Uukumwe Bike Shop Grand Opening!

We're coming up on the end of the Uukumwe Bike Shop training!!
Friday's stock taking and evaluation will conclude the six weeks of
hard work put in by the mechanics, BEN Namibia mechanic trainers and
CISP business trainer. CISP is an Italian NGO that supports projects
on business management so that folks without prior knowledge of
business skills will be equipped to run their operation successfully.
The two weeks with Bernadette from CISP have been WONDERFUL. She was
incredibly thorough starting with basic topics such as "what is a
business" building to stock taking and inventory, marketing
strategies, customer care and the like. BEN Namibia really has it
figured out. As an organization they have set themselves up to
nurture the BEC projects from A-Z with complete training and an 18
month hands-on monitoring and evaluation program to ensure as much as
possible the success of the shop. Our opening ceremony will be Monday
22 Sept where we'll be honored to have Josh and Keenan from Bicycles
for Humanity visiting from Colorado and Michael from BEN Namibia here
in Windhoek! Several months ago the folks at B4H loaded the container
with bikes and supplies and now it is on the ground, painted and doors
open as a bike shop!!

The guys will be staying at my friend Selma's guest house. You have
seen her in pictures…the meme from the garden pictures eating the
cabbage leaves…the one who said she had sweet potatoes for us to plant
as big as her calf…she is a riot!! She insists that I am her
grandmother reincarnated heeheheh:) Quick story…. "Nkure Nkuru" as the
name of our town actually means "Old Nkure." Nkuru means old and Mr.
Nkure used to live in this area and YEARS ago people would say Tani zi
koNkure Nkuru- I'm going to Old Nkure's place" and it just stuck! So
you can put Nkuru after anyones name if they are your elder…Selma's
grandmother's name was Sarah. So they call her Sarah Nkuru and now
she and her mom call me sarah nkuru:) Selma loves community and having
people around her place…she is always eating and drinking with company
and if you stop by just to say hi she'll bring out fruit or water. Of
course water isn't what you think it is: "wine is my water!" hahaha
she's always saying that and you'll never find her without a 5litre
bottle on hand! She said her grandmother also loved community and
"people from internationals" and she never met a stranger! Selma
speaks about 10 different languages- "you know, I must know the
languages, how am I supposed to speak to my people if I don't know
their languages! I'm speaking everything. If you come to my house I'm
speaking with you, and drinking my water with you!"

Friday night we went over there to visit and they (her family and the
6+ kids she has taken in, guest house guests and some relatives) were
eating dinner and 'enjoying.' Big Boy (her son's name!!) went in to
fetch the new 5litre bottle of red wine and we spent the next few
hours laughing continuously, telling stories, and listening to her
hilariousness. Eventually she started going on and on about a
'baboon in clothe-ez." We had no idea what she was talking about so
she got up from the table and grabbed a flashlight and we all ventured
over to the tree in her yard….she kept pointing the light upwards in
the branches and all of a sudden a monkey with a PINK TSHIRT on
appeared!! Hahhahahah I thought I was going to die…she has a pet
monkey in a tree on a chain with a pink t shirt! No, this is not a
normal thing folks…she is just that funny!

Tonight I'm making a cake and papaya pie for her husband's birthday
party. They will have plenty of 'water' and beer and whiskey this
time as a special treat! Should be a great time:)