I discovered that the public transport system in Zambia runs on economical lines rather than schedule timetables. Therefore the 10am bus sits at the bus terminus until it is full and I mean full..! Every available space is filled, the seats are filled with the travellers, the overhead storage is crammed full of anything from suitcases to vegetables and the aisles by carpets, giant fans, sacks of grain …basically anything that the travellers are transporting to Chipata. So the 10am bus finally pulled out of the station a little after 2pm! The eight hour journey to Chipata was, at long last, underway. My immediate travelling companions were Franklin, my new colleague at YDF and Jackson who is a volunteer at YDF when his studies allow. The driver, who to my knowledge, had been sitting at the wheel for four hours then drives for a further 8 without a break and, in an obvious attempt to lessen his own journey time, he drove like a maniac! Out of respect for my hosts in Zambia, I won’t discuss the ‘toilet’ break en-route, nor the unwelcome crawling ‘guests’ that accompanied us..! About halfway into the journey we passed an upside down articulated lorry that had clearly just gone off the road and was lying in a ditch …its wheels were still spinning as we sped past. Many locals seemed to be rushing to the accident on foot which will probably explain why our bus didn’t stop (!!)


Finally at 10pm we pulled into Chipata where I was warmly greeted by my new boss, Chinoya. Arriving at my new home in the dead of night, I was a little apprehensive. It’s a very basis three bedroom house and has, by way of furniture, only two beds, two small sofas and two lounge chairs. Nothing and nowhere to empty my cases into so I’m still not able to unpack  There is a sink in the kitchen and that’s it. I immediately discovered that VSO has supplied a mosquito net but nothing to hang it with. Franklin was a star and using an old sack we found outside, managed to make string and an improvised hanging device was implemented!! I hung curtains in my bedroom; two towels held in place by bottles of water on top of the pelmet …who says this is not a learning experience!! My first night in Chipata was me, a bit scared, in an empty house …but at least I was under a net. Being very tired, I wasn’t too terrified about it, especially as I knew that fellow new VSO’s Francis and Alan (a married couple from Oxford) would be joining me the next day - we are to house share.

Saturday morning I got my first daylight glimpse of Chipata and my home. Its in a walled compound, we are one of three houses – the other two are occupied by Zambian families. The ‘friendly’ cockerel from next door tried to wake me a 5am but I was having none of it! Franklin came by to show me around and help me buy some essentials from the shops. The shops have pretty much everything anyone would need, however, as I am living on a volunteer’s salary, other than basics, luxury’s such as shampoo is way too expensive.

N,Cwala Festival

My arrival in Chipata coincided with N’cwala, an annual thanksgiving festival which is an important part of Zambian culture. It is attended by many tribal Chiefs, and Politicians…. Franklin and Jackson insisted that I go and although I was thinking it would be better if I stayed home and got settled in, I am so glad that I went. It was incredible! There were easily 50,000 in attendance. Many are dressed in traditional tribal dress, most as warriors in animal skins. Central to the event is an arena which although jam packed, we were lucky enough to get into. The public are seated and standing around the arena, the tribal Chiefs are seated in special areas. VIP’s, one of whom was Zambia’s First President, Kenneth Kaunda, were all there to watch the events unfold. Speeches from dignitaries were followed by amazing tribal dancing – many different groups treated us to wonderful sessions of dancing and singing …these ritual dances are 100’s of years old and I am privileged to have been there to watch it.

The next bit is not for the faint hearted ....

(Natalie, Sophie & Caitlin : skip to next highlighted section,  please)

While the anticipation and excitement of the crowd grows, a traditional Warrior takes centre stage in the arena and kills a bull by twisting its horns until its neck breaks. Accompanied by much cheering, the bull is stabbed with a spear and his blood collected in a large wooden bowl which is ceremoniously carried to the seated King who drinks it. After drinking the blood, the King gives thanks for past and future harvests. Because I was there, I almost forced myself to watch but must admit that when it came to the actual ritual killing of the Bull, I didn’t look – it was quite easy not to as all around me was a frenzied with everyone jostling for a decent view. On reflection, I liken the whole event as being similar to our Harvest Festival with the addition of tribal dancing and a ritual killing!!

Natalie, Sophie & Caitlin can join back in now...

Saturday evening was, by contrast, a much quieter affair… Francis and Alan had by now arrived at our house (yay!!) and we were invited out by five other VSO’s who live and work in Chipata. A pleasant evening was spent at a local restaurant where myself, Francis & Alan quizzed the experienced volunteers to within an inch of their lives!
Loving acronyms as we do, we have decided that Tina, Alan & Francis shall be known as ‘TAF’ (I believe there is a nod toward my Welshness there too, but could be wrong!). Anyway, Sunday morning saw TAF learning how to turn ordinary tap water into drinking water. After our struggles with a five minute rolling boil followed by the ceramic candles of the filtration system, I shall forever-more grateful for the luxury of the simple action of turning on a tap and being able to drink the water! There are many and varied challenges in my new environment. For instance, as we don’t have a washing machine, sorting out the dirty clothes is a task and a half. After taking a bath, I used the water to hand wash my clothes (bonus points for our sustainability though, eh Brendan?!). The heat (around 30˚) makes these simple tasks totally exhausting so we treated ourselves to a slap-up lunch of boiled egg butties – well, we are still getting used to cooking on our two ring/grill/oven combo!
TAF spent the rest of Sunday relaxing, showing our respective family photos to each other, recalling happy home memories and crying…big ahhhh please!!!