Just a quickie to say thanks very much for all the brilliant comments. I'm not able to respond to each, sorry but want to say please keep the comments coming, I love them!
PS. Fi, book your flight!!!!
Monday, 15 March 2010
Wha's Occurrin....
Chipata life continues slowly but steadily. The temperature is easily in the mid 30’s, with no breeze and there has been no rain for four days. The heat combined with being at an altitude of 3,600 metres makes the slightest exertion very tiring. Walking slowly has become second nature to me ..as has sitting out on the veranda for breakfast each morning :-)
Friday saw ANOTHER public holiday, this time for Youth Day. Ordinarily, I would be delighted with so much time off work but with so little time here to make an impact in my job, I found the three day week more frustrating than anything. There was not as much fuss about Youth Day as International Women’s Day either so the day passed without too much excitement.
It has surprised me quite how quickly I have become accustomed to the sights and sounds of Chipata but I did stop to take the following photo for Carys…
These little girls were walking along, chatting happily amongst themselves as, all the while, they were swinging live hens ...they were, I was informed, taking them home for dinner!
As my journey to work is quite a distance, VSO have funded a bicycle for me which I bought Thursday. It’s a second-hand jobby but seems to be in good working order. I certainly hope so as I have noticed that there are absolutely no consumer rights here.
One of the internet cafes I use also sells new and reconditioned electrical items; TV’s, radios etc. There are large signs advising customers:
“Check all items are in working order before leaving the shop as afterwards,
NO Refunds
NO Guarantee
NO Warranty”
When you consider the extremly high cost of goods and the very low earnings, this seems particularly harsh!!
I went out for my maiden cycle ride on Saturday …after less than 30 minutes, I almost fainted with heat exhaustion. Fingers crossed, my fitness and acclimatisation will see improvements soon!!
For me and most of Chipata, the water supply is turned off around 6pm daily. Am quite used to it now and part of the daily routine is to make sure there are filled buckets of water in the loo for flushing! Friday though (and maybe it was because it was a public holiday) saw us without water for half the day too. My delight at having the water back on late afternoon was tempered slightly by the fact that the electricity went off! About three hours was spent with the whole area in darkness. Apart from the fact I couldn’t cook our dinner, it was not without merit; the stars in the sky were absolutely amazing and while myself, Alan & Francis were gazing up in wonder, we saw a shooting star!!! Also, the darkness in our yard meant we could sit out on our veranda, sipping a beer, watching fireflies… Africa is awesome!
Those unfortunate enough to have holidayed with me previously will know how much I suffer with mosquito bites which often become infected. Therefore I have been very proud of the fact that my strict regime of applying DEET spray before putting a foot outside was paying dividends and, two weeks in, despite there being a veritable swarm of mozzies around me most of the time, not one mosquito bite had I encountered. That was until Thursday when I seem to have suddenly become dish of the day! I was bitten quite badly around my calves which surprised me a little as it happened during the day, while I was wearing trousers. Anyway, the bites quickly became inflamed and my legs swelled up nicely. After two days of applying afterbite cream the pain was lessening and it now looks more like blood clots and bruising (mmm, nice!). I showed the bites to some veteran VSO’s who informed me that they are not mosquito bites (hoorah) but are in fact spider bites (ew!!!) No permanent damage I’m sure but when I get home, if I suddenly start swinging across buildings on fine thread …you’ll know why.
**************************************************
Friday saw ANOTHER public holiday, this time for Youth Day. Ordinarily, I would be delighted with so much time off work but with so little time here to make an impact in my job, I found the three day week more frustrating than anything. There was not as much fuss about Youth Day as International Women’s Day either so the day passed without too much excitement.
**************************************************
It has surprised me quite how quickly I have become accustomed to the sights and sounds of Chipata but I did stop to take the following photo for Carys…
These little girls were walking along, chatting happily amongst themselves as, all the while, they were swinging live hens ...they were, I was informed, taking them home for dinner!
**************************************************
As my journey to work is quite a distance, VSO have funded a bicycle for me which I bought Thursday. It’s a second-hand jobby but seems to be in good working order. I certainly hope so as I have noticed that there are absolutely no consumer rights here.
One of the internet cafes I use also sells new and reconditioned electrical items; TV’s, radios etc. There are large signs advising customers:
“Check all items are in working order before leaving the shop as afterwards,
NO Refunds
NO Guarantee
NO Warranty”
When you consider the extremly high cost of goods and the very low earnings, this seems particularly harsh!!
