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!!!
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| 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
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