I was grabbing my bag to leave, I noticed that I had a visitor waiting for me on the porch 
From the picture, it's hard to tell the size but I can assure you that the snail's body was at least four inches long and the shell was an inch and a half tall. I figure a big slimy snail visitor had to be good luck!
Our first visit was my favorite of the day. We met with folks from room to read, an organization that focuses on improving literacy and supporting girls as they pursue secondary education.
What impressed me most was the passion and vision of the head of their Zambian program. She is a woman who thinks bigger than just the task at hand. Initially one of the main focuses of room to read was to build and support libraries in the government schools. While libraries can provide access to books, there needs to also be a cultural change that embraces and supports reading those books, otherwise those books stay on the shelves. Room to read has worked over the past few years to change that culture which is much more important than just building libraries.
The amazing thing that I learned today is that the libraries at our Health Ed Connect schools are being used by the kids and even the adults are wanting to learn to read. Our work in these communities is transforming the culture which is a key step in lifting a community out if poverty.
We also learned a lot about room to read's work with supporting girls in their education. Traditional Zambian culture does not typically support girls and women in pursuing education and in fact there is still the common practice of marrying girls off at a young age. We also know from development research that empowered women are key to raising communities out of poverty ( sorry guys). We too are beginning our Girls Achievement Program (GAP) program to provide extra support and encouragement to the girls in our schools.
What I appreciated most was the importance we at HealthEd Connect place on networking and building relationships with other organizations working on similar things. The willingness to learn from others and share our own experience is vital when you're tackling some of the major problems associated with poverty.
The excitement I felt from the people I met today was inspiring. It made all the walking around through streets and sidewalks that looked like this
No big deal.
It did, however, wear me out and I think I'm ready for bed. Time to retire to my bed complete with requisite mosquito net. Good night!
The tiger blanket is my favorite. :-) Excited to learn more about Room to Read -- the woman who leads it sounds inspiring!
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