April

Our lovely cards could at last go up...
 but one by one they fell down
 so new spot next month

Settling In
Well after all the excitement of moving, we soon spread out around the house and loved just being there.  We have inherited Sooty and Sarabeth, two very friendly cats, Sooty being a little on the large side. They stay inside the four walls of the garden, supposedly outdoor cats but usually on the sofa, like all cats they know who’s boss, we are just the new staff. Another inheritance, although this is rather life changing, is Estelle who helps around the house. We had already been told that it would be seen as the right thing to do as it provides employment.  So, Estelle comes twice a week from 8am to 1pm.  Her wages for a month are 150,000 kwacha, which is just under £20, so we can afford this and it is completely wonderful to have her help.  Happily for us too Mr Chivula from Chodort comes and does the garden once a week, it’s too hot to do anything ourselves even with the best of intentions.    

A glimpse of the garden - Rahem's palace just showing
as well as a visit from the egrets

The garden is bursting with fruit, currently 

guavas, so Jane felt the urge to make guava  jam as there are literally bucketfuls of them.  Made first lot, not the set kind but more the mashed kind, but tasty anyway.  I later made a second batch, still not as set as one might expect.  Also guava ice cream (delicious as it involved cream) baked guavas etc etc.

All Jane’s spare time seemed to go into making the mosquito net – so many visits to the Indian run Laxmi’s to chase supplies, a quick MOT from Chodort for the Russian hand sewing machine and then many sewing sessions; one in a thunderstorm in the afternoon, all the lights were on and it was nearly dark outside, the rain was coming down in stair rods. Mesmerizing                         

Saturday night pizza night with Jennifer, Paul, Famke and Lorraine

Easter    
Since we were so fortunate to be in this house, complete with working shower(s), we invited some of our VSO friends to stay, so on Good Friday we collected Lorraine (Vancouver) and Jennifer (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and Famke (Belgium) from the bus station. We thought we better give them the full experience so we dined on pizzas and pavlova.  On the Saturday we went to guess where the museum restaurant for coffee /tea etc, braved the market as it is easier in a group, and then had a BBQ with Wycliffe too. Lorraine had to leave early on Easter Sunday, but the rest of us went to church – unfortunately we missed the 5am start...At least we made it for 8 o’clock before the end, although we couldn’t fit inside the church and were on the extra seating in the doorway.  The beautiful sound of their singing flooded the whole place, truly uplifting. Very proud of our adopted church, also that our visitors qualified for the much prized special Fantas, Sprite, Coke etc afterwards.  It’s funny as it didn’t really seem like Easter Sunday at all, probably due to the lack of chocolate. We had bought some sugar coated chocolate eggs from Spar so we all had one of those, but, as ever, they were not the sort of chocolate we're used to!

Famke, Jane and Jennifer - all ladies were presented with a yellow rose -
outside St Stephen's in the courtyard at Chodort

Later we had a walk around the market which was deserted being Sunday, and especially Easter Sunday. It was good to have it empty to get our bearings and work out the way to walk through the market as it is another way to town for us from home, and we could do it in peace without being urged to make a purchase or to come and ‘just look’ at the latest items for sale. We decided on lunch at, guess where, the Museum, then have a walk.  This is something that Zambians find curious, going for a walk.  Why would you want to do that? Walking is for getting somewhere, not to wander around aimlessly looking around.   Anyway we walked to the site to see the houses Paul is building – a must for any visitor.  Coming on very well, so tidy. We walked further up the wide sandy road in the early evening sun, and came to a brand new church which has just been finished. This has caused a lot of discussion, and is called the New Apostolic Church.

