Radiotherapy shirt 4 of 20

As I write this short blog the rain is falling. We are having problems in the UK with flooding. In Monze it last rained in January. Getting water and food is becoming an increasing problem. My friend Diven has bought a drum so that, on the few occasions during the week that he can draw water from his tap, he can fill the drum to provide water for his family for the other days.

The impact of Climate Change is affecting us all, but the porrest are impacted the most.

The children are back at PIZZ school after the August break. Please help us to continue to ensure that the children can get their school meals. Find out more and support us at Transformation Through Education

 

Chris

Difficult Times

Tuesday 3^rd December

I spent the morning talking to Mrs Sianga and Killian. Mrs Sianga attended the funerals of her relatives at the weekend. It appears that they ate peanuts which where to be used as seed and presumably were coated with toxic chemicals – it makes you wonder what we are using to increase the yield of our crops!

We talked about the current situation. Mrs Sianga's mother said that she had never experienced anything like it in her lifetime! Someone came to Mrs. Sianga's farm saying that they had had nothing to eat for three days. It will be March before there is another harvest – assuming that, unlike last year, there will be one this year. How many people will not survive until then we can only imagine.

I took the opportunity to see the progress of the water project. Some guys had managed to raise the water tank about ¾ of the way up the stand! I said hallo to some of the children.

People are becoming desperate and people are doing anything to get food. There are a lot of thefts and these no doubt will get worse as desperation increases.

I managed some tea and a meal when power came on at 15hrs – though Mrs Sianga provide a cup of tea earlier. I connected to the Internet, but it soon gave up - and then power went!!

Please keep the people of Monze and the surrounding area in your prayers.

Chris

Bird Watching and the Difference an Early Cup of Tea can make

Tuesday 26^th November

Power came just after 10 pm on Sunday night – sort off!! It wasn't very powerful power!! In fact it was only strong enough to illuminate a few lights – others failed to come on. The same was the case throughout the Curia (and probably all that part of town with electricity.) The sockets seemed to be inactive – so no tea!!

             BECOMING GREENER

Monday morning I had a visitor at just after 7 am. He was a guy called Kelvin who had apparently asked me some years ago, when I was staying at Homecraft, whether I had contacts who could give him a job. I am sure that I will have disappointed me then. Some people think that I might work with an NGO (Non Governmental Organisation) operating in Zambia. Kelvin told me that he has social work qualifications, but has yet to find a job that uses these qualifications. In Monze there is little scope – especially at the moment. He is currently working in the laundry at Monze Mission Hospital as a General worker. His wife is studying to be a teacher, but needs to find 350 ZMW (£20) or she will not be allowed to take the exams at the end of the year. I don't usually provide support unless I know a person reasonably well, however he had obviously gone to some length to seek me out and no doubt needed courage – another alternative Christmas present!!

I had nothing planned for the rest of the day. I have no formal role in Zambia any more. I could come for a holiday! However, I feel guilty if I am not busy – and you will see from my blog that most of the time I am pretty active and rarely alone! However, we cannot make positive decisions without periods of quiet contemplation. There is a tremendous amount to think about here in Monze – especially when so many are hungry.

I sat under the veranda and did a little bird watching. There were a couple of starlings in the garden. If the light catches European Starlings they are beautiful birds. However in Africa the starlings are painted in metallic greens or blues. This couple were iridescent green – spectacular birds! I saw a Village Weaver or two. A couple of black birds with spectacular yellow gapes were doing a courting dance. Large yellow dragonflies are very common this year. I walked around the garden and took a few photos.

                                                                                                        A REAL MANGO

“Power” returned at about 16hrs. It was a little stronger. I found that I could eventually boil a kettle full of water and made a cup of tea. It was not possible, however, to use the cooker. So another cold salad was the order of the day. At least the laptop and the phone were recharged.

After an hour or two the power left again! By 23 hrs I decided to turn in for the night feeling a little drained despite such a quiet day.

I woke around 7 hrs and was astonished to find we had power! Not since I arrived in Monze has the power been present in the morning. It wasn't full power, but surprisingly after some time I was able to boil the kettle and make some tea. Suddenly life was great!!

I realised however that the power being low meant that my fridge hadn't been operating for two days, I bought some meat a few days ago. Some sausages have been in the fridge section and some 'steak on the bone' in the freezer section. The vegetables etc. I am not so worried about.

However, I headed for a meeting with Mrs. Sianga with renewed vigour. I was enjoying the walk, the hallos and children waving and greeting as I passed. Unusually I had to wait for a train at the level crossing. A little further on a group of school children gave me high fives all ten of them!!

