IN17 Medical and VBS at Mapalo

Holistic Empowerment: Zambia’s Ray of Hope

It’s an exciting second day of Impact Ndola 2017 as the Northrise University students, friends of Northrise and Baylor medical students continue to positively influence the Mapalo community through their amazing talents and skills. The children of Mapalo Morning Glow Academy were involved in sports, art, crafts and Bible stories. The Baylor nursing undergraduate students were also on site conducting basic physical screening of the children.

The children at Mapalo had the opportunity to get health checkups such as ears, nose, skin, and throat including vital functions of the heart and lungs. Generally they wouldn’t readily have access to this care due to scarcity of health services. In addition, the Baylor students taught the children about basic hygiene such as the importance of washing hands and keeping wounds clean.

Kai Reeder (Northrise University Initiative Scholarship Administrator and Impact Ndola 2017 VBS lead for Mapalo) and Ethel Zulu’s (2^nd year Northrise Student) team taught the Children at Mapalo the Lord’s Prayer and its meaning. The children were very keen and excited to learn the prayer. After learning about the Lord’s Prayer, the team taught the children about salvation, and some of them later decided to give their lives to Jesus Christ, which was amazing.

The children made prayer books out of plain paper and Fredrick one of the children said, “I am excited to learn new things especially that I felt it was impossible for me to make my own books.” With a smile on his face he decorated the books and said he couldn’t wait to teach his siblings about it. Prudence Nalwimba a Northrise student said she was excited to play with the children as she also learned from them, and she was very happy with the warm welcome they had received.

Mrs. Grace Chiluba a teacher at Mapalo community school was amazed as she learned new games and drawing. She said she was very thankful that these activities have helped enrich her skills in childhood teaching. You could see in their eyes that the children were having so much fun with their new friends, creating amazing things as they gathered their materials, trying to create what they perceive in their minds. As people say, “Children are the most creative beings, free from fear and anxiety.”

• Michele Barbosa a fourth year student at Baylor said, “the experience is life changing. Seeing the children light up is amazing, the children are well behaved and have so much hope.”
• Natalie Namakobo was translating the questions and answers for the children who speak Bemba and don’t quite know English well enough yet.
• Corynn Slanina, a fourth ear Baylor nursing student, said, “ the experience is really eye-opening. It’s a joy to see the children smile and to see the work of God here in Zambia.”
• Ntanzi Sinkala, a third year Northrise BFA student, said, “this is a new experience for me, it’s a great experience to be with the children. They are amazing.”
• Debora a grade one child at Mapalo said, “Ningufwa bwino ukumona abeni abeshile”, which translated means “I am happy to see the visitors that have come.”
• “It’s a good thing to share the love of Jesus with children, watching them give their life to Christ and their happy faces,” says Ethel Zulu, second year Northrise Student.
• Pastor Emil Mukuka, Northrise graduate and Founder of Mapalo Morning Glow Academy, said, “Impact Ndola 2017 has made the community of Mapalo realize that they are as important as any other human being on earth. The VBS has shown the children of Mapalo that God loves them and that they should continue looking to Him for success and blessing. The medical team from Baylor has impacted the lives of the children on how to stay healthy and look after themselves.”
• Justin a child at Mapalo said, “I have learned the word of God and the Bible, learned the story of Joseph, and it’s amazing that I have learned the Lord’s Prayer.”