Jennipher

I would like to introduce Jennipher.

I first met Jennipher in 2004. I was staying at the guest house of Monze Mission Hospital and this lady came to the door with one of the student doctors. She used him to interpret and tell me basically that she was a poor lady in need of support.

I had realised early that handing out money was not a good idea, so I gently refused to help.

Over the next few months - I stayed for 4 months in 2004, but that's another story!! - I met Jennipher quite often around the hospital,and she always looked sad and rather pathetic. Surprisingly her English was very good! She told me that she was one of the first people in Zambia to openly disclose her status as HIV+ and was coming to the hospital to collect drugs and check how the antivirals were controlling the disease.

One day she told me that her house would collapse when the rains came unless she could re-roof it with elephant grass. I was in a good mood and gave her £5 or £10 for her house. The next time I saw her she was laughing and seemed to be a different woman. To see her smile was well worth a few pounds, however she used the money!

Over the years we became good friends. She was at first considered a nuisance at the hospital – demanding food for her AIDS support groups. When I was asked by a doctor if she was bothering me I told him that she was my friend. Eventually she became a respected member of the community, invited to partake in important events as well as regularly talking on the local radio.

Jennipher was very astute and soon found how to make the most of charities and local NGOs. On more than one occasion Jennipher rang me to say that there was a lorry at her house full of goods, 50 kg bags of maize, cooking oil, groundnuts, salt, sugar, charcoal etc. She said that it was all free - however nothing comes completely free. The lorry driver needed to be paid! For £100-£150 the groups would receive goods worth perhaps £2,000 - £3,000. Of course I found the cash and the food was provided.

In this way Jennipher greatly multiplied my donations.

There has been no one who has given me the opportunities that Jennipher provided. She was a remarkable woman and taught me so much.

The photo at the top shows the Jennipher I knew in 2004/2005.

On another occasion I was talking to Jennipher from Cheltenham. She told me that she could get a borehole and handpump installed for the equivalent of about £200, which she would site near one of her support groups. I was a bit sceptical. I understood that at that time a handpump alone would cost about £450. A borehole would be a further £2,000 - £3,000 at least.

I decided that is was worth the risk and provided the money.

Next year Jennipher showed me the new hand pump installation which was designed to enable wheelchair users to collect water without help. It even provided a plinth to avoid pregnant women having to use their “bump” as a staging post for the full water container. One of her groups now had a source of clean water and a supply that could be used to water land and grow vegetables.

Of course £200 would have been far beyond anything the group could raise itself.

Jennipher also showed me the water source they previously used.

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Presents

In Zambia maize forms the staple diet. Food means nshima, which has something of the consistency of mashed potato and is made by boiling maize flour in water.

Most families will have access to a little bit of land where they will grow maize. Many rely on this maize for food – without it they go hungry.

Over the years I have tried to help by paying for a bag or two of maize seed for friends or small groups.

One day I was meeting with an AIDS support group that my friend Jennipher had set up. They told me that they have been offered the use of some land to grow some maize. I thought that I could help and offered to pay for a bag or two of maize seed. When they sat there with glum faces I was somewhat amazed. They then explained that unless they had more food they wouldn't have the energy to plant the seed.

This wasn't the first time that I had been told that the energy expended with work was more than the calories a person obtained from their food. It is hard to realise just how close to the edge some people in Zambia live.

Climate change means that maize crops have failed more often than not in recent years, however for a Zambian it is still important to grow some maize each year.

Often I find it difficult to know what to give people to mark Birthdays, Christmas or other occasions.

Spending time in Zambia has given me opportunities to give alternative presents.

As I mentioned most people seem to have access to a bit of land where they can grow maize.

For a few years I did some work at Monze Mission Hospital developing their computer systems. O who worked in the office wanted to grow some maize. So I took the opportunity to give him money to buy maize seed instead of buying my dad a Christmas present.

I am sure that this present was the one my dad remembered and probably appreciated more than any other.

I sent my dad this photo of O's crop later in the year.

 

My dad was fortunate to celebrate two silver wedding anniversaries. He was married to my mother for more than 30 years. When he was about to celebrate his second 25 years I was in Zambia. Friends of mine C & R ran a small project. This involved growing a variety of vegetabes, as well as some maize.

The small farm they used was about 10 km to the west of Monze, not far from Hichanga Dam which supplies water to Monze. They needed something to transport their goods into town. As they had a couple of oxen so an ox-cart would be very suitable.

