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Detailed Hand-Work Puts Charm Into African Pieces

Read below an excerpt from a piece in the November 2012 issue of the Kootenay Quilters’ Day Guild Newsletter. The article focuses on the work of one of the founding members of Malambo Grassroots with the women’s group in Zambia!

Squares for Quilts Drying in the Zambian Sun

The Malambo Grassroots organization is a success story that makes Marylee Banyard feel a great sense of inner contentment. Over the course of the last 20 years, Marylee has seen the women involved in the organization develop their skills and flourish. As a grassroots organization, they hone their handiwork so that it can easily be sold at fundraisers in Canada. Many quilters purchase the hand-embroidered pieces and make them into attractive wall hangings or quilts, such as the work of Nellie Shukin depicted above. Money is used to support community initiatives sponsored by the women and is also critical to the success of ongoing maintenance of plumbing in the centre and the preventive maintenance of 2 industrial sewing machines and 6 other machines. In addition to Marylee’s efforts, the Rotary Club of Nelson generously donated tables and chairs and an industrial sewing machine to the centre. Private donors have also assisted to ensure that the centre flourishes.

This year Marylee will assist with a project to enhance the work of the local PTA. A guest speaker will talk about the childrens’ education. The women of the centre will then break into 6 groups to discuss issues surrounding the presentation and will develop an embroidered banner depicting their discussion issue and possible ways to resolve the issue. This whole process is also aired in the media. The sense of community involvement and development is significant.

A great 103 miles!

Geoff Cross on a training ride up Mt.Baker

At the end of September, Geoff Cross rode for Malambo Grassroots in the 103 mile Levi’s GranFondo cycling event. Geoff had a great ride finishing 80th out of the thousands of participants! Thank you so much, Geoff, for your support!
Read here his summary of his day:

Typical of the Bay Area, the day started with some fog and cold, making way to beautiful hot sunny skies in the mountains before dropping down into the fog bank hanging over the pacific coast. It didn’t rain thankfully, as the course was even more technically demanding than I had been told- Besides the 7.500 other riders, there were lots cracks and potholes and tree-lined, switch back descents to keep one senses firing all day.

It is a spectacularly well-organized event with rest/food stations just where you need them. I knew that a key to a good performance would be eating and drinking more than you feel like. While not a recipe for day to day diet, I credit the peanut butter and jam sandwiches and coke, combined with the terrifically supportive atmosphere, and getting to share it with friends, that kept unexpected levels of pep in my legs all day.

A bike in Zambia

It was the best road ride that I have ever had the luxury of undertaking. Some/many big rides are Type 2 fun- painful and full of suffering during and only enjoyable after they are done with the sense of accomplishment; however, every so often you do a big ride that is Type 1 fun- huge smile inducing all day long, even though you are breathing hard. I think of it as being in the state of “Flow” that athletics, music, art, and other endeavors can bring when everything comes together in just the right doses.”

Geoff told us that he was happy to have had the opportunity to do the ride and support Malambo, and we are so grateful to Geoff! Thank you!

103 Miles for Malambo Grassroots!

Much like kids all over the world, children in Zambia dream of having a beautiful bicycle to ride. So when Geoff Cross, one of our supporters offered to  ride for Malambo Grassroots at this year Levi’s Granfondo cycling event, to raise money for our Zambian community development efforts, we knew it was the perfect combination of event and cause!

On September 29, Levi’s GranFondo takes place in Santa Rosa, California. Started by professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer in 2009, Levi’s GranFondo is an annual, organized bicycle event with over 7,000 participants riding over 100 miles for various charities. Geoff Cross, will be collecting donations and riding in support of our ongoing education projects with Malambo Grassroots. See below for a quick Q&A about his upcoming ride and feel free to donate here.


Malambo Grassroots (MG): The Gran Route is 103 miles! How do you train for a ride of that distance?

Geoff, in blue, on his training ride up Mt.Baker

Geoff Cross (GC): Well, sometimes a little fear is a good motivator! In general, I like to mix it up and generally stay fit throughout the year by having fun cross-country skiing, mountain biking, playing tennis and paddling. And then, for an event like this I start adding longer and longer rides up until a couple of weeks before the event. This Fondo has a ton of climbing in the route, so I have made sure to spend time riding up Vancouver’s mountains, building up to a 95-mile ride up Mount Baker last weekend.

MG: With an 8am start and 6pm end time, how long do you think it will take you to complete the ride?

GC: If all goes really well, I am hoping the ride will last about 7 hours.

MG: What do you think is the biggest challenge riding in such a large group? And over such a long distance?

GC: There will be 7,000 cyclists, riding shoulder to shoulder and wheel to wheel, who will start the day incredibly excited but come with different levels of experience and bike handling skills. With a
healthy dose of mountain descents this also means that you have to be very attentive all day long. On the flip side, group riding is fast and the collective energy is inspiring, so you have to be careful not to get carried away too early.

MG: What type of bike are you riding and why?

GC: I ride a beautiful but older steel framed Ritchey Road Bike. While not the lightest or fastest bike in the peloton, it fits me perfectly and is more comfortable than a carbon bike because steel absorbs more of the road vibration and bumps than carbon.

MG: Even though you are riding in such a large group, will you be riding as part of a team or on your own?