Children's Easter Holiday Programme

Most of the youngsters in the programme -
 we used the room behind for our painting

Jane had agreed to help on an activity programme run by the Catholic Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s’ Committee. This was mainly for children who were HIV positive. It was to run for two weeks, and for the first couple of days I made a colour book with them, using one piece of A4 paper each and painting something of each colour on the pages.  The highlight was a trip to Mumba Farm, run by a Mr Mike Beckett and his wife Gina, white Zambian farmers in their eighties who were born here. They employ several hundred Zambian workers, preferring to help many families with employment, housing and medical care rather than use machinery which does happen sometimes on other farms. We saw the dairy cows being milked by hand and everyone had a go, we saw the calves drinking from a bucket, the beef herd and their prize stud bull, and all the kids were able to pick up (and drop) the lambs, an unusual breed bred for their short fur, a cross between a Dorset sheep and an African bald one.  Strange mixture.

Everyone had a go at milking

Friday with an unsuspecting
crossbred lamb

After the farm visit the kids painted from my drawings of the animals, traced at the window.  Some were smart and some slow, all adorable and very keen, but they all loved the opportunity to be actually painting, mixing colours and generally enjoying the process.  They varied in their ability of course, by the end of the sessions they spontaneously stuck their paintings on the outside wall of the little building we were in. As always they adored having their pictures taken, sometimes to the call “me only!”, so I have a growing library of photos of Zambian children, I find them irresistible.

Vincent with his cow painting

Lunch cooked on two open fires for 30+ every day,
from nshima to chicken or beef stew

The young children came each morning and stayed for a slap up lunch – all cooked in a camp kitchen over two open fires.  Took me back to scout camp days, but this was cooking out of doors as necessity as there was no kitchen, the norm for thousands of families here.  Every day they had nshima, the maize based food all Zambians adore without question. The older kids came for lunch and had counselling and discussions in the afternoon.  All children had one to one discussions about thei own needs, eg taking their medicine at the right time each day and having a proper diet, as most of them had no one responsible enough at home to remind them.  Some would be absent, notably from the farm trip, and I was told they had to do chores at home – collecting water, cleaning the house, washing the clothes. No way to spend a childhood, even worse when they have a programme like this laid on for them and they are not allowed to go.

Spot the Muzungu

Rahem came to help for last couple of days which was fun, we could handle more children and I could have some photos with me in action. On the last day we caused quite a scrum when we gave them all a packet of crayons each (thanks Tony and Nicola!) and bought some exercise books from Spar to go with them.

A Big Day on the Site

Nixon's Tower is finally up!

Painting, fitting doors, glazing windows and continuing to build the boundary walls, these things all continue throughout the weeks. The drainage system is being built to better standards than normal for here and connected to a septic tank. We’re all learning a lot!  The main water supply will come from a borehole on the opposite side of the site, so there’s lots of trenches being dug to lay the pipe and electric cable into.  April 10^th was a memorable day when we erected the water tower in readiness for the tank. The only crane in the area was hired to take the tower from the college, where it had been made, and then lifted it into position on the new foundations.  We named it ‘Nixon’s Tower’ after David (the Principal) who has returned back to Ireland.  It’s great fun on site with all the students and workers keen to learn and press on with the work and get things finished.

Trip to Lusaka 
Towards the end of April we made our second venture out of Choma. Some furniture made at Chodort needed to be delivered to Lusaka, Paul need building supplies for the houses, Jane needed supplies for the larder, and we both needed to see our friends and have a meal out, in the evening, in a restaurant. We had a slight delay on the Friday morning of our departure as some setting out posts Paul had used the day before had been stolen (for chair legs??) so he had to sort that out, but we set off with the pick up complete with it’s metal lid loaded with the furniture, our empty cool box, sleeping bags etc all ready for the capital.

One way to get there

Four hours to go

 It’s a long, straight and pretty good road, with bushland ether side, but every now and again in the middle distance there would be a collection of thatched huts all together mixed with thatched brick buildings, and these are villages, although not as we know them, more a family unit including grandparents, grandchildren, brothers,

sisters, children, aunts, uncles and yet more children.  More of that in May.  We came to the woodcarving stall we have already mentioned is at Kafue on the way too. No time to stop though as the afternoon was wearing on, bringing the 

darkness when no one is supposed to be driving around. Our first stop was to take the furniture to the General Secretary of UCZ, no problem, then we asked Moses the driver to show us the way to the apartment we were staying in.  Dark had fallen by now, difficult to navigate as well as work around the hidden hazards everywhere. Only drawback - Jane had to get inside the back of the pick up, I needed the door open so I wasn’t locked in pitch dark so it was quite strange especially at traffic lights being lit up by the car behind. 

