Planting seeds of change

24 Mar 09

Quote for this post: "Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - nelson mandela


We did our little bit of good today and we are hoping to overwhelm Malungeni if not the world. Today was a great day. I think today was a turning point for all of us in this journey. Week one was all about planting seeds and today it was about watching the tree grow tomorrow will be about see it blossom. This afternoon we met wit the women's group again. It was fitting that we were discussing how to give birth to a new Malungeni community in the front lawn of our guest house, sitting in a circle around a tree spudling that is determined to grow. Sitting there while Amy inspired the women by introducing the barder system to them as a means to grow their veg patch, I thought, these women are just that the growing tree. They needed the tools or the means to grow their business just as this tree needs water and sun to survive. Something so simple and basic has never occurred to them. They seemed to embrace the idea and I believe they were excited to 1. have their land plowed and 2. That they were going to collaborate with someone in the community they they previously didn't think would help them. We went to survey the field as well today and plowing began! To me this was victorious. What a great example of community unity and as the local preacher would say " loving thy neighbor".

We are excited and hopeful that the women's grou now only plants seeds for growing corn, squash, spinach andcabbage on their fields, but will also continue to plant seeds of change throughout Malungeni.