27. Back in time -- Lusaka, Zambia - Chikumbuso

Back to Zambia - Chikumbuso
While I was in Lusaka in April I had the opportunity to visit Chikumbuso.

 
About 6 years ago, Linda had a dream to help the widows and orphans. Her prayer was to be able to somehow help about 6 widows survive. What started with a small prayer has developed into a life-giving opportunity for women and children and even some men. 

Chikumbuso  ...building a community....offering love, food, and healthcare. 

Chikumbuso  ....a place of empowerment for those who have lost so much.

Chikumbuso  .... free schooling for orphans
                          .... caregivers network to assist the grandmothers of Ng'ombe
                          .... single mothers skill training group
                          .... widows income generation project




Crocheting skills were taught to the women who now "go to work"  to crochet purses, tote bags and other small items. These are sold in the shop and through various outlets, many in the U.S.

Sitting together in front of a large window the chatter and smiles on the womens' faces brings a smile to my heart.  Spontaneously, one woman breaks out in song and the other women joyously join in, singing parts and harmonies. (Hmmm - maybe I should try it in the staff room at school one day.....) 

One part of the shop that is on the premises. 

A finished purse!

Walking into another room, one is greeted by the whir-r-r of old sewing machines. A newer, yet equally successful project is underway. Again, specific skills training is provided.

 
On the day I visited, the people were working to meet a deadline for a large order of zipped wallets. Much like a factory, each person had their task and the finished pile soon was growing high.

The project has expanded to include a school. The day I visited was a school holiday so I just saw the rooms. There are classes for grades 1 through 5 (I think). They have received some donations and have a small assortment of teaching resources. 

Grade 1

Don't you love these student chairs?

Another project is a "safe house" for boys and girls. Two rooms are set up and available for people to stay in if they don't have a safe place to live.  The day I visited the boys' room was empty but the girls' room had 2 young teens who were living there. Look closely at the book on the shelf. A little touch of home! 

Some of the women are trained in food prep and cook lunch for everyone each day. The program has  benefits beyond this immediate community as some women were in town the day I visited working in a coffee shop. Seema, as it is called in these parts, (pap, phuthu (Zulu), mealie meal and many other names) is corn porridge and the diet staple.


Here I am stirring it -- or that should be trying to stir it -- it was so stiff and hard to stir. This pot was to feed the women who were there that day - maybe about 30 or 40. Imagine the quantity needed to feed 400! 

Another interesting thing is this "merry-go-round" for the kids to play on. As they turn and spin the wheel, water is pumped into the water tower! 

It's is obvious from these photos and my little blurb that this is a place where people are valued and given hope! 
If you want to read more about it go to their website, ( they are currently redesigning their website), search them on facebook or google them. 

26. A Book About Me!

Here is the book that my students wrote and illustrated for me. They presented it to me on my last day. Each student wrote a page. The story is darling and the pictures are real treasures!!

 

25. Back at home

On Saturday, May 21st, after one last visit to Made @ Home (read about it here) we loaded up the car and headed to the airport. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were difficult as we said good-bye to everyone. Well the good part was that many of the good-byes involved yummy food - but still.....  On Friday I received a big surprise from my class - they presented me with a homemade book. They had written and illustrated a story about me and my visit to their school and each of them wrote me a darling note. It's definitely a keeper!!! They did an amazing job of keeping it a secret - not even a hint was leaked. [And since I'm with them everyday they did a great job (along with Lore) of getting it written. I wasn't feeling well one day and came to school a few hours late - that was the window of opportunity they needed.] And then there were lots and lots of hugs - some of the kids went back in line several times. I was deeply touched. What great kids!!! I took them out for ice cream cones on the last day. There's a KFC across the street from the school that sells soft-serve. You should have seen the face of the staff when I said we wanted 25 ice cream cones..... but after their initial shock - they did a great job serving us.

Traveling home went quite smoothly once we ironed out a small glitch. When we checked in we discovered that Mark and Rachel were on 1 flight and I was on a different flight for the Jo'burg to London leg. Nobody detected it ahead of time. The airline has 2 identical flights leaving 15 minutes apart. Our check-in person was very helpful but we had to go to ticket sales to get it switched. After checking on his computer he informed us that for a mere $1400 Canadian - he could switch my ticket. "See ya in London, Mark...." But he did say to check again at the Jo'burg airport. Well - we had more success there - but first they wanted to charge me about $200 Cdn. The woman who was helping me thought that was crazy. She disappeared for about 20 or more minutes with our boarding passes and returned with new ones and the 3 of us on the same plane - and even sitting together!! When I thanked her and told her she can go home that night knowing that she made a customer very happy - I finally got a smile from her!!

Arriving back in Toronto and then home was exciting and weird at the same time. It was so nice that my dad met us at the airport. When we went to the grocery store and I was totally overwhelmed. While we did have a decent grocery store we visited (quite regularly) in Eshowe - Pik and Pay - the selection pales in comparison to good ol' Zehr's.Another thing that surprised me on the first day was when Mark said it was after 7pm. It was still so bright outside! I've been used to sunsets around 5. People have asked me if I'm jetlagged. No - I made a quick recovery - but I do think I'm "culture-lagged".

 In between missing everyone back in Eshowe - and looking at the clock and thinking what they are doing at that time -- I've been trying to be conscious of all the blessings that surround me here.We picked a wonderful week to return though as spring has reached her show-off stage! The lilacs scent the air and their mauve clumps of petals weigh the branches down. The leaves are basically all out - but still have that new light green glow to them. There are tulips still blooming in many gardens. The trees are covered with lovely pink or white blossoms. People have re-emerged and are out doing yard work and chatting to neighbours and passer-bys. 

