School Life in Zambia

Today was a day spent with children...what an experience!

This morning we started by touring the mission base school which serves 200 students from grades 1-9. The children come from villages located within a 7 kilometre radius of the base and children walk to and from school each day. School in Zambia starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 with a half hour break at 10:30. I had the opportunity this morning to visit the grade 1 and 6 classroom and I must say I was very impressed with the work that the students were doing. The students in grade one were working on basic facts in mathematics, and when asked were able to read a short story with no issues at all. The students in grade six were very interested in Canadian life and asked a number of questions about our life and homeland. The students shared with me their understanding of evaporation, humidity, and the characteristics required for water to freeze. The end of our visit was spent in the principals office. Luke, the principal of the school is a Zambian who has been the principal of the school since it started 8 years ago. He took us down to the river and showed us pictures of the original huts that were used to educate the children and then walked us through the many changes that have taken place over the last eight years...an incredible story...and an incredible guy...I loved every minute of it!

This afternoon we drove about 7 km's to a local village that hosts a market for local produce and fish. While we were in the village we took part in a children's program that served about 200 students from 4 to 14 years old. I will never forget this experience! From the moment I got out of the truck, until we left, I had numerous Zambian children hanging off of me, holding my hand, and mostly pulling at the hairs on my arm (often until it hurt). It was obvious that they are not use to seeing a balding red head from Canada in their village! I spent the afternoon observing a lesson for children 7 and 8 years old and then worked with a small group on how to throw and catch a frisbee. These kids were very open to us visiting their village and loved physical stimulation through hand holding, piggy back rides, or just being held. I will never forget this day!

Tomorrow is our last day at the mission camp and they have arranged for us to spend the entire day in a traditional village. It should be a very interesting day as well!

Northern Zambia

Today was a day spent getting oriented to our new surroundings. The location we will be spending the next days is a mission community in northern Zambia that is focused on investing in the people of their area by providing training in education, farming, and community development. This morning we had a chance to tour their teacher training college where they provide a diploma program for primary educators. The classes at the college are very small with approximate sizes of 10 to 12 students per year. The college is now adding a third year to their program and looking at moving to a full degree program (4 years) within the next few years.

The second part of our day was spent touring the Carpentry workshop where a mission leader works with local village men to produce cabinets and furniture out of various forms of wood common in Zambia. The workmanship on the projects was very impressive and the joy and passion each of the men had for their jobs was extremely contagious.

This afternoon we were given a guided tour of the community farming operation. The operation is extremely organic and follows a few simple rules...do the work on time, do it to the correct standard, waste nothing, and do it with joy! The farming operation includes a fruit tree nursery, an orchard, a poultry program, a cattle operation, and a Corn (Maize) growing program. The soil in Africa is very rich and the wholistic (no chemicals, fertilizer, or equipment) nature of their farming practice is very productive. Throughout the tour we met various farm workers of which all had at least 10 years of experience with the mission organization.

Some interesting facts about this part of Zambia...

The rainy season begins in December and runs through March where they receive approximately 1.5 metres of rain. Once the rain stops in mid to late March this area will not receive another drop of rain until late November!
30% of people in this part of Africa contract Malaria each year!
The Malaria mosquito is only a threat in the evening and early mornings. During the heat of the day there are no mosquitoes in the area.

Tomorrow we will be attending the community school and spending the afternoon serving in a children's program in the community.

Botswana...A Wilderness Paradise!

Today (Saturday April 6th) was a day spent in Botswana at the Chobe National Game Park. We left Livingstone Zambia early this morning and had to go to an instant teller to withdraw some Zambian currency, the Kwatcha. It is quit amazing to me that I can simply insert my ATM card and withdraw funds in a different currency on a different continent of the world...you have to love technology! We then proceeded to the Zambia, Botswana border crossing which is actually a Ferry or speed boat crossing. There were countless semi trucks waiting to cross on the ferry which can only accommodate one or two trucks depending on whether they are loaded or not. We were told by our guide that it usually takes the trucks a couple of days to navigate the crossing, and that at times it can take up to a week!

