"I think the future of Zambia looks very bright."
—Paul Kuross, Ketchum volunteer
When the last kid heads off to college, many empty nesters explore luxury on decadent vacations. But Paul and Renee Kuross did something different. They traveled to Ndola, Zambia, for five weeks as outreach volunteers helping to build Northrise University, Zambia's first and only private university.
"Our idea of taking it easy isn't playing golf; we go off someplace to help somebody," they said nonchalantly.
The couple first learned of Northrise University through their friend Peter DeBaun, the children's pastor at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood and part-time fishing guide at Silver Creek Outfitters.
DeBaun, who holds a master's degree in divinity from Princeton University, is a friend of Dr. Moffat Zimba, the founder of Northrise University and the Zambian connection for the Kurosses and the Wood River Valley. This past summer, with DeBaun's organizing, Silver Creek guides donated a full day's proceeds to the ongoing work in Ndola.
For the Kurosses, the trip was a leap of faith from the outset. "We weren't exactly sure when we went what we'd be doing," said Paul Kuross, who is formally trained as a carpenter. With the building skills he had developed here in the Wood River Valley, it was soon apparent that Kuross would play a huge role in the physical creation of the much needed buildings at Northrise.
Kuross donated power tools to Northrise workers who had previously been using only hand tools, as well as his substantial experience.
Now in its second academic year, Northrise has doubled its student body from 45 in its inaugural year to roughly 90 enrolled for the upcoming spring semester starting in January.
Renee Kuross had imagined that "she would be putting library books on the computer, but when Dr. Moffat saw me painting, he said 'This is how I want to use your gifts,'" she remembered.
Locally, Renee paints trompe l'oeil and other decorative painting, along with more academic watercolors. For Renee, the opportunity to practice the art she loves while also beautifying the buildings of this burgeoning university was fulfilling on many levels.
It was the personal relationships that began in Ndola and the marked effects of their help that form the most fulfilling memories for the Kurosses.
For them, the building of Northrise is "Christianity in its true form working." The communal passion to build a modern university amidst such destitution and poverty that exists in Zambia "is unbelievable." To the Kurosses, Zimba represents "a huge vision." His eventual goal is to have an enrollment of 10,000 students.
It was difficult for the Kurosses to leave their new Zambian friends and colleagues after five weeks of hard work in Ndola. Fortunately, Zimba and his wife Doreen arrive in the Wood River Valley this weekend for their first visit to Idaho. Zimba will be speaking at the Church of the Big Wood on Sunday at the 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. sermons. He will be speaking on the theme of "God's Goodness," while also spreading hopeful news of his growing university and seeking sponsors for student scholarships.
"I think the future of Zambia looks very bright," Kuross said. "It is a Christian nation and there are a lot of people that have a solid foundation and they are working hard with it ... It is exactly the same there as our nation when it was founded."
Paul Kuross donates building skills and cordless drills to Zambia's Northrise University.
