On Thursday, August 8, SEPO Zambia Director Mashebe Mushe Subulwa was honored to be selected as the recipient of the 2019 Daisy Frazier Social Justice Award.

If you take a close look at our mission, you will find that SEPO Zambia is committed to progress in all the communities we are connected to – not just in western Zambia, but here in Oshkosh as well. And Fit Oshkosh is one of our favorite organizations to support here in the Fox Valley.

Take a moment to read our Director’s reflections on this enormous honor:

Wow, what a night in Oshkosh! Got to spend the evening in a room full of powerful people doing powerful things (#angerintoaction) at the Fit Oshkosh, Inc. dinner. Got some doses of inspiration from Tracey Robertson, Jordan Landry, Angie Lee, Lori Palmeri, and my brother Butler Ajamou. Aluta continua (the struggle continues). In the midst of a powerful night, I was shocked and honored to receive the 2019 Daisy Frazier Social Justice Award for the work I do with SEPO Zambia. There is not enough gratitude in words to adequately thank those that nominated me (Alicia Johnson, Lori Palmeri, and Molly Norton Smiltneek). When I heard my name, the rest of the evening became a bit of a blur and I honestly think I am still processing the honor.

The work I do with SEPO Zambia comes from a deep commitment to and respect for our common humanity and a desire to enable people who may think they are not connected to experience their shared history, shared present, and shared future. I do it for my people, for kwa hae, for my community, and for my sons. I never thought of it as something to be recognized. In thinking about this honor, I am beginning to realize that there is power in being seen – because it allows others (especially little black/brown kids like my own sons) to see themselves in us. And so for that I am deeply thankful.

I would also thank my fellow Zambians Mirriam Chungu and Clarence Gelman Mutale for attending the dinner alongside me in support. One Zambia, One Nation.

Last but not least, I would like to say some words about my family. Back home kwa hae, the family is large and full of love, but also living with enormous struggles – yet my family has supported my work with SEPO Zambia even when it means less time, money, and energy from me. The same is true of my family on Graber St. I would like to thank my lovely wife boma Subulwa (Ang Gray Subulwa)for her constant support. The work I do often takes me away from our family and takes its toll on us (this sort of work is not free – it has a heavy mental and emotional cost). Yet she does not waver in her support because she knows it to be as important as I know it to be. We are a team in all things SEPO Zambia and life. We do much of what we do for the two little lions at home, Mooka and Mwakamui.

I can only hope that through the combined efforts of organizations like Fit Oshkosh, Inc. and SEPO Zambia, Mooka and Mwakamui will see a place for themselves in Oshkosh and in this world.

SEPO is excited to see our founder/director, Mashebe Mushe Subulwa, honored by the Bame Foundation / Lube-Tech Community with the April 2019 Community Hero Award.

Check out the story at the Bame Foundation page.

 

 

SEPO Zambia focused our year-end project on Mabumbu Community Rural Health Center.

SEPO Zambia – Barotse branch members met in October to identify community needs and determine a suitable project to close the year with. After discussions, the team settled on renovations of the community health center – Mabumbu Community Rural Health Center.

SEPO Zambia utilized our general funds (gathered from numerous, generous donors over the last year) to purchase the necessary materials to paint the entire interior and exterior of the health center.

Now the clinic is ready for the next milestones that SEPO will assist with in 2019.

 

Check out the photos below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the last week of May 2018, the Emmeline Cook community (teachers, parents, and students) expanded its efforts to build a deep partnership with the Kalangu community by organizing a fundraising effort (“Making CONCRETE Change“) to raise money to purchase bags of concrete for the construction of new classrooms at Kalangu. To kick off the fundraising, Mushe spent some time in the classrooms teaching the students about the daily lives of Kalangu students and delivering messages of thanks from Kalangu to E-Cook (for E-Cook’s school supply drive efforts in 2017).

 

SEPO Zambia is excited to announce that the Emmeline Cook community raised $491.43 through the school-wide penny drive. Through their partnership with Walk with a Doc, Dr. & Mrs. Smiltneek committed to donating $5 for every student that walked to school on May 25th. 70 students participated in the walk, raising an additional $350 – bringing the grand total to $841.43! This means that SEPO Zambia will be able to purchase over 80 bags of concrete on behalf of the Emmeline Cook community – that equals approximately 2,800 bricks! We are overwhelmed by the generosity and commitment of the Emmeline Cook community. We can’t wait to post photos of cement being purchased in Mongu!

Thanks to all those who participated and contributed in any way. Special additional thanks to: Emmeline Cook PTO, E Cook Elementary,Jennifer Bowen, Molly Norton Smiltneek, and all the E-Cook teachers/parents.

 

 

SEPO Zambia is excited to announce that we are partnering with students in Dr. Alicia Johnson’s Global Perspectives on Women and Gender course to strategize and develop new and innovative projects, informed by place-based development and our mission. This partnership advances our mission by identifying needs/strengths, developing global partnerships, and building more sustainable futures.