I went out for my maiden cycle ride on Saturday …after less than 30 minutes, I almost fainted with heat exhaustion. Fingers crossed, my fitness and acclimatisation will see improvements soon!!
**************************************************
For me and most of Chipata, the water supply is turned off around 6pm daily. Am quite used to it now and part of the daily routine is to make sure there are filled buckets of water in the loo for flushing! Friday though (and maybe it was because it was a public holiday) saw us without water for half the day too. My delight at having the water back on late afternoon was tempered slightly by the fact that the electricity went off! About three hours was spent with the whole area in darkness. Apart from the fact I couldn’t cook our dinner, it was not without merit; the stars in the sky were absolutely amazing and while myself, Alan & Francis were gazing up in wonder, we saw a shooting star!!! Also, the darkness in our yard meant we could sit out on our veranda, sipping a beer, watching fireflies… Africa is awesome!
**************************************************
AND FINALLY….Those unfortunate enough to have holidayed with me previously will know how much I suffer with mosquito bites which often become infected. Therefore I have been very proud of the fact that my strict regime of applying DEET spray before putting a foot outside was paying dividends and, two weeks in, despite there being a veritable swarm of mozzies around me most of the time, not one mosquito bite had I encountered. That was until Thursday when I seem to have suddenly become dish of the day! I was bitten quite badly around my calves which surprised me a little as it happened during the day, while I was wearing trousers. Anyway, the bites quickly became inflamed and my legs swelled up nicely. After two days of applying afterbite cream the pain was lessening and it now looks more like blood clots and bruising (mmm, nice!). I showed the bites to some veteran VSO’s who informed me that they are not mosquito bites (hoorah) but are in fact spider bites (ew!!!) No permanent damage I’m sure but when I get home, if I suddenly start swinging across buildings on fine thread …you’ll know why.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The Feast, The Festival and The Fall
The days here begin very early, hence Saturday morning, instead of a nice lie-in, I was up at 6.30 getting ready to go to watch a Youth Debating Competition being held in the council chambers. Thoroughly enjoyed it too, the motions being debated were serious issues and the standard of those taking part was very high.
Afternoon/evening was spent waiting for a delivery…Earlier in the week, Francis & Alan had ordered two tables (a small kitchen table and a full size dining table) to be made by a local carpenter and they were to be delivered that evening. Two hours after the delivery was due, the guy finally phoned to say he was close by with the delivery. Alan and I went down to open the gates ready for the delivery vehicle. We waited patiently for about 10 minutes wondering what could have been taking so long when we saw, coming up a steep dirt track ahead, two men carrying one table each above their heads!! Fair play to them, practicalities such as not owning a delivery truck doesn’t deter them..!
Sunday morning I was once again up at stupid o’clock! This time to accompany Sampson, one of my YDF colleagues, to church..! There are many and varied churches here, this one was St Pauls. It is a traditional Anglican church building which would be far more suited to an English village and looks ridiculously out of place in Chipata! However, the service was fun – apart from the fact I had to stand up and introduce myself to the congregation! The whole event was filled with wonderful, vibrant, enthusiastic singing and clapping …one of the hymns was Bread of Heaven so I felt very much at home.
The Feast
Sunday afternoon, Rosie, a Chipata based VSO of one year, held a tea-party in honour of us newbies where we all feasted on biscuits & cake ….My gosh, she’s got some contacts. It was like the United Nations there with people from Italy, Germany, Finland, Holland, Brazil & India. Most if not all are working as volunteers in some capacity. One guy, Marco from Italy, was amazing. He has set up a school for orphans out in a remote part of Chipata. He was here about 7 years ago, saw that there was no schooling provision for orphans…so he established a school. What a hero!
The Festival
8th March is International Women’s Day, it’s a public holiday here so we went along to the Women’s Day March in town. There were hundreds of women marching and signing, all in colourful traditional dress ….a fabulous sight to behold. The march ended up at the Golf Course where a festival of singing and dancing ensued. Great stuff..!!
The Fall
Being totally engrossed in the Women’s Day March and trying to get good photos, I thought it was a good idea to walk backwards while looking at the picture viewer on my camera. Next thing I know, my feet are flying up in the air while the rest of my body is hurling itself to the ground!! The pain of cutting my leg on one of the randomly placed rocks at the side of the road (!!) was nothing compared to my embarrassment as a group of concerned locals flocked to my aid. I immediately jumped up (as you do), insisting to all that I was fine. In reality, the cut hurt, the blood trickling down my leg was making me feel queasy ….and I wanted to cry!