We eventually found our apartment with Richeal’s help and it was as nice as had been promised, although power as well was a luxury too far. The only problem was the lack of tea in the morning ... but hey, we got by.  Over the weekend we got to know Lusaka, and where our friends were living.  We visited their favourite Indian restaurant Mahaks (twice, had to be done) with it’s bargain £4 all you can eat menu, and the other evenings we were invited to meals at their houses so we were made very welcome and it was so good to have them all around – we even bumped into people we knew, that’s always good.  We all got together on the Saturday night, and when someone made the comment about VSO Lusaka life being something like living in Hollyoaks; we know who would relate to that!

Dinner and drinks with Lorraine (and Sarah the photographer)

Lusaka has several Western style shiny new shopping malls, quite a surprise when in the UK we really only hear about the poverty here. We treated ourselves to breakfast in the Starbucks-style Mug and Bean, we were a little surprised to find that the bill came to almost a quarter of our weeks’ allowance.  So Choma is the right place for us, since if we lived in Lusaka we would not be able to afford ANY meals or drinks out, and the shops would be tempting too. Well, one or two of them perhaps. Pick and Pay was one of those huge supermarkets that could be anywhere in the world, with rather more choice than the little old Spar in Choma.  We went to an African crafts market and bought an elephant wallhanging and two tray tables.  The ritual negotiating ensued; the tables were eventually down to around £12 each.

Sweet As!

Quick blast of luxury tropical surroundings 

We went to friendly building merchants galore,given cold drinks all round while we were being served and bought Dulux paint mixed for the outside of the houses, plumbing fittings and other niceties.  We set off back to Choma on Tuesday morning, with a quick tea and coffee stop at Sandy’s Creations, a sort of garden centre with a guest house with manicured lawns, tropical palms, thatched roundels and such like.  Turned out to be South African, no surprise. We had to make a stop on the way home to that certain woodcarvers co-operative, where we bought an irrestible giraffe stool come table, which eventually only set us back 60,000 kwachas, about £8.  

Thank you Sooty

Often hard to get past the street vendors and inside

Back to Choma
Any spare hour for Jane at home was spent on the mosquito net, so that just seemed to roll on and on forever, although there was plenty of help available from Sooty.

I was also making several visits to the Museum (not the restaurant) to see the Director about a VSO position for me there, but funds are short at VSO so it is not looking likely at the moment. If I can get a bid together perhaps I will have a big fundraising effort, but more of that another time. I often visit the Craft Centre there too on behalf of Chodort Crafts, collecting cash earned as our items are sold there with commission for the Museum.

There are also frequent trips to Spar, sometimes with a lift home from Paul and sometimes with the plastic shopping bags cutting my hands in two with the weight! Paul is still managing to get home for lunch although sometimes things get busy on the site and lunchtime slips away.  So keen!

Mochipapa Road School Library
Jane’s next project was to help Rahem with creating a school library, which didn't exist until she found around 300 previously donated books in a small building in the school of about 80 children, aged 7 to 11 or so.Zambian children start school at the age of 7, and have to repeat a school year if they do not ‘pass’.  This means that they are often 20 or 21 by the time they finish school, and if they get to Grade 12 is a great achievement due to the cost of secondary education.  Anyway we spent some time documenting all the books, sorting them into grades with the help of Prudence one of the teachers, and putting onto some unused (surprise) bookshelves the school also had.

.

Waiting for customers

New shiny smooth floor

The headmaster initially viewed the whole project with some suspicion and was reluctant to supply us with any chairs for the library.  Rahem gave her own four dining chairs and he rustled up a few plastic ones eventually.  The floor was rough concrete so Rahem asked Paul to organise the laying of the typical smooth shiny cement surface on top, so then The Library was ready for action. We told the headmaster we wanted to open the library on Thursday 27^th, so on that day we arrived with sweets and stickers to give each child, but they had to listen to us first.  We gave each class a little talk and read out what we called the Library Guidelines.  Some did not know what the word library was, so we had explain and spell out some rules, such as replacing books to the same shelf, talking quietly, not drawing etc in the books. The headmaster was a lot more keen on the idea by this time, and enthusiastically translated into Tonga for the younger children so they would understand what the heck was going on.  We made plans for how the library could be used by the children throughout the week and very much hope that the head will continue with this. We can’t be there all day every day but will go in every week and read to the children class by class in groups of 10 or so.

Busy Weekend in Choma

Now Ben, this Rooibos tea,
are you sure it's good?

Jane you will love it

There were only four of us!  So much
washing up, well done boys

Ben asked us and Rahem for dinner on the Friday night, so inevitably, off goes the power. That's where the blessing of a gas cooker comes in (as well as an electric one) as our delicious dinner could continue being cooked at our house.  Rahem seems to have decided that photography was more important that washing up afterwards .. there are about fifty more of these ...

Lunch al fresco

Rahem, Ben, Rowland and Paul picnicking at Polocrosse

On the Saturday we decided to watch a cricket match at the Sports Club, and to make an occasion of it we would have a picnic lunch first.  Ben had no peace as he was asked more than once to play for Choma, but he had eaten too much of his infamous Chocolate Cola Cake.  Paul was allergic to the flowers on

the tree above us so he had a sneezing fit, but otherwise it was peaceful and calm.  

Sunday brought the annual Choma Polocrosse match, on the land of the same farm I had visited with the children.  This is something between polo and lacrosse and very popular in South Africa.  We heard there would be home reared and made beef burgers on a stall, so we didn't need persuading.  Roland (VSO, Newcastle) joined us for the day and we came across the white Zambian farming community for the first time.  It was just like an event in Sussex, we had to pinch ourselves.

So, a busy weekend to round off our April story. 

Back home behind our zebra gates

March

We need to speed up the blog as we are now seriously behind schedule – so this is a whizz through to the end of March.  We need to catch up, Zambia’s just as bad as the UK for getting on with these things.

Well, here goes.  It’s hard to remember just what it was like back in early March as we had still not moved then – we still had the questionable delights of a “house in the garden” to enjoy, so life was very different. 

The bridge at Victoria Falls from the Boiling Pot

At this stage Paul was getting to grips with taking over the running of the site and how things are done in Zambia. The first couple of houses were under way and a borehole had been drilled to 38 metres on to the water table. Foundations were dug for a water tower which would hold the tank of stored water to supply the houses on site. Drainage to a septic tank was also under way so things were starting to move!

Jane was whizzing about the place with Rhoda in their big white Isuzu 4 x 4 (not quite) to continue to meet people, being introduced as Rhoda had to say goodbye to them.  We still had changeable weather since the rainy season was still in full swing –  either rain for a couple of hours each day, or not at all for two weeks then a humungous thunderstorm.  The rest of the time it would be hot and sunny and you would think, what rainy season?  By hot it has always been somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees Celcius, so Jane was welded to her brolly, Zambian sunshade style, and Paul similarly welded to his Tilley hat. 

The upper reaches of the Zambeze River - Jane, Paul, Nuambe,
 Richeal, Ginny and the left half of Carole (Sorry Carole!)

On Saturday 10^th we made our first excursion, to one of the seven wonders of the natural world that is Victoria Falls. We boarded the 10am bus to Livingstone with Richeal, and were met by Ginny (VSO, UK) and Carole (VSO, Belgium) to stay at theirs.  After lunch the five of us set off in two cars to the Falls.  We had two young and enthusiastic Zambian guides, Levi and Nuambe, that the girls work with in their office, so they ensured we had the whole experience.  We stopped by the upper reaches of the great Zambeze River, hurtling along at enormous speed, we stopped at the first photo call bridge where the view of the Falls just takes your breath away, the power of the water pounding down the Falls is truly a memorable sight. We donned rubber ponchos (sweaty from the last ten people) to do the walk, you have your own personal rain cloud above you as the mist from the falls soaked us completely.  We walked along the edge of the Falls, did the Knife Edge Bridge (no sweat) and looked across the Falls to Zimbabwe.  We got rid of the sweaty ponchos and walked down, down, down a tropical paradise of a path, with lemons growing and flowers of all sorts, to the Boiling Pot where the river is a heaving mass of whirlpools after its high speed journey.  A beautiful, peaceful place.  However, the climb back uphill was no picnic.