I met Mr Sianga along the road and he told me that his wife was waiting for me.

We talked for about 4 hours!! Last time I came a friend gave me a donation to give to the school. I agreed with Mrs. Sianga that this should be used as an emergency fund were money is needed immediately – and that she should then try to get it reimbursed from Hands Around the World. There are many occasions when money is suddenly needed. The Education Department often institutes fees which need to be paid w ithin days or severe penalties are incurred. PIZZ School has not had funds available in the past but for the past few months these demands can be met. In the end this saves money for the charity as well. Unfortunately the photocopying machine is not working. It should have been replaced before the exams were imminent. The cost of a new machine would not have cost much more than has had to have been spent on photocopying outside. Everything is made worse by the lack of power. There is much demand for photocopying for school exams and the providers need a generator!

The current situation brings huge challenges. The lack of electicity also means a lack of water – so drums of water need to be fetched to Mrs. Sianga's offices and the pre-school to use in the toilets. Maize which was bought for the children's food needs to be ground. The nearby grinding mill needs electricity, so a more distant machine is used which runs on solar. All these operations add to the cost.

Agnes and her mother came to see us. Agnes is a girl I have seen over the years. She is one of the children who have a UK sponsor. Recently while she was staying with her uncle in Kafue – between Monze and Lusaka – she became pregnant. She is only fourteen. She says the boy came from the Copperbelt and she knows little more. Mrs. Sianga would follow this up with the police, but there is nothing to go on.

Life in Zambia is very complicated and I don't try to make sense of much of it. Poverty makes life very difficult. I am sure for many there is little hope in their lives. They would like to have nice clothes, good food – and water at their house and electricity is a dream! Anyway I am sure there are lots of temptations for a young girl. In any case we have a situation with a young girl who will soon become a mother. Mrs. Sianga and Killian were concerned about the sponsor and their reaction if the girl was to transfer to Kafue as she would like. My response was that they should do whatever is best for Agnes and her child. Sponsors need to understand some of the realities of life in Zambia. There are many reasons why a child will move from a school and relocate. Sometimes parents or guardians die and they move to be with other relatives. Families break up for other reasons. Life is complicated everywhere, but here the children at PIZZ School live in the most fragile of circumstances.

I am writing this blog with minimal power. Sometimes the laptop detects a little power – at other times it doesn't. I started with no battery power and have hovered around 10 – 15% for the past half hour or so. The power is nowhere near enough to boil water, run the fridge or more to the point to pump water into the tank which supplies the Curia and my house. Water ran out at tea time!! Fortunately a tap outside is lower and I realised that I could fill bottles and a large bowl. This should keep me going for a couple of days if necessary. I just have to implement a few severe water management rules!!

MY HOUSE FROM THE GARDEN

Mrs. Sianga received a call this morning from a nephew. So many tragic incidents, but the loss of three members of the family like this is horrific. Mrs. Sianga told me that a niece of hers died in childbirth a few months ago leaving six children. She is worried that the baby who survived will not live long. The environment into which she has been born will make it very difficult to survive. Where there are relatives who can look after the child the prospects can be OK, but it seems in this case the grandmother is very old and lives in a very rural area. I have been privileged to have been able to support some such babies with a supply of dried milk for a few months and the children have done well with their adopted parents – in a couple of cases that is Jennipher!

There are always huge challenges providing for the developing community of PIZZ School and its Alumni! As the school has developed and thrived, its success brings more challenges. The school was established by Mrs. Sianga primarily to keep the children from going on the streets. The problem is that with little industry and work opportunities in Monze, children who complete grade 9 without progressing to secondary school or some other form of training are likely to do just that – end up on the streets. In my former role as Project Co-ordinator I fought hard to support at least those that had managed to pass their grade 9 exams to move on to secondary schools. Further success at secondary school has equipped children with grade 12 certificates. Perhaps in Lusaka this might get them a reasonable position, but in Monze many will again be left with nowhere to go. In the UK moving into higher education is looked on as a right if the grades are reached. Though admittedly a student now has to accept a lifetime of debt as a result!! In Zambia the costs are beyond most and certainly beyond any who attend PIZZ School. I wonder whether a group of professionals could be persuaded to band together and provide a fund to give the opportunity they had to those in Zambia less fortunate. Zambia desperately needs more good professional people, doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, computer specialists etc. We cannot just say that the challenge is too great – rather let us see how we can give these children and through them the wider community a much better future.

