ZANIBAR’S POWER OUTAGE AND HOLIDAY VISITORS

So much has happened here since my last newsletter, I hope I can remember it all!
As most of you know the power on the island went out on December 10th. It has finally been restored. December was an incredible month here at Creative Solutions, we had so many amazing visitors and much Holiday Cheer, in spite of being in the dark! Among our visitors were our dear friends from Sacramento were Dr. Gail Shaw, Billy X and the incredible artist Emory Douglas. We had the pleasure of their company for three days and loved every minute. As usual they were generous with their donations of special DVDs and books. But more important were their historical accounts of the Panther movement in Sacramento and Oakland.
Our friends and sponsors from the Netherlands spent Christmas with us and we opened the new volunteer house which they had built. It was an emotional and tear filled moment for all of us, as Henry placed the new sign above the door. The house is almost complete. We are still tweaking it and painting. It is turning into a house of art! The visit from Henry of Marlie In Paradise was a lovely reunion. Unfortunately, like their first visit they were with no power, but the campfires every night were worth it!
We were also visited by a group for four from New York who volunteered for a day and worked on our infamous bottle wall. Paul Dummond and his friends provided us with a generous donation of paint and laughter that we will not soon forget.
Kathleen Cleaver and her lovely son, daughter and grandchildren spent the day here, relaxing while the children painted a wall with some great images.
After all the visitors departed, we took a trip to Dar es Salaam and purchased our first solar panel kit.