Time to slow down

Saturday 11^th May

I have not had formal work now for nearly 23 years!! Yet I am always keeping busy! We live in a world where we are given the message that we always have to occupied. A short time ago I spent 8 days on retreat – no phones, no internet, no television and almost complete silence! Yet as soon as I get back home I am keeping my self occupied. Perhaps coming to Zambia is sending me a message – to slow down.

My relationship with God is very important to me. I believe in a God who is a close friend, who enjoys my company and constantly tries to help me keep to the right path. He (or she!) finds it eassy in Zambia to thwart my plans and slow me down. I try to rush to Monze from the UK and I am stranded in Amsterdam. I try to rush to the Curia to get on the Internet and busy myself and I land at Our Lady of the Wayside with no internet connection! I finally arrive at the Curia and my Laptop stops working. I fix the laptop and can't get internet access! I really believe that I am being given a very powerful message!!

So what have I lost!! I had a lovely restful day in Amsterdam. I have caught up with a lot of friends, I have enjoyed some exercise, covering a few miles each day – in, out and around town - and I have have some time to read, enjoy the sunshine and think about the lives of the people here and how best I can provide a little support. It is clear that it is all gain and not loss.

I often wonder how much of our busy lives is spent being occupied rather than being engaged in the world in which we live.

The projector that I carried very carefully from Cheltenham is still working. Yesterday Diven and his family came around for lunch and a film show. They enjoyed watching the animals in the Frozen Planet and also the cartoons. Mr and Mrs Sianga also visited. I projected the videos onto the wall providing a screen about 6ft x 4 ft. I had also picked up some speakers to enhance the sound. Mrs Sianga said that her children would no longer need to go to Livingstone to see the animals!! Though I hope that the projector isn't seen as a substitute.

After Diven left we caught up on some of the challenges facing the school. It is very hard for people in the UK to understand the difficulties faced by families such as those attending PIZZ School and the impact of a poor harvest. The Siangas have a farm and managed to grow a little maize before the rains failed. In practice they rely on the farm to provide their livelihood and enable them to run the school – funds are always desperately short to cover the bills that arise – many that cannot be predicted. This year they are worried because by December they will run out of maize for themselves – usually there is a surplus that they can sell.

The teachers also struggle to survive on the little they receive and prices – particularly for food are rising rapidly. Some good teachers have left to find better paid jobs. However the main impact is on the children. These children live in households that are surviving on the margins. The fact that they go to school at all is because the school is a social community as well as an educational one. The guardians are making sacrifices to allow their children to go to school rather than make money selling in the streets. However, at this time there is no food at home so most children are having to make money for their guardians. Mrs Sianga says she expects 75% of children to be absent from school because of the crop failure this year. This could have a permanent impact on the lives of these children. If they miss a significant amount of schooling they will have difficulty passing exams and getting decent jobs etc.

Unfortunately there are no easy solutions when famine occurs, but perhaps with more understanding of the impact we can mitigate some of the worst long term effects.

I helped Mr & Mrs Sianga to their car with a variety of goods which had accounted for much of my 54Kg of luggage! As well as the projector and videos, there were three bags of shoes, some hand knitted woolly jumpers and a mixture of art materials and games. I also gave them a solar security light to see if it might help in classrooms where the solar lighting is no longer working properly.

I am keen to hear more about the challenges with the school and to meet some of the staff and children. Although I am not here in an official role I have come to know so many at the school over the past 15 years or so and will continue to develop the relationships!!

Yesterday was the funeral of my friend Maria. I woke myself up at 5.30 in order to attend mass at 6.30. I went to the cathedral where mass is said in English. In the months leading up to her death Maria tried to get things in order. She asked me to scan some photos which covered much of her life. I looked through them yesterday morning. Many are from a time before we met, but there are also a lot taken over the past twenty years or so since we met. It was good to remember her and recall the many happy times during that period. May she rest in peace in the presence of our God.

I am surprised how few birds I have noticed since I arrived. The pied crows are around, I have seen one or two swallows and swifts (not the European ones that have returned back home), there are a couple of pied wagtails around the Curia – I have also mentioned the house sparrows. I saw a bulbil yesterday and a couple of blue waxbills at Our Lady of the Wayside and a pretty dove. Oh and a small flock of egrets flew over! Ok I have noticed a few birds since I arrived after all! I intend visiting the small lake just beyond PIZZ School this afternoon – a pleasant stroll of a couple of miles I suppose. (each way!)

Take care and slow down!

Chris