Victoria Falls

That evening was spent in Olga’s, the only restaurant we had been to apart from Choma Museum Restaurant.  We had our fill of pizza and some rather cough-mixture style white wine – but even so the combination of cheese and wine was pretty good.  Cheese is something of a luxury, so melted all over a pizza is a good moment.  What a day.

On the Sunday we were joined by Lorraine (VSO Canada), Jennifer (VSO Canada) and Hans (VSO Netherlands) for a BBQ.  They had been staying the night before we arrived and did the Falls the day before, and then went on a two day overnight trip to Chobe, in Botswana, on a game viewing excursion.  They arrived fresh back from all this full of stories and photographs of elephants, giraffes, hippos and lions (also something about forged immigration documents and refusing to have a room without en suite) and it sounded like ‘must do’ trip.  That’s one to do soon, maybe September????

One of the trips was to deliver some Chodort Crafts stock to the Museum shop, and there were some takings to collect too.  (Jane later had to make three visits but got it in the end.)  The shop is the busiest part of the Museum – it has crafts from local individuals and co-operatives, mainly baskets, pottery, wood carvings, jewellery and textiles. So the Museum is the place to be in Choma.   It has the only craft shop and the only restaurant – we know how to live!  It also has an internet cafe, but sadly the museum part is rather faded and out of date.   It would be great to be able to do something about this, hopefully there will be some developments on that front but who knows.

It was around now that Jane started to order the material needed for making a bed canopy mosquito net, one that you can stand up in and it makes the bed look like a four poster when it is pulled aside in the daytime.  The netting was the first thing, and this was ordered from Laxmi Electricals (where else) along with ribbon and lining, to come from Lusaka. This was the beginning of the saga and eventually involved about ten trips to the aforementioned store, as when it finally arrived there was no cotton thread or the tape needed – that had to come from Zimbabwe. I was texting the assistant, Vincent, at one stage to see if the items were in yet. Lovely friendly service though! 

Lunch with Rhoda and David al fresco at our old house

Mother’s Day brought a lovely surprise, yes a call from ‘our three’!  It was such fun, wonderful to hear their voices and we had two mobile phones with calls from London and Chichester, with all five of us talking at once – I don’t know how we do it!  It didn’t feel like Mothering Sunday at all as we had been to a service at St Stephens earlier that day, but rather than the same as the UK it was an ‘HIV/AIDS Sunday Service in English and Vernacular’ with the fabulous choir in full voice.  Singing about HIV and AIDS ... that was a first for us.


 

From cow to churn
 (Rupek in red, milking boy in half overalls)

Later that day we went out with our landlord, Rupek, to his farm just along the road. He has a dairy herd which were being milked by hand while we were there, and several goats and chickens.  There is a disused tobacco drying barn which he showed us, explaining the processes involved – very labour intensive.  The prices have dropped apparently so they are growing more maize and soya.  The milking process was fun to watch, all the cows are trained to know their own name so the milkers know who has been milked, and they have a bag of feed with their name on it to eat at the same time.  Smart move.  We later went with Rupek to take the milk, in stainless steel churns, to the Dairy Board Depot in town – it was tested for whatever, accepted and added to huge refrigerated vats. All the milk is taken to Lusaka and processed and distributed from there under the name Parmalat, along with other dairy products.

