Zambia 2014 - Diary 8
This really is my final blog as we leave for the airport early tomorrow morning ....
9:30am and we're off to the church to present certificates to the literacy and IT students. We haven't printed them yet mind, and everyone is arriving at 10am ... I love this Zambia lifestyle!
Jimmy got the programme set up and we began to run off 30+ literacy and 60+ IT certificates whilst everyone sat chatting and chilling in the church or in the front foyer area. Once my signature was added I went off in to the church hall to begin giving them out. I felt a bit of a scruff compared to the finest outfits they had all turned out in!! Suddenly realised I had to make this a fairly formal occasion. Farayi obliged with photo shoots which everyone wanted with their certificate. It was a really lovely time.
There was a 20 minute interval whilst we waited for Jimmy to finalise his certificates, then he did likewise, presenting them to individuals. It caused great hilarity among those sitting waiting, listening to our pronunciation of their Zambian names :)
We finished this event with a group photo, prayers, and the local pastors presented the Multiply team with a copper picture of Zambia. They also expressed their gratitude for all the work we had done and urged us not to forget them and even added in a couple of requests (we expected that :) ... getting used to it now).
Hannah and I went on in to the school to say goodbye to all the children and gave out some lollies (a favourite over here). It was lovely to see their happy, smiling faces!
Then off in to town to exchange our kwacha back to dollars as we may need them in Nairobi. We met .up with Gladys on the way back to the car (stood outside two takeway shops (Zambeef and Zamchick) who had been doing some shopping for the dinner that she had arranged at her place this evening for us and all the pastors and wives from the church. Hannah and I fell about laughing to see her with a large crate of fizzy drinks at her feet, a grass-broom in one hand, and a blue carrier bag in the other with 4 chicken heads sticking out and still moving! Fresh chicken for tea tonight :) Hannah lept out of her car seat at one point on the way home as she had forgotten they were in the boot and they started flapping and squawking lol.
We headed back to the church as we wanted to spend as much time as we could with the children before we left today as this would be our farewell day.
It was a fairly chilled time, just sitting chatting, eating sweet. One of the lads played and sang the guitar; Haggai, the youth leader, came along for a while so it was good to have the opportunity to say cheerio to him too. I had taken my sewing kit with me as I determined to spend this time mending some of the girls clothes. They were very happy, and I left the kit with one of the older girls who knew how to sew. In fact I ended up giving away a few things, like my flip flops and a scrubbing brush which one of them liked. Would really like to send some school uniforms and clothes etc over for these children!
It started to get dark as we had to wait for George to collect us for the dinner (he was over 1 hour late ... ) We chilled in the church hall, the girls taking lots of photos and movies with my camera, writing us farewell notes, and the lads singing, dancing and playing drums on the stage.
It was getting to that stage where we just wished George would hurry up and come because it was dragging out what was going to be a very difficult parting. He came and we gathered our bags to make our way down the aisle of the church to the door, then out in to the car. There were hugs and a few stifled tears. Young Catherine was going to be the hardest to say farewell to. She hugged me round my middle a couple of times, and as I walked toward the door she put both arms round me and said, 'I don't feel well that you are going ...' I'm was glad for the poor lighting and the darkness outside, but I reassured her as best I could. The bigger girls came over to hug and say goodbye and I asked them to look after Catherine as this was tough for her. I was relieved to see Sharon, the overseer of the orphanage arrive. She hadn't been around all day due to being unwell, so it was good to know she would be there for them all this evening.
Hannah and I are determined to keep in touch and continue to encourage them as often as we can. They are an amazing group of young people who have suffered much and love their Lord.
On then to a fine evening of fellowship and food at Gladys's. Those chucks looked very different to earlier to day, but tasted mighty fine! Bishop Stephen rang whilst we were eating to say words of thanks and farewell which was encouraging. I also had a call from Len in Dar es salam. Sounds like they've had an amazing time.
There were words of thanks and gratitude all round, we prayed and said our long farewells accompanied by the usual photo shoots, hugs and kisses.
We have truly felt very welcome and at home among our brothers and sisters here and made some deep friendships. I really thank God for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team. It's been amazing!!
Tuesday 11 March 2014
Monday 10 March 2014
Zambia 2014 - Diary 7
Zambia 2014 - Diary 7
Well, Sunday being probably one of the hottest days we've had yet, it proved very difficult to get to sleep; it was unbearably hot and airless.
This morning was markedly cooler (though still very warm t-shirt weather) and the sky was clouded over (much relieved) but I felt incredibly tired this morning. I think the heat yesterday, combined with a very long week, had taken it's toll. Whilst eating a late breakfast, Jimmy and Farayi walked in - was so nice to see them back in Kitwe.
Soon we were on the road, Hannah and I being dropped at the church and Jimmy and Farayi heading in to town to get a few bits for the projects and do some gift shopping. Hannah and I joined the baby class in the school this morning to present toys and puzzles to them. We had a little time to play with them and take some photos too. It was a good time with them, and they were so much more relaxed with us (except for Precious who still cries at the sight of us).
This afternoon I took over 20 of the literacy class in to the IT suite to introduce them to some educational websites - it was quite a squeeze. Thunder had been mildly rumbling for an hour or two by this time and suddenly the heavens opened like I'd never seen them in all our time here. The path outside the IT suite was like a river in no time and where we had kept the door and windows open due to the heat, the rains came lashing in. My paperwork, camera and phone were soaked in seconds! Water flowed in over the tiled floor making it all very slippery and the ceiling started to leak in a couple of places (a couple of the women put their umbrellas up!) Simon passed a mop and broom through the window from the church and a couple of us started to brush the water out whilst everyone else continued to work, completely unperturbed.
It was a crazy session but everyone managed to access one of the main websites and explore the different activities there. We gathered together in the church hall for a final debriefing and question/answer time. There is still an obvious anxiety as to how the literacy project will continue after this week so I had to continually allay their fears. There is always pressure put on, openly or in a quiet whisper, to give them my personal contact details, but I have to continually refer them to Pastor Nyirongo as the liaison, as the pressure to meet individual needs could become quite intense. One guy, for his homework, instead of writing a formal letter of complaint to a hotel/restaurant, wrote a letter asking to be employed to set up a centre in Kitwe, under the banner of my church's ministry.
The remainder of the afternoon consisted of a session for married couples led by Farayi which was very well received, and also the presentation of a home-knitted blanket by one of our 80 year old sisters to the youngest member of the orphanage; 9 year old Catherine. That was really cool! Catherine is the one who constantly asks us to take her home with us, and now she has a taste of our home with her. The blanket has a large red cross knitted in to the heart of it :) She was so pleased with it.
Pastor George came to find us in the orphanage to take us home. It was still raining very heavily outside and was now very dark too, and yet it was still warm. We had to drop a few ladies off on the way home, down some very long and extremely bumpy roads, so the drive was long and very slow.
We are now fed and both feeling very tired, and this may be my last blog as tomorrow is our last day. In the morning we will be at the church presenting certificates to the literacy students, then off in to town to change our kwacha back to dollars, back to the church for a final afternoon saying farewells to the children, then for a final celebration meal at Stephen and Gladys's home (minus Stephen) along with other pastors from the church.
We will be leaving Kitwe about 8:30/9am our time on Wednesday morning, landing safely at Heathrow at around 5:45am Thursday!
See you all soon x
Well, Sunday being probably one of the hottest days we've had yet, it proved very difficult to get to sleep; it was unbearably hot and airless.
This morning was markedly cooler (though still very warm t-shirt weather) and the sky was clouded over (much relieved) but I felt incredibly tired this morning. I think the heat yesterday, combined with a very long week, had taken it's toll. Whilst eating a late breakfast, Jimmy and Farayi walked in - was so nice to see them back in Kitwe.
Soon we were on the road, Hannah and I being dropped at the church and Jimmy and Farayi heading in to town to get a few bits for the projects and do some gift shopping. Hannah and I joined the baby class in the school this morning to present toys and puzzles to them. We had a little time to play with them and take some photos too. It was a good time with them, and they were so much more relaxed with us (except for Precious who still cries at the sight of us).