Redbud tree blossoms (in my backyard)

Serviceberry or Saskatoon berry blossom (in my backyard)

Now my task it to come up with a 30 second summary of my more than 3 months in S. Africa so I can be ready to answer the question, "How was your trip?" I'm sure the expectation is something more than "great!".

My laptop is full of pictures, my head is full of memories and my heart is full of love from the students and all the wonderful people I've been with.

Thank you everyone!! You have been such a blessing to me!!

I still have lots to say so I am going to try and keep this going for a while longer  - just won't be chronological anymore!!

Thanks for following my adventures! As of right now - I'm just a few hits shy of 2000!(As of Sunday, May 29th I've passed 2000!)  And if you want to reach me, I'm home! (and my same email is still working too.)

24. St. Lucia

After our lovely overnight at Makakatana (see previous post) we went to the town of St. Lucia. It is the main centre of the St. Lucia World Heritage Site. The region contains the highest vegetated dunes in the world (Cape Vidal which we saw in the distance from the cottage and an extensive and diverse wetland systems among other things.

We took a 2 hour boat cruise along the estuary. We saw many beautiful birds and lots of hippos and crocodiles.The scenery was beautiful as well.  Our captain was very informative with excellent eyesight. He knows where the animals like to hang out and would direct our view to see them. He provided interesting facts about what we were seeing but wasn't too chatty that we couldn't enjoy the ride. We also passed a mangrove forest - an interesting place. These trees are adapted to grown in salt water. One adaptation is that they grow aerial roots which take in air. (Click here if you want to know more.)

It was a great boat ride.

Mangrove Forest with aerial roots

On the way home we took a drive through the game park - since it was on the way. We got to see some elephants (a little further away than when we saw them in February) and giraffes as well as rhino, impala, wildebeests, zebras and baboons. About a minute after we spotted the elephant he took a few steps forward and his body was behind a bush. His legs camouflaged with the tree trunks. It is quite hard to believe that something so enormous could be hidden like that. If we had driven by at that instant we never would have seen him. That is what makes the game park so interesting - or frustrating - depending on your view. Since you are dealing with wild animals - "que sera sera" and two people visiting on the same day could very possibly come home with two very different stories. 

Yes - there's an elephant in there

23. Makakatana Getaway Weekend

Having a getaway weekend at Makakatana Bay in the St. Lucia Wetlands Park - a World Heritage Site.

Right now I am sitting on the back verandah. In front of me, grazing on the grass, is a family of warthogs. There are 3 adults and 3 babies. We've been watching them for about half an hour now. Grazing is an interesting venture. The babies go down on their front knees and toddle along munching the grass. The adults tend to keep all 4 legs straight.

At one point 2 faced off - looking each other snout to snout and eye to eye - playing chicken. Who is going to move first? One gave in and started chasing the other.  Just beyond these warthogs, a bush buck (about the size of a deer) has arrived. She is slender and graceful with long legs. She too is busy enjoying a snack of grass. Move back to the foreground. Right now the male warthog is mounting the female. She tries to get away but then decides to stay. Not something that has been on my top 10 must see - but an interesting surprise nonetheless. A few minutes later, she has had enough and toddles away and continues munching on the grass. Oh - there goes a monkey - quilckly darting across the yard and up into a tree.

Marion and Mike are our hosts, and friends of Kevin and Lore. The house has been in Marion's family for over 50 years. On the wall behind me are antlers of many different bush animals. There are only 9 residences here. The area was closed to new building many years ago. 

On the way here, we saw some hippos swimming in a "pan" and many zebras in the savannah on either side of the road and indeed, right in front of us. Mike drove us down to the lake in his baakie (bucky i.e. pick-up truck). The land here is all sandy and we had to drive over dunes. The lake has not recovered from the drought of several years. We could see where the water used to be and walked across the bottom for quite a distance to the new edge of the water, crossing over footprints left behind by hippos, buffalo, bucks and more. The water 

 is very shallow now - maybe a metre at the centre. Kevin is ecstatic that there is a fish eagle (one of his favourite birds) - sitting peacefully on a post. Knowing their ways - he anticipates its take-off and snaps amazing pictures. We are amazed at the view and the expanse. What a peaceful and beautiful place.   

They saw the trench and turned back

 
It's now much later on. We went for a ride around both on the trails and off road. We saw a large herd of wildebeests running across the road. They would stop, turn around and then run back the other way. This was repeated a few times. Mike explained that there was a big trench waiting for electrical cable where they were stopping  and that they were afraid of the hole - so would turn back. On one approach 2 brave souls took a running leap and landed safely on the other side - but no one else would join with them. At one point they gathered around in a group on the non trench side of the road and it looked like they were having a meeting about what to do next. Carrying on, we soon spotted zebra and water buck. The latter have a characteristic white ring on their backside - looking like they've sat down on a freshly painted toilet seat! Next was a water area where adult and baby hippos were lazing in the water. They would emerge, take a big yawn of air and then slide back under the water. We also saw a large number of birds, including one that caught and ate a frog! We were thrilled to see a group of kudo with the male showing off his stately horns. There were quite a few female kudo and some younguns' as well.   As we travelled along we got treated to a lightning show and try as we might - the rain arrived before we got home. I was sitting inside and stayed dry. Mark, Lore and Kevin were riding in the back of the baakie and got quite wet - but their cameras stayed dry - and that's what's important! 

Kudos

Amazing Sky

We spent the evening chatting and eating -- typical cottage visit! We went for an early morning game drive and saw some really interesting birds and the hippos again. We feel so fortunate to be able to enjoy some time in this beautiful and peaceful location. After our good-byes we headed off to St. Lucia for our next adventure - stay tuned.