R had a friend who was an artist and we decided that a small inscription on the cart would be appropriate. In the event Rs artist didn't appear – so R picked up a paitbrush and with some paint wrote the inscription himself.

My Dad and Stepmother's silver wedding anniversary present was the oxcart shown below!

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Outstations

 Many communities in Zambia live quite a long way from a church. Most people in these communities won't have a car and therefore rely on the priest to come to them to celebrate services. The priests often travel many miles on a Sunday to serve these “outstations”.

I have come to know many priests in Monze over the past twenty years and sometimes I get the opportunity to visit an outstation.

When building in Zambia an important component is often broken stones, used to make concrete. These are often produced by women using hammers. The photo below shows this process taken place at an outstation probably for a local project.

By making friends in Zambia I have had the chance to get a glimpse of the reality of life in this extremely poor part of the world. I have also enjoyed the fun and laughter that the people embrace. I cannot walk far before being greeted and being engaged in some lively banter.

My experience of the out station chapels is that, like this one, they are very simple and somehow this makes the services even more special.

 

 

 

 

 

The journey to these places sometimes also brings an unexpected delight.

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Chris 

A guided tour through the bush

 

One of my joys is to wander in the bush around Monze. I just like to wander along the narrow paths and see where they lead me! I might take a book with me, but I always have my binoculars and usually a camera..

On this occasion I had sat down on a fallen tree trunk and looked forward to relaxing with my book when these three lads appeared.

One took my binoculars and wondered how he could take a picture with them. I explained what they were and showed him how you could see distant objects. I then told the boys that I did have a camera to take pictures - “you snap me”. So I snapped them.

One boy took my binoculars, another my camera and I was led further into the bush.

My new friends spent the next two hours showing me around their village.

Costern my new cameraman insisted that his friends and neighbours came out of their homes to greet me and pose for photos.

This was one of so many experiences that I have had in Zambia which wouldn't have been possible without a local 'guide' stepping up and showing me around. 

This was a marvellous and memorable experience early during my visits to Zambia and Costern's

pictures allow me to recall that wonderful day.

My memorable tour ended with a visit to Chief Monze's Palace. Not perhaps palatial by our standards, but I considered it a great honour. I was led to a chair with an awning over it.

I wasn't aware of the protocol and, when a man appeared, I got up to greet him. He told me that he wasn't the chief, but just one of the villagers. He asked me where I was from and I said England, he said “what part of England” . When I told him that I was from Cheltenham he said that he was familiar with the area. His son went to Hartpury College in Gloucestershire and he had visited.

This was another lesson for me! I hadn't expected to come across someone during a walk in the bush who was perhaps more familiar with my part of the world than I was with theirs.

The chief did appear and we were introduced. Chief Monze is, as you might imagine, an important person in this area and one of the major chiefs of the Tonga people.

 

 Chiefs and headmen are important in Zambia and fulfil important roles in relation to disputes and the distribution of land. 

 

 

 

 

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 Chris Barrell 

John's Well

If you live a little way from the town in Monze a well provides a reliable water source for growing crops and drinking.

John told me that all he needed to dig his well was a pickaxe and a shovel. I was a little sceptical, but a friend offered to fund the project (about £15 if I remember correctly).

After a week or so J appeared again! He had dug down about 6 foot. Now at this depth you hit an issue – getting out of the hole.

There is however a solution. You need a windlass, which is a device with a wheel and handle. If you think of the top of a mine you will get the idea.You pass a rope over this wheel and attach a bucket. The bucket is used to take the soil to the surface. Oh, and to lower and raise J so he can continue digging!

It just happened that this was not my first well digging project and Jennipher had a windlass that John could use. So sorted!

The windlass is hand operated, so now we needed someone to operate it. John had a friend who was willing to do this work. He would just need to be fed.

So onwards and upwards – or more accurately dowmwards!!

All went well (no pun intended) for a while. Then John came to me to say he was worried, he had dug down to 50 or 60 feet. During this time the equipment had been well tested and the rope was showing it! John said that it was fraying and he was worried.

At this point I began to wonder whether I should be involved! Anyway we obtained a new rope and John continued to dig.

Eventually John hit water. The test is that when you are lowered (perhaps 100 feet) into the hole you bail out enough water to fill two large barrels. At this point you can stop digging and you have your well.