Back at the farm though, there were a few local people waiting around to buy milk straight from the cow – still warm and frothy.  We watched a small boy with his even smaller brother, struggling to get a very large drum of milk strapped to the back of his grown up bike.  This took at least half an hour to accomplish, but once successful, off he went along the path through the field with, yes, his brother hitching a ride as well.  Good training I guess because the things we see on bicycles are beyond belief – cages full of chickens (several cages as well as several chickens) huge bundles of charcoal (again, several and they are BIG bags), sometimes furniture, or bits of wood approaching 5 metres long.  The best one that Paul saw was a pig strapped into the child seat.  Classic Choma. I did see a small herd of goats and chickens waiting at the bus stop the other day though.

The completed boundary wall at the front of the plot
- maize growing for now with houses in background

The following week Paul’s main focus on the site became getting the water tower up – the tower was ready and waiting in the courtyard at Chodort.  He had to find the only crane in Choma, and for that company to check that the crane, complete with the 9 metre tower could navigate the roads and tracks from Chodort to the site, tarmac or otherwise. Not a long journey by any means but you have to think of everything.  Also the main boundary wall to the front of the site was next to be built, so that needed setting out and bricklayers found and negotiated with. 

UCZ St Stephen's Preschool

Jane helped out at the UCZ preschool one afternoon that week – the teacher hadn’t turned up (no phone call to anyone and she had the keys to the cupboard with EVERYTHING in it) so the lady who makes tea and cleans at Chodort, Mrs Mwaybe, who is around 65 or so, was in charge of about 30 children with no toys or equipment, from 8.30 am to about 4pm. Not easy.  We had been given some coloured pencils to bring to Zambia so they went down well, and step by step the children all had to draw a portrait of Jane!  Interesting results.  A little bit of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star etc was surprisingly successful, and of course when the camera came out later that was fascinating to them - they all love a digital camera.

Mrs Mwaybe and her grandchildren (maybe not all of them)

Jane (and Paul later on) went to Mrs Mwaybe’s house on the local compound with Rhoda, as she and David had helped her with the building of a new house.  This comprised of a small sitting room and two very small bedrooms. Bathroom arrangements were not discussed (best way) and the kitchen was, well, the Great Outdoors.  Most people will cook in the open air, on a charcoal fire, and are so talented at what can be produced – they put us to shame.  The house had no proper floor only earth, no windows or glass just small openings with material flapped over and the door had no handle or lock, so Mrs M would pile bricks up against it at night to feel safe. She has no bed just a mattress on the floor.  This is her new house.  Between the Nixons and us we are working on getting her those missing basics she needs to be safe and secure, which, in our terms, is not an expensive project, but she is just one of so many people who live like that; of course some have far less.

The Friday of that week was Richeal’s last day in Choma – her VSO placement here hadn’t worked out so she was off to the bright lights in Lusaka.  We had a final Wonderbake cappuchino (Yes, the only place in Choma for those) and a few farewell visits around town.

We were getting close to moving day – David and Rhoda had lots of dinner and lunch invitations, and we were included in lunch with Subi and Sophia Thomas on the Sunday. (Subi is the accountant at Chodort and is running it with Mr Mwango who is now the Vice Principal.)  The Bishop and his wife (no English) were there too, and the Thomas’ have two boys, Harrington, 4, and baby David.  They have just moved in to a lovely house they have designed themselves, and lunch was served outside under a modern but traditional style thatched roundel with two tables built in – I couldn’t help but imagine them at a Garden Show at home!  (Sorry I digress.)

Back in Choma, the next big event coming up was the House Move, but that would be a bittersweet moment involving our goodbyes to David and Rhoda.  They did so much for us, made us feel so welcome and part of the community, and ensured that we had all the information we needed.  We had frequent visits to the house; very often for a meal with friends or a quick coffee between visits or, more often than not, to bring our washing to use the ... yes ... washing machine!  Such luxury.  The norm here is to wash everything by hand, sheets and towels, the lot, but this we have been spared. We know that we are house sitting until a new principal for the college can be found, and keep that thought at the back of our minds.  Paul’s houses better be good if and when we need to move in to one!