Returning from my meeting I called into Diven's house. He was saying that he didn't believe that he would ever make his business pay in its current position. He told me that he can sit in his hop all day and receive only 10 Kwatcha (55p) or 20 Kwatcha (£1.10) This is only enough for food, but not enough to renew his stock. He usually goes to the market and can make perhaps 50 Kwacha. As always there is a lot to ponder. I am very glad that I decided to come at this time. I am learning a lot. The reality of climate change and its very wide ranging effects can be seen here in Monze now! The whole economy is devastated. The farmers have no crop, they are hungry! They have no money! The marketeers of Monze (almost everyone who isn't a farmer!) have no customers, they have no money and food prices are higher – they are hungry! The businesses cannot operate because they need power which only comes on for an hour or two during the day. Butchers that have no generator are closed!

At least I don't think I am doing any harm. I am spending a little money with the marketeers and putting a little more into the economy here and there. I have no illusions that I am making any real difference. I hope that the fact that I care means something.

With my love and prayers,

Chris

Meeting friends

Saturday 14^th May

My phone rang at 8.30 am on Thursday morning. Mrs. Sianga had a couple of problems, but had allowed me to sleep in after my long journey!

Mrs. Sianga is probably the main reason I wanted to get to return to Monze and get to know the people. We met in 2003 and I spent a life-changing afternoon meeting some of her patients – she was a nurse looking after people dying of AIDS. She had nothing beyond a few paracetamol tablets and words of comfort but they were grateful for her kindness and love during their last months. It was a huge privilege to be welcomed into these people's modest homes. Mrs Sianga set up PIZZ School because she got to know so many orphaned children left by her patients. You can read more about PIZZ School using this link. PIZZ School

My first official appointment was made for 14 hrs.

I had been warned that there would be no power before 10 hrs (unless I decided to rise before 5am!). However, since I had no provisions, my first task was pop across the road to get some cornflakes, milk and teabags in readiness.

My house is just a few doors away from a little flat I used on a number of occasions – with a single bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen it was ideal. A few years back it developed a crack and was considered unsafe – it is now an office like the remainder of that block. As I passed the offices I thought I should say hallo to the receptionist Agnes. She in turn told me to greet Sr Barbara – the administrator for the Projects Team.

                                                                                                                                                                      The Project offices  from outside my house

Sr. Barbara is an Irish nun who has been in Zambia for many years. I did a little work for the team some years back analysing data for some of the poor communities in Monze Diocese.

We chatted a little about the current situation. There is a cholera outbreak in Monze at the moment with a few cases in Manungu. It seems to be just a few isolated cases. The Projects Team are finding funding very difficult at the moment and have had to reduce staffing. I was surprised to find out that the house I am staying in, though in the same compound is not managed by them. In fact Sr. Barbara didn't know that I was moving in as a near neighbour.

I was expecting power to return and was in desperate need of that cup of tea!! I have so far travelled 50 yards from my house! At the exit to Homecraft – another 50 yards and Rasta Brian was passing “Hallo Mr. Chris, when did you come? Good to see you, you are welcome.” was his greeting – echoing what will be very common over the next few days. Brian sells small items – polish, incense sticks etc. on the corner outside the Cathedral. I have known him for many years. He is an intelligent guy, but couldn't afford to finish his education. He sometimes gets me to put on some boxing gloves and do a little sparring.

Another 10 yards and Killian said hallo. Killian helps with administration at PIZZ School. Killian already knew about my 2 pm meeting.

My shop is only 30 metres away, but another friend shouted greetings from his car! Teddy is a friend who I worked closely with from 2014 and 2016. His boss and also very close friend was Bentoe. Together we were developing computer systems for the hospital. Unfortunately Bentoe was killed in a horrific road accident in 2006. Since that time Teddy has been Acting Information Manager – apparently not having the proper qualifications for the full post.

Teddy had been taking a patient home as he happened to have his car at the hospital, I looked for my shop and realised I had overshot. As I returned past Teddy I decided to ask about the Internet and the best network. He told me he had a dongle he wasn't using and confirmed that MTN was the best network.

At last I made it to my shop not much more than 100 metres from my front door!! My friend the shopkeeper greeted me ( I have never known his name), but he disappointed me by having neither cornflakes or teabags!! In the past he would get large (1Kg) boxes of cornflakes and boxes of 100 teabags for me (500grams cornflakes and 50 teabags were always available). He told me there was a big shop up the road where I could get these. It seems his market was being stolen.

I like to use the smaller shops and stalls when in Monze – not that there have been many large outlets in the past. Traditionally this shopkeeper supplied me with talk-time and a few items not available on the market stalls – such as cornflakes, tea bags etc.

