“Let us receive these bikes with two hands.” I heard these words this morning at our World Bicycle Relief bike distribution ceremony in Monze. Two hands indicate cooperation-they suggest great commitment to something. My life has been shaped by my belief that all things good and important should be held with both hands-so it was no surprise to me that the statement of the District Commissioner resonated with me and gave our experience thus far perspective.
Cooperation and commitment, within and among communities has been an ever present theme since our arrival in Zambia. Both hands have been a part of every activity we have participated in since our arrival. In each, we see the importance of community-led responses, as the community knows best what it needs.
Let’s begin with Chikumbuso-a women’s cooperative and school that began as a discussion between two women from completely different worlds. In listening to the heart of the community a group of two turned in to ten and now includes hundreds. The children of Chikumbuso are what draws us there, but the women and their resilient spirit are what makes the experience unforgettable. Women that have chosen to work together to save their families, their communities, themselves. It would be easy to feel sorry for the women there, to take pity on their situation, but their hands work together-at the art of creation-and together they provide the best support for each other and sustain their community.
Yesterday, the two hands of many tilled the soil and planted the seeds of what should become a wondrous garden full of tomatoes and cabbage at the Chongwe Basic School. In two and a half hours we, the hands of our new community combined with the hands of the local community, planted twenty rows of growth and sustenance for their school and community-the sale of the vegetables will support the construction of the school and the purchase of much needed resources.
And so it brings me back to this morning and what I will remember as one of the greatest moments from this trip. As the ceremony went on, I thought about how bikes have always been a part of my life-how they had once been a tool for play and now are my lifeline to all the activities I treasure. I never thought of my bike as a luxury or an advantage in life. But in the moments that passed as caregivers were overcome with joy and elation at receiving a simple machine, I recognized the real significance of what we were there to do. Again both hands were at play, the cooperation and commitment of the caregivers-giving of themselves to care for the sick in their communities and their families-and the cooperation and commitment of the community of organizations, local and global, that strive to bring together those that give and those that need.
In Zambia, when people greet you they do so with both hands and so it is with both hands that I grasp and embrace this experience and continue the journey.
PS-I had the joy of riding a bike we are donating to the farm in Monze from the highway to the campground-not on the paved bike lanes of DC but the overgrown grasses of fields of maize… and I used both hands!