By Godfrey Mpala
As the saying goes, ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step’, it would not be entirely accurate to attribute the statement to the coming of the Cal Poly team to Northrise. But when one thinks of the bright future of this God ordained University, the statement reflects vast degrees of truths.
On the 13th of August 2009, Dr. and Mrs. Baker from the Cal Poly toured the Northrise Farms for the very first time. They were accompanied by Dr. Pedersen, the dean of the school of agriculture at the Cal Poly and Steve Bowie and Allan smith who sit on the board of Northrise University Initiative USA. The visiting team was very impressed at the progress made at the land. Fully ripe bananas being harvested, and a very well informed Bob, the farm foreman, who was ready to share his knowledge and love for agriculture, welcomed them. The team took a tour of the poultry house, the workshop and the chicken abattoir that is about to be fully functional in the next few days. Having been satisfied with the agriculture progress at the land, the team decided to tour the business building. What the team found there was also very exciting. The building has reached roof level and should be done in the next 3 months. There was a lot of activity at the building with the construction workers working hard to beat their deadline.
The last stop at the land was the student dormitory. This too did not disappoint. They were very clean and stocked with cozy furnishing that resonated a mood of calm and tranquility that is very vital for students and their studying. A student who was present, Peter, briefed the team on how the dorms have made life easier for students like him who come from outside town. The visit to the dorm marked the end of the team’s tour of the Northrise future campus site.
Other places the team visited outside Northrise University include: seeds of hope; a borehole drilling company in Ndola’s Kansenshi area; Ndola Girls National Technical High School; Arising Life Ministries (ALM) children’s counseling center, run by a Northrise University student, Joyce Chimbila, who was presented with a gift of books for the children by Steve Bowie; Mapalo Community school also run by a Northrise University student, Ps. Emil Mukuka; and Lastly, the Arthur Davison children’s hospital (ADH).