I did look for the larger store, but wasn't disappointed not to find it! I decided to go around the small shops opposite Homecraft and call into them one by one until I found the items I needed. On the way I picked up a few bottles of Finta (UHT milk) from a stallholder I know and was greeted by a few more stallholders one shouting out “Hallo Chrissy!”

You might think that in a row of grocers you would only have to go into one to get standard items like cornflakes and teabags. Of course here these are luxury items for many, and therefore not worth stocking by all. Eventually I had my items and returned feeling elated that I had really arrived back in my second home.

Its 11.30 on Saturday the power has just come on, so it is time for some serious tea drinking!

Back to Thursday!

I was keen to sort out the internet in order to look at Mrs. Sianga's issues – the priority to chase a bank transfer that hasn't arrived. The school had remarkable success last year in the exams and I persuaded Hands Around the World to cover the school fees at local secondary schools. Usually transfers are very smooth but for some reason there is a glitch with the payment and children will not be allowed to start this term unless the fees are paid.

                                 My Lounge

I called Teddy but there was no answer so I headed for the hospital anyway. There is a short c ut between the hospital and Homecraft if you can find the right gates. (Those who know my sense of direction will understand my challenge!!) I did get to the hospital, but via the school of nursing!! Teddy wasn't in his office, but the door was unlocked. This time when I rang Teddy answered and came running (literally) to meet me. He was, as usual, in a meeting but gave me the dongle.

I headed out of the Hospital using the main entrance which opens onto the main street in Monze which is part of the Great North Road between South Africa and Tanzania (originally planned to link Cape Town and Cairo). More importantly on this road – otherwise known as Monze High Street - there is an MTN office where I can buy a SIM card.

As I came to the exit of the hospital I was greeted with big hugs from Jennipher and Diven. You will hear a lot more about Diven. I have promised to write a book about the adventures of Diven, so I will just give the briefest of introductions. Diven was one of the first people I came to know outside of my HATW projects. I was waiting to meet someone at the hospital, but the offices were closed. There was a guy with an ankle in plaster standing around. This was Diven. He had been given a little work as debt collector and the debtor hit him with a rock instead of paying! I must have given Diven my address in the UK and he wrote – we have kept in touch ever since and have become good friends through thick and thin – and there is plenty of that , but you will have to wait for the book!!

We went together to buy the SIM. Fortunately I had remembered my passport which is needed in order to register the card. The process took a few minutes and a few minutes later the card was activated. I was able to buy talk-time which I would convert into 2GB of data. The SIM card cost 5 Kwacha (about 30p) but you get a credit of 15 Kwacha talk-time, which is not a bad deal!!

Diven had to get some medicine for his wife so he left me and Jennipher accompanied me to my house where we chatted briefly. Jennipher's daughter Selina is going to start boarding and needs a few items such as a mattress and a reading light. Fortunately I had been giving a good solar powered reading light so I was able to hand it over.

My life in Zambia follows a similar pattern to that in England. I feel that I am doing little, yet when I record my activity, I am rarely idle.

I was greeted by a few people who know me from church as I walked to PIZZ school where I had arranged to meet Mrs. Sianga. There are always plenty of challenges for the school. At the moment water is a big problem. The school is currently split between two sites a kilometre or so apart. The original school buildings have electricity and mains water except that electricity is not around most of the morning and the water supply is small and very erratic. Sometimes several days pass without any water coming from the tap. All the children get a cooked meal each day which is a major challenge when the taps are dry. My major formal role here in Monze is to listen to the issues and see whether there is a way to help resolve the problems with the backing of Hands Around the World. There will be a lot more work to do on this and other issues facing PIZZ School. Some, though not all, will come down to the question of funds.

I was able to connect to the Internet and talk to David back home while with Mrs. Sianga.

I needed some food for supper. It was a joy wandering around the market stalls spotting some of my favourite vegetables and chatting to the stallholders.

Next trip was to the internet cafe to print a letter relating to the bank transfer. 

                                                                                                              The dining area 

I invited Diven for supper which I cooked while we talked. His wife has been very seriously ill, but, with Jennipher's help and advice, is improving. Paul, their baby son, is also getting stronger I am told. Both were apparently close to death a few weeks back. We enjoyed a meal of Kapenta (small dried fish), aubergine, impwa (a local vegetable), dwarf beans, green peppers, onions and tomatoes with sweet potato. I will equip myself with a few spices in the days to come!!

I am very lucky to be so close to town and the market. The house is very comfortable with a large lounge/dining room, well equipped kitchen, shower, toilet and good sized garden. It has 3 bedrooms which will provide adequate accommodation for David and Joanna when they stay. It has a very good water supply – it must be from a borehole – and I even have the very rare luxury of hot water!!