Oh well, that’ll teach me!!
Afternoon/evening was spent waiting for a delivery…Earlier in the week, Francis & Alan had ordered two tables (a small kitchen table and a full size dining table) to be made by a local carpenter and they were to be delivered that evening. Two hours after the delivery was due, the guy finally phoned to say he was close by with the delivery. Alan and I went down to open the gates ready for the delivery vehicle. We waited patiently for about 10 minutes wondering what could have been taking so long when we saw, coming up a steep dirt track ahead, two men carrying one table each above their heads!! Fair play to them, practicalities such as not owning a delivery truck doesn’t deter them..!
Sunday morning I was once again up at stupid o’clock! This time to accompany Sampson, one of my YDF colleagues, to church..! There are many and varied churches here, this one was St Pauls. It is a traditional Anglican church building which would be far more suited to an English village and looks ridiculously out of place in Chipata! However, the service was fun – apart from the fact I had to stand up and introduce myself to the congregation! The whole event was filled with wonderful, vibrant, enthusiastic singing and clapping …one of the hymns was Bread of Heaven so I felt very much at home.
The Feast
Sunday afternoon, Rosie, a Chipata based VSO of one year, held a tea-party in honour of us newbies where we all feasted on biscuits & cake ….My gosh, she’s got some contacts. It was like the United Nations there with people from Italy, Germany, Finland, Holland, Brazil & India. Most if not all are working as volunteers in some capacity. One guy, Marco from Italy, was amazing. He has set up a school for orphans out in a remote part of Chipata. He was here about 7 years ago, saw that there was no schooling provision for orphans…so he established a school. What a hero!
The Festival
8th March is International Women’s Day, it’s a public holiday here so we went along to the Women’s Day March in town. There were hundreds of women marching and signing, all in colourful traditional dress ….a fabulous sight to behold. The march ended up at the Golf Course where a festival of singing and dancing ensued. Great stuff..!!
The Fall
Being totally engrossed in the Women’s Day March and trying to get good photos, I thought it was a good idea to walk backwards while looking at the picture viewer on my camera. Next thing I know, my feet are flying up in the air while the rest of my body is hurling itself to the ground!! The pain of cutting my leg on one of the randomly placed rocks at the side of the road (!!) was nothing compared to my embarrassment as a group of concerned locals flocked to my aid. I immediately jumped up (as you do), insisting to all that I was fine. In reality, the cut hurt, the blood trickling down my leg was making me feel queasy ….and I wanted to cry!
Oh well, that’ll teach me!!
Friday, 5 March 2010
Blog for Carys (All please read)
Hello Carys, its Aunty Peanut sending you a message all the way from Africa – I’m sure your Mammy will read it to you…. I know that your school is teaching you about Africa at the moment so I thought you would like to know all about my visit to a school in Zambia yesterday.
Nearly 600 children go to the school called Nadalisika Community School; the youngest children are a little bit older than you at 7 years and the oldest is 19 years. The school is in a part of Chipata away from the town centre, the surrounding area looks very much like where you live in Wales; there are beautiful green mountains all around. There is a big ‘play yard’ which has lots of room for the children to run around, because it is the rainy season, there are lots of muddy paths running through patches of grass. There are only three classrooms in the whole school so the Head Teacher has to split the school-day into three sessions; the oldest children go to school 7am - 10am, the middle children go 10am - 1pm and the youngest go at 1pm - 4pm. This means that each child has only three hours of schooling each day and there are over 50 children in every class.
The classrooms are much too small for the number of pupils and don’t have enough desks for every child and the teachers work very hard to give the children a good education but without any equipment it is very difficult for them. The only learning aids are on the walls of the classroom. The teacher had made signs and posters which he had put up on the walls to help the children. I made a note of these for you…
Literacy Corner: The alphabet was listed
Numeracy Corner: Roman numerals were listed
English Corner: Punctuation marks were described on a sheet of paper
Integrated Science Corner: Hand drawing detailing the structure of skin
SOS Corner: List of Human Rights and a hand drawn map of Africa
Many of the children at the school are orphans, which means they don’t have a Mammy or Daddy to look after them, instead they are looked after by their grand parents or aunties. Some of the children don’t have any grown up relatives to look after them so the oldest child in their family has to look after the younger ones. This is very difficult because they don’t have any money. Also the grown-up relatives of the children are very poor so the children do not have any toys or other nice things …in many cases they don’t have shoes on their feet. Lots of the children are poorly, they have a disease called HIV/Aids which is a very big problem in this part of Africa. The saddest part is that most of the children don’t know that they have this nasty disease so they are not taking medicine to help keep them healthy.