This afternoon I took over 20 of the literacy class in to the IT suite to introduce them to some educational websites - it was quite a squeeze. Thunder had been mildly rumbling for an hour or two by this time and suddenly the heavens opened like I'd never seen them in all our time here. The path outside the IT suite was like a river in no time and where we had kept the door and windows open due to the heat, the rains came lashing in. My paperwork, camera and phone were soaked in seconds! Water flowed in over the tiled floor making it all very slippery and the ceiling started to leak in a couple of places (a couple of the women put their umbrellas up!) Simon passed a mop and broom through the window from the church and a couple of us started to brush the water out whilst everyone else continued to work, completely unperturbed.
It was a crazy session but everyone managed to access one of the main websites and explore the different activities there. We gathered together in the church hall for a final debriefing and question/answer time. There is still an obvious anxiety as to how the literacy project will continue after this week so I had to continually allay their fears. There is always pressure put on, openly or in a quiet whisper, to give them my personal contact details, but I have to continually refer them to Pastor Nyirongo as the liaison, as the pressure to meet individual needs could become quite intense. One guy, for his homework, instead of writing a formal letter of complaint to a hotel/restaurant, wrote a letter asking to be employed to set up a centre in Kitwe, under the banner of my church's ministry.
The remainder of the afternoon consisted of a session for married couples led by Farayi which was very well received, and also the presentation of a home-knitted blanket by one of our 80 year old sisters to the youngest member of the orphanage; 9 year old Catherine. That was really cool! Catherine is the one who constantly asks us to take her home with us, and now she has a taste of our home with her. The blanket has a large red cross knitted in to the heart of it :) She was so pleased with it.
Pastor George came to find us in the orphanage to take us home. It was still raining very heavily outside and was now very dark too, and yet it was still warm. We had to drop a few ladies off on the way home, down some very long and extremely bumpy roads, so the drive was long and very slow.
We are now fed and both feeling very tired, and this may be my last blog as tomorrow is our last day. In the morning we will be at the church presenting certificates to the literacy students, then off in to town to change our kwacha back to dollars, back to the church for a final afternoon saying farewells to the children, then for a final celebration meal at Stephen and Gladys's home (minus Stephen) along with other pastors from the church.
We will be leaving Kitwe about 8:30/9am our time on Wednesday morning, landing safely at Heathrow at around 5:45am Thursday!
See you all soon x
Sunday 9 March 2014
Zambia 2014 - Diary 6
Zambia 2014 -Diary 6
Well, what a week; it’s been quite a stretch so the weekend has come as a breath of fresh air and a more relaxed slot to unwind a little.
I had had a call from Josie earlier in the week to say my mum wasn't well but all was under control. Lizzie and George kept me up to speed with things via Facebook messages, then Josh rang a day later to say Nan had gone in to hospital but I wasn't to worry but stay focussed on what I was doing because all was under control and, if need be, he would go to Brighton! I thank God for blessing me with such amazing children!!!!
Friday, driving around Kitwe, I was very aware of how ‘red’ the soil is, and against the lush green of the grass and trees, it’s quite a picture. I considered jarring some to take home, but my feeling is the sun here probably adds to the richness of it and it probably wouldn't look the same. Some of the trees are in full blossom too (reds and yellows mainly) with people tending to sit beneath their shade.
As we drove in to town, there were dozens of men digging the drainage along the new tarmacked road linking two provinces (districts). There appears to be a lot of new developments popping up, but it all looks very hard, hot work compared to back home. No big machines, just a shovel and sheer graft!
A young man came flying past on a small motorcycle and was actually wearing a helmet of sorts. As he flew past and up a side road I noticed the large white box on the back which said ‘ZAMPOST’ – this was the local postman! Great stuff!
As we turned a corner, on our way in to town, we ran straight in to a police traffic control spot and we were flagged down …. we were going to be late getting back to the church today :-/ George thought it was because he hadn't put his seatbelt on, but it turned out to be because they said he didn't stop sufficiently enough at the STOP sign (but they added the seatbelt issue in too). A lady officer got in to our car and we had to drive, a long way in the opposite direction, to the police station. Poor George; he’s had a long week looking after us and his sick wife, and now this! He was fined (300 kwacha – about £30) but because he couldn't produce all the money on the spot, they withheld his licence until he could. We will need to sort this later.
The drive back to town was another hot one, taking in the scenery as we went. George wanted to drive us through as many provinces as possible so that we could get to see the extremes of wealth (relatively speaking). The amazing range of plants and colour really stand out, and REAL palm trees; not like the plastic ones in Brighton Marina J
We drove past homes that were bricked, but barely 10’ square and a lot of people would be living in that small place. Then, in the wealthier areas of Parklands, Riverside and Chimwemwe it was a different story. We passed very large homes on large plots of land, with very high walls topped with curls of barbed wire and similar. As comparatively splendid as they may seem, they still face the same issues of poor water and electricity supplies.
We passed a very large secondary school which is apparently for the children of wealthier families in the city, for example, business men and politicians. We also drove passed the Nkana College of Nursing, the lanes around streaming with young women in their peppermint green dresses with white waist belts and hats; pretty much how we used to dress as nurses in the UK back in the 80s – felt like stepping back in time.
Something which I have found surprising is the way people just throw rubbish on the ground, whether in the street, in the home or even in the church hall. A few times, putting my rubbish in to my bag, I have been told to just drop it. Can’t bring myself to do that … who picks it all up?? But I haven’t yet seen a general wastebin in the street, or the home … strange … I would have thought there would have been more of an attempt to keep on top of things like this with the vulnerability to sickness and disease that is around. I remembered Sharon, the church secretary who oversees the running of the orphanage, saying that they put their rubbish in the tip, over the wall. I found it today; it’s a big hole dug in the ground and yes, the rubbish is just thrown in it. It’s rank; it smells, is fly infested, and is very near where the children play every day.
I had another little walk around the orphanage today whilst everyone was out. The bunked bedrooms are pretty dirty and very basic; food and clothes and bits n bobs all over the floor, all attracting flies which we seem to have had in abundance the last couple of days. The toilet areas are worse! I hadn't seen these when we first looked round here, but the walls and floors are black with mould and, generally, are in quite a state of disrepair. Oh, so much that needs to be done here, but no money, time or expertise to do it. The whole place needs a thorough overhaul.
Saturday: I
was at our host family’s home this morning, fretting a little as we were going
to be half hour late for the ladies meeting due to start at 10am. Feeling a bit nervous about speaking, I
wanted to make sure we were in time to be part of the opening worship time.
Jimmy just
text to say that the Victoria Falls were amazing but he’s going to try and head
back to Kitwe sooner than planned as he’s really missing everyone. The feeling is mutual; a lot of people have
been asking when he will be returning so, no doubt, there will be smiles and
hugs all round!
Well, it’s
now 10:50am and we are sitting in the rest room at the church as there is a
team of people still preparing the church hall for a wedding that was due to
start at 9am!! Not sure when/where this
ladies meeting will take place then. Been
here 10 days now and don’t quite get it …this Zambian time thing J … how on earth does anything happen
lol … how very funny. They even
announced both events in church last Sunday.
Well, whatever happens, it will be great to experience a Zambian
wedding!
..… Gladys
came to find us (an hour later than planned).
The ladies were waiting for us in one of the classrooms in the school
part of the building. There were about
20+ ladies gathered, many of whom I had met already through the literacy class,
and we were ushered in to sit behind a desk at the front. A very friendly and bubbly sister, Chanda,
was in place to translate for us. The
worship time was very short and, as it was International Women's Day, Prisca led everyone in a passionate prayer
for all women around the world living in difficult situations. She then introduced Hannah and myself and
then I was asked to share.
I related
much of what I said to Pastor Nyirongo’s ministry the previous weekend, on
relationships and unity, talking about commitment and devotion to Jesus and His
body. I shared some of my own testimony
in this, bringing in themes of community, common purse living, celibacy and
serving in the body of Christ. They seemed to really appreciate it.
It was a very
strange experience though because, once I had shared, they all applauded and we
were then led (round the back of the marriage ceremony) to the rest room,
served with Fanta and biscuits and then left alone, the ladies returning to the
room. Hannah and I just looked at each
other :-/ … what are we supposed to do now?
Sit here til our lift arrives in 2-3hours time? We would like to have spent some time with
the ladies and had time to talk to them and pray, but that didn't seem to be the plan … we decided to
go and track-down some of the young people.