Once we navigated the border crossing we were off to Chobe for a morning boat safari followed by an afternoon land safari. What an amazing experience! I literally have hundreds of wonderful pictures to share with you when I get home, but due to the poor internet connectivity in Africa you will have to wait a week to see them. Today we saw Hippos, Elephants, Kudu's, Impalas, Cape Buffalo's, Crocodiles, Lizards, Giraffes, Baboons and countless African birds. Simply amazing...a true gift of creation!

On our way home we needed to once again navigate the border crossing which is always very chaotic and nerve wracking. Our FCE guide has done a wonderful job of taking care of us, and once again got us through the pedlars (very aggressive style), border agents, and just general chaos to a safe arrival back to our hotel.

Today was spent with a group of Australians also visiting FCE. Tonight we had supper together and developed some great bonds with many of their team members. Relationships developed on this trip are ones that will last a life time!

Tomorrow morning we will spend an hour and a half at Victoria Falls where I understand you simply can't take pictures because of the water and mist that is dispensed from the falls. We have been told to plan on getting extremely wet! After our time at the falls we will be flying from Livingstone to Lusaka Zambia, and then transferring to a different plane and flying to Ndola Zambia where we will be taken to the FCE training centre in Koti Ni Eden Zambia. We will be spending three days there learning about the many projects that FCE is involved with supporting the villages in that area.

Zimbabwe...What an Experience!

Today we flew from Namibia to Zimbabwe to meet up with our next FCE contact at Victoria Falls. Our flight arrived at 4:00 p.m. about half an hour ahead of our scheduled arrival. Upon checking in at the customs booth we realized we had to buy Zimbabwe visas at a cost of $75.00 each. Between the four of us we had about $10.00 to spare as we were unprepared for this expenditure!

Once we cleared customs we gathered our bags and exited the airport only to find that our FCE contact was no where to be seen. After waiting 45 minutes we started to worry and decided we should try to make contact with FCE. Unfortunately for us, none of us were able to secure cell service! Not a good place to be! At about this time a young man pulled up in an immigration department vehicle carrying a can of beer and wearing aligator skin shoes...he asked us if we wanted a beer, which of course we declined. Eventually he became aware of our situation and borrowed a cell phone from a young lady and made the call to FCE for us. By this time it was about 5:30 and we became aware that the airport closed at 6:00! By the way it gets dark in Zimbabwe at about 6:30! Our call to FCE was very beneficial as we were able to determine that our contact person was waiting at the Zambian airport, about 25 minutes away. We were assured that he would gather a cab, cross the border and pick us up...we were just suppose to sit tight. Easier said then done when it is 6:05, the Airport is closing, it is getting dark, and there is a party starting down a village trail next to the airport building!

Long story short...our FCE contact arrived with a cab at 6:15, we experienced crossing the border in Africa which is a tale for another day and arrived safely at our hotel about 8:00 in the evening! What an experience...needless to say...I will never forget Zimbabwe!

Namibia's Capital city of Windhoek

We have arrived safely in Windhoek Namibia! Today we have taken a few hours to experience the sights of the Capital city. The pictures below will give you a taste of our experience today. The first picture is our view from the plane as we flew over the desert in Namibia. The second is of Christuskirche, the oldest Lutheran church in Namibia (a major landmark), and the third is a downtown view of Windhoek.

This afternoon we are off to the FCE rest camp where we will meet more of the FCE staff and learn about their work in Namibia. I am a little nervous about our visit as we are moving into snake territory and they have a Cobra that they caught last night to show us upon our arrival! Look for pictures in my next posting!

Anybody for a Coke?

Notice the price on the Coke machine...Any idea how much this costs in Canadian dollars rather than South African Rand?

South Africa...A beautiful Country

Over the last three days we have seen some truly beautiful scenery. Below are some pictures of the waterfront at Capetown, the pass from Wellington to Wolseley, and the highest peak in the Cape as viewed from the FCE headquarters in Wolseley.

Today we continue our journey to Namibia!