Recently I talked a bit
about my experiences in Zambia at our church in Cheltenham. I wanted
to stress the importance of relationships and to give a little
insight into the way I have come to know people over the years. I
tried to show how I been able to help improve a few lives and in
return, how the people of Monze have greatly enriched mine.
While I am in the UK
perhaps it is an opportunity to reflect over my visits to Monze over
the past 16 years and tell a few stories of where our lives have
overlapped.
Since leaving Zambia in
December I constantly remember my little friend Nancy. Nancy
epitomises the joy and pain of Zambia. I met her at a pre-school in
2015 – she was full of life, she had a cheeky smile and knew how to
command attention. A girl with great potential.
The pre-school was
established by Mrs. Musika not far from Our Lady of the Wayside
Parish in the area called Manungu – on the south side of Monze.
About 10 years ago I
was walking along the Livingstone Road when a young man approached
me. “I have a problem!” he said. This is not unusual – I meet
many people with problems, as I walk around Monze. He told me that
his problem was that he walked with a limp because one leg was
shorter than the other. They used to be the same length, but as he
got older his artificial leg didn't grow like the other one!
As I say, I meet a lot
of people with problems and I cannot solve them all. I try to listen,
but invariably say there is little I can do. I did however promise to
let people in the UK know about Obert's problem. Back home a friend
gave me money for a replacement leg. It took two years before Obert
found me again - this time at Our Lady of the Wayside church which I
attend when I am in Monze. I had no idea that he attended the church
– in fact, other than his name and that he had an artificial leg, I
knew nothing about Obert at that time.
I came to know Obert
much better over the years. Obert is a man of determination. When he
was a young boy he told his father that he wanted a bike. His dad
told him that he would never be able to ride one, so it was with
great pride that some time later he rode proudly to his home on a
friends bike. While at school he also had a dream to become a taxi
driver – again he was told this was an impossible ambition.
Obert has been driving
taxis for a few years now, he is married with a young beautiful
daughter and with help from his dad has his own house.
Obert is the son of Mr
and Mrs Musika who established the pre-school. Mr Musika is a builder
who built the house at the Curia where I have stayed in recent years
- as well as building the pre-school and other structures for his
family. Mrs Musika also hosts a group of disabled children and their
parents. They gain encouragement through mutual support and by
undertaking some fund-raising activities they can ease some of the
financial pressures a little.
The lives of my friends
in Manungu are still very difficult – I don't know whether Nancy
has any food at home today - but with a bit of support here and
there, their prospects are a bit better than they would have been had
I not met that young man with a problem 10 years ago on the
Livingstone Road.
Chris