The orphanage was surprisingly deserted. There were one or two children around, but
not many. After some time a few more
appeared so we decided to all go to the IT suite and make use of the quieter
time to get some practice in. They are
all becoming much more confident with the equipment already which is really
encouraging to see. Some were creating
pictures and their names on ‘paint’, others browsing the sample videos and
pictures, whilst others were accessing the Mavis Beacon programme we had
installed to develop typing skills. This has been a very successful project which will continue once we have gone home. I plan to take the Literacy class to the suite on Monday and Tuesday to introduce them to websites which will help them with their future studies.
Back home, we had a fairly chilled remainder of the day, which was very welcome.
It's now Sunday afternoon and, again, it has been a time to chill and unwind. We went with Pastor George Banda to his pioneering church plant in town (they are a daughter congregation to All Nations Harvest Church). A great bunch of enthusiastic people 9about 10 adults and 3 or 4 children) who want to see their congregation grow. It is difficult because most of them don't live in the area, and they don't have funds for literature/banners etc to show that they are meeting in this community centre, so do pray for them. Sanchie, a young single mum, led a very enthusiastic intercession time, followed by Yvonne leading us in worship (just voices and clapping - no instruments here). George had asked if I would speak with them, so I was able to share my testimony about pioneering a new congregation. They were very encouraged. George went on to minister on how they need to work together as a team.
On the way home, we stopped up outside 'The Hungry Lion' for a take-away chicken and chips. A day off for the ladies cooking today! We sat with the doors open whilst we waited for George and Yvonne to return, not just for the fact that it is again incredibly hot, but because there were 9 of us squashed in the back of the car :D
The only other thing with this is you end up with salesmen at your door; we had someone trying to sell us car phone chargers, perfume, brooms and one young lad who even produced an invoice for his college fees and asked if I could contribute anything toward them ..... oh this is sooo tough!
It's been impossible to sit outside today with the heat, so have caught up with some washing and begun to sort my cases for the return journey as Monday and Tuesday are likely to be very busy so don't want to leave it all to the last minute. This last part of the visit seems to have flown by! Time to knuckle down now and prepare for the last two teaching sessions xx
Back home, we had a fairly chilled remainder of the day, which was very welcome.
It's now Sunday afternoon and, again, it has been a time to chill and unwind. We went with Pastor George Banda to his pioneering church plant in town (they are a daughter congregation to All Nations Harvest Church). A great bunch of enthusiastic people 9about 10 adults and 3 or 4 children) who want to see their congregation grow. It is difficult because most of them don't live in the area, and they don't have funds for literature/banners etc to show that they are meeting in this community centre, so do pray for them. Sanchie, a young single mum, led a very enthusiastic intercession time, followed by Yvonne leading us in worship (just voices and clapping - no instruments here). George had asked if I would speak with them, so I was able to share my testimony about pioneering a new congregation. They were very encouraged. George went on to minister on how they need to work together as a team.
On the way home, we stopped up outside 'The Hungry Lion' for a take-away chicken and chips. A day off for the ladies cooking today! We sat with the doors open whilst we waited for George and Yvonne to return, not just for the fact that it is again incredibly hot, but because there were 9 of us squashed in the back of the car :D
The only other thing with this is you end up with salesmen at your door; we had someone trying to sell us car phone chargers, perfume, brooms and one young lad who even produced an invoice for his college fees and asked if I could contribute anything toward them ..... oh this is sooo tough!
It's been impossible to sit outside today with the heat, so have caught up with some washing and begun to sort my cases for the return journey as Monday and Tuesday are likely to be very busy so don't want to leave it all to the last minute. This last part of the visit seems to have flown by! Time to knuckle down now and prepare for the last two teaching sessions xx
Thursday 6 March 2014
Zambia 2014 - Diary 5
Sorry, haven't been on line this week to update my blog, so this is a mighty long one if you're up for it ...
Well, it's been very busy since Len, Ian and Farayi set off on Saturday morning (understatement, but you get the idea). Pastor Nathan Nyirongo picked us up from Pastor George Banda's home this morning as George pastors a daughter congregation in town; a very new and small gathering (we have said we would like to join him next weekend).
On arrival at All Nations Harvest Church we were greeted at the car by a steward(ess) wearing black skirt and buttercup yellow blouse. She took our bags and led us down the aisle to the sofas reserved at the front (not very comfortable with this arrangement, particularly with the stark reality of poverty that we have lived among this week in this very building; too many divides, but this is not the time to protest). Hannah and I sat with Gladys, Stephen's wife, and Jimmy sat across the way with Pastor Nathan. Worship was in full swing, led by a dozen singers dressed in black and bright red or orange, and it was very uplifting. From time to time a lady, dressed in black and royal blue, would quietly drift between our table and the podium to distribute bottles of water and mints.
I would say that there were probably around 250 – 300 adults in the congregation and, apart from a handful of younger children, the absence of the other young people we had met this week was glaringly obvious. It appears that there is something separately run for the children in the school side of the building, but I'm not quite sure, but their absence was noticeable.
Lunch was in the rest room at the back of the church hall, then Jimmy and Hannah spent the afternoon with the youth whilst I dived in to sorting through and logging all the books and resources we had sent over, ready for Monday morning. It's been decided that we need to set up a proper library facility where teachers and individuals alike need to sign out resources in order to make sure they don't disappear or get sold; a good idea as we need to make sure these resources, being all that they have, remain available so all get the benefit of them.
Having been indoors all day now, I decided to get some fresh air. The temperature outside had been in the upper 30s most of the time, but a torrential downpour just after lunch had helped cool things down a bit so it was now quite pleasant, some grey clouds still looming. (When I say 'quite pleasant', I'm saying it's now upper 20s instead). I had a little wonder around the complex, taking some photos and awaiting the return of the youth. When they came strolling back across the tarmac road, some of the older ones wanted to try using my camera, so we had an impromptu photo shoot; them all taking it in turns to have a photo with 'Auntie'. They are such a warm and caring group of young people; looking out for each other and showing such respect for their elders. I really am going to miss them! It’s amazing to have become so much a part of their lives this last week, it’s going to be hard leaving them. Something I have noticed in the time we have been here is that you don’t hear children arguing, squabbling or screaming hysterically. Probably because there is nothing to get in to a tizzy about, but it is a glaring reality. Really makes you wonder …
On our return home, Hannah and I decided to try and rig our mozzie nets up between the curtain rails, having had a bad night’s sleep the night before with them buzzing around my head. Success!! Then we prepared to link up with Northampton on Skype. It was so cool to hear Huw's voice; a voice from home, but strange knowing that we were being projected onto a huge screen for all to see, yet only being able to see our own faces. The connection wasn't wonderful so we kept getting cut off, but I think we managed to convey something of our journey so far, despite feeling extremely hot, tired and bordering on hysteria.
At noon I met with six of the teachers themselves to discuss teaching methods, talk them through the reading and writing materials and how they could make the most of the resources we had brought over. They had many questions to ask about teaching so it was a good time of sharing experience and UK practice with them. Now being aware that there is a baby class and reception grade too, we discussed equipment that would be good to purchase for them which I could source in the next couple of days.
Well, it’s 14 hundred hours and there are only 3 people here for the class. Could this be it or should I assume others are on their way, after all, we are in Zambia. This is going to be a mission … I would like to do an initial assessment to get an idea of what people are expecting to achieve on this course, and to get a gauge of their levels, but not sure when to start. Finally, after about 25mins we got started as we now had 18 people in the room and had had to draft in more tables. I opted to open with ‘Muli shani’ (how are you?) which was obviously a good move. ‘Bwino’ came the response (fine!). All went well, considering the echo of young voices around the rafters above the partitions, the fact we had no light and there was little coming through the slats up near the ceiling, and everyone was now sitting shoulder to shoulder and knees to backs! We are now 29!! I was much relieved to get to the end of this first class, and quite amused to see 2 more turn up (just a little late lol). Well, tonight is going to be a late one planning tomorrow’s class; we have 2 or 3 complete beginners, some very strong advanced learners, and 20+ others in between :-/ … Must ask if we can use the church hall tomorrow.
