I do not know the history of this village, only my personal history with it. I visited Mutala for the first time in 2003 with the Education Mission Team from Canada. We did not hold a workshop here, but we delivered soccer balls and text books and school supplies. Some members of the team had formed a relationship with this village on a previous Education Mission trip. One member of our team had even adopted a family from the community. During my return visits to Zambia over the next six years, I gathered bits and pieces about the turmoil in the village and the lack of unity. Many of the complaints I heard were from teachers or village leaders who thought they were not getting the physical support they needed. When I questioned Ruhtt, she explained that no building could take place because the Chief had not made an agreement to dedicate land for a school or a church. Until that happened, no permanent dwellings would be funded by ZMF-C or other outside donors.When I returned in 2009, Ruhtt had arranged for me to offer professional development in the form of phonics training for all the primary teachers. Each time we passed by Mutala, we found only a few students, sometimes just one teacher, and often no headmaster. Ruhtt and I decided that my time would be better spent in other schools. This was a disappointment for the headmaster and the village leaders, but I explained that I could not offer a workshop when there was not dedication from the teachers and the headmaster.
In addition to this, I was distressed to see an alcohol still for producing beer and a pub constructed of temporary materials located just outside this village. Ruhtt explained that she and Shepherd had chastised the church for not disciplining their members who were participating in these activities. No support could be given to this village because the people were wasting their resources on riotous living. The villagers cried, "What about our children?". The Mbumwaes explained that the people choosing to use maize to make beer instead of feed their children were really the ones hurting the children.
A few months after my trip in 2009, I got an email from Ruhtt asking if I could raise money for a church building at Mutala. The village had completely turned around. The put was torn down. The Chief had decided to dedicate and donate land for a church, a school, and growing maize. The necessary papers had been filed in the court, and the people had made 10,000 bricks. What a turn around! Praise God! Naturally, I shared this story as I asked people to help these Christians build a church building at Mutala. Southside church of Christ came through, and we were able to tell Ruhtt that we would bring money for the building materials when our team came in 2010.
