June

Preschool on 1st    

A scrum for the next thing made of playduff

Friday morning means preschool day for me, and the first time I went to help in St Stephen’s preschool (situated in Chodort) I decided to take some playdough, which proved a big hit.  Here it is called Playduff - I can't work that one out?  Luckily I took 30 balls of it in which was just enough for us all to have one each, and then the teacher Audrine (I called her Audrey for about 6 weeks)  and I spent the next two hours answering requests to make things – Auntie, make me a car!  Auntie, make me a necklace, Auntie make me a bicycle (I ask you how do you make a bicycle from playdough), Auntie, make me a dog, etc etc.  The playdough jewellery was popular with the girls ranging from hair beads (not a huge success) to bracelets, rings etc.  

Royce with her playduff necklace and ring - she's so
beautiful!

Every one of the children, like all Zambians we've seen, is very good at singing, as well as very good at dancing, and at the end of the mornings we either have a story or a song - they prefer the latter.  I was able to teach them a few nursery rhymes they didn't know, but at the end of one morning I was treated to something like a well rehearsed West End musical.  It was amazing!  The children jumped into their positions, some on the desks, rocking and singing away, and every child put so much enthusiasm into it. The lead role was filled by Audrine, equally talented, with their tune – Working in the Kitchen ...

The Site

Mmmm Nshima anyone?
Dublin the woodwork teacher, Jane and Mrs Mbawe,
Odin (Pauls' star trainee site manager) and two
carpentry students

One Friday Paul had all 12 of the carpentry students over from Chodort to fix the fascias on to the first house, and so to thank them for the extra work we treated them to lunch (also saved transport to and from Chodort).  So we asked our friend Mrs Mbawe to cook up some lunch for them which she did, and Jane helped to dish it up from the back of the truck.  Mrs Mbawe is the chief cook and bottle washer at Chodort, and is in charge of  making tea and sometimes meals and she had no trouble whipping up a feast for the boys – nshima naturally, beef knuckles in gravy and a vegetable relish – green beans chopped and prepared with tomatoes and onions. (As that is the law here)  (Well, you would think so.  Whenever you ask how to prepare something that is ALWAYS the answer, oh, take some oil and fry it with tomatoes and onions.)  Anyway it all went down very well, even though there were not enough plates and they had to wash and return them ready for the next person.  

Goat curry

That Friday evening we ventured to the Golf Club with Ben and Rahem as we had heard there was an authentic Indian goat curry served there every week.  We met some Indian people we knew, since this is Choma, namely Rupek our ex-landlord, the very jovial owner of Arupees garage which sells not just fuel but also wait for it, stationery, saucepans, plates and glasses, material, dried foods etc.   Paul meets lots of the Indian businessmen when he’s out and about in town for the site, so he was welcomed by them all.  

The curry was delicious - very meaty goat, and the vegetables we had seen in the huge pot on the brazier (made from a tractor wheel we were advised) had all cooked down completely.  The curry is made on a Wednesday for the white farmers, and on a Friday for the Indians, since those two groups make up Choma Golf Club.  We are learning, we are learning ...

 Jubilee BBQ 

Well it's nearly a Union Flag  - dual purpose scarf

The red the white and the blue

We marked the Queen’s Jubilee in our time-honoured tradition – with a BBQ, naturally  – thankfully I don’t know how to put the short video of us and Ben singing the National Anthem on here.  I have brought a scarf (thanks Tor!) with a square Union flag (yes I know it's wrong!) on it for such occasions, and Paul and I wore our red white and blue.  

Otherwise the main event for us was the following day, where we watched the Jubilees Regatta at the Sports Club.  The locals started to watch supportively, but drifted off after a while, they couldn’t handle

all that water ... 

What does this word say?

Once Upon a Time ...

Library

On our Thursday morning visits Rahem and I are gradually working our way through the whole school, one grade each week in two groups, so they all would know the library and have had a story read to them, which we took in turns. The children all love the illustrations in the books, which are mostly excellent and make the books come alive to the children – they would giggle and gasp as we turned the pages of some of the more spectacular. We worked our way down the age groups, so with the younger ones in Grade 1 and 2 there was very little fluent 

reading out loud from the children, and some of the answers to our questions were rather unexpected, eg "What colour are the shoes?"  Answer "Bananas".  Mmm.  We realised the answers had been correct on the previous page so the kids thought it was worth a try; so we are not too sure about their understanding of English sometimes, but hey ho, we plod on.

Preschool

Sun, stars and the moon, it's all here

This week I made some stencils from cereal packets as the teacher had said we were painting, but she changed her mind and they were colouring, which meant the stencils would last another day, good thinking.  She is pretty organised and always has a plan for what the children are doing. On the walk home that day some of the children were on the way home and shouted out goodbye from the back of a bicycle, and then I met some more children from the Mochipapa School where we had opened the library, it’s so sweet when they call out Auntie, Auntie from across the street. Feeling part of the community.