Agness (the Principal) and Pastor Nathan were beaming with good reports about the class which was very encouraging, especially as the church is already making an income from this, but more so because one lady who came asked what time the Sunday morning service would be. But Pastor Nathan was concerned to hear that we hadn't had lunch provided today but we all assured him none of us had really had time or need of it today; it was so hot.
We met in the main hall. This was much better seating wise and, following the marking of assessments, I had divided the class in to four more manageable groups. If I thought it would be plain sailing from here and I could just get on with teaching, I couldn't have been more wrong; we had a power-cut which meant no lights and no CD player, and 8 more people turned up for the class so needed assessing! Don’t ask how I managed it but I did and everyone seemed to leave happy; I believe in miracles :)
After supper, Pastor George and his neighbour, Bwaly, took us to the Progress Medical Centre; a private clinic. Hannah had been diagnosed earlier in the day as having an allergic reaction to a bite so we were returning for her second injection of the day. In the car, before going in, we managed to get a Skype connection with the Living Light saints who were gathering for agape. It was great to see them all (another welcome taste of home) and doubly blessed as I’d forgotten Lizzie would be there (doh!). Driving home from the clinic we managed to get a connection with the Abundant Grace crew too!! That was so cool!! I even managed to carry the laptop in to our host house and introduce them to everyone.
Wednesday was another veeeeeeeery hot day! But the electricity was back on so we had light in the main hall, and in the IT suite the laptops weren't dependent on just their batteries so Jimmy, Simon and Hannah could continue to instruct people on the computers. A loaf of bread and some scrambled egg appeared for lunch today, but I was already teaching by then, and feeling quite sick as well, so gave it a miss. Keeping good hygiene here at the centre is a tricky business and needs to be of highest priority, but there is no running water in the building which doesn't make it easy, especially when needing the loo. A large bucket with cut-down squash bottle for scooping out the water acts as the flush, and we've bought wipes and alcohol gel for hands but it’s not quite the same …
Today’s teaching was much easier and straight-forward despite having two more new students (it balances out as not everyone seems to come at the same time, but we still average between 25-30 per session). Pastor Nathan came in for his usual catch-up with us at the end of the afternoon. We (and he) were shocked to hear that one of the older lads had collapsed yesterday. He went on to tell us Sanga had felt dizzy when he came out of the IT suite, but Nathan found him later, collapsed outside. They immediately took him to clinic where he was found to be suffering from the onset of malaria. Through this event, Nathan had discovered that not only had we been without lunch, but the orphans hadn't been fed either (the difference being, we went home to a meal at our hosts homes at the end of the day!) He explained to us the difficulties they had had with catering and house mothers and determined to sort this present situation out.
It’s always a breath of fresh air for me to go and sit out in the yard with the orphanage children at the end of the afternoon as I usually end up with an hour or so til our lift comes to take us home. Today was no exception and, having been inside for some time, it was good to get out in the sun. I went and stood where Hannah was sat with a few of the girls, chatting and watching the boys having a kick around. One of the boys immediately disappeared round the front of the building, then came back carrying a battered old plastic chair, ‘Sit down Auntie.’ Sitting listening to the girls chatting I decided to let my hair down to give my neck some protection against the blazing sun (incredible how hot it is even at 5pm). Immediately I was surrounded by many little hands plaiting and playing with my hair. It was very therapeutic after such a very busy day and I began to sit and reflect over the events and eye-opening situations. Young Katherine was in front of me, playing with my hair, smiling so peacefully. I was recalling how she was one of the first little girls I had spoken to when I arrived here and had said to me, ‘I want you to take me’, and how I couldn't get her to smile, but here she was, constantly smiling and content. As I studied her I noted her extremely grubby buttercup yellow school blouse, her dusty dirty holey green skirt, and her bare soiled feet (she often asks me to buy her boots, but where do you start when she’s one of many here). The thought of them having had no food, and how susceptible they are to disease (and death) it was suddenly too much and I had to excuse myself to go to the ‘toilet’ for a few minutes to compose myself. As Nathan had said in an email to me some months ago, the needs of the orphans here are many and finances are stretched. Let’s hope these projects truly make the impact they need to make on the lives of these young people.
Hannah and I had a slower start to the day today (Thursday). We had risen early to go in to town when George dropped Jimmy to the coach station, but he forgot us. It was probably a bit of divine intervention as I had been quite unwell the night before; something had seriously disagreed with me. The medicine we had brought with us was, fortunately, very effective so all was well, but the chill probably did us good.
We headed in to town for a few more bits for the projects and grabbed a sandwich while we were at it as felt we were in need of something today, and grabbed some bottled water too. This turned out to be good planning. Food we could survive without, but don’t plan to get dehydrated in this heat; would render us useless to everyone and an extra burden they sure can do without.
Again, the literacy class went well, but folks are beginning to ask what will happen when I return to the UK. Indeed, what will happen? Pastor Nathan has vision to continue the class, but it will probably fall to him to man it. I have said I will introduce the learners to some very good educational websites next Monday before I go, so they can access some self-study sites too at their leisure.
Went to sit out with the children again this afternoon. Clouds were gathering in the distance and a few rumbles of thunder were resounding but it was still very pleasant to be sitting out. The older boys were, again, having a kick around. I took my laptop out so that I could get them all to help me spell their names correctly against some of the photos I had posted on Facebook. Sanga came strolling out of the orphanage; it was so good to see him on his feet again. He said the medication was working well. I asked if this was the first time he had had a bout like this but he said not. He said that all African’s probably carry the parasite; it was something you have to accept in life because of the presence of mosquitos, so you just have to deal with it when it knocks you down. The lack of food the last two days probably hadn't helped.
I had brought several snack packs of apricots out. I had brought them in my suitcase but hadn't fancied them. Sanga immediately took charge and shared them out, instructing the other children, in Bemba, who was to share with who as there weren't enough for everyone. No-one argued, and did exactly as they were told so that everyone had some and no-one took more than their fair share. He’s 15 years old, and quite a shepherd among this little flock. Will be good to see how God uses this young man – had had some interesting conversations with him over the weekend. He noted that I was on Facebook and said he had an account he got to check occasionally; I added him as a friend – will be one way of keeping a connection with the others through him.
They wanted to see pictures on my computer of England and to see what English money looked like, so I showed them and compared it to kwacha. They are so fascinated by it all; this other world. They noted my passport in my bag and jokingly asked if I could get home without it … hmmm.
The thunder clouds were now gathering and Pastor George had arrived to take us home. Looks like we’re in for some rain tonight, but boy don’t we need it!
Quite some time since I've had time to jump on
the computer for any length of time, apart from our Skype conversations with
folks at the Jesus Centre Northampton on Sunday, then to Living Light and
Abundant Grace's agape gatherings on Tuesday, and also a catch-up with Josie
and George last night.
Well, it's been very busy since Len, Ian and Farayi set off on Saturday morning (understatement, but you get the idea). Pastor Nathan Nyirongo picked us up from Pastor George Banda's home this morning as George pastors a daughter congregation in town; a very new and small gathering (we have said we would like to join him next weekend).
On arrival at All Nations Harvest Church we were greeted at the car by a steward(ess) wearing black skirt and buttercup yellow blouse. She took our bags and led us down the aisle to the sofas reserved at the front (not very comfortable with this arrangement, particularly with the stark reality of poverty that we have lived among this week in this very building; too many divides, but this is not the time to protest). Hannah and I sat with Gladys, Stephen's wife, and Jimmy sat across the way with Pastor Nathan. Worship was in full swing, led by a dozen singers dressed in black and bright red or orange, and it was very uplifting. From time to time a lady, dressed in black and royal blue, would quietly drift between our table and the podium to distribute bottles of water and mints.
I would say that there were probably around 250 – 300 adults in the congregation and, apart from a handful of younger children, the absence of the other young people we had met this week was glaringly obvious. It appears that there is something separately run for the children in the school side of the building, but I'm not quite sure, but their absence was noticeable.
Pastor Nathan bought the word with great passion and strength. I'm
seeing a different side to this man who covers the church in Bishop's absence
and I can see why he does; a man passionate for the church and its people.
He talked about relationships and the need for unity: 'Where is your
brother/sister?'