This time you will have to make do with photos of the house. Later I will try to have photos of the people!

Chris

                                                                          The Kitchen

A hole in the road

Wednesday 22^nd July

Another week has flashed by since my last post. For most of the time I have been in Chisamba. I didn't go with my laptop – or my dongle – so I have been out of contact.

The electricity problems are affecting the whole country. I must admit that I find it hard to understand the view that the level of water in Lake Kariba is the cause of nationwide problems. Firstly there are other sources of hydro-electric power, but more importantly Lake Kariba is vast. The figures which I gave in an earlier blog are staggering. I have just done some calculations which suggest that, if the turbines could cope with all the water at the average rate it flows over Victoria Falls - 1 million litres per second - the level in the lake would reduce by about 4 ½ metres after 250 days, which I suppose could be significant, especially since low levels in the lake would also affect its initial surface area. I don't know whether the turbines could cope with this amount of water however. - we need an expert!! In Chisamba the electricity went off just after 6 hrs and sometimes didn't return till after 15 hrs. This is having a major effect on everything Watering the crops is difficult because not enough water is being pumped into the storage tanks – where schools have flushing toilets they have to close, if there is no water- again often the tanks have a limited supply. At Kaliyangile the incubator for the village chickens wasn't on long enough to provide chicks. Industry must also be greatly affected.

The journey to Chisamba was a good one, with less waiting than usual. I set of at about 5.40 and arrived just after midday.

Apparently the Acting District Commissioner in Chisamba wanted to meet with me. It seems to be usual for charities and other NGOs effectively to run projects in Africa. Hands around the World is a little different in that we support projects run by local people. Obviously we will share our views and have some influence, but the strategic decisions are left to the local people. However it seems that I was looked on as a decision maker in respect of Kaliyangile. The government was keen to help the project, primarily by providing trainers. It was a very tempting offer and one for the local management committee to consider. The details of the arrangements were a little unclear, though they became clearer as the days went on.

In many ways I am able to have a bit of a rest when I visit Chisamba. There are quite a number of things to check out and discussions to have, but inevitably there are times when local staff need to attend to their business and I have a chance to reflect. The site is quiet and full of bird life.

I had intended just staying for a couple of nights and returning on Saturday, but the District Commissioner persuaded me to extend my visit until Monday to enable me to visit a school and training centre which he regarded as models of such establishments where the government was involved.

Kaliyangile is trying to run itself using the profits from various on site activities such as gardening, poultry rearing, bee-keeping and pig farming. Training for bee-keeping has now commenced and working with the Forestry Department looks to be developing into a good partnership.

I ate out most nights – not having cooking facilities myself. Davidson accompanied me to the Better Place for nshima and relish. Relish being anything not nshima!! So I had fish, chicken and sausage on successive nights – there is also a “soup” which comprises some vegetables and cooked tomatoes. After supper we adjourned to a local bar with a pool table. I enjoyed a few games and managed to play Davidson now and them. The general rule is that the winner stays at the table and plays the next challenger. However, when I was ready to go someone would inevitably want to play me and it was difficult to get away at a reasonable hour. On one occasion it was 23 hrs before we left.

I met the management committee on Saturday and brought them up to date with the DC's offer as well as discussing other business. It was a very positive meeting where the local committee seemed determined to make the centre work well.

They have introduced an English mass at Chisamba so I arrived before 6 hrs ready and eager! There was no activity but at about 6.15 some ladies arrived and told me mass was at 6.30. I wouldn't have minded another few minutes in bed!! This was the first service that I have attended this year in English and it was good to be able to understand what was being said.

After mass I visited a plot of land where Davidson is building himself a house. He has constructed two rooms and is acquiring bricks which he will 'burn' and use to make additional rooms. He has a small pigsty and a few ducks to help with the family finances.

Most of the rest of Sunday, and a part of Saturday, I relaxed watching the birds. A group of young children joined me and we entertained each other with a few games.

On Monday I went to Kabwe with Persis where we met the education officer. No prior arrangements had been made but we were able to visit the two establishments identified.

Kabwe Skills was a training centre established and run by the government. It ran a wide range of courses from tailoring to car mechanics and catering, and a few more beside. They seemed to be quite successful in what they did. They charged significant course fees, unlike Kaliyangile where the courses are free. It is also a much bigger operation and doesn't provide agricultural training.

