Tuesday 7th
July
Today
was the last day of the long holiday. People were travelling back to
their workplaces from where some had come to visit friends and
family. Edward was heading to Lusaka where he works as headmaster,
leaving his wife in Monze, Simon was on his way to his farm close to
Kafue and Fr. Kenan was returning to Chilimantando.
Yesterday,
after doing a little on the computer and making some phone calls, I
decided to have an hour relaxing at the small dam (lake). I watched a
Great White Egret stalking its prey and catching something quite
large in its beak (either a fish or some type of amphibian). The
African Openbilled Storks flew low over the lake before settling.
They make me think of Pterodactyls with there large gaping beaks and
the way they hold their heads – a very unusual sight.
Teddy
popped along in the afternoon and we caught up on a wide range of
topics. He has been off work because he scalded his leg with boiling
water which he was going to use to warm his bath. Precious came
around, but couldn't be persuaded to try my scrambled eggs with
“House of Commons” (at least that was what my mother called a
mixture of fried onions, tomatoes and rice!).
I
had arranged to meet Edward in the evening. Some years back, while he
was the headteacher at Monze Basic School, he realised that the
school was in dire need of renovating and could also do with some
improvements. He had the idea of contacting some “old boys” to
see if they might provide support and had some success. Before
independence the school was for Europeans only and, needless to say,
some of the ex-pupils were in a better position to help than some of
the more recent intake. (It is now a standard government school) When
one of these “ old boys”, now living in England, found that I
visited Monze regularly he asked if I could act as a sort of liaison.
For a couple of years I met with Edward, discussed his plans and
observed the progress. We became friends and I like to get together
with him when I can. We chat over a beer or two. He is now living in
Lusaka and is headmaster at a secondary school there - returning
every fortnight or so to his family who still live in Monze. He
dropped me home a little before 22 hrs.
Today
I set off for Pemba to say hallo to Jennipher's family.
It was good to meet up
once more. Soloman is getting stronger after being very ill during
the past year. He was at UTH – University Teaching Hospital, which
is the main hospital in Lusaka and he was not expected to survive. As
a last resort he was treated with some “Chinese medicine” and
eventually pulled through. Selina is now a young lady and apparently
doesn't appreciate being shown the pictures I took when she was a
very small child. Maggie and Obadia have grown, but still want to sit
on my knees. Little Jennipher was busy rehearsing for an event at the
Catholic Church so wasn't around and Emmanuel is still staying in
Livingstone. Since Maambo's death a few months ago her sister has
been staying with Jennipher. Among other things, Maambo took on the
major role of looking after the children while Jennipher was in
England. She is missed terribly by Jennipher. There is also a young
boy staying at the house - his mother died last year,. An elderly
gentleman arrived while we were talking – he spends most of the day
at the house and Jennipher gives him food.
The house is quite
crowded and mattresses and blankets are a bit sparse – some of the
family have to sleep on the concrete floor. Jennipher wants a double
mattress and Selina needs school shoes and a jumper.
On the way to her home
we passed by the house of one of her clients. The lady has made a
nice garden and is growing onions, rape (a local vegetable a bit like
spinach), tomatoes and other vegetables. She has mains water but the
pressure is very low during the day. It is very important to be able
to grow some of your own food. With a decent water supply everything
grows rapidly – but without it it is difficult to grow anything
during the long dry season (April to November – and recently even
longer). This lady was managing very well under the circumstances.
Some people in Pemba
are buying storage tanks and filling them overnight in order to have
water for their gardens. Jennipher is hoping to be able to get one
some day. She says they can make a stand but cannot afford a tank. I
will try to find out the prices. I think a tank would make a big
difference to the crops they could grow.
Jennipher told me she
has 18 goats. Any male goats she sells, but she keeps the females to
increase the herd. She also has a number of guinea fowl, a few
chickens and two ducks which produce some eggs. She showed me her
orange tree where she had left two oranges for me – Selina picked
them and gave them to me before I left. It is only a small tree but
it produced over 100 oranges which she was able to sell. It is from
these animals and by growing some vegetables that Jennipher is able
to feed the family. A solar panel designed to charge mobile phones
was bringing in a good income – as much as £4 - £5 on a very good
day - but unfortunately it was struck by lightning and, not
surprisingly, does not work any longer. I would like to replace the
charger if I can sort out the logistics of acquiring it and arranging
for it to be brought from the UK.
I brought a football
with me because I remembered that Soloman is involved with a small
football club. A friend back in Cheltenham lives close to a football
ground and field where they practice. Balls regularly land in his
garden and no one comes to collect them! Little did the guy who
kicked this ball one day out of the ground into a Cheltenham garden
realise that it would end up in Zambia!!
When
I arrived in Monze a few weeks back Jennipher told me that her
daughter Sandra needed an operation in a neighbouring country. She
had the operation but a problem with the stitches has caused her to
remain in the hospital. Jennipher is intending to travel and arrange
for her to be moved to a hospital in Livingstone or Monze where
Jennipher will be able to care for her more easily.
On
the way back I caught what I class as a 20 seater bus. This one
actually managed 21 passengers if you count a child of 9 or 10 years
old – here children don't get a separate seat, so perhaps there
were only 20 passengers after all. At least this travelled at a
respectable speed – this morning we were in a race with another
minibus and had to concede when we were eventually overtaken while we
were travelling at about 80 mph (130 kph).
This
evening I started preparing a Zambian Paella when Raymond appeared.
Dilys then rang with an issue about a document saved in a format
no-one can read. Undaunted I held the phone to my ear with my
shoulder, giving instructions on how to reformat the document,
guiding her around the Ubuntu menus, whilst chopping onions and
trying to entertain my guest! - who said men can't multi-task?!
Eventually I was able to concentrate on my culinary activities whilst
chatting to Raymond.
Deana
didn't seem too convinced as food was piled high and eventually dry
rice was added. However all took shape with some boiling water and a
bit of simmering. I must admit that I was very pleased with the
resulting dish – and it tasted good too!! This could be the first
paella which included impwa as one of the ingredients!!
Enjoy!!
Chris