The announcements at the end included references to the IT and
literacy projects beginning tomorrow for two weeks (hmm, that’s clever as we
fly home on Wednesday of the second week … never mind), and also that there
would be a ladies meeting next Saturday morning, which happens to be National
Ladies Day. Gladys puts her hand on my
arm, ‘Did Bishop mention to you about taking this meeting?’ No, but Len mentioned in passing that there
was a meeting they’d like me to be a part of.
Didn’t realise I was the guest speaker … deep breath!
Lunch was in the rest room at the back of the church hall, then Jimmy and Hannah spent the afternoon with the youth whilst I dived in to sorting through and logging all the books and resources we had sent over, ready for Monday morning. It's been decided that we need to set up a proper library facility where teachers and individuals alike need to sign out resources in order to make sure they don't disappear or get sold; a good idea as we need to make sure these resources, being all that they have, remain available so all get the benefit of them.
Having been indoors all day now, I decided to get some fresh air. The temperature outside had been in the upper 30s most of the time, but a torrential downpour just after lunch had helped cool things down a bit so it was now quite pleasant, some grey clouds still looming. (When I say 'quite pleasant', I'm saying it's now upper 20s instead). I had a little wonder around the complex, taking some photos and awaiting the return of the youth. When they came strolling back across the tarmac road, some of the older ones wanted to try using my camera, so we had an impromptu photo shoot; them all taking it in turns to have a photo with 'Auntie'. They are such a warm and caring group of young people; looking out for each other and showing such respect for their elders. I really am going to miss them! It’s amazing to have become so much a part of their lives this last week, it’s going to be hard leaving them. Something I have noticed in the time we have been here is that you don’t hear children arguing, squabbling or screaming hysterically. Probably because there is nothing to get in to a tizzy about, but it is a glaring reality. Really makes you wonder …
On our return home, Hannah and I decided to try and rig our mozzie nets up between the curtain rails, having had a bad night’s sleep the night before with them buzzing around my head. Success!! Then we prepared to link up with Northampton on Skype. It was so cool to hear Huw's voice; a voice from home, but strange knowing that we were being projected onto a huge screen for all to see, yet only being able to see our own faces. The connection wasn't wonderful so we kept getting cut off, but I think we managed to convey something of our journey so far, despite feeling extremely hot, tired and bordering on hysteria.
Monday morning two young
lads are methodically sweeping the huge church hall. I was curious to see how they would remove
the dirt. It was eventually swept in to a neat pile and then, yup, scooped up
with the hands and carried off outside.
I presented the reading books and CD players to the children and
principal of the school. They were so grateful and appreciative. It was
very difficult for these children to see all these books and then walk away
from them. 'Can you give me one,' was whispered from the lips of several
as they filed passed me, back to class. I reassured them that their
teachers would be letting them read them in due course.
At noon I met with six of the teachers themselves to discuss teaching methods, talk them through the reading and writing materials and how they could make the most of the resources we had brought over. They had many questions to ask about teaching so it was a good time of sharing experience and UK practice with them. Now being aware that there is a baby class and reception grade too, we discussed equipment that would be good to purchase for them which I could source in the next couple of days.
I then decided to take a stroll round to the IT suite;
the sun was so blazing hot and bright I could hardly keep my eyes open. 30+
people have been turning up for training sessions, most of them being local pastors. I didn't hang around long, but headed back to
gather myself for the first literacy class.
Nerves were beginning to kick in as I was aware that there had been
great excitement about this literacy class for some time and, going by the
folks who had been turning up at the IT class, my stomach was beginning to
churn. Good job no lunch appeared today
as I don’t think I could have eaten a thing.
The class was to be held in the entrance room to the
school. I walked round to find that
school was just finishing, the corridors streaming with lots of tiny people in
buttercup yellow and dark green, wide-eyed, whilst lots of tiny children were carrying
huge desks round to the room for me. Today
I received lots of smiles and waves; obviously getting used to me being around
now. One child was complaining to the
Principal that another child was speaking Bemba and was told to go and report
it to the teacher. ‘It’s against the school rules’ she whispered to me. ‘They speak it at home, so only English is
allowed in school.’
In the room, a teacher and some more little boys were
busy sweeping chalk dust and red African soil off the floor and wiping down the
desks. Then another young lad of about 7
years appeared with a mop and methodically washed the floor.
Well, it’s 14 hundred hours and there are only 3 people here for the class. Could this be it or should I assume others are on their way, after all, we are in Zambia. This is going to be a mission … I would like to do an initial assessment to get an idea of what people are expecting to achieve on this course, and to get a gauge of their levels, but not sure when to start. Finally, after about 25mins we got started as we now had 18 people in the room and had had to draft in more tables. I opted to open with ‘Muli shani’ (how are you?) which was obviously a good move. ‘Bwino’ came the response (fine!). All went well, considering the echo of young voices around the rafters above the partitions, the fact we had no light and there was little coming through the slats up near the ceiling, and everyone was now sitting shoulder to shoulder and knees to backs! We are now 29!! I was much relieved to get to the end of this first class, and quite amused to see 2 more turn up (just a little late lol). Well, tonight is going to be a late one planning tomorrow’s class; we have 2 or 3 complete beginners, some very strong advanced learners, and 20+ others in between :-/ … Must ask if we can use the church hall tomorrow.
Agness (the Principal) and Pastor Nathan were beaming with good reports about the class which was very encouraging, especially as the church is already making an income from this, but more so because one lady who came asked what time the Sunday morning service would be. But Pastor Nathan was concerned to hear that we hadn't had lunch provided today but we all assured him none of us had really had time or need of it today; it was so hot.
Tuesday, and I kind of get the impression there’s a lack of organisation or funds somewhere along the line;
biscuits and fizzy for lunch today ... hey-ho!
We met in the main hall. This was much better seating wise and, following the marking of assessments, I had divided the class in to four more manageable groups. If I thought it would be plain sailing from here and I could just get on with teaching, I couldn't have been more wrong; we had a power-cut which meant no lights and no CD player, and 8 more people turned up for the class so needed assessing! Don’t ask how I managed it but I did and everyone seemed to leave happy; I believe in miracles :)
After supper, Pastor George and his neighbour, Bwaly, took us to the Progress Medical Centre; a private clinic. Hannah had been diagnosed earlier in the day as having an allergic reaction to a bite so we were returning for her second injection of the day. In the car, before going in, we managed to get a Skype connection with the Living Light saints who were gathering for agape. It was great to see them all (another welcome taste of home) and doubly blessed as I’d forgotten Lizzie would be there (doh!). Driving home from the clinic we managed to get a connection with the Abundant Grace crew too!! That was so cool!! I even managed to carry the laptop in to our host house and introduce them to everyone.
Wednesday was another veeeeeeeery hot day! But the electricity was back on so we had light in the main hall, and in the IT suite the laptops weren't dependent on just their batteries so Jimmy, Simon and Hannah could continue to instruct people on the computers. A loaf of bread and some scrambled egg appeared for lunch today, but I was already teaching by then, and feeling quite sick as well, so gave it a miss. Keeping good hygiene here at the centre is a tricky business and needs to be of highest priority, but there is no running water in the building which doesn't make it easy, especially when needing the loo. A large bucket with cut-down squash bottle for scooping out the water acts as the flush, and we've bought wipes and alcohol gel for hands but it’s not quite the same …
Today’s teaching was much easier and straight-forward despite having two more new students (it balances out as not everyone seems to come at the same time, but we still average between 25-30 per session). Pastor Nathan came in for his usual catch-up with us at the end of the afternoon. We (and he) were shocked to hear that one of the older lads had collapsed yesterday. He went on to tell us Sanga had felt dizzy when he came out of the IT suite, but Nathan found him later, collapsed outside. They immediately took him to clinic where he was found to be suffering from the onset of malaria. Through this event, Nathan had discovered that not only had we been without lunch, but the orphans hadn't been fed either (the difference being, we went home to a meal at our hosts homes at the end of the day!) He explained to us the difficulties they had had with catering and house mothers and determined to sort this present situation out.