Shitima School was set up by an order of Catholic brothers to provide education for the poorest in the area. Being under the Catholic Church they are able to seek Grant Maintained status – which was given to them as a Basic School (grades 1 – 9). They have now extended the school to provide education to grade 12 – the final year of secondary school and are seeking similar status as a primary and secondary school. This status enables them to have government teachers but still maintain control over the policy of the school. In particular they still select the children from the poorest sectors and charge no fees. They are supported by a small UK charity which has provided the infrastructure and other funding.

The school is very impressive. The current head has started getting the children involved with rearing chickens and growing vegetables to give them extra skills and to raise some income. The extent of the gardening is significant. The provision of teachers is a big benefit and the special status afforded to the church enables the school to continue to work in the way establishes by the founders.

I left for Lusaka at about 13.30 on a big bus – unusually without any delay. However the congestion as we entered Lusaka meant we didn't arrive at the bus station until 16 hrs. Shalom and Mazundu provide buses that run to a schedule, but unfortunately both were full until 19 hrs. I was offered a bus going “now now” but turned it down believing that “now now” was after 19 hrs!! Instead I walked through town and found a Rosa almost full. By 17.10 we were on the road and I was in Monze by 21hrs. I accepted a taxi and picked up some chicken and chips from Tooters on the way home. Deana had warned of a hole in front of our house with no warnings and suggested the back road. The driver dropped me the other side of a large mound of earth that apparently had been dug up that afternoon.

Once inside Deana informed me that water last came out of the taps a couple of days ago. So we started to plan for a prolonged period without water. The electricity load shedding had also changed with a couple of periods during the day without power – but usually power was provided in the morning and evening.

Tuesday was an opportunity to start catching up on the computer work missed when in Chisamba. The 2hrs plus battery life on my laptop meant that I could use it for most of the day – unfortunately I couldn't access the internet. It later transpired that I had no data credit left in the dongle – though the indications had been otherwise.

Water was now plentiful – unfortunately it still didn't find itself in the taps but rather had filled the large hole dug the previous afternoon!! Still it was progress in that we had plenty of 'Grey water' - or rather dirty brown water - for flushing the toilet.

Diven, Jennipher and Raymond popped around during the afternoon and early evening.

This morning I had arranged to meet Mrs. Sianga. But when I awoke I was aware of water in the taps outside!! The immediate crisis was over! It was a delight to have an early morning cold shower!!

Mawini had come to see me at PIZZ School. I didn't recognise her at first – she has grown into a an elegant lady and has thinned a bit. She has now completed her first year at Zambia University in Lusaka, having started her education at PIZZ school. Her brother suffers from a number of disabilities as a result of cerebral malaria. This makes it very difficult for her mother to work to support the family. They are all very proud of their daughters achievements and look forward to the time when she will be a qualified doctor. She is determined to do well and works hard as evidenced by exceptionally good marks in her examinations.

I talked to Mrs. Sianga about many aspects of the school. I was particularly touched when she talked of the value of feeding the children. She said that it was important to make sure they had the food on the premises, because otherwise it might just go to others in the family. She told me that she didn't mind when some children only ate half of what they were given in order to feed their hungry brothers and sisters at home – at least they were eating something! It stories like these that bring home to me the poverty in which these children live.

After lunch I had a couple of things to sort out on the computer before heading for town. It was after 16 hrs when I left and I expected to miss the post office and fail in the most critical tasks. However, I must have been looked after because everything fell into place, I had my parcel wrapped and with a couple of minutes to spare presented it at the post office. It was a few minutes after 5 pm, within a post office with closed doors, when I finally had deposited my parcel. For some reason the guy behind the counter was very pleased to meet this Mr. Christopher Barrell – I wonder why? I also managed to sort out one or two other tasks.

I returned via the market, called briefly on Diven to postpone our trip to Tooters and played the Pied Piper up the road! I knocked up a quick meal and got busy for the evening. As usual its now time I was asleep.

Chris

A Unique Hat

Monday 29^th June

It the UK we take for granted reliable supplies of water and electricity. Here we are a long way from the town centre and at the end of a long road – this is apparently why the water can be a bit erratic. There seems to be no pattern, but if often fails to reach our taps. There is an outside tap in the grounds and often a tin bath sits underneath it – usually with the tap open. This ensures that as soon as water arrives the family living in the small house within the wall get their supply. Unfortunately pressure is rarely sufficient to reach our taps inside and service the outside tap at the same time. If we are lucky when the bath is full water comes out of some or all of our taps - depending on the pressure. Maximum pressure starts to fill the cistern in the toilet!

