LIVE from Zambia – April 2016

Part 4 – Back home

Well we made it home, cockroach-free and no luggage missing. When I got back it almost felt like a dream; did it really happen? But then I got on to sorting through photos and editing video and I realised it must have done. We were only in Kapiri for 12 days but it felt like longer – like we were really starting to become part of the school and what was going on. We’ll carry the relationship on between Christ City Church and Vinjeru Trust School, and I hope we can send another team out in the not too distant future. Here’s our video, with a few short snippets of some of the things we did.

Part 3 – Monday 18th April

Our time in Zambia is coming to an end now and we can’t believe how quickly it’s gone. First thing to report is that we successfully killed four cockroaches last night and this morning – but not before two of them had jumped out at Paola and one of them had hid itself in Chloe’s clothes… eurgh!

On Saturday we ran a youth event for grades 10 and 11. We played games with them and Justin did a talk and discussion on the parable of the two sons.

In the evening we visited one of the students’ family and had a traditional Zambian dinner of nshima, fish, ifisashi, and aubergine. You eat it with your hands, using the nshima as a kind of spoon/scoop. We had already practised on Friday night with the Simbeyes, so hopefully we didn’t embarrass ourselves too much. It was great to spend time with Nathan, his mum Agnes and her family, and hear about their life.

We joined the Simbeye and Seaman families for their church service on Sunday morning, singing songs in English and Bemba with lots of actions, and looking at the book of Matthew. The highlight of today was Paola dressed as Cheeky the Clown for the primary school assembly, where we did a sketch to demonstrate that we can talk to God anytime and anywhere.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Kapiri. We’re doing art and craft lessons with the primary school in the morning; Chloe and Vanessa will be teaching their last technical drawing lesson; Paola will be finishing training students and teachers to maintain the new computer network she has helped them set up; and Justin and Caroline will be painting the new primary classrooms.

Then on Wednesday we fly home, and I’m sure you’ll all be delighted to see us back!

---

Part 2 – Friday 15th April

It’s now Friday and we’re into our 7^th day here. Time is going quickly but we’ve also done loads. The internet is a bit hit and miss but I’m sitting on a little wall in the middle of the school site and it seems to be ok now!

Tuesday and Wednesday involved lots of sport: PE lessons with the primary classes and after-school sports with the secondary school. We were able to use the cricket equipment, balls and cones we brought over.

 

Chloe has introduced Zambia to the ‘Snellfie’, and they’re loving it.

 

We have also managed to buy food at the roadside market stall and the supermarket in Kapiri, and cook a few decent dinners. One of the great things here is that you can buy fruit and vegetables that you know have just been picked nearby – not been flown in from Spain or elsewhere that we often get in Ireland.

Chloe and Vanessa have been teaching technical drawing in Larry’s Design & Technology class (almost giving him the week off!). The students started with drawing a cube and have now progressed to a pyramid.

 

Yesterday we took tutorial time with the secondary students, and told them more about Ireland, ourselves and our faith. Now we’re just about to teach Grade 1 and 2 primary Geography and tell them about Ireland. And later on we’ll be giving the secondary school students a quiz during assembly to see if they were listening yesterday!

Now we’ve been here longer we’re starting to get to know the students and the two families more and see what life is like here. We’ve also visited a bigger town to get more of an idea about other places in Zambia.

Hopefully I’ll be able to do another update before we leave – hope you enjoyed this one.

 

 

---

Part 1 – Monday 11th April

It’s our third day in Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia, and I’ve found time and wifi to be able to tell you what we’ve been up to. I’m currently sat outside the Simbeye and Seaman families’ houses looking out across the trees and past the chicken coop to the Vinjeru School buildings.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon in Ndola, which is an hour and a half drive away from where we’re staying. When we landed we wondered if we’d actually gone full circle and were back in Ireland, because it was lashing rain. But no, we were definitely in Zambia and there was Martin to greet us! The rest of the day was spent travelling, meeting the families, eating dinner and then finally sleeping – after I bravely killed two cockroaches in the bathroom.

On Sunday we split into two groups and visited a couple of local churches, where we were made really welcome and it was great to worship God in a different language (Bemba) and culture. In the afternoon we visited the dam in Kapiri where most of the town’s water comes from.

We’ve been having fun getting to know the families and hanging out with all their kids, and today we were introduced to the whole school at assembly, sat in some lessons and chatted to the students. Paola has already got stuck in with fixing some of the computers, and showing the teacher and students how to clean them.

We’re staying in the ‘staff house’, which is about a 7 minute drive from the school site. Chloe has successfully managed to drive us there and back, navigating all the bumps and holes in the roads – and we didn’t hit anyone or crash – yet!

We are really enjoying meeting everyone and getting to see what daily life is like here. It’s so interesting to see all the differences in the landscape and the culture, but also sometimes surprising to see that we’re not all that different really.

Tomorrow is after-school clubs day, so we’re all getting involved. The plan is for Chloe and Vannessa to do graphics/technical drawing; Justin will do some Improv drama games; Caroline is going to be card making; and Paola will be doing more with the computers. We’ll update you more when we can!