We will spend our semester engaging with these students, fostering global citizenship and developing their intercultural knowledge. At the end of the term, groups will pitch project proposals to SEPO for potential development on the ground in western Zambia.

UW Oshkosh student engagement with SEPO Zambia reinforces our core belief that the work we do is ‘as one’ – meaning that we are all best-served when people of diverse backgrounds and experiences work collaboratively for social change AND that we all have much to learn from each other.

 

 

 

 

We received news today that a land rover ran into/over? Kalangu’s sign. Yep, the one SEPO just fixed a few months ago. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

If anyone is interested in raising the funds to fix the sign, please let us know! See the support us page for ways to send money.

Due to the generous support of CNOS and numerous individual donors, SEPO was in a position to assist Kalangu with a few of their critical needs. After the excitement of delivering school supplies to Kalangu teachers and students, SEPO sat down with the parents, teachers, and administration to discuss possible projects and needs at Kalangu.

It is clear from our discussions with the parents, teachers, and community that Kalangu’s most pressing need is for additional classroom space. They are currently serving over 400 students with only 4 classroom – which means that classes have to stagger/rotate and students only learn for half a day (to make room for others).

In fact, the PTA had already started trying to raise the materials needed to construct an additional school block with 3 classrooms to relieve the current congestion. The PTA planned to require all families to bring 1 bag of cement at the beginning of the next term. A bag of cement costs approximately $10. Given the economic position of most Kalangu families (where $15 is approximately what they live on for an entire month), an extra $10 is not easy to come by (and is contrary to the principle of free primary education).

While the total cost of the new building is beyond the scope of SEPO’s resources at the moment, SEPO committed to funding the initial stages of the project by purchasing half of the cement that will be needed to make the cement blocks for building. The Kalangu PTA and parents committed to providing the labor and expertise in brick making and construction.

On July 5th, the PTA purchased the cement to begin construction. Each weekend since, parents meet at Kalangu on Saturdays to make cement blocks. Those with expertise in brick-making lead the volunteers through the process. In the afternoons, some of the women cook a large lunch for all the workers.

Check out all the action in the Kalangu Construction photo gallery.

As the project continues, the PTA will continue to ask families that are capable to donate a bag of cement. And last weekend, each of the teachers at Kalangu also donated a bag of cement as a contribution to the community they serve.

Check out videos of all the activities below or on SEPO’s Youtube channel.

As the process moves forward, SEPO will continue to look for the resources to support this critical project to expand Kalangu’s ability to serve its students.  If you are interested, get in touch!

On July 5th, we visited Kalangu Primary School and delivered the school supplies donated by Emmeline Cook Elementary School students and parents. We were welcomed with songs from the students and dancing from the parents (take a look at our facebook page for some great videos!). The Kalangu community extends its gratitude to the ECook community and looks forward to innovative partnerships between the two schools. Check out some of the photos below (which capture only a fraction of the excitement!).

The Kalangu community extends its gratitude to the ECook community and looks forward to innovative partnerships between the two schools. Check out some of the photos below (which capture only a fraction of the excitement!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are finally back stateside and will be posting frequent updates on all our summer 2017 SEPO projects.

We are finally able to take a moment to update everyone on our SEPO activities. We know it has taken too long to post our first update but we’ve spent our first few weeks here taking care of various family issues and projects so that we could dedicate the bulk of our remaining time to SEPO projects.

Our initial work involved identifying someone on the ground to manage SEPO projects once we are out of the country. We are pleased to introduce our Project Coordinator, Mato Kanenga.

Mato is a mechanic, a teacher, a farmer, and a friend (but one of those rare friends who has become family). He worked with Angela on her dissertation research in eastern Zambia back in 2005 and has continued to assist us every time we are in Zambia. Most importantly, he is as committed to the mission of SEPO as we are.

 

Additionally, we met last week with the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) to discuss their vision for a SEPO-Kalangu partnership, as well as a sister-school relationship with Emmeline Cook Elementary School. The PTA is very enthusiastic about SEPO’s continued commitment to the community.

In our discussions, numerous possible projects were discussed and outlined. Kalangu’s most pressing need is for additional classroom space. They are currently serving 400 students with only 4 classroom – which means that classes have to stagger/rotate and students only learn for half a day (to make room for others).  

During our meeting, we outlined a budget to construct an additional school block with 3 classrooms to relieve the current congestion. While the total cost of the new building is beyond the scope of our resources at the moment, SEPO committed to funding the initial stages of the project by purchasing most of the cement that will be needed to make the cement blocks for building (thanks to the support of CNOS and many other donors). The Kalangu PTA and parents will provide the labor and expertise in brick making and construction.

We will continue to provide updates as the project develops.

 

We will distribute the school supplies that were generously donated by Emmeline Cook Elementary School and shipped by Goatshark Enterprises, Inc. on Monday, June 25th – so look for updates soon after!

We’ve finally arrived at departure day! Bags are packed and ready to load. Think we have enough stuff??

One last thanks from SEPO to all our supporters – your generosity will have an impact.

Look for updates throughout the summer as we make progress on lots of SEPO projects!