However we now have a very deep hole. It is towards the end of the dry season, but the sides could still fall in – when the rains arrive the well will be in trouble!

The solution is to line the well with concrete rings or bricks. We decided therefore to buy 2,000 bricks to line the well – oh and a bit of sand and cement to make the mortar.

Before John's well I had a very bad experience when a little girl fell down a well. It was very important therefore that John's well was capped.

The usual way of getting water is by dropping a bucket into the water. However this allows the water to become contaminated. Each year in Monze they have a show which gives various organisations to exhibit their products. Many years ago I was impressed by a “rope pump”. This goes over a well and produces a sealed system which prevents contamination.

I decided to get John a rope pump to complete his project.

The moral of this tale is that when someone tells you they only need a pick-axe and a shovel to build a well be wary.

Schedule of items for building a well:

pick

shovel

windlass

rope

bucket

food for man 2

second rope

2,000 bricks

sand

cement

pump

The well was built just before John decided to move. I never found out what happened to the pump! Unfortunately I haven't got a picture of the well so this is a different well!

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Chris

 

 

Around Monze

When in Monze I choose to walk. This allows me to take in everything around me and to meet the local people. I attend church at Our Lady of the Wayside which is about 1 ½ miles along the Livingstone Road.

Returning into town I sometimes use the railway line – in Zambia this is treated as a footpath!! The area around Monze is flat. When walking outside the town I can usually see the water tower and the mobile phone towers giving me confidence that I can find my way home.

I meet animals along the main road as well as the side dust roads. Donkeys, as well as oxen, are used to pull carts. This one shows a clear cross - sometimes claimed to be a sign that a donkey carried Jesus on its back.

One of my favourite places is a small lake a couple of miles to the west of Monze. I enjoy sitting and observing all the activity. There is a good range of birds – pied kingfishers which hover before diving for fish, african jacanas which dive in and out of the light scrub, there are wide-billed storks which look prehistoric, plenty of cattle egrets and the occasional snake eagle which can stop still and hold their position using the wind.

Cattle and goats come to drink, sometimes brought by local children.

Children often come to see what I am doing. They take my binoculars and hand them around, but they are always handed back when they have finished looking through them.

In recent years the lake has become virtually dry before the fresh rains arrive.

Looking through some of my many pictures from Zambia helps me recall events, that because of my aphantasia might not come to mind. There are many special memories.

It is quite difficult to know how to relate some of the stories. My friends in Zambia are generally very poor. There challenges are big and some are no longer with us.

The photo below shows me with John. This was in fact the first ever photo that my friend Diven took. (Diven wants to help me write his book – we have had a lot of adventures over the years!)

It was 2006 and I was doing some work at the hospital (At this time I had a work permit – another story!). I had collected a number of computers with issues! I think I sorted some of them!

John lived not far from the lake and wanted a well.

Chris

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A Fishing Village

I remember coming across the African Toyota Ox-cart on a dusty road leaving Monze. I was being driven by Fr. Kenan - a priest friend of mine.

Just a little way further along the road we came across these young boys herding cattle. It is very unlikely that these children went to school. Their families will have owned cattle for generations. The cattle provide their employment and income.

So where are we heading?

This is Lochinvar. It is about 35km from Monze. Lochinvar is known as a National Park where there are antelopes such as Impala and the local Lechwe – there are also Buffalo, Zebra and other animals that pass through – and beware of hippos and crocodiles! It is well known for its abundance of birds. I remember seeing a Secretary Bird which walks in a very haughty fashion as well as a Maribou Stork, Fish Eagle, Hornbills, Vultures and many more beautiful birds.

But we weren't here on safari!

These boys are part of a fishing community. The families live in these straw huts while they fish the Kafue river.

When the rains arrive each year this area is flooded and the straw huts are all washed away!! 

I had come to Lochinvar to join the fishing community in the celebration of mass.

During the dry season access to the church is by car, but during the rainy season you need to find a canoe! The fishing community have permanent houses which are much further from the river however these house as well as the church need to be on ground that has been built up above the level of the flood water. Sunday mass is an occasional rather than a weekly occurrence because of the remoteness of the village.

I have been very fortunate to have had so many wonderful experiences in Zambia over the past 20+ years. The photos I took allow me to remember these events, despite my Aphantasia.

I will share some more stories if you are interested.

Chris

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