The Final stages
At the end of May Jim set off for Lusaka taking the football with
him, and early in June he was able to pass the ball to my friend
Jennipher.
Jim was meeting with Jennipher to provide her support groups with
another bicycle ambulance – the last having been such a success.
I first met Jennipher in 2004. She was one of the first people to
receive ARVs (Anti-Retroviral Drugs) for AIDS. She has since become a
tremendous campaigner for those with HIV/AIDS - telling her story so
that others will also have the courage to disclose their status and
fight against the stigma still experienced. She has established more
than 60 support groups in her area about 35 kilometres from Monze and
encouraged countless people to get tested and, if necessary, start
treatment on ARVs. I have seen many people whose lives have been
transformed by such treatment – people who were confined to bed are
now able to work in the fields providing food for their famillies.
Jennipher has taken in children from her brothers and sisters over
the years as well as from clients and treats them all as her own. I
have come to know the children Soloman, Sandra, Mike, Selina, Maggie
and Obadia over the years and it is a delight to see them doing
well.You can find out more about Jennipher's story on the Hands
Around the World website at www.hatw.org.uk.
After persuading Soloman – her eldest – that the ball wasn't
intended for his football team, Jennipher passed the ball to Fr.
Kenan.
I met Fr. Kenan in 2007 in London. Diliwe, a Zambian friend who used
to live in Cheltenham, introduced us to each other. When Fr. Kenan
returned to Zambia, from his course in England, later in the year, I
was already in Monze. He was appointed as the chaplain to Monze
Mission Hospital where I was working at the time – the world is not
so big after all!
Fr. Kenan is now parish priest of the cathedral church in Monze and
very generously provided me with accommodation and looked after me
very well last year. He took me to Livingstone at the end of last
year's trip together with my wife Dilys, grandaughter Amy and
Jennipher.
When the ball arrived with Fr. Kenan the priest in charge of Our Lady
of the Wayside church was away, but I have now received word from Fr.
Raphael that he has the football and the children for whom it is
intended will be able to enjoy it. (hopefully pictures will follow.)
At the end of 2004 I talked to one of the priests in Monze. I had
been attending the Catholic church in town during my 4 month stay and
the previous short trip in 2003. I am reasonably active in my own
church in Cheltenham and was keen to see if there was a way of
becoming involved with the church in Monze. Initial support for a
Small Christian Community in the parish evolved into the idea of
forging links between the churches of St. Gregory's and St. Thomas
More in Cheltenham and Our Lady of the Wayside in Monze.
Over the years we have linked the churches via the Internet with
video sessions – with some success, despite many challenges! We
have tried to share some information about the different lives we
lead and some of the things that unite us. There has been some
contact between different groups within the churches with letters
being exchanged. At St. Gregory's our youth have raised money to
repair the church roof in Monze and we have been able to support
students through their education, including one student who is about
to embark on a law degree. For their part, as mentioned above, the
church in Monze provided me with full board and lodging last year,
took myself, Dilys and Amy on outings and gave us presents to bring
back to Cheltenham.
I hope that the relationship we have between the churches will
develop over the years and more people from each community will get
the opportunity to meet. We have a lot to share and we can all
benefit from getting to know and understand people of a different
culture better.
The football has linked the parishes in a tangible way. Being passed
from hand to hand between people, all doing their bit in creating a
better understanding between peoples of the world and making our
world a fairer and better place.
With love and prayers
Chris
