Chintu appeared to be incredibly reserved and shy. In my first meeting with the sanitation and hygiene team at Seeds of Hope International Partnership, I could barely pull an audible response from him. How, I wondered, could such a soft-spoken person be a facilitator? How did he get the courage to speak in public at all? His nickname, “Mr. President” seemed to be even more of a contradiction. How did such a quiet man, earn such an imposing title?
The first workshop I attended with Chintu, I knew I was missing part of the picture. He still didn’t say anything, but he interpreted the needs of the lead facilitator with the attention of a highly skilled waiter, passing a marker and flipping the flip-chart at precisely the right moment.
At the second workshop, I had a glimpse of Chintu’s hidden gift. It had been a long day, and Chintu was facilitating the last lesson. He stepped in front of the group with a washing basin, a bar of soap, and a container full of water. And suddenly he transformed into superman – or in this case super hygiene man. Chintu’s presence filled the room and within moments he had the students mesmerized watching the most enthralling hand-washing demonstration I have ever seen. Never again will I forget the 6 steps of hand washing!
A few days later I discovered the true extent of Chintu’s gift. I arrived at a school with him and the other members of the hygiene and sanitation team. When we stepped out of the van we were enveloped by hundreds of children, like a famous rock band being smothered by fans -- tiny bodies pushing up against us and little hands reaching up on every side to touch us and shake our hands.
After 15 minutes, I was beginning to feel claustrophobic and wondering when the teachers would finally have our classroom prepared, when I heard the words “Hallelujah”, and turned to see Chintu breaking into song. I watched as all 500 children began singing with him. The crowd of bodies transformed into a powerful gospel choir, singing with rhythms and harmony that most choirs would take weeks to master.
Then as suddenly as it had started the singing stopped. Chintu uttered a few quick words in the local language and the children disappeared into their classrooms. I knew then why they called him Mr President. Never had I seen anyone move a group with such effortless and beautiful power. Who would have known that a person with such a commanding presence could be so shy and unassuming in other contexts?
For three weeks I had the privilege of working with incredibly talented hygiene and sanitation promoters, like Chintu, at Seeds of Hope International Partnership, our WET Centre in Zambia. In our time together we created a new set of WASH awareness workshops for school and community groups.
Lisa Mitchell
Education Program Developer