Moving day was approaching fast; on the Tuesday afternoon we said our goodbyes to David and Rhoda on their verandah, having been invited to pop in to exchange the contents of our cameras – Rhoda and Jane had taken SO many pictures over the last few weeks (surprising, that). They had made several trips to Lusaka to deliver their belongings to the airport for carriage to their home in Ireland, and the last few suitcases were packed and ready. So strange that they were off for a new life in Ireland after thirteen years here, very difficult for them to say goodbye to many good friends they had made during that time.  Even though we would move into the Nixon’s lovely house were very sad to say goodbye too; we will always remember the time we had together and how well we ‘clicked’ with them both.  A few cups of tea and home made biscuits sealed our friendshlp of six weeks or so, and we returned for our last night Chez Rupek.

All our worldly goods in Zambia on the back of a lorry

We had promised to move early the next day (Wednesday 28th) soon after David and Rhoda left around 7am, so they would know the house was never empty.  We were only too pleased to comply with that wish, and after Paul had got the site going he returned with the Chodort truck AND the Chodort lorry pretty soon after, we loaded our cases and the extra household things we had accumulated and made the very short journey (a giant leap in another way) to the new house, Plot Number 699 Edinburgh Road, Mochipapa District, Choma. Oh what a contrast, we couldn’t believe we had made it!  We were so happy to be there, ecstatic in fact.  Our two inherited cats Sooty and Sarabeth were fed, suitcases unpacked for the first time properly in six weeks and then, oh my goodness, a SHOWER!  Hot running water and everything spotless, I have never felt so clean in all my life.

Incidentally our address, should anyone feel like writing/posting chocolate etc, is: 
Chodort Training Centre, PO Box 630451, Choma, Zambia, even a landline 
00 260 213 220663.  There is a prefix number from UK of 0844 323 6444 so if you dial that first from a UK landline it costs 2.5p a minute.  Our connection to our old life!  

The house in Edinburgh Road

Paul returned to work the day after the move and Jane spend the next couple of days unpacking, finding homes for things and then moving them to somewhere better.  We now have a huge fitted part shelved wardrobe each so that is a first, as well as an en suite, along with more kitchen cupboards than I can imagine.  Also two spare empty bedrooms and a huge office, once a home school classroom.  The outstanding part of indoors though is a lovely wooden floor in the enormous L shaped sitting room, with windows onto the verandah.  Absolutely wonderful.  The garden is another story, a tropical paradise of fruit trees complete with wheelbarrow loads of guavas (literally) at the moment.

We soon met our lovely bubbly neighbour Rahem, another volunteer here working with Scripture Union and hails from Denver, Colorado.  Her house is in the garden of our house, and is compact but beautiful – she calls it her palace.  She invited us to dinner soon after we had moved which was delicious, so she is a great cook too. We don’t see each other every day, quite, but we lend each other things as good neighbours do; sometimes shop together and often have meals together with her and Ben as they are good friends. We've even joined them playing tennis on a Saturday!  


Next entry under way is for April, which seems the way to go at the moment. The delay is putting the photos on the blog; we get there in the end though. If you would like to be an official follower (we have a grand total of four at the moment) of our blog then follow the instructions, and you will receive a note by email of the next update.  Just found that out - would have been handy before but there you go.

Second week in Choma

Rosemary's grandchildren playing

at their home

This week was all about Jane meeting more people with Rhoda while Paul was getting more into the swing of life on the site, or the plot as it  is called. There was a public holiday on the Thursday for International Women's Day, so a short working week.
Since we arrived the weather in Zambia has been very very warm, around 30 degrees Celsius or sometimes more, and we would have rain showers sometimes, and fairly frequent dramatic thunderstorms.  Whether these are connected to the power cuts we are not quite sure, but they were coming three or four times a week, just as dinner had started to cook usually!  

