Thursday 23rd May
I worry that my
blog easily becomes more of a diary than an impression of life here
in Monze!
I am very much at
home here and forget that I stand out! I have spent a lot of time
chatting to friends over a cup of tea or coffee, sharing thoughts and
passing on information from our different worlds and perspectives.
I have spent some
time over the past few days talking with Diven. He has a little shop
which was once the only shop in the road, but now is surrounded by
bigger ones selling similar goods. He is lucky if he makes 25 kwacha
in a day (less than £2). With this he can just about feed the
family, but any additional costs cause problems. At the moment he is
buying his young daughter two drinks a day each costing 3 kwacha
(about 20p) – this is beyond his budget!
One way and
another my friends seem to be connecting! Jennipher is now supporting
Diven and Delia through their medical issues, Bright has now become
friends with Diven and both were around on Monday chatting with me
under the veranda. Jennipher is well known throughout Monze Hospital
so we have mutual friends there.
I was up early
yesterday because Fr. Clement was saying mass for my friend Maria.
After mass I watched a band of women sweeping the grounds. It is
traditional here to sweep even though the ground is covered with sand
– I was not aware of any leaves or litter, though maybe I am not
very observant!
School and college
fees present a major challenge for most people in Monze. Gertrude –
the cook at Our Lady of the Wayside church was unemployed for several
years. She has a daughter who has exams to take in November, but
there is a shortfall of 3,000 kwacha (a bit less than £200). Unless
she finds the money, her daughter will not be able to take her exams.
On Tuesday I met a girl – Grace – who told me that she has
passed her exams to become a teacher but again there is a shortfall
in payments – this time 5,000 kwacha. Despite passing her exams she
will not receive a certificate and be allowed to take up a teaching
post until the debt is cleared.
People struggle to
find money to send their children to school and much of their income
goes to this purpose, but a small misfortune can easily result in a
child failing to progress.
I met friends
yesterday who I helped on my last visit start a little business
buying and selling Kapenta – very small dried fish. The mother
clearly understands how to generate a decent income from this trade.
All went well at first but she became ill with malaria ++ as they
term it! A neighbour offered to help her sell the fish, but instead
stole her stock and ran away with it to Lusaka. The result is that
her main source of income has gone and some of her children are no
longer at school.
I went to Fr.
Clement's – or to be more accurate – Our Lady of the Wayside's
farm. He has a good number of pigs - two or three of which are
pregnant. A previous litter caught a disease and died. They planted
about 5 hectares of sunflower seeds this year which should have
yielded a very good harvest which they could turn into oil – using
a machine that was donated from St. Gregory's church in Cheltenham.
Unfortunately very few seeds have been harvested due to the lack of
rain. A small amount of cow peas were grown – again the crop should
have been far larger. In order to keep the oil press working they are
looking into pressing some cotton seeds. This year the income for the
church will be much reduced as a result of the poor harvest.
Today I was asked
to look at the solar lighting at the school which is not all
functioning. It is a long time since I was taught about electricity
and, due to problems at customs on my last visit, the lighting didn't
arrived in time for me to help install it as planned.
I have always
maintained that not being an expert can have great benefits. Which
reminds me of the time I was chosen to accompany a disabled sailor in
a dinghy – I believe it was on the grounds that I was the most
incompetent sailor around!! My disabled friend used to train others
to sail and was perfectly capable of telling me what to do. If an
instructor had accompanied him they would have found it difficult not
to take over! But I divert!!
I sought the help
of a teacher and we tried to understand how the system worked! It
seemed the battery was connected to the solar panel but nothing
else!! Yet the lights in question worked. We were even more baffled
when they worked without the battery connected to anything!! Well
after a lot of head scratching and wire tracking, we came to
understand how the system was put together. Eventually comparing
results from the working and non-working system we established that
there was no power coming from one of the solar panels. Had I been an
expert I might have found the cause, but would any of the staff be
any the wiser? Now at least a small number of staff members have a
better understanding of the system – and so do I!!
We have seen a few
clouds this week. You notice if the sun goes behind a cloud, because
it is quite rare! People tell me it is now cold. I confess to wearing
a jumper when I left home before 6 hrs yesterday, but by 8 am I was
very happy in a light shirt. In the mornings the sky is a beautiful
bright blue – the pictures don't exaggerate the colour! The sun
very soon brings a warmth that even in our summer we rarely
experience.
I am still meeting
friends along the way. This afternoon I had a long conversation with
someone who seemed to know me, though I can't place him! I have met
Jennipher several times at the hospital when she has brought clients
and there a number of staff members have greeted me. The conversation
usually goes “Hallo Chris – you're back, when did you come?” I
explain that though back, I am nearly gone again and they respond
“too bad”.
Bye for Now,
Chris
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