Second week in Zambia

Farewell lunch for Roland at Choma Museum
(L to R) Rhoda, Roland, Richeal, David, Ben and Paul

During the first week in Choma, David had a lot of people for us to meet and places to go - some official some not so much.

We started the week with visits to the Immigration Officer, our UCZ (United Church of Zambia) Bishop Mutanuka and his wife, Reverend Silawenga and his wife the Deaconess, the District Commissioner, Barclays Bank, the Traffic Licence Centre and later on the Police Station, to introduce us to the local community and make an official start to our stay.  We were welcomed most sincerely, and provided with cold drinks of Fanta, Coca Cola and 7Up at the Reverend's.  One of our engagements was lunch at the Museum, which is the best place to eat out in Choma.  (Only place ...?)  One of our number, Roland, was finishing his VSO placement here so it was a good opportunity for a delicious lunch out.  Ben is about half way through his 2 year placement, and Richeal came from Dublin in our group to work with VSO in Zambia too.  

Chodort Training Centre from the road -
you can just see the roof of St Stephen's

We were introduced to all the staff at Chodort, who include the Vice Principal and the Chief Accountant who will be in charge until a new Principal is found, and also the tutors of the carpentry, tailoring and computer classes.  On Tuesday mornings there is a short service in St Stephen's Church, which is located inside Chodort premises, so we were welcomed formally there by the staff and students.  The services there always include the most wonderful singing - on Tuesdays by the choirs of the tailoring and carpentry classes - these youngsters really raise the roof and have the most beautiful voices.  Fabulous!


We spent a lot of time in that first week visiting people and trying to remember all their names, as well as being fed and watered a great deal by David and Rhoda in their beautiful house.  We knew this would be our home too for a while, so it was the 'light at the end of the tunnel' while we lived at the much less comfortable first house.  With all these visits going on and being on our best behaviour, as well as the constant heat, we would usually be shattered by the end of the day and would go to bed super early at around 8 or 9pm. 

Some of Rosemary's family in front of the kitchen hut

We had an insight into what Jane hopes to do during our time here.  Rhoda took me (Jane) out with the UCZ Choma Consistory Orphans and Vulnerable Committee, now there's a mouthful.  I had no camera with me that first day, but I will never forget the visits we made to these extended families.  In Zambia if a child loses one or both parents, more often than not to HIV/AIDS, they are taken in by a grandparent, uncle or aunt, something they do without question but can rarely afford.  Children are identified by the congregation as being in need, then the committee visit and see what is to be done.  Primary education is free in Zambia (not secondary), but the children must have shoes, uniform, books and a mathematical set of their own, so the committee buy these for the children so they can attend school.  


The families we visited only live a few kilometres from Choma but it is another insight into the district.  The 6 of us left the 4 x 4  when we could no longer drive on the roads, and set off on foot through the long grass.  (Just like a public footpath in high summer in England.) We were met by a lady called Rosemary, a "caregiver", who was looking after countless children it seemed; her own, her grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  She was full of cheer, took us past her grass hut kitchen to lay a large sack under a tree for us to sit on and discuss the matter in hand.  This was her 17 year old grandson who needed shoes, so he was asked to put on his uniform so that we could see if it fitted etc (two large rips in the elbows, such a boy) and answer a few questions about school.  We visited two more families with Rosemary's help, and eventually rolled up back at home. We had so generously been asked to lunch the following week, so more of this later, when I had the camera.


On the Friday of this week the Africa Cup came to Choma!  It toured the whole of the winning ountry of Zambia, and was here for only an hour or so.  There was a huge crowd all around it but was of course hugely popular for everyone to see.  We missed it by 20 minutes, the one moment so far that Africa Time was not in operation!


On the Saturday we were introduced to the Choma Sports and Tennis Club - after walking for ages in the wrong direction - towards Livingstone instead of Lusaka!  We had an interesting few games with Ben, Wycliffe (our VSO group, from Uganda), Richeal and Rahem (she lives in a cottage in the garden of our new house and is a volunteer with an American charity).  We sampled the local beer, Mosi - no not Mozzi - and walked home single file along the main roadin the dark in the beginning of a thunderstorm.  Not ideal!

Tobacco growing on the farm next door

 to Anne and Roland

On the Sunday we had a treat - lunch out in the bush, in the home of David and Rhoda's friends Anne and Roland, from Newcastle and Germany respectively.  We drove about 15 km into the bush, passing lots of tobacco farms and their drying sheds - learnt more about that some time later.

Lunch on the verandah - Paul, David, Wycliffe and Richeal

The view from the verandah was across the trees on their land to the dam - all farmers build one we are told, for their own water supply.  The view was .. well ... so African!

Out of Africa or what!!  Richeal and Jane by the dam

We had a lovely lunch with smoked wild boar (caught by Roland) to start, and then roast lamb with chocolate cake to follow.  We needed to walk all this off, so visited the pigsty with its residents and the dam nearby.  A very hot walk, we soon retreated back to the verandah!