Goodbye Chontay

This week didn't have the best start to it as late Saturday night and Sunday I was really sick so that made me weak and pathetic for Sunday and Monday and a bit of Tuesday.  However, Tuesday I decided stop being such a limp thing and go with Emily to Greater Joy with Chontay and we did some filming there with the teachers. The teachers at Greater Joy make me laugh because they all wanted to watch their own one and then their friends and they were all telling me if one needed redoing.

We then went and did a home visit to a grandmother of one of the students who was basically kicked out of her house by her husband's family after his death and she is now living in a two roomed house with her two daughters and seven grandchildren. Although she seemed very grateful for our prayers and nshima it's tough knowing that this lady has had such a hard life and there wasn't really much we could do to help her in getting through that.

After our home visit we made a quick stop to see one of the teachers from Greater Joy, Audrey, who has just had a baby. The day we visited she was 6 days old and so very very tiny and adorable. 

As this was Chontay's last full day in Zambia, all of the BOZ team went to Bojangles for dinner to say goodbye. Mike and Jan had just got back from Cape Town so we had stories of their trip and heard all about the wonders of eating fresh fish and having good clothes shops to browse in. It's amazing how, in just a small amount of time away from the UK, there are things like that that I really miss. I think the fish is a big thing here for a lot of people because, with Zambia being a land locked country, most to the fish has to travel a long way and the freshness can't be guaranteed. So fresh fish is a luxury that I can't wait to get back to! 

On Wednesday I went with Chontay and Emily to pick up our things from the tailor and I'm so pleased with my new trousers. The perks of being able to get things tailor made means these may be one of the first pair of trousers that I've owned for a while that aren't too long for me!!! 

Possibly the weirdest angle I've ever tried to take a picture from but I'm so happy with them :)

We picked up a last few gifts for Chontay to take home and then they dropped me back home with plenty of time for her to finish packing and get to the airport. It's been so lovely having someone else my age here to do things with, I didn't think I would miss that but having Chontay here made me really miss having the company of someone older than 11. Sadly she was only here for 2 weeks but even just that small amount of time was a nice change and we got to do things that I may not have otherwise done, like the scavenger hunt round Ndola. 

Thursday was an admin day for me as I was starting to put together the videos and seeing who needs to be filmed again and which ones work well with. 

Friday was staff meeting again where we talked about empowering the communities rather than just providing services and having everyone dependant on Beyond Ourselves' generosity. It felt really productive for them as it gave them ideas about what they do to empower the people of the surrounding areas of the schools.  In the afternoon I had my ballet class. Doing these classes has definitely made me realise how much I miss ballet and dancing so I'm definitely going to have a think about that when I get home. 

This weekend was Ben' birthday weekend. He's reached the milestone of 2 and it's amazing to see, in just the small amount of time I've been with the Whitcomb's, how much he's developed and is turning into a little boy, not just the baby of the family. He got very excited with all the trucks he got and him and Jacob spent a while playing with the various trucks and tractors he got. 

It's not long now before I'm heading off on a plane away from Zambia and, although I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again, I'm really going to miss being here and the people I've grown to care about here. But I've still got a few weeks left so I'm going to make the most of my time here :) 

xxx

We stayed at Bushcamp!!

Week 7 started with Emily, Chontay and I heading into Janna to do some filming for Beyond Ourselves. We had to walk up to each teacher in their class and have them introduce themselves. The ladies at Janna school do make me laugh because they would have all rather had it done another day because they weren’t “looking their best” but we powered through regardless. We managed to get most of them first time although some of the teachers did babble a bit so they may have to be done again or edited somehow, although seeing as I’m the one who’s supposed to be editing them that could go horrendously! Although I did get this great picture of some of the kids at Janna, which makes me chuckle as it's their varying reactions to "smile!"

Tuesday wasn’t a great day for me as I really didn’t feel well, with a massive headache and a spinning head which was not fun. I went to Janna but it didn’t feel great to be going and I probably should have stayed home to rest. However we did get some more filming done that we’d missed the day before so now we have a full staff collection to merge together and try and make sense of! We then went to the market and all three of us bought some chitengi to get made into something. The tailor was our final stop, and I decided to have some loose, harem style trousers made up with my material and then there should be some left over to get something else should I want it made up. I ended up dosing for the rest of the day once I got home but I just wasn't feeling my best. 

Wednesday started off as an exciting day as we were headed to Bushcamp to stay for two nights. I thought I was excited but that was nothing to Jacob's excitement to go with Albert and Lucy and see some animals. Sadly, about half an hour into our journey Ben was sick twice and so Melissa made the executive decision to head back home. Naomi was still there and so she could help clean everything up as both the car seats needed to have their covers cleaned and it meant we could air out the car. So after clearing Ben up, and making sure he had a blanket on his lap in case we had another incident, we made our way back home, much to Jacob's dismay. 

However, with a new lease of life, the next morning we set of for Bushcamp take two, now with Dan as well as he'd spent the last two days in Lusaka. We made it with no incidents and got to our chalets without getting too lost. After a breakfast fit for a king, we drove to the dam nearby, taking a slightly long winded route to get there, and had a swim. I even got in the water this time, even if it did take me a while!! 

