Friday 24th
July
Its
hard to believe that another week has gone by! Today is the last of
five birthdays which occur every 4 days between 8th July
and today. My success rate at remembering the order and at least
making a phone call has varied. In Monze it is relatively easy to
ring via Skype – electricity and network permitting, travelling to
Chisamba and Kabwe however made life a little more tricky.
I
managed to catch a bit of a cold – perhaps in Chisamba where the
nights were surprisingly chilly. Yesterday I felt rather worse for
wear, but today a bit of energy has returned.
I
made a brief visit to Mrs Sianga, then settled at home on the
computer. I needed to make contact with Jane who will join us on
Monday – and succeeded in having a bit of a chat. Diven called
around with Delia in the afternoon because he was worried about my
illness. I told him that I would soon be fine again and he left a bit
re-assured.
I
decided I needed a good night's sleep and turned in early.
This
morning I took my time rising and felt a bit better. Jane has a
mobile phone charger for Jennipher to replace the one destroyed by
lightening. However, she is not allowed to bring the battery on the
plane. I therefore need to find how I can find another. Victor who is
doing much of the building work at PIZZ School said he might be able
to help, if he had the specification. I decided to provide a copy for
him and leave it with Mrs. Sianga. In the event she arranged for him
to meet me at the school and he was able to suggest two shops in
Lusaka where I could probably obtain a battery or if not be told
where to find one. Both shops are within walking distance of where I
will get off the bus so I should be able to go on Monday. He assured
me that such batteries are easily found in Zambia.
I
met with Rosemary this morning - a quiet first year student. She is
one of about 35 students for whom we have sponsors in the UK. Other
than having a chance to talk to me, so that I can tell some of their
stories to their sponsors, the children do not individually gain
benefits. However the school receives some regular funds and the
sponsors have a chance to follow the progress of astudent at the
school. The children are picked often because they have a
particularly difficult background. Sometimes the fact that someone is
taking interest can give them the boost they need. Rosemary was very
quiet and didn't say a lot – hopefully next year I will see a lot
more confidence, as I have observed this year with many of the older
children.
There
was a meeting this morning with others from Hands Around the World in
the UK about the child sponsorship programme and I agreed to attend
via Skype. On the whole it was a very successful session where I felt
part of the meeting, which lasted for about two hours. If all the
students at PIZZ were sponsored it would provide sufficient funds for
the school to operate well. So we just need another 300 sponsors!! If
you are interested to find out more about the scheme you can find
details on the HATW website. Hands
Around The World
Just
before the meeting John came knocking on the door. I haven't seen
John for several years. In fact I wondered whether he was still
around. It is many years ago that John asked me for a pickaxe and
shovel so he could build himself a well! A friend who read my blog
offered the equipment and the saga of John's well began. I won't
recall everything here but needless to say the two implements were
not quite sufficient to complete the job. It started getting
complicated after about 1 ½ metres! Getting out of the hole and
removing the soil required a windlass and a bucket – oh and a
friend to hoist the buckets contents (whether soil or John!).
Eventually a 30 metre deep well was constructed!! Anyway John is
still around, but picked the worst time to call. I really was pleased
to see him and thought I'd arranged for him to see me later. He
didn't return – maybe he'll catch up with me again this year or in
the future!
I
met another student after lunch and spent a while talking to the
headmaster and deputy. They had decided to represent the teachers to
save me listening again to teachers concerned about the very low
salaries they are paid. I was glad of the opportunity to talk to
them, but also suggested I spoke to the teachers.
Hands
Around the World has been paying the teachers wages at PIZZ School
for a number of years. When we started, although the wages were below
those of government teachers, the difference was not huge. However,
two or three years ago government teachers received large rises in
their salaries, but we have been able to do little to increase our
funding. Donors can sometimes be found to pay for buildings or
equipment, however very few will consider paying ongoing costs such
as teacher's salaries. It is easy to put up a classroom and show some
nice pictures, but without teachers it is a waste of money! Yet I
have great difficulty persuading almost anyone else that there is no
better way of using our money than paying for teachers to provide
education to the students. At PIZZ School many lives have been
changed significantly. Children are not on the streets with all the
dangers that entails, and the older students are now progressing
through secondary and some onto tertiary education. I want to tell
the teachers just how proud they should be for the wonderful work
they are doing. I recognise that they are not paid enough and I can't
promise any increase. I will however fight for everything I can get
to ensure the school continues to improve the lives of many children
– and perhaps save the lives of some!
Time
for a quick trip into town to meet Mr. Meheritona the director of
HHZ. We know each other from the time he was the manager at St.
Vincent's School here in Monze. We talked about bee projects,
containers and other issues. I was also interested in his work with
the Leonard Cheshire organisation. This group spent last year looking
at improving accessibility in schools in the Monze area for children
with disabilities. After a successful trial the initiative is being
extended to other parts of Zambia. I do some driving for Leonard
Cheshire in the UK and am interested in talking to the organisation
here and possibly forging some sort of link. I have set an
appointment to follow this up next Wednesday.
I
realised this evening that it was Charlie's birthday, so I made a
hasty call and interrupted his party!
For
supper I found some dried fish which we had with sweet potatoes and
cabbage.
With
love and prayers,
Chris
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