It’s always a breath of fresh air for me to go and sit out in the yard with the orphanage children at the end of the afternoon as I usually end up with an hour or so til our lift comes to take us home. Today was no exception and, having been inside for some time, it was good to get out in the sun. I went and stood where Hannah was sat with a few of the girls, chatting and watching the boys having a kick around. One of the boys immediately disappeared round the front of the building, then came back carrying a battered old plastic chair, ‘Sit down Auntie.’ Sitting listening to the girls chatting I decided to let my hair down to give my neck some protection against the blazing sun (incredible how hot it is even at 5pm). Immediately I was surrounded by many little hands plaiting and playing with my hair. It was very therapeutic after such a very busy day and I began to sit and reflect over the events and eye-opening situations. Young Katherine was in front of me, playing with my hair, smiling so peacefully. I was recalling how she was one of the first little girls I had spoken to when I arrived here and had said to me, ‘I want you to take me’, and how I couldn't get her to smile, but here she was, constantly smiling and content. As I studied her I noted her extremely grubby buttercup yellow school blouse, her dusty dirty holey green skirt, and her bare soiled feet (she often asks me to buy her boots, but where do you start when she’s one of many here). The thought of them having had no food, and how susceptible they are to disease (and death) it was suddenly too much and I had to excuse myself to go to the ‘toilet’ for a few minutes to compose myself. As Nathan had said in an email to me some months ago, the needs of the orphans here are many and finances are stretched. Let’s hope these projects truly make the impact they need to make on the lives of these young people.
Hannah and I had a slower start to the day today (Thursday). We had risen early to go in to town when George dropped Jimmy to the coach station, but he forgot us. It was probably a bit of divine intervention as I had been quite unwell the night before; something had seriously disagreed with me. The medicine we had brought with us was, fortunately, very effective so all was well, but the chill probably did us good.
We headed in to town for a few more bits for the projects and grabbed a sandwich while we were at it as felt we were in need of something today, and grabbed some bottled water too. This turned out to be good planning. Food we could survive without, but don’t plan to get dehydrated in this heat; would render us useless to everyone and an extra burden they sure can do without.
Again, the literacy class went well, but folks are beginning to ask what will happen when I return to the UK. Indeed, what will happen? Pastor Nathan has vision to continue the class, but it will probably fall to him to man it. I have said I will introduce the learners to some very good educational websites next Monday before I go, so they can access some self-study sites too at their leisure.
Went to sit out with the children again this afternoon. Clouds were gathering in the distance and a few rumbles of thunder were resounding but it was still very pleasant to be sitting out. The older boys were, again, having a kick around. I took my laptop out so that I could get them all to help me spell their names correctly against some of the photos I had posted on Facebook. Sanga came strolling out of the orphanage; it was so good to see him on his feet again. He said the medication was working well. I asked if this was the first time he had had a bout like this but he said not. He said that all African’s probably carry the parasite; it was something you have to accept in life because of the presence of mosquitos, so you just have to deal with it when it knocks you down. The lack of food the last two days probably hadn't helped.
I had brought several snack packs of apricots out. I had brought them in my suitcase but hadn't fancied them. Sanga immediately took charge and shared them out, instructing the other children, in Bemba, who was to share with who as there weren't enough for everyone. No-one argued, and did exactly as they were told so that everyone had some and no-one took more than their fair share. He’s 15 years old, and quite a shepherd among this little flock. Will be good to see how God uses this young man – had had some interesting conversations with him over the weekend. He noted that I was on Facebook and said he had an account he got to check occasionally; I added him as a friend – will be one way of keeping a connection with the others through him.
They wanted to see pictures on my computer of England and to see what English money looked like, so I showed them and compared it to kwacha. They are so fascinated by it all; this other world. They noted my passport in my bag and jokingly asked if I could get home without it … hmmm.
The thunder clouds were now gathering and Pastor George had arrived to take us home. Looks like we’re in for some rain tonight, but boy don’t we need it!
Saturday 1 March 2014
Zambia 2014 - diary 4
Diary 4 (Saturday 1st March):
Well, looks like it’s gonna be another hot one today. It’s 11am and we
are still waiting for our 9/10am lift.
Len text to say there was a hold-up at the coach station so they were
having to wait for the next coach. I
guess Pastor George has waited with them, so we will have to sit tight …. Gives
me a chance to get ahead of myself with my diary as I didn’t manage yesterday.
I am sitting in the lounge, the door open, listening to a man next door
fervently, and very loudly praying and has been now for some time. Reminds me of the few months we had a
Congolese brother staying with us in our community house in Seaford; he would
be in the garden praying like this in the early morning and late in the evening
– suddenly all makes so much more sense.
Only difference here is that the neighbours don’t complain.
George and James have arrived so off we go ….
Arrived at the church to see lots of the children from the orphanage
eagerly awaiting our arrival. Pastor
Nathan said they had been waiting since 8am.
Unfortunately we had to take a run in to town first to change up some
money and get supplies for the IT and literacy projects beginning on Monday, so
they would have to wait a bit longer.
Jimmy jumped out to in order to press on with setting up the IT suite.
Town was even busier than before. Being totally unaware of the day, let
alone the time, we suddenly realised it was Saturday! Banks were already beginning to close, and
all the shops would be shut by 2 or 3pm. We went to two banks but they were
already closed and George was beginning to look concerned as we needed to get
some local currency. I noticed down the
road there was a Barclays bank. I suggested
we go here as I had connections with Barclays back home. He didn’t seem overly confident and didn’t
really want to go in, but we did. Two
very quick conversations and I was at the counter – sorted! Phew!
Now to find some CD players, but it was proving difficult to describe to
Pastor George exactly what it was we needed.
We went to two or three shops with no success, then we headed down a
street that was incredibly busy, then had to push our way into a store which
looked like it contained all sorts of household goods from fridge-freezers to
wardrobes. It was a mission to get
through the door and we nearly lost George.
There were no lights or windows in this store and having just come in
from the sunlight, it was impossible to see a thing. The aisles were incredibly
narrow and we bashed our legs on unseen objects here and there. Eventually we were led to what was supposed
to be a CD player with speakers. It took
me quite some time to adjust my eyes to make out the Samsung equipment but it
had been reduced by a couple of hundred kwacha so was looking good. We ordered
two and immediately George started to barter.
The guy laughed and I assume he was saying in Bemba that it was already
reduced, but he did knock a bit off the price.
We headed to the counter and left George to join the queue, while we
stood people watching – trolleys constantly pushing past with large items
people had just bought, lots of ladies buying up household goods. It was
incredibly noisy and got worse when two ladies had an obvious disagreement over
something and then a whole host joined in.
George was soon back for some more cash as they wouldn’t allow the
discount being that it was Saturday (there busiest day). He said there were a
lot of ladies in the store as buying goods for kitchen parties were common
place when young women in the family were due to get married. We pushed our way back out of the store, but
George stopped to talk to the man at the door (it is impossible to go directly
from A to B with George as he talks to everyone, whether he knows them or not –
a real people person who likes to bring a smile to people’s faces). This time, it turns out he was employing a
lad to carry the two boxes back to our car. This would require a tip (about
5kwacha – 49p) Getting back to the car
was a mission as there are no pedestrian lights so lots of jay-walking is
required and although most drivers are accommodating, there are those that like
to take their chances. I noticed that
Pastor George’s limp seems more obvious today – a sure sign he is very tired.
He, his wife and household family have worked hard to accommodate us and George
has done an awful lot of driving us all around.
His wife spent yesterday in bed and we didn’t see her this morning, so
when I asked him about it, he said that she has had malaria in the past and she
has been struck again as she likes to host, but has burnt herself out a
bit. George asked if we would mind going
in to the supermarket alone while he kipped in the car. We were familiar with this store now with the
dos and don’ts so we were fine, and he was only a phone call away. We determined to pray for Yvonne that
evening.
Getting back to the church proved a mission as there was a football
match on in the local stadium. The roads
and footpaths alike were streaming with cars and people. This added a new dimension to free for all
driving. Everyone needed to get
somewhere quickly so there was lots of hooting (more than usual) and
overtaking, even by buses on the dust footpaths – crazy!
Back at the church the children were eagerly awaiting our return so
straight to business. Sharon (a 32 year
old lady who runs the orphanage) and I helped Hannah carry out the footballs,
skipping ropes and t-shirts. Sharon was
keen that this was an orderly and formal occasion so Hannah stood in the yard
whilst 20 young faces lined the wall of the church. It had been decided that only 4 footballs
would be given to the children on this occasion to share, and the others kept
in store should they become lost or broken.
