CMA

Recent high school graduate Samantha (Sam) Werner from Worthington initially may not seem to have anything in common with Silas Lusias, 36 an organic farming expert from Zimbabwe, Africa.  But on closer examination, these two diverse individuals share a passion for exploration and learning.  Their journeys of discovery transverses the globe and illustrate an intriguing connection between the Columbus Medical Association Foundation (CMAF) and the Kufunda Learning Village in Africa.

As a senior at Linworth Alternative School – a program within Worthington City Schools since 1973 that engages students in a “walkabout,” an experiential education environment –a requirement for graduated.  The program derives its name from the Australian aboriginal rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, marking a transition from youth and school to adulthood and community life.  It is designed to develop the skills, attitudes and values of responsible adulthood.  The student may choose to examine career and academic goals, offer community service, hone practical or survival skills, explore college programs, or participate in a research project or creative endeavor.  
 
When it came time for Sam to decide her walkabout, Sam instinctively knew where she wanted to go to complete her senior journey – Africa – specifically, the Kufunda Learning  Village and Demonstration Center in Zimbabwe!  While it may have seemed an unusual, far-away location for her internship project, Werner felt it would offer her the perfect place to work and learn.  She became aware of this unique African learning village as a result of becoming involved in the CMAF’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) which she joined in 2003.  YAC fosters youth philanthropy by awarding grants to support programs, organizations and activities that promote and affect the health of young people in Central Ohio.  

As Sam progressed through her involvement in the YAC, she was soon identified by Heather Witt, CMAF Program Officer & Youth Advisory Council Coordinator and recommended to CMAF’s CEO Phil Cass as a good candidate for leadership training.  “She blew us away with her communication and interactive skills,” Cass recalled, and “we wanted to assist her in furthering her leadership potential.”  Dr. Cass invited her to participate in a leadership workshop the Foundation was hosting at Hocking Hills in 2005.  Cass is a dedicated fellow of The Art of Hosting practice in which an international group of leaders train to gain a deepening competency and confidence in hosting group processes.  They foster synergy and provide ways for people to participate in intention, design and outcomes/decisions/actions.  The experience is hosted by a team of facilitators who are skilled/trained in at least one, if not all of these processes; and the experience is aimed at people who want to serve as conversational hosts in their work, community and personal lives.

The Ohio retreat followed with Werner attending Shambhala Leadership Institute in Nova Scotia.  While there, she was exposed to communicators from around the world, including Toke Moeller of Denmark and Silas Lusias who lives at Kufunda Village.  From these two men and Dr. Cass, Sam learned about Kufunda and its founder – Marianne Knuth, a woman of African and Danish decent and a fellow member of the Art of Hosting program – and her dream of creating a self-reliant and sustainable village and learning center (www.kufunda.org).  

Having decided that she wanted to travel to Kufunda to work and learn for her walkabout, Werner needed help convincing her parents to allow her to travel so far from home.  Dr. Cass provided that help, and Sam’s journey to Africa began on Jan. 6, when she arrived in the Zimbabwe area accompanied by Cass and Jewell Garrison (CMAF Director of Programs, who was making her first visit to Kufunda).  “I was eager to see the village first-hand and help out in any way I could on each of the teams they have set up at Kufunda,” Werner explained.  While Cass and Garrison stayed only a short time, Sam lived and worked at the remote village for three months, returning home on April 3.

She worked in the herb gardens and the kitchen, assisted the village’s children in learning – including teaching them computer skills in exchange for lessons in Shona, the native language – and interacted with the community outreach team which works with five area villages, sharing the learnings of Kufunda, further working to make other Zimbabweans self-sustaining.  Within her first two weeks there, she also attended a five-day Art of Hosting workshop and later, an HIV/AIDS caregiver workshop.  During her time in Africa, Sam stayed in contact with family and friends in Ohio via both emails (see: Personal Writings from Africa) and sporadic phone calls.

“In retrospect, the most important lesson I took away from my time in Kufunda was seeing how the people interact there, how they respect each other and what each has to offer the community as a whole,” Werner reflected.
 
One of the Kufunda people that Sam interacted with during her stay was Silas Lusias, a native Zimbabwean and full-time resident of the Village since 2002, who was brought in to train others in the permaculture field.  Silas also has become a co-facilitator in the many workshops held at the Kufunda Demonstration Center that continues the learning and sharing process with the surrounding communities.  He explained, “It’s a two-way process; whatever we teach, we are also doing.  We walk our talk.”  

Silas was impressed with the journey that young Sam made to his Village.  “It took great courage for her to come here,” he said.  And he feels she brought a lot to his fellow Kufundees: “She was able to connect Kufunda and Columbus in a way different from what Phil has done over the last years,” he noted.  

Shortly after Sam’s return to the Columbus area, she met up with Silas once again, this time during his first trip to the United States.  Dr. Cass had invited him to come to Columbus from April 18 to May 1 as part of the learning exchange between Kufunda and the CMAF.  His stay included his participation in an Art of Hosting training workshop held in Columbus from April 26-29.  Dr. Cass had sent out 120 invitations to area business and community leaders for the workshop and saw the 52 available spots quickly fill.  

As for Sam Werner, her adventures haven’t ended either.  Following her walkabout experience in Africa, she completed a pre-graduation internship at Ohio State University BioNutrition Department where she worked with experts to find ways to help Kufunda Villagers.  Since then, Werner has also graduated from high school and will be attending OSU in the fall.  While she hasn’t determined a major just yet, she is interested in alternative health care.  And she said, “Studying abroad is always an option, including a return trip to the Kufunda Village.”