Of course when our turn comes we will refill the drums and containers in the house to cope with the next gap in supply. So far we have had water everyday that I have been here, equally we have been without water for at least one period every day!!

Electricity has been more reliable! Today it has been off for a few hours – fortunately my laptop is doing well – providing 2-3 hours of battery power. Yesterday power was off from morning till about 17 hrs. However on the whole it has been pretty good. Only once have we had to create a cold meal in the evening and read by candlelight! As if listening to my comments, power has just been restored and the kettle has burst into life – I could just do with a cup of tea!

Yesterday I decided to take the opportunity, while Deana and Martin were away to clean the floors. After sweeping I got down on my hands and knees and got floor washing. I had managed to get a bowlful of water before the supply stopped which was just sufficient to clean the house! I was quite proud of my achievement as I marched swiftly to church. (Though as you will hear later pride always proceeds a fall!!)

Fr. Clement made up for the short service last week. He gave a rousing sermon – receiving, no doubt well deserved, applause at the end. (My chitonga still doesn't enable me to make out anything). At about 12.20 the new church committee members and the related Small Christian Community committees were brought to the front of the church. It was heartening to see so many actively involved in the organisation – probably between 60 and 100 people in total. After notices I left for home at about 12.45.

I am realising how far I am from everywhere! A very brisk walk gets be from the church to home in 35 minutes. However on the way back I met Ian. Ian used to work in the stores and we spent many hours together while I was developing the stock control database. There have been many changes since and he is now working in the Male Ward, looking after their information. He told me that he was looking forward to meeting me again because he wanted to develop a better way of analysing and presenting the statistics – particularly in relation to cause of death. I remember in 2005/6 when I was working with Bentoe we were trying to lay cable to create a local network. We hoped to have links to the wards so the hospital could benefit from an integrated patient records system that I was also developing. Unfortunately Bentoe died in a tragic road accident in 2006 along with Rose – another hospital manager. The computer systems never developed properly after Bentoe's death.

I was now running very late. I had a couple of sandwiches before rushing to St. Veronica's section meeting. The numbers started very small – the committee from St. Veronica's were meeting at Our Lady of the Wayside so they were unable to join us. Numbers grew towards the end of the meeting.

Martin and Deana returned at about 18 hrs. Later in the evening I found a distressed Deana who found that water had somehow found it's way into her room. She imagined some sort of hidden spring – or perhaps a less savoury source and was a little relieved when I assured her that I must be the culprit!! It seems that the corridor has a slope which in all directions leads to Deana's room. By gaily sloshing water around I had inadvertently sent a river under her door where it headed for her mattress!!

This morning, after putting together a few notes, I headed back to Zamtel to pick up my replacement SIM card - which of course would be there!! At the main road I met Mr. Phiri – the barber and proprietor of Sweet Sixteen. In 2004 I remember he cut my hair whilst flirting with Emily a physiotherapist, who was volunteering here at the time. He was standing by his car-washing business and is well on the way to constructing a block of three shops which he intends to rent out. He has a plan to build a lodge where the car-wash currently sits and told me he also needs to have a college and sports facility!! Quite an empire for a barber who speaks with a kind of American/Jamaican drawl.

The SIM card is on its way!! There are at least a thousand cards with the courier heading for Monze – they will be there in the afternoon!! The guy at the office told me he wants to study accountancy in the UK and asked about getting a visa. I told him that it was not easy!! I also pointed out that it wasn't cheap to study in the UK - as well as the fees accommodation is very expensive. He hopes to fund himself. I agreed to return to the Zamtel office when it fitted with my programme.

I headed for the hospital - a visit was well overdue. I greeted a few familiar faces and was greeted my people who obviously remembered me better than I did them! I called on Sr Juunza but she had a visitor and it was clear that I should wait. I recognised a very familiar voice from the office – it was Jennipher, if my ears didn't deceive me. I popped over to the Director's secretary and said hallo. The Director was in the operating theatre. I was pleased to know that he was still doing some work for which he was trained. It has always seemed sad that much needed professional doctors are given jobs as managers and administrators, for which they have had no training and often are not suited. Not that it is only in Zambia that this is an issue. Increasingly in the UK, doctors and nurses are expected to deal with more financial, purchasing and administrative tasks, as if these were areas of their expertise.

When I returned to Sr. Juunza she was free and we talked a bit about possible re-introduction of the stock control system. Although I am sure it could help the hospital, I am not keen to spend a lot of time unless I am sure that it would be properly used and maintained and processes are put in place to protect the data. I will talk to Sr Juunza again.

