A proverb says: NABAFULUKA SANA HABA NA HABA HUJAZA KIBABA, which means: “Remember that doing things a little bit at a time will get you wh ere you want to be.” Following this aphorism keeps us dedicated to the little things we do, the successes we make, even the small difficulties we face.

The present well has really been awesome. It initi ally provided clear as mountain spring water from the moment it was built, and plenty of it. The older boys filled the cisterns, which were then rol led into the garden area to water the vegetables, the older girls filled bucket s and jugs for washing and cooking. But there was a problem: the water was n ot potable and over the summer months, as the water table dropped, the chil dren began getting bad cases of diarrhea. By mid October, the well had run dry. The depth of our well has proven to be inadequately deep. Since our land is a former dumping ground, the standard dept h of wells is insufficient – in order to provide safe a nd abundant amounts of water, we will need to drill deeper. As one of our goals is to assist the family into be coming financially independent of us, the first “bu siness” was established in September: A bicycle shop – MAL MA’S BICYCLE REPAIR. Violet’s brother, Malama, who has been an integral person in building the home, t he well, the chicken coop and assisting with the children, has opened up shop in nearby Luanshya. He sums up the first two months himself: “The bicycle business is booming! Little by little people are g etting to know that we have a repair shop here.” The older children each spend at least 2 hours a week in the shop to learn the importance of commi tment to a job, as well as bicycle repair, shop keeping and the beginn ings of accounting

On October 28 th we held our first benefit concert featuring David Bowers Colony and Obo Addy. The event was a great success! Its proceeds provide su fficient funds for housing, food, clothing, medical costs, uniforms, books, and tuition fees for the entire ho usehold for 4 months!! Not only did it bring aware ness to our local grassroots organization, but it also is a show of solidarity and continued support to our fa mily in Zambia.

This entire project is all about the children. We are learning that being organic gives us more flexi bility in dealing with issues as they come up. Little by lit tle our family grows, little by little we learn. T hree new children joined our LUPWA in October – All are link ed at http://www.lupwahomes.orgbiographies.htm One day, one child, one project at a time, we are h elping break and reverse the cycle of poverty and suffering. Submitted by: Marlena Bellavia, President.