GC: There are several of my friends from Vancouver and Flagstaff, Arizona riding in the event, and we will likely end up not riding together, as it is crucial that you find a pace that works for you when you are trying to complete a long endurance event to your fullest potential. Plus, with 7,000 riders, it is tough to stay together!


MG: Why are you taking part in this event?

GC: For one, there is amazing energy on a large ride like this which is enthralling to be part of. Secondly, this particular event takes place on stunning northern California roads, through wine country and even on the famous Pacific Coast Highway, for a stretch. Finally, the challenge of preparing for and completing a long event, to the best of one’s ability, calls for focus and disciplined training and offers the reward of improvement.

MG: Why is Malambo Grassroots or Zambia important to you?

GC: I think the activities of the organization provide tangible benefits to the communities it serves. What I really like is that Malambo Grassroots’ approach is sustainable, in that it is helping build local capacity around issues and initiatives identified by the local partners not imposed by foreign benefactors who, while well intentioned, are unlikely to be familiar with the cultural context necessary to get the best outcomes.

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We’ll be thinking of Geoff on the 29th and wishing him all the best for a great GranFondo! Thanks for your support, Geoff. We really appreciate the 103 miles you are putting in for Malambo Grassroots!

We are grateful for Geoff’s support and welcome any further donations to continue our education work in Zambia. We are currently funding over 50 students in highschool and university and your donations will help provide for their scholarships and school supplies. To donate, please see our donation page for details. 100% of your donations go to our work in Zambia.

Feel free to add a note or comment to the donation that it is in support of “Geoff Cross, GranFondo ride”.

To read more about our current education projects, click here.

Thank you!

On Moorings Farm, Monze, Zambia

Kids in Zambia love bicycles!

A Letter from Harriet!

Income generation is an important part of our community development work in Zambia.

Below, read a letter from Harriet to you, our donors and community.  Malambo Grassroots gave Harriet, who is from the Monze area, the equivalent of $40 earlier this year to start a new business. She purchased fabric to make clothes of her own design and sell them in the surrounding villages.

The tone of Harriet’s letter also highlights that Zambia has been declared a “Christian Nation” by the president.

From Harriet, to you:

“Firstly I would like to thank god who has given me this chance of writing this letter to you. Hope and trust that you are fine me I am fine. First thing I want to say. is to say thank you for the money you have given me,
may god continue blessing you and giving you more life, may god bless what ever you doing. may god continue even blessing your family in jesus might name thank you very much.
yours harriet”

Thank you for your continued support!

Kids at the Window: Art fundraiser: W.Vancouver Sunday 9th September 2012

Malambo Grassroots will be selling crafts made by the Malambo and Lusumpuko women at the upcoming Ukama Arts fundraiser. 100% of proceeds will go directly back into Malambo Grassroots projects in Zambia. The art on display and on sale will, again be incredible!

At this 2nd Annual Event, beautiful African and West Coast Contemporary Sculptures, paintings, and crafts will be shown in a lovely garden setting in West Vancouver.

Come out and join us for the great event!

Happy 20th Anniversary!

Well, we’re back where computers work and we have regular Internet access!

On February 2 of this year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our first income generating group – the Malambo Women’s Club. As February is the hunger month in Zambia, when last year’s harvest is eaten up and this year’s harvest not yet in, it was appropriate to celebrate with food. We held a food competition of traditional village cooking. FABULOUS!  Our judges did an excellent job, and the prizes were enormous fish, brought from Siavonga.

See some of the celebrations, with a video of Mirriam celebrating of Mirriam celebrating! Mirriam, one of our original members who in her mid-eighties is rearing her grandchildren, makes her income by being a member of this applique group as well as being a member of one of our chicken rearing groups. In the background you can hear the crowd ululating.

Lighting up the Malambu School!

The Malambu School will be getting electricity! After many years of trying to find funding ourselves, the new government will be providing electricity to the school as part of a new plan to have all schools in Zambia electrified by 2030. We will need to install electrical wiring in the classrooms and teachers houses, and then the electric company will connect the electricity from the main line to the school, install the transformer and connect the electricity to all the buildings. Each building will have a prepaid meter. As part of this process, we are also getting a new computer lab and library, so now they are pegging the building and next week they are going to dig the foundations. We expect the work to be completed by October of this year, so by the end of the year we should have a new building and electricity! Though this is Africa, so it might take a bit longer, but the news is positive and we are really excited!

Isn’t that wonderful news?! We are one of the first schools to benefit from this programme. As a result of this, the possibilities for education in this area are now endless: night classes for adults, teachers preparing for lessons in the evenings by their new lights, and on and on!

Catherine runs for Malambo Grassroots

A fellow Zambian, Catherine Hopkins, will run a marathon on October 9 in Portland, Oregon, in support of Malambo Grassroots. Please support her by donating. 

Here are Catherine’s own words about the upcoming marathon:

“This October I have done a silly thing and signed up for my first marathon!! After lots of hard training sessions sitting on the couch procrastinating about running shoes and nutrition but doing little in the way of hitting the tarmac, I have finally found something to motivate me to the finish line.

“If you would like to donate towards my run:

“Go to the donate page. The site is run through Rose Charites based in Vancouver and ALL the money given goes to Malambo. Make sure that you choose the Malambo charity and mention it is for MALAMBO Grassroots/Catherine’s Marathon. If you would like a tax receipt one can be provided. Also if you go this route drop me of Malambo an email so we can confirm your donation with Rose.”

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