Choma Life

How's that for a walk home?

Oden passing by - Paul just needs a quick word ...

... and a pose for the camera

Couldn't resist a Pointsettia Tree

That's where the scarf ended up

That's how cold it is at night here - morning of
12th June - frost on the garden

Visit to Rosemary the Brickmaker

Rosemary with one of her grandchildren

We think a lot of Rosemary.  We visited her first back in March with Rhoda and she was kind enough to give us all a slap up lunch.  She is a caregiver for the OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) Committee basically meaning she looks after heaps of children, some close and some distantly related.  She not only has a brick making enterprise which she runs with her daughter, but she makes the traditional hand brooms that sell well here, and also grows her own maize.  Then she tells us she doesn't have a job - she's amazing.

The OVC committee meeting that Jane was planning on going to had been cancelled (for the third time), and I met Rosemary outside as she had turned up as well as me.  We got chatting and she invited us to see her brick kiln, so we made a visit on the Sunday afternoon. It is quite a common sight to see these kilns around, as the soil from an anthill is ideal, and there are plenty of anthills.  Not little ones.  They are anything up to about 4 or 5 metres tall, and the soil is nice and sandy and very finely sifted by the ants.  Clever ants, they are the beginning of the brick making process here.

Work is very near home

The brick kiln, very hot and smokin

Thousands and thousands of bricks

Back home to see the family

.




Lusaka Trip

Mr Paul supervising the loading

More building supplies were needed for the houses, specifically floor tiles , so off we set on the Saturday morning at 6am, we made good time, just the four and a half hours (Uh what a journey).  Paul had been sold some Chinese floor tiles in Choma which turned out to be cracked and bubbled, completely hopeless, so we had to go and get some South African ones. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with Sarah from London, so had a great base to use, and some fun evenings too - we saw Richeal and met up with Sarah and Nicky's Zambian friends for a night on the town which was enlightening ...



After  stocking up on supplies which involved sitting in a hot truck in some long lengthy traffic jams, and a supermarket shop, the solace of the lovely Zebra Crossing Cafe was welcome.  It's a combination of art gallery/restaurant/internet cafe/art supplies shop, so it is like an oasis of calm in the chaos and heat of Lusaka.

So long as Paul has his tea all is well

Choma Life

Phew, back to Choma.  Jane is still painting with the art group every Wednesday, one of these days I will put some of my work on here!  We sometimes have a theme, sometimes not, but on one particular day we went out to one of the art group member's dam to spot the lechwe (antelope type) and do a spot of sketching..  It was real African bush, searing heat even in this cold season, and we did see the lechwe. 

Now I am in a tangle with this blog - the captions will not work normally on the following two photos for some reason so this will have to do.

The dam with the in laws house behind

A zoomed in view of the lechwe  

Some sort of e-blip there. 

If it's Thursday it must be the library

So, June rolled away, but the grand finale was a lovely weekend away on Lake Kariba, the largest man made lake in the world at 140 miles long. This blog is playing up so next bulletin for July will include our Lake Kariba trip.  It was the weekend of 30th June and 1st July after all. 

Mosquito net finished at last hooray

Middle of May


Six weeks after moving into this lovely house, we were told by the Bishop that there was the possibility of a new Principal coming.  We invited her and her friend to stay after their visit to Chodort, and the general concencus was that she would not come until after September, so we will still have room for our very exciting and eagerly awaited family visit, phew.  

Some of the cards in the window
 (still more in other window)

The Zambian choirs came from miles around to attend,
and find it impossible not to dance when singing

The Bishop's wife and their adorable daughter Rhoda

The Bishop's Reception
The middle of May brought this big event at St Stephen's, the Bishop had been appointed shortly before our arrival, and the celebration was still to come.  Preparations had been under way for some weeks; the flowerbeds had been tidied up and planted with marigolds, the tarpaulin was put up over the grassy space in the courtyard and then filled with chairs and a great big sofa out for the Bishop and his family.


We were told the service started at 8am, although the sheet said earlier, and so we were shown to our seats in one of the rows facing the congregation - scary.  Visiting choirs took their turn, each of them completely loving it and giving their all.


By around noon we decided to wander home for a coffee, since wandering in and out of the service appeared to be the norm.  We came back and lunch was being served in a very jolly party atmosphere, and we enjoyed a chat with some people and admired the wonderful outfits. 