On my return back home I was joined by a lady saying something about a Zambian hat!! Yes she had been true to her word and had made a cap with the flag of Zambia and the words “Republic of Zambia” embroidered on it. She said she had seen me earlier in the week but didn't catch me. I am know the proud owner of a unique Zambian cap.

I picked up a large avocado and made a lot of guacamole. Raymond came later in the afternoon and we put the world to right – or at least. recognised so much that was wrong!

Water contrasts

Thursday 27^th September

I understand that you have a surfeit of water back in the UK. Here it is a very different story. We are coming towards the end of the dry season and it is not uncommon for some water shortages to take place. Here in Monze there is currently little water coming from the mains supply. It is sometimes very difficult to determine the causes of supply problems when they occur – rumours are rife. There is a suggestion that the water in Monze dam is low, but some doubt that it is any different to other years. Apparently the government want to enlarge the reservoir at the dam, but when is not stated. I walked around it one year at about this time and reckoned I covered at least 10 kilometres. (So it isn't small!). It also seems to have some depth to it. When the mains supply fails, people traditionally come to the convent, hospital and Homecraft where there are boreholes, and draw water from the taps. This year we too are suffering. I am lucky if I can extract a kettle full of water in a day at the moment. The theory is that the electricity supply is not providing a high enough voltage to pump the water into the tanks. It is true that the lights are often dim, but last night after 10 pm they became considerably brighter without significant water arriving during the night. I suspect that although it maybe a factor, the low voltage doesn't tell the full story.

Since I have been coming to Zambia the number of people accessing mains power and water has grown considerably. In 2003 no one in Monze had a mobile phone or Internet access – now most people seem to have a phone (or two) and many people regularly access the Internet. With power and water it seems that the basic infrastructure has changed very little – some upgrades have been done but much of this has been little more than maintenance work. The result seems to be that the main infrastructure cannot support the increased usage. In previous years electricity was switched off at times to cater for this issue. Now it seems that the voltage is allowed to drop! Not ideal for cooking or pumping water. Mobile phone networks have an advantage of starting from scratch with a very quick uptake. But here too the networks experience congestion and there is usually one network to avoid – which one differs each year!! The Internet is brilliant one year and awful the next! Last year I failed to get anywhere with a Zain modem and MTN gave me a connection that just about let me use Skype – sometimes. This year MTN is giving me good Internet access with Skype video which is very acceptable.

The past couple of days have been relatively quiet in that I have been catching up on some paperwork and trying to move forward on a couple of projects. On Tuesday I visited PIZZ school briefly, both in the morning and afternoon. Whitecross, a school in the Forest of Dean, has been providing some support for PIZZ School and wants to sponsor 8 children. Hands Around the World runs a sponsorship scheme whereby for £10 a month someone can support one of our schools or VTCs (Voluntary Training Centres). We provide information about one of the students at the projects and the students are often very encouraged to know that someone cares. So I photographed seven of the eight children who will be sponsored by Whitecross School – the eighth was sick, so I will catch up with her when she is back in school. I try to meet the children who are sponsored when I come out each year. I talk to them and try to find out more about their interests and aspirations. It is also a chance to find out how the school has made a difference in their lives. There is a realisation that education can provide the opportunity to move out of the poverty that these children find themselves born into. It is far from a guaranteed escape route – but it gives them a chance that otherwise they wouldn't have.

The other project I am concentrating on at present is the relationship between my church in Cheltenham and Our Lady of the Wayside in Monze. I am fortunate to be living in the same house as Fr. Clement, the Priest in Charge, so communication is easy – we have most meals together. Yesterday we sat done for an hour or more to discuss the developing partnership and some ideas from one of our parishioners back in the UK. I am tasked with collecting information about the lives of the people in the parish here and also some good iconic photos for a 2013 calendar. I am hoping that someone from the church will be able to do this work – I am sure they will do a far better job than I would.

I am not used to early nights! I have been finding water for a shower at around 11 pm but even that has eluded me in recent days – in any case I rarely find my bed before midnight. At just after 6 am the shop or bar close by, puts on it's music at full volume! I try to sleep on but they don't play lullabies! There is a morning mass at 6.30am but other than on Monday I can attend mass at the hospital chapel at 5 pm. So although usually awake, I chose to continue to rest a bit rather than attend the early service. This mass in the chapel is usually well attended by student nurses and midwives studying at the hospital. Yesterday I joined them.

The place where I am staying used to be the bishop's offices. It has lounge with, unusually, a fireplace. You don't often see chimneys on the houses in Zambia but this one has one.

I have captured enough water for a mug of tea so I will enjoy that while I connect to the Internet and post this blog.

Best wishes

Chris