Submitted by brittany on Tue, 2015-05-26 13:23
She visits us as often as she can, she calls in every other week to check on us, she sends us homemade candies for Christmas - by all intents and purposes, Alice Johnston is CTC's official grandmother.
We call her Cucu (pronounced, "sho-sho"), the Kikuyu term for "grandmother". Cucu Alice has traveled to Kenya 6 times (and Austin once!) and the mums treasure her visits. She's known to bring popcorn!
She was meant to travel last summer but was unable to travel due to health. It was heartbreaking when we discovered that she would have to miss the trip, but Cucu is a determined woman - and one who won't let a flight go to waste! Thankfully, she was able to reschedule for this spring, so we put together a little surprise in her honor.
Cucu Alice has been so devoted to CTC and in particular, our mums. She gives from the fullness of her heart so we wanted to give from the fullness of hers and so near the end of her trip, the LIFE Line mums gathered in the new building on our land, soon to be their upgraded studio. Zane said a few words and announced the dedication of the building - to Alice "Cucu" Johnston.
From Zane:
"Today we celebrated a little old lady from Topeka, Kansas who is a force & powerful advocate for our LIFE Line mums. Alice Johnston is her name. She lives with a tremor, has a difficult time walking without assistance, yet has traveled with us to Kenya 6x in the last 6 years.
We dedicated the new LIFE Line studio in her honor. We danced. We feasted. We cried. We loved. We celebrated a woman who is dedicating her life to something bigger than herself. A woman who chooses to push beyond her perceived limitations in order to give life & receive love from an unlikely group of crazies who believe in changing the world.
It was an incredible day!"
Thank you, Cucu! We love you so!