with them last July and August.