After our swim we did a game drive round the camp and we saw lots of different types of antelope like impala and water buck. But the best thing we saw has to be the 2 giraffe who just walked straight across our path right after Melissa had prayed that we see one due to her never having seen one here. It was a very exciting moment and they are such magnificent animals. 

They are possibly the most posey animals I've ever seen!

We spent the rest of our afternoon sat around the camp site and as it started to get darker the guys who work there made us a bonfire. The sunset was pretty spectacular this evening and we sat waiting for dinner with the sky constantly changing colour. 

 We ended the evening with a night drive. The kids all piled on the top of the Kohn's car and we went a little way down the game drive. Sadly we didn't see anything other than an owl but it was pretty fun and at one point Malcolm was hanging out of the door (it's a slidy door!) as we drove along. Just as we got back to camp a wild Dan galloped across the road, making us all laugh.

The next morning we had a quick breakfast and then packed up and headed off on our final game drive which took us back to the main site of Nsobe. Jacob and i stayed on with the Pearse's and we went to the snake hut and got to hold a giant snake! I can't say it's my favourite feeling in the world, especially when the snake starts to wrap itself around you but I did it so I was quite proud.

Sadly, after that excitement we had to make our way home as I had my ballet class at 3:45 and we made it by the skin of our teeth! 

Saturday was a very exciting day for me as I finally got the chance to do the scavenger hunt that I was supposed to do at the beginning of my trip. Malcolm dropped Chontay and I off in the middle of Ndola where we started our quest with our first mission; print off a picture for team BOZ. We ended up going to the same place I had had some passport pictures done for my visa and when I walked in the guy behind the counter recognised me and told me off for not taking him to UK yet like I said I would! That was the start of our manic trip all around the town of Ndola where we pretty much stood out like a sore thumb and got a LOT of attention. It's still really weird walking down a street and being called musungo (white person/foreigner) although I must say the weirdest is definitely being called Mama or Baby. Don't think I'd ever get used to that one if I lived here full time. It was a successful mission and we got everything on the list in record time apparently :D Just as we were making our way back to the mall to be met by Emily and the kids, the heavens opened so we made a run for it and got very muddy in the process. But we made it and in celebration we had an ice cream at Gigibonta. 

Think that's it for this one as it's a mammoth one but I hope that the picture break made it easier to read! I can't believe as I write this I have less than a month left in Zambia before heading down to Cape Town. It really has flown by and I'm so torn about wanting to stay longer and really wanting to go home and see everyone again. But for now I'm just enjoying the time I've got left. 

xxx

Weekend at the Orphanage Part 2

Here's part 2, this week's been a bit hectic so now's the first time I've been able to update you, sorry!! 

When Melane arrived we set up the hall to be a little clothes shop as Melane had had a container come over with donations from people in Denmark. We had a boys and a girls side with clothes for all ages and we laid them out all over the benches and then had  number system like in banks and shoe shops  so that it was fair and all the children got at least one piece of clothing with the boys getting two and the girls getting either another piece of clothing or some jewellery or hair accessory. 

We stayed and had our dinner there of rice and sauce and then waved goodbye to the children for another night and headed back for a bonfire and marshmallows and we had a chat about our favourite bits of the day and our lowlights and then had a time of prayer as well. It really made me reflect on the day and what I’d experienced. Exhausted from the day’s activities we all headed to bed and went straight to sleep. I must say the room was still creepy even after having slept there a night already now. 

Our final morning at the Orphanage had us up even earlier than yesterday and we packed everything up and trundled back to the family dorms for breakfast and to put everything in the car ready to set off once we had finished the baptisms.  Like every other Sunday we had a little church service and Melane talked some more about baptisms and we had some worship led by Malcolm which got all the children energised and ready for the day. Then when we set off singing to the river for the children to be baptised in the river. Lucy and Albert had chosen to have a water baptism which made this a very special occasion for the Pearse family. 

It was really lovely watching the kids as Anold, one of the workers at the orphanage, and Melane got in the river and took a child at a time to baptise them. Emily also told the story of Jesus’ baptism and the thing that always stands out for me in that passage is when it says "At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, " This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." As well as standing out as a momentous moment in Jesus' life, it also reminds me of my RS lessons and how we'd chuckle over how it was worded and God being well pleased with Jesus. 

Once all the children had been baptised that chose to have it we made our way back to the orphanage, singing as we went on our way. We were supposed to then stay for lunch before going home but as we arrived back they were only just putting the nshima on so we had to leave before having lunch. We said our goodbyes and had to drag Albert away as they had set up a makeshift ramp and they were all flipping and cartwheeling off of it. Some of the younger ones even tried to teach me how to cartwheel but sadly I am still lacking such talents. 

So after a packed weekend of activities and emotions we headed home with a quick pit stop at Nandos for our lunch (I know, there’s a nandos here!) 

It was an amazing experience and one I wouldn't have turned down but it was definitely hard hitting and I struggled at some parts not to get too emotional which I'm sure a lot of you know happens a lot. But overall it was a great weekend and I was very grateful to Melane and Andreas for inviting us and for Emily and Malcolm for taking me with them. 

xxx