Paul in the crowd  at
International Women's Day

It was my first walk to town on my own on the Monday, just a little scary, not for any good reason though - lots of people selling fruit and vegetables in the street usually with their wares laid out on the ground, but they often approach to try and make a sale - very persistent sometimes!  My visits that day included Barclays Bank, PEP rather like Quality Seconds, and the essential Spar - where would we be without it!  We are trying to get our fruit and veg from the street stalls wherever we can and support them, and they are all pretty inexpensive) but otherwise it's all about Spar, Spar, Spar!!!   Our single allowance means we have to be quite careful, but we are managing well, keeping within our budget each week. Some things we need to buy are more expensive than at home, such as dairy products like milk, cheese, butter and yoghurt, but the basics such as fruit and vegetables, bread and eggs are not expensive.  Most tinned and packaged foods are a lot though, and fruit juice, from all the fruits around us, is the most expensive at around £1.20 per litre!  There are not convenience foods, and the biscuits etc are not what we are used to (No chocolate digestive here!) so I am baking much more than at home - home made pizza and quiche a lot, and biscuits and cakes too.  The trouble is we eat them all up too fast!

This is as far as we can drive to Rosemary's -
on foot from now

I am taking over the running of Chodort Crafts from Rhoda, which means buying suitable fabric from Choma or Lusaka, getting craft products such as bags, table mats and wall hangings etc made by ex students of Chodort who have set up in business, and then taking them to the Museum Craft Centre to be sold.  Rhoda took me to visit Josephine and Theodora who are the tailors she uses - they work hard on hand sewing machines, and will make anything you want!  No patterns are used, you can just take along an item of clothing and they will make you another one, must try that soon!

Rosemary cooking the nation's favourite - nshima -
made from ground maize flour

On the Tuesday we had a memorable day - Paul and I, Rhoda and the UCZ committee had been invited to lunch by a caregiver called Rosemary who we met the previous week.  She has such a low income, heaps of children to look after (ranging from her own, her grandchildren and several nieces and nephews) and still she put on an enormous lovely lunch for us.  So generous, it was a very special occasion we will always remember.  

This is how you do it

Lusford, 17, shows us the proper way

All our lunch was cooked on the open fire, everything from the fried chicken, Irish potatoes (just potatoes) green beans and the 5kg of rice that Rosemary cooked for us (I think the family followed).  The only thing we couldn't handle was the green vegetable ochre ...

Rhoda's and Mr Mundemba's turn

It was hard to believe that the two delicious sponge cake (with very very bright green icing) was also cooked in that way - ingenious.  I had a lesson in how to cook nshima, ground maize flour mixed with boiling water.  Mmm, all Zambians love it and it is served with every meal for it's stomach filling qualities.  We are not so keen - reminiscent of somewhere between Smash potato (remember that!) and flour glue.  Yum!


Before the guests start their meal they are always offered some water to wash their hands, a tradition that is so welcome.  We were not sure if the water was going to be boiling out of the kettle, but no, it was fine.

Now the Chittys!

I was given a chitenge to wear for this event - Rhoda and Auntie Monica wore one too - part of the tradition when visiting for a meal.   These 2 metre lengths of cotton material are for sale all over Choma, and are worn on top of women's clothing, as well as on the head or to carry babies around on your back - they are everywhere -  babies as well as chitenges.



There was some time for a few photos, these are just a few of them of course...

 Rosemary's house
 where we had our lunch

This is the proper way for the women to say thank you -
 don't ask me!

Auntie Monica, Paul, Rhoda and Lusford

Edward lends a hand for a photo of the visitors

Our turn for lunch

.

Farewell from the children

A memorable day, what a lovely, enormous family.  

Smart polished leather second hand shoes from the
UK and the US

Later that week I went to the market with Rhoda and the rest of the UCZ Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Committee to spend their budget on shoes for some of the children.  They go every week with the sizes they need to buy, and they also provide uniforms, books and mathematical sets to the children, which are all essential items needed to attend school. This was my first market visit and I have made several since, as they need at least three people present to account for the cash which is spent, and also to find the matching shoes!

International Women's Day 8th March

There was a march through the centre of Choma to celebrate International Women's Day, ending with a display of music, dancing and drama held at The Boma, in front of the District Council Offices.  These were performed to large crowds and the singing was tremendous.  

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!