Friends in Manungu

Recently I talked a bit about my experiences in Zambia at our church in Cheltenham. I wanted to stress the importance of relationships and to give a little insight into the way I have come to know people over the years. I tried to show how I been able to help improve a few lives and in return, how the people of Monze have greatly enriched mine.

While I am in the UK perhaps it is an opportunity to reflect over my visits to Monze over the past 16 years and tell a few stories of where our lives have overlapped.

Since leaving Zambia in December I constantly remember my little friend Nancy. Nancy epitomises the joy and pain of Zambia. I met her at a pre-school in 2015 – she was full of life, she had a cheeky smile and knew how to command attention. A girl with great potential.

The pre-school was established by Mrs. Musika not far from Our Lady of the Wayside Parish in the area called Manungu – on the south side of Monze.

About 10 years ago I was walking along the Livingstone Road when a young man approached me. “I have a problem!” he said. This is not unusual – I meet many people with problems, as I walk around Monze. He told me that his problem was that he walked with a limp because one leg was shorter than the other. They used to be the same length, but as he got older his artificial leg didn't grow like the other one!

As I say, I meet a lot of people with problems and I cannot solve them all. I try to listen, but invariably say there is little I can do. I did however promise to let people in the UK know about Obert's problem. Back home a friend gave me money for a replacement leg. It took two years before Obert found me again - this time at Our Lady of the Wayside church which I attend when I am in Monze. I had no idea that he attended the church – in fact, other than his name and that he had an artificial leg, I knew nothing about Obert at that time.

I came to know Obert much better over the years. Obert is a man of determination. When he was a young boy he told his father that he wanted a bike. His dad told him that he would never be able to ride one, so it was with great pride that some time later he rode proudly to his home on a friends bike. While at school he also had a dream to become a taxi driver – again he was told this was an impossible ambition.

Obert has been driving taxis for a few years now, he is married with a young beautiful daughter and with help from his dad has his own house.

Obert is the son of Mr and Mrs Musika who established the pre-school. Mr Musika is a builder who built the house at the Curia where I have stayed in recent years - as well as building the pre-school and other structures for his family. Mrs Musika also hosts a group of disabled children and their parents. They gain encouragement through mutual support and by undertaking some fund-raising activities they can ease some of the financial pressures a little.

The lives of my friends in Manungu are still very difficult – I don't know whether Nancy has any food at home today - but with a bit of support here and there, their prospects are a bit better than they would have been had I not met that young man with a problem 10 years ago on the Livingstone Road.

Chris