The washing up under way - Paul
and Billing not a great help

Edward (volunteer from Bangladesh)
The Bishop in traditional dress
although he said the flour on his head
isn't, Jane in very acceptable long skirt

Reminiscent of Fishbourne Fete

Paul's news from the site

The water tower, the water tank and the surrounding wall - essential kit 

The first two houses on the site are now well advanced, one all decorated ready for the kitchen to be fitted and the other ready for second fixing. These houses will be rented out and the income used to help finance building the next ones still to be commenced; seventeen in all.  As the income increases over time, the proceeds will then be further used to build a new and bigger college. The scope of courses available and the amount of disadvantaged youths able to attend will then grow as the college grows. It’s a long term project and we are in at the beginning. We won’t see the end in our two years here!!

We are also putting in a proper drainage system with a septic tank and soak-away that have been designed and calculated to work correctly and connected to drains and manholes from each house. We are trying to raise the standards in this important area of sanitation and we’re all learning a lot! We have ensured that the septic tank is positioned well away from the water supply to avoid contamination.

kari

Welfare facilities for the workers on site have been enhanced and basic safety equipment introduced as a way of lifting standards. This is appreciated by all and the comments to date are very positive with everybody keen to advance forward. As time goes by we will make other improvements.

It’s all good stuff. The present college trains youths in carpentry, tailoring and IT. The trainee carpenters can then become self employed or possibly work in the attached joinery shop, which makes furniture, kitchens and building components on a business basis. Some of the students that have graduated work on the site and gain experience in all the various trades. The present students also gain experience this way. They make the roof trusses and fit fascias and doors.One of the great things about being here is that you meet like-minded people from all around the world and also make friends with locals. It opens your mind and you really get to know what makes other countries and cultures work. 

There’s usually a reason behind the way other people do things which at first seem strange to us. This can be because of cultural differences, weather, local conditions and customs.  For instance, I wanted to order timber recently to make kitchen units, but was told there would be a delay because of supply shortages. This was because all the forest workers leave their jobs at this time of year and go to work in the fields harvesting maize for themselves and as a cash crop to sell.  I assumed at first that there would be timber stock-piled to meet needs but this is not the case and you just have to be patient.  Once I considered this further, I could see why the workers looked after themselves and their families by taking advantage of different occupations at different times to meet their needs.

Everyday Choma

Descaling - you're welcome to
take over

Our friend Famke (VSO Belguim) came to visit and brought us some frozen Kariba Red Bream for a BBQ.  Never phased, we set to and descaled and gutted said fish.  Took most of the morning.  In the end we decided each of the 5 of us should experience every process - before we could actually eat the things.

Bring back fish fillets ....

Stage Two of the Bream Processing Plant















                                                                            

Bream ready for the BBQ
(Think I got all the scales out of my hair)

Three little pigs - but these ones were
still squealing

The usual traffic 

  








































We had offered Famke a lift back to Sinazongwe as we has wanted to see it, and being our wedding anniversary seemed a good place to go - a village on the edge of the beautiful Lake Kariba.


We popped in to Choma on the way to find the usual shopping going on.
















The first part of the road was tarmac, but the latter 17 km was not.  Busy traffic, mostly made up of oxen and carts, cattle, goats, donkeys and chickens, not to mention lots of local people going about their day.

Batoka market

A quick stop along the way to restock with fruit and vegetables - best prices.

This photo was worth one banana each

These two little girls had been running across the road, barefoot on tarmac, collecting plastic bottles, which children also do in Choma.  They can sell them to market stallholders for a few kwacha.











                                                                                       


Fishing is an important industry on the lake, and capenta are very small fish that remind me of whitebait.  They are eaten fresh or frozen, but we mainly see them dried.  They are for sale in the markets, and we have not tried them ... 


We had a lovely lunch in a restaurant by the side of the lake - Kariba bream, naturally.  


Our Birthday

Thanks for the fairy cake birthday candle -
Angie and Cyra!

It was my turn to host the painting group, so the 7 of us enjoyed lunch on the verandah, and Paul and I shared out first birthday cake of the day with everyone.  I had made another for Paul to take into work which was enjoyed by all - not something they are used to.  

Birthday Sunset

We made a quick visit to a little craft shop outside Choma which had always been closed every time we'd been in the past.   Lovely young man there took our photo.

Our evening birthday cake -  Ben's speciality Chocolate Cola Cake (don't ask)

May

Oranges from our African garden

In May Paul achieved the water supply to the site and got the drainage well under way, and Jane was volunteering somewhere different every day of the week - except for one - a painting day ... hooray ....

There are impala grazing at the dam I promise -
 the view from one of the painters' homes

Painting group
On the 2nd I joined the art group.  Choma is  small town with  different communities interacting, and word was out that someone new was in town who liked to paint. I had invitations from two different people, so it was meant to be.  The group are mostly white Zambian farmers wives who are a close network of friends - although not in the distance sense - and they meet at each others houses.  A drive of over an hour is the norm for them; all have lovely homes in stunning locations, down long sandy unmade tracks through the bush which extend for 20/30 kilometres off the tarmac road.  Everyone is very kind in offering lifts each week, depending on which direction we are headed out of Choma.  So I am very happy to be painting - don't we just need a specific day - and make new friends (no, not too many A&C!)