The nice people that I am working with in Africa are called YDF (Youth Development Foundation), we were at the school to deliver their ‘Taking Power’ programme to the children. YDF is made up of young people, most are volunteers, who think that by telling the children about the nasty disease and teaching the little boys that they should treat the girls fairly (gender based violence), when the children grow up, they will have a much better life. You would have loved it Carys, all the children were singing African songs and playing games at the beginning, then they spent some time learning before ending with more singing. The children enjoyed the session very much and took part in the games and the discussions very enthusiastically – I think they enjoyed it so much because it was being taught by young people in a friendly way. I was very impressed by YDF …they are amazing!
I was thinking of you Carys while I was at the school and it made me feel very sad to think that these little children, who are every bit as precious as you are, have to live such poor lives.
Nearly 600 children go to the school called Nadalisika Community School; the youngest children are a little bit older than you at 7 years and the oldest is 19 years. The school is in a part of Chipata away from the town centre, the surrounding area looks very much like where you live in Wales; there are beautiful green mountains all around. There is a big ‘play yard’ which has lots of room for the children to run around, because it is the rainy season, there are lots of muddy paths running through patches of grass. There are only three classrooms in the whole school so the Head Teacher has to split the school-day into three sessions; the oldest children go to school 7am - 10am, the middle children go 10am - 1pm and the youngest go at 1pm - 4pm. This means that each child has only three hours of schooling each day and there are over 50 children in every class.
The classrooms are much too small for the number of pupils and don’t have enough desks for every child and the teachers work very hard to give the children a good education but without any equipment it is very difficult for them. The only learning aids are on the walls of the classroom. The teacher had made signs and posters which he had put up on the walls to help the children. I made a note of these for you…
Literacy Corner: The alphabet was listed
Numeracy Corner: Roman numerals were listed
English Corner: Punctuation marks were described on a sheet of paper
Integrated Science Corner: Hand drawing detailing the structure of skin
SOS Corner: List of Human Rights and a hand drawn map of Africa
Many of the children at the school are orphans, which means they don’t have a Mammy or Daddy to look after them, instead they are looked after by their grand parents or aunties. Some of the children don’t have any grown up relatives to look after them so the oldest child in their family has to look after the younger ones. This is very difficult because they don’t have any money. Also the grown-up relatives of the children are very poor so the children do not have any toys or other nice things …in many cases they don’t have shoes on their feet. Lots of the children are poorly, they have a disease called HIV/Aids which is a very big problem in this part of Africa. The saddest part is that most of the children don’t know that they have this nasty disease so they are not taking medicine to help keep them healthy.
The nice people that I am working with in Africa are called YDF (Youth Development Foundation), we were at the school to deliver their ‘Taking Power’ programme to the children. YDF is made up of young people, most are volunteers, who think that by telling the children about the nasty disease and teaching the little boys that they should treat the girls fairly (gender based violence), when the children grow up, they will have a much better life. You would have loved it Carys, all the children were singing African songs and playing games at the beginning, then they spent some time learning before ending with more singing. The children enjoyed the session very much and took part in the games and the discussions very enthusiastically – I think they enjoyed it so much because it was being taught by young people in a friendly way. I was very impressed by YDF …they are amazing!
I was thinking of you Carys while I was at the school and it made me feel very sad to think that these little children, who are every bit as precious as you are, have to live such poor lives.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Settling into Chipata life...
Not much excitement to report today …I guess the N’cwala Festival at the weekend will take some out beating!
My journey to work is a 30 minute walk and for my first day, to help me learn the route, I was accompanied on the journey by my new colleague Sampson …AND TORRENTIAL RAIN! I was wearing my wellies and a waterproof poncho (with grateful thanks to Gaynor and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo!) but still got absolutely soaked. It’s the wet season here and though it’s hot and humid, we get LOTS of rain which, when it falls, makes the Merthyr ‘sideways’ rain look like gently drizzle. Also, as I have to be prepared for every eventuality, rain, sun, thunderstorm (!), I have to carry a full rucksack everywhere. That plus the laptop makes for gruelling walks in this heat. I tell you, the SAS don't train this hard!!!! I am one of the lucky ones though as by far the largest majority of Chipata folk do not have raincoats or umbrellas; they continue their day-to-day activities in the rain ….drenched through to the skin!!
