Hello everyone from a beautiful sunny but chilly morning in Lusaka!
This has been a really busy couple of months in terms of travelling and early childhood development! Due to Covid-19 and the restrictions that were put in place of groups of people gathering, we had to postpone our ECD Board meeting twice. Eventually in April 2021, we managed to bring everyone together from all over Zambia to have the meeting! The Moderator, Rev G F Kapakasa joined us to constitute the Board - he is standing on the left of the picture! We made a mission and vision statement for the ECD department, so it feels as if we are moving forward at last!
Due to some issues in terms of infrastructure and registration, Rev S Kabaghe joined me on a couple of trips to Mazabuka in Southern province to discuss with the minister the way forward. The meetings were informative - here you can see Rev N Mwandia and Rev S Kabaghe discussing childrens toilets, a very important part of ECD!
Just like all over the world, school terms were disturbed due to Covid-19. Our first term of 2021 started on 1 February and ended on 23 April. With only 2 weeks holidays, teachers travelled from Southern Province to Lusaka for a 4 day workshop - we discussed a lot of administrative issues pertaining to the running of an ECD centre, as well as practical material making and planning for the next term. It is great to see these teachers develop as I spend more time with them!
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| The group of teachers with Rev L Mithi and myself! |
The following week, I set off again with Rev Kabaghe and Rev Mithi to the Copperbelt province, where we met with ministers from three Presbyteries about ECD issues. I learnt a lot about this area and the congregations, and we visited a few possible sites where ECD could be established! This is the copper mining area of Zambia where there are large mines in most of the towns. The road from Lusaka is terribly rutted due to the large trucks carrying copper through Lusaka to Zimbabwe or across the border into Botswana! It was a busy trip but the discussions were very positive and I look forward to working with the congregations in this area.
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| With Rev Kabaghe on my left and Rev P Kamanga on my right, and some church members |
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| the group of ministers from 3 Presbyteries |
No rest for the wicked so the following week off we went again, this time to Southern province. Again I was accompanied by the General Secretary and his deputy. We first went to Livingstone and met with the Church minister, session clerk and treasurer and head teacher of the ECD centre. The aim was to discuss relationships between the church, the ECD committee and the teachers and parents. We had a good meeting with lots of questions and a lot of learning was done!!
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| The Head teacher of Livingstone with the General secretary |
After this meeting we paid a quick visit to Victoria falls and set off for Mazabuka where we were having another meeting with members from Monze and Mazabuka congregations the following day. Victoria falls are in full flow at the minute - a majestic sight!
We had some heated discussions in this meeting but by the end everyone was in agreement and left the meeting happy! I am hopeful for the future of these two ECD centres.
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| The minister of Mazabuka congregation with some members from both Monze and Mazabuka |
In Livingstone it was a delight to see the children back at school having fun with the teachers and showing me the things they were drawing!
I haven't had much of a chance to wander round the garden these past few weeks but I still managed to get a few photos of the bugs around at present!
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| poinsettia |
In the midst of all the travelling, I managed to have a couple of days in South Luangwa national park with a friend! This was such a blessing as I had not been in the bush since 2019 due to Covid, and I really miss seeing the animals in the wild! Here are a few of the many photos I took!
I am always struck by the wonder of God's creation as I travel around Zambia - the Victoria falls, the wild animals, the bugs and bees in my back yard - such a privilege to live and work in this part of the world.
I will finish today with a few street shots as we have been zooming along the roads to the Copperbelt and Southern provinces! We are having Presidential elections in August and so I will not be travelling much until after this is over as campaigning is now started! Pray for peace in Zambia during this time!
Hope you enjoyed the photos - please leave a message!!
Blessings,
Diane
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