Once the ceremony was over and they could get on a play it was much more
relaxed. We all headed to the green
across the road and there we were to spend the next few hours. Hats and sun-cream were essential at this
time of day, but I’m not sure they accomplished much. This proved to be a very precious time; we
played all sorts of games with the girls whilst Jimmy joined the lads in a game
of footy. It was a real bonding time
with these girls whose ages ranged from about 9-15 years of age. We had a lot
of laughs together. Most of the children
seem to have a mum somewhere, but because they are part of such a big family,
they can’t afford to be kept at home so they had become street children. I can’t count how many times I have been
asked to ‘take me back with you’, to bring something next time I come, or
‘please don’t forget us’. One girl flung
her arms tight around my waist and cried begging me not to forget them when we
had gone back to the UK. I have said I
will write and send them some pictures.
Later I showed them pictures of my children and friends back home. They were blown away, especially when they
saw the pictures of some of the fundraising activities that had taken place to
raise money for the equipment we had taken over. One lad of 15 years exclaimed, ‘wow, those
people in the UK have really sacrificed for us!’ He was extremely moved. Toward the end of the afternoon on the green,
we had all sat around on the grass, exhausted, chatting. This same lad, Francis, had said how he would
like to eventually study law and asked us lots of questions about life in the
UK compared to Zambia. He was a very
astute young man, very genuinely caring toward the other young people there; he
had a very wise head on young shoulders.
Will be interesting to see where he is in a few years’ time.
One thing that is sadly and incredibly obvious is the loss of family
members due to Malaria. It’s big! Even
Sharon lost her husband in her mid-twenties (7 years ago) and tears welled up
as she was telling Hannah about it. Must
pray for Yvonne this evening ….
Zambia 2014 - diary 3
Diary 3 (Friday 28th February):
It was the last day of the Multiply Conference today, so Hannah, James
and I went with the big guy (Pastor George) in to town to sort a dongle for our
laptop. Feels so strange to be looked at
all the time and the locals don’t hold back in calling out after you; not
usually offensive, but they need to say something even just to state you are
white man J We
stopped off at an MTN store and took a ticket to await our turn. Several numbers later, and even more minutes,
our host decided to go negotiate; we were done and dusted 5 minutes later and
on our way back to the car! Love this bartering lark; sack the number machine
lol. On then in to town cos James was in
need of a razor ….. very busy morning.
Back at the church dinner soon arrived; nshima (very filling), potato
salad, coleslaw, big chunks of beef, Kapanda (little fish with their eyes still
in – errr), and spring greens (Yum!).
The ladies who serve the meals always bring a bowl, towel and jug of
water which they pour out slowly to allow you to wash your hands before
eating. This is so good as there isn’t a
sink with running water here (this makes good hygiene very difficult when it
comes to toileting too whilst on these premises).
After lunch I had a little walk around the premises. School had just
clocked off (13:30) so I had a little chat with Agness, the school
principal. There were a number of
children waiting to be picked up and the little girl, who cried at the school
on our first visit, was being place in a pushchair (the only one I’ve seen
since leaving the UK!) I made a comment
to the ladies I was chatting with who implied these were a great invention. Made me laugh!! I told her how there is an
increase in young mums in the UK carrying their babies the way they do in
Africa; strapped to their bodies with a piece of material. They were very surprise J As we talked, a car pulled up and 4 children
jumped in to the front passenger seat, 3 on the back seat, and 4 tiny tots
climbed over in to the boot space! They were all under the age of 9 years –
Wow!
Later, Hannah and I met half a dozen girls outside, four of them from
the orphanage. They had been singing
songs for Hannah and now wanted us to teach them one. We made up a verse of ‘If I were a butterfly
...’ Not the greatest of singers, but they enjoyed it. They then wanted us to play games with them
so Suzen, with such ease and barefooted, scaled the side of the building on to
a flat roof in order to throw down a long piece of elastic they had found and
proceeded to show us some of the dancing, leaping games they play with it. They were like young gazelles the way they
lept around. We showed them some of the
games we used to play at school with a similar elastic. This was a great time and the first
opportunity we had had to get to know any of the children individually. The little girl from yesterday was there too,
Katherine. They then asked if we wanted
to go see a ‘maggot’. It didn’t sound
very inviting but we tried to look as interested as possible. We then followed them around to the front of
the church, insisting on carrying our bags, bottles and even pen and notepad –
even the children, however young or poor, won’t actually allow you to carry
anything. I thought it was because they
liked to be able to touch these new things, but it really is because this is
how they have learnt to serve; very humbling.
They indicated that we needed to go across the road, to the waste land
opposite. We weren’t too sure, so
checked with Pastor Gladys (Stephen’s wife) who said it was ok but to take care
and not be long. Across the road turned
out to be another world; behind the mound was a large playing field area, very
well warn and dusty, with battered goal posts at each end (football really is
the thing here). It was absolutely
packed with young men and boys of all ages.
We turned aside as the girls indicated that the maggot was very near ….
it turned out to be a very lovely white rabbit! Too our relief. By this time we had walked in to a small
complex of lots of little huts/shops selling anything from mobile top ups to popcorn. All eyes were intensely on us, and of course
the girls. I was beginning to feel a
little uncomfortable as there was a growing sense of expectation for us to buy
something, from the vendors and the girls, so we suggested it would be good to
head back now as we had been gone a while and were now out of sight of the
church. We made our way back, having to
shake off one or two young men wanting to know who we were and where we were
going.
Back at the church the conference was drawing to a close; the worship
and ministry time sounded awesome.
After, Bishop Stephen summoned us to a meeting with himself, Pastor
Nathan who would be standing in as co-ordinator in his absence, and Agness who
is in charge of the school. He briefed
us on what his expectations were for the week ahead as this would be the last
time we would see him. He asked if there
was anything we needed to know, and then gave us strict instructions not to
travel anywhere without the watchful eye of Pastor George with us and
definitely not after dark, and that anything we needed or any difficulties we
had, we were to contact Pastor Nathan who would sort it all out. Reassuring to feel in such good hands! It’s very difficult to describe how life is
here; it’s not that it’s a dangerous, unsafe place, or even that the people are
harsh or rude, but there are huge expectations of you being from the West and
people have no hesitation in making very direct requests of you (can’t easily
hide; kind of stand out in the crowd, though I think the tan is coming on now).
We all bundled in to the car again (all 7 of us) and trundled off across
town to find a barber to cut Len’s mop of hair.
We drove through the CBU (Copperbelt University) grounds, just to have a
look. Pastor George had to get us
through security first, who were a little suspicious so we decided we would
need to take a different route back home.
We found the barbers so Len nipped off with George while the rest of us
chilled round the car. Farayi bought
some roasted maze for us to munch on – very nice! Then it dawned on us that it was now dark and
we needed to spray on our defences.
Back home, we presented young Agape (Pastor George and Yvonne’s son)
with a football, a book of 100 bible stories, and a set of Narnia books. He was soooo happy as he doesn’t have any
books or games at home!
Another amazing meal we headed for bed.
Something very large and buzzy flew past my ear and landed as I was
getting ready for bed last night. I
brushed it quickly away but couldn’t see it anywhere. When I told Hannah about it, she saw it on the
bed and immediately lept across the bed, football pump in hand a bashed it (and
everything else en route) until it was no more.
Horrible looking thing; had teeth ‘n’ everything … well …. hmmm ….
didn’t stop us sleeping like logs though!
Friday 28 February 2014
Zambia 2014 - diary 2
Diary 2 (Thurs 27th February):
Well, today began with an amazing breakfast of
porridge, bread and fried eggs, a pot of hot water, milk and guava juice. We fed well and awaited our transport to the
church/conference centre. Pastor George
arrived with Len and Ian who were impressed with our accommodation. We went on to pick up James and Farayi, back
along the potholed roads. We waved to
the lads that James had been out playing footy with the night before. It’s amazing to be staying in these homes
where the people are; such a privilege and an eye-opener – so glad we weren’t
in a hotel.
At the church, Ian was impressed at the initial
site of the work they had managed to do to the premises since his last
visit. We were ushered in to a back room
to make ourselves comfortable, shown where water was stored, and reacquainted
with our boxes of supplies, shipped in the weeks ahead of our visit.