My new employers are great people to work with and they are managing to do some amazing work with their VERY limited resources. Coming from such a resource-rich working environment, it IS a huge challenge for me but I am slowly adapting to new ways of working. A good example is that yesterday, I needed to see an advertisement for some EU funding that we potentially could apply for – simple enough you may think. In reality, it meant me walking nearly a mile through mud and over makeshift bridges to another organisation who, being slightly better off than us, had a photocopy of the add that they kindly gave me…!
That type of occurrence, coupled with the lack of internet and no office paper to print on makes me have to consider every action carefully and devise other ways of achieving it. One thing I know for sure is that at the end of this placement, I will not take for granted how fortunate we are in our workplace. (Look out WAG colleagues, the sermons will no doubt start as soon as I’m back!)
On a personal level, all is very well. ‘TAF’ have settled well into a daily routine where we go off to work, come home, cook supper (we take it in turns) and then sit in our little home chatting about our respective days activities before turning in. Its early days I know, but so far, have not missed the TV or radio one iota…!!!
We don't really have any alcohol to speak of at home but I have introduced Francis & Alan to the concept of 'Wine Night' so we are all very much looking forward to tomorrow!!!
My journey to work is a 30 minute walk and for my first day, to help me learn the route, I was accompanied on the journey by my new colleague Sampson …AND TORRENTIAL RAIN! I was wearing my wellies and a waterproof poncho (with grateful thanks to Gaynor and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo!) but still got absolutely soaked. It’s the wet season here and though it’s hot and humid, we get LOTS of rain which, when it falls, makes the Merthyr ‘sideways’ rain look like gently drizzle. Also, as I have to be prepared for every eventuality, rain, sun, thunderstorm (!), I have to carry a full rucksack everywhere. That plus the laptop makes for gruelling walks in this heat. I tell you, the SAS don't train this hard!!!! I am one of the lucky ones though as by far the largest majority of Chipata folk do not have raincoats or umbrellas; they continue their day-to-day activities in the rain ….drenched through to the skin!!
My new employers are great people to work with and they are managing to do some amazing work with their VERY limited resources. Coming from such a resource-rich working environment, it IS a huge challenge for me but I am slowly adapting to new ways of working. A good example is that yesterday, I needed to see an advertisement for some EU funding that we potentially could apply for – simple enough you may think. In reality, it meant me walking nearly a mile through mud and over makeshift bridges to another organisation who, being slightly better off than us, had a photocopy of the add that they kindly gave me…!
That type of occurrence, coupled with the lack of internet and no office paper to print on makes me have to consider every action carefully and devise other ways of achieving it. One thing I know for sure is that at the end of this placement, I will not take for granted how fortunate we are in our workplace. (Look out WAG colleagues, the sermons will no doubt start as soon as I’m back!)
On a personal level, all is very well. ‘TAF’ have settled well into a daily routine where we go off to work, come home, cook supper (we take it in turns) and then sit in our little home chatting about our respective days activities before turning in. Its early days I know, but so far, have not missed the TV or radio one iota…!!!
We don't really have any alcohol to speak of at home but I have introduced Francis & Alan to the concept of 'Wine Night' so we are all very much looking forward to tomorrow!!!
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Two for the price of one...
Just realised I didn't give my last post a title, sorry!
Life in Chapata is VERY different to Lusaka. I have no internet connection in my new job (which I will tell more about in the next post). There are internet cafes but they close for two hours at lunchtime and again at 5.30pm - as these are the only times I would be able to come use them, not very much use at all...!!!
I queried why they close at the exact times that they are needed most and was told that only businesses can afford to use them so they operate during business times only.
Oh well, will overcome somehow I'm sure.
Thanks for all the comments being posted, really does help knowing there are some back home who are interested in my endeavours.
Johnnie - Some of your posts are not very polite! I wouldn't expect anything different from you but do you realise that everybody can see them?!!! Be nice!!!!
Missing everybody.... Tina xx
Life in Chapata is VERY different to Lusaka. I have no internet connection in my new job (which I will tell more about in the next post). There are internet cafes but they close for two hours at lunchtime and again at 5.30pm - as these are the only times I would be able to come use them, not very much use at all...!!!
I queried why they close at the exact times that they are needed most and was told that only businesses can afford to use them so they operate during business times only.
Oh well, will overcome somehow I'm sure.
Thanks for all the comments being posted, really does help knowing there are some back home who are interested in my endeavours.
Johnnie - Some of your posts are not very polite! I wouldn't expect anything different from you but do you realise that everybody can see them?!!! Be nice!!!!
Missing everybody.... Tina xx
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!!!
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!!!
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