An average weekday lunch time -the three of us on the verandah -
Sooty takes relaxing to the max
 

The Site
Paul comes home for lunch every day as the site is just up the road, a short walk or truck drive, and our house is mid way between there and Chordort. The first house is being fitted out and the water supply and drainage are being installed. Nixon's tower was up and awaiting the water tank on the top, and the pump, which would take water from the borehole across the site to the first two houses to begin with. 

The orphans watching a 1970s BBC Childrens
Programme at Ann's pre-school

Orphans' pre-school
Our friend Anne is from Newcastle with the  most wonderful, if incongruous here, Geordie accent, runs a preschool which I went to visit.  I was looking for places where I could volunteer regularly, although sadly this is too far out of town for me to be able to get to each week.  It is in a converted house on a farm with plenty of light and airy space. Ann runs a pre school for the white farmers' children in the mornings, and then a free one there for local orphans in the afternoons, so that was when I visited.  The children were so keen to learn, very well behaved, and have an excellent teacher in Ann.  It was so good to see them having a structured time there, along the same lines as a pre=school in the UK.

Just testing the Library prizes

Mochipapa Road School Library

Jane and Rahem established the visits to the library each week, and are working our way through the whole school.  We have two sessions and read two books to a group of 12 or so each time, then we all talk about the story and ask them questions.  As ever, some are as bright as buttons and the same child puts up their hand with the right answer, and some are so shy they can barely look at us.  They seem to enjoy it all though - and the books we have are full of lovely pictures which has them enthralled. We do have a language barrier with the smaller ones as they are only just learning English as they begin school, so the illustrations are invaluable.  Ann has given us some stickers and small prizes to give out, so they had to be tested them out with great hilarity in our kitchen.

Trip to Masuku

Traffic on the road to Masuku  - oxen, donkeys, goats

Definitely taken from inside the car

Subi Thomas (the accountant at Chodort) had to deliver a computer (he's one of two IT teachers too) to a school in a very remote area, two hours down a dirt track from Choma.  He knew we would find the drive interesting, as well as the school, so we took off together one Friday.  

We eventually stopped at a mission clinic to collect the young Revered Oscar.  We were invited to look around the clinic, which was in a sorry state.  The ward had tall metal beds with no mattresses - if you or your child needed admission you would have to bring your own.  The building itself was crumbling and dilapidated, and full of people waiting to be seen. Frankly, it was shocking. It requires complete renovation and refitting; we have thought about it since and would love to find a way to bring the clinic into the 21st century, at least.  

We thought we had arrived at our destination, but we had collected Oscar to be our navigator to the school, so we set off again down narrower and narrower tracks with 6 foot grass growing down the middle.  

I started talking to two little boys ...

... to be joined by the rest of the class

Masuku School is too remote to have electricity, so we did wonder about the usefulness of a computer. However, the Australians sponsored the supply of solar power some time ago, so that was the answer.  It was in a wide open space, sunshine abounding, so a life changing innovation.

I was told that the little boy on the left of the photo was deaf; had I not been told initially I would just have thought him very shy as lots of the children are.  When we were joined by the others he obviously found it difficult to know what was going on.  There is a school in Choma for those with special needs including the blind and deaf, but he could never travel there.  

We were shown around the other classes in operation, made the children laugh at our attempts at Tonga, and looked through their exercise books.  There is a great deal of copying from the board in Zambia, this is still their learning tool.  

Subi, Reverend Oscar, daughter, father and mother, Jane talking to child behind them all

On the way home to Choma, as well as Revered Oscar we stopped to give a lift to a young woman who was hitching a lift; she was going to return to her teaching job in Lusaka.  We stopped the car for her to visit her family and say goodbye to them for a while, and we were introduced to them.  Wow.  We met her father and his three wives, told of the thirty children they had between them and the 28 grandchildren.  When they asked me how many sons I had and I held up one finger, they laughed hysterically ...   Not very impressive, and they didn't even ask about daughters.  Anyway, in the photo you can see the thatched kitchens belonging to each wife, and they each have a bedroom opposite their kitchen.  One happy father!

They are a pretty organised rural family, as with all those children and grandchildren they have had lots of workers to work their land.  The brothers and sisters of the teacher we met all have similar jobs in Lusaka or other towns, and we feel are very unlikely to return to the rural way of life.  The rural life seems a lot easier than town life here, with plenty of land to farm and a clean water supply.

 

Oh well, that's the beginning of May - plan to finish May on Monday - will go to press for now ...