We all then went in to join the beginning of the
conference where they were already in full worship. We were ushered on to sofas which made up the
front row, with the delegates of the conference on wooden benches behind. This felt a little uncomfortable but is
customary for them so had make good of the situation. We soon had opportunity
to move around and greet people. This
meeting, personally, I found quite overwhelming and suddenly found myself
overcome at how God had brought us (me) to this place and gave to God all that
I am and have and prayed that we use these next two weeks effectively.
We could hear the children in the next part of the
building so, at the break, Stephen asked us; James, Farayi, Hannah and myself,
to follow him round for a tour of the school and orphanage. We began by seeing some young men working on
constructing some fencing they were going to use to secure the room to be used
for the IT project (we later saw this being installed). Entering the school was
an incredible experience! It’s an
extremely high ceilinged building and there appears to be no electricity so
they rely totally on natural daylight which comes in from barred openings high
up. I was needing to adjust my eyes to take
this in properly. The large area has
been divided up with hardboard partitions to create a central corridor and
maybe 7 or 8 ‘rooms’. Each room caters
for 1 or 2 year groups ranging from about 9 to 25/30 children in each, sat
around small wooden desks – these being very overcrowded in the larger
classes. Each teacher has a blackboard
easel of sorts and there are a few basic pictures on the walls. Greeting the children is very hard to
describe; you get the feeling that most haven’t seen a white person before,
some wanting just to touch your skin and starring deeply into your face. We shook hands with all of them; some were
happy to shake hands and others wanted to curtsey. One class stood to their feet and started
singing, ‘The love of God is very wonderful …’ The teacher said it was because
they were so happy to see us. I think
we’ve got our work cut out for us this next couple of weeks, and I’d really
like to spend some quality time with these amazing young people; the next
generation, and to make friends with the youngest pupil (16months old) who
cried at the sight of us.
We went on for a tour of the orphanage; 4 or 5
rooms fully bunked out, a couple of mosquito nets dotted around, string around
to suffice as a wardrobe, and one shelf for a handful of writing
materials. I didn’t see any washroom
facilities but I guess they are sparse and open to disease due to lack of
water. One lad was home as he hadn’t
been feeling too well. He looked rather
forlorn and lonely sat there, the reality that there is then nothing to do
other than to sit and think.
It’s lunchtime and we have now (again) been well
fed (chicken, rice, potato salad, coleslaw and tomato soup and I am trying to
catch up with my diary, sort through the boxes of materials and make some plans
for the next few days as the best way to push this forward ……………………………………….
…………………………………………..
having sorted through the boxes and checked everything had arrived, I decided
to take a stroll around the complex to get some fresh air and some daylight as
rooms tend to remain curtained shut throughout the daytime and I felt in need
of some sunlight. School had now
finished for the day, 13:30 at this time of year, and they had just finished
lunch in the orphanage. Two of the girls
were outside busily doing the washing up – one very large bowl on the ground for
washing off the remains of dinner and one for rinsing. Clothes were also hung out to dry on the
ropes strung from wall to wall. One
young man of around 14 years of age was sat slumped against the wall,
scratching around in the dirt. He sat up
to look smart as I approached and found it very difficult to communicate with
me, not knowing quite what he should or shouldn’t say. Further along the wall
of the building a girl in a pretty pink dress of around 7 years was playing by
herself, scratching away at the mortar between the bricks with some small
coloured stones and pieces of glass she had found. I asked what she was playing. She said, ‘Just playing …. I want you to get
me’. Realising that ‘to get me’ meant
she wanted me to take her home with me, so the conversation became a bit stuck
on this point and I found it impossible to make her smile. Weighed down a little with how to break in to
the life and thinking of these young people I continued to stroll. I met Stephen’s wife and some other ladies
from the conference as they left to go home; much excitement is spreading in
terms of the literacy project to begin on Monday …….. as I re-entered the building, the delegates
had dispersed and Jimmy was now happily banging away on the drums, accompanied
by three young men on the keyboard or PA.
Some younger ladies came along to join in by picking up the microphones
and singing. They had amazing voices and
began to freely worship and dance. I realised that the door between the church
hall and orphanage was open and some young faces were gathering to watch from a
distance; one or two slipping in to the pews, including the little girl in the
pink dress. I beckoned them to come over
and join in the singing and dancing but they were hesitant; maybe it wasn’t the
done thing or maybe they were just a bit shy, I wasn’t sure which, but I went
across and took the little girl by the hand and took her to the front with me
to sing, and sing she did. She had a
good voice on her and knew how to worship Jesus. It was warming to now see her smile!
We then headed back
in to town with Pastor George to buy some data sims and check-out the local
supermarket, Shoprite. So glad we had a
local man to guide us as we really would have got a bit stuck left to our own
devices. He chatted to the man on the
MTN stall to sort us a deal on sims and 10mins later we were done. Off now to the supermarket, very aware that
all eyes were on these half dozen white faces.
Our host had to chat to the lady on security to get me in to the
supermarket due to the fact I had a full backpack on, having just come from the
church. I would normally have had to
leave it at the entrance, but she allowed me to take it in. Very thankful as there were some important
documents in there. The supermarket was
packed and reminded me very much of ours back home, even selling green reusable
carrier bags at the checkout. Hannah was
keen to buy a fresh mango and the guys bought various bits of food and
teabags. As we were queuing to pay for
our goods, a lady with her baby approached Hannah and asked for her name and
phone number with no hesitation. Hannah
chatted to her, saying she didn’t have her number on her, but could meet us if
she came to church on Sunday. The lady
wasn’t going to be put off, but Farayi came to the rescue, giving the lady the
address to the church and Hannah was able to slip away. Pastor George helped Len and I through the
checkout to buy top-up for our sim cards as we are still getting our heads
round the local currency and you have to be sure you are not being done a poor
deal. As we waited for the others to
come through I pointed out to Len and Ian a man further along our queue; very
tall and gaunt looking and dressed in a bright red caftan. George had told me earlier in the supermarket
that he was a witch doctor, and this is how they dressed.
Getting out of the
supermarket wasn’t so easy either; we had to product our receipts to a young
man to check and tear, but mine were buried in the depths of my bag. This was going to be a mission in the
entrance of this busy little place but, again, a word from our host meant we
were waved through.
Back out in the
street there were women sat on the ground selling various wares, mainly food
and herbs, but also handbags and flip-flops etc. We strolled back down the muddy track to our
car. One young guy came up in front of
us doing a funny little gesture; stomping his feet, knees bent, from side to
side, with his hands up to his face, elbows out. It would have been tempting to do likewise to
‘connect’ with him but this was the catch.
George said that if you did, you would be off guard and his hands would
be in your pockets.
We passed a statue
of a man throwing large muddy balls of stone; apparently how they fought for
independence in Zambia (guns are not common place here even today). Len and I decided to run back quickly to take
a photo here for one of my colleagues at work, but we had to be very quick and
told to be very careful not to get caught up with the glued up young men
sitting to the back of this monument.
They did start to shout at us as we walked away and when we didn’t stop
they shouted, ‘what’s up?’ Len said,
‘Jesus is up’ which seemed to make them happy.
So aware that you
just can’t talk to people the same way here in the streets; at least, not as a
white man/woman. On the whole, the main
aim is to get as much out of you as they can, and if they can get your contact
details, you will be constantly plagued for practical and financial help. Having said that, the Zambian people, by
nature, are also an incredibly hospitable people and the Christians here go all
out to serve and bless.
4:30pm and the
evening rains began, right on time. On arriving home, mine and Hannah’s bags
were taken from us at the door and carried to our room where we found that our
bed had been remade and all our personal belongings had been tidied and
organised for us, and there was food prepared on the table. The rain outside was now torrential and
lightning flashed across the sky. I
stood for a few minutes in the doorway as it was very refreshing after the heat
of the day, but not for too long as we didn’t want a mozzie attack. We had a lovely evening of fellowship
together and got some chocolate out to share, especially as we were now aware
that chocolate is a luxury not often bought but very much liked. What a beautiful family and we are really
getting to know each other now, and talking together about the differences in our
cultures. Time for another good night’s
sleep.
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