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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Stories from Zambia

Stories from Zambia

Last year I realised that I have a condition called Aphantasia. This means that I cannot picture anything or anyone in my mind. I am realising that this has a significant impact. In particular I have a very limited recollection of many of the events in my life.

I have been reflecting on the past 23 years since I first went to Zambia. Because of Aphantasia I realise I need some help to remember. I am therefore going through the hundreds of photos I have taken (I wish that I had taken more!). These trigger my memory. I have shared my memories on Facebook, but have also decided to record them here.

 

I will admit from the outset that I am also trying to promote my charity Transformation ThroughEducation www.transformationthrougheducation.org.uk which currently has a crisis! We need to raise £30,000 to complete the building of a Science Laboratory for PIZZ school by the end of this year or the project could be put in doubt.

Somehow I need to reach out to people who can help us secure the future of the children of Monze, Zambia. Lifting them and there families out of poverty is a lasting legacy for those that help this project succeed. A legacy that will continue through genrations to come.

@transformationthrougheducation.orh.uk

 

Isn't Technology wonderful!

This afternoon I had a video call with my son Andy using WhatsApp.

I took him for a tour along the main road and behind some of the shops. Scenes familiar to me were less usual for him. At first he didn't recognise the wheelbarrows. Here wheelbarrows take many shapes and sizes depending on what goods are to be carried. In the UK they are used in gardens and are generally the same shape.

Lorries are longer here, often including a trailer, Bicycles in the uk are for one person with a helmet, there are not usually makeshift stalls at the side of the road and trucks are not usually filled with people.

Let's just say that Andy was able to get a good picture of life here – one that, without the technology, would not have been possible.

I have offered friends and family the offer of a video call. Obviously this can't be an entirely open invitation, but for friends reading this blog please get in touch if you would like a tour!

Of course another thing that technology can offer is a very simple way to donate money for a bag of cement to complete the foundations of the Science Lab at PIZZ school. All you need to do is click the link below.

https://checkout.justgiving.com/

Thanks,

Chris

 

We have Power!

 

At least the sun is shining. In fact it is still unusual to see any clouds here.

The power came back just long enough for me to boil water for my second cup of tea, but not long enough to reboil water for my flask. Still the water is now warm enough for a cup of coffee or two.

The internet came back – still no power!

I sat down in the garden at Truckers. It is relaxing with a variety of trees planted as well as a variety of birds – though I saw only saw Pied Crows and House Sparrows this morning. Unless you count the chickens.

Now we have power and possibly internet as well.

These and many other difficulties face everyone here. Teaching under these conditions also has its challenges.

Today is to try to publicise Transformation through education and raise funds for the school. You can find out about our 50 day challenge here.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/buildingasciencelab

Chris

Social Media Weekend

This weekend I am trying to wake up my social media connections.

I often wake up to a relatively cool but beautifully sunny day and think how lucky I am. This place is wonderful! But for many children life is a struggle.

I thought that the Jacaranda trees were about finished flowering, but WOW there are some immense trees in the garden full of their blue flowers – some falling to the ground covering it like confetti.

During the week I had another surprise visit. This time from Nancy and her mother. I had feared that I wouldn't see her this year because she was no where to be seen. So it was a great joy to meet up. I remember meeting Nancy when she was at a small pre-school on the edge of Monze – many years back! She had a special sparkle in her eye that caught my attention. The potential I spotted then has proved well founded. She knows what she wants and is determined to get there. She had problems at her last school which was some distance from Monze so she decided to come back home. she sold a few items she had to buy a new school uniform and some books and enrolled at a local school. She now wants to go to a boarding school not far away where she can study more! She is unhappy that she only has three hours of school at present “it's not enough”. She says she will become a nurse – no she doesn't want to be a doctor “I want to be a nurse”.

This weekend I am trying to GO VIRAL and help other children like Nancy achieve their dreams. This is our charity Facebook page Transformation Through Education

I will give brief updates throughout the day.

Chris

We're Building a Science Lab

As usual time is passing very quickly here in Monze.

We have had large swarms of moths over the past few days. At night they find a way into my house and thanks to my mosquito killer they cover the floor by the morning. The weather is getting hot – low to mid 30s with the occasional cloud, but still mainly cloudless skies. We have also had a couple of windy days.

The bird life has perked up recently. I had wondered why the flocks of sparrows contained only males. The reason is that they are not sparrows but Bronze Mannequins. However there are some house sparrows – today enjoying bathing in the bird bath. The mannequins along with a couple of Blue Waxbills were having great fun playing in the spray from a sprinkler in the garden. The Fork Tailed Drongos (the first birds I identified in Zambia many years ago) are around as in an African Pied Wagtail. There is also a bird I cannot identify – the nearest I can see is an Oxpecker – it has a very distinctive yellow stripe under its eye. The Pied Crows and Common Bulbils are ever present. The flowers are coming into bloom heralding the coming rains but the mangoes are all but invisible. Whether I will taste a fresh mango before I leave is doubtful.

I have shown a few people around via WhatApp video. The garden is a nice view, but it is on the Great North Road at the bottom of my drive that you start to get a feel for Africa. Appropriate since I am told that the road stretches from Cape Town in the south to Cairo in the North!

Today I was invited for lunch with Obert and his family. They killed a village chicken for me – happily not in my presence. The village chickens are special in that they peck around finding their own food and wander some distance. As a result they are particularly tasty. I enjoyed mine with some nshima and 'soup' contained onions, tomatoes and other vegetables. My friends make a lot of effort to prepare special food for me – I am very privileged.

I came across Alec – Sampson's brother during the week. He told me that he now has his licence to drive lorries. He needs to get approval to carry goods and he will then try to get work. He then wants his dangerous goods licence!

Our campaign to get funds to buy 250 bags of cement in 50 days for the Science Lab foundations is now live on JustGiving you can check out the campaign and buy a bag of cement by following this link

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/buildingasciencelab 

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris