All things new...

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a good break over the summer!  Here in Zambia we are just coming into our summer after a long cold winter!  I managed to get my second covid jab although the one I got is still not recognised in the UK and, as I live in a 'red' country, I would have to quarantine for 10 days in a hotel if I went back.....  We did not have a choice as to what vaccine we could have - we had to take what we were given and be grateful for it as there are so few vaccines in Zambia and in the whole of Africa!

Covid numbers have reduced here in the last few weeks too although that my be due to less testing because of Presidential elections in the country!  Elections were held on 12 August and generally they were peaceful.  Young people turned out in large numbers to vote as they are struggling to find jobs and really want to see change.

So, things are a bit more relaxed here and even some restaurants are beginning to open up again even though we have not had any official stance from the government!

We have a new President in Zambia which is very exciting- his name is Hikainde Hichilema and this was his 6th time running for President!  Perseverance pays it seems!  Most people are happy and already we can see some changes being made hopefully for the better.

President of the Republic of Zambia - Hakainde Hichilema

The founding father of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda passed away on 17 June, 2021 at the age of 97.  He was held in very high regard in Zambia and we had 21 days of national mourning. On 2nd July there was an official funeral when heads of state from surrounding nations came to pay their respects.  Then on 7th July was the burial. 

So between the Presidential elections where we had two 'non working days' and then another two for the funeral of the late President,  we have had a lot of public holidays in the past month.  There were already 3 public holidays in July and August...it feels as if not much work has been done!

Schools opened again for a new term last week and we are told that the term will end on 10 December, so its quite a long spell for both teachers and children without a break.  I hope to visit our ECD centres in Southern Province this coming week to see how they are getting on and if they have plans in place for the term.

Because schools are open again, I have made a plan for some more travel to schools in the coming months.

I had a meeting the with minister of Kabwata congregation in Lusaka to see if we can revive the Early Childhood Centre that we had pre-covid!  Another meeting is planned with the committee to see if the centre can re-open in 2022.  Its been a big challenge when the ECD centre is going well and then it closes due to some issues within the church family.  Its very frustrating when I put so much work into teacher training and helping them to find materials for the children to play with.  I just pray that God will guide us on how we can do things better!  Please uphold this situation in prayer too.

Rev S Kabaghe and Rev Naomi Daka (minister of Kabwata)

I travelled to Lundazi in Eastern Zambia with the General Secretary for some meetings with Mr Collins Nyirenda, the Education Secretary last week.  Collins has been in the position for about a year now and has a lot of plans to help our CCAP Secondary, Primary and Community schools.  I am hopeful that we will work well together in assisting the Early Childhood classes.

The Education Secretary, the General Secretary and the Early Childhood Coordinator

We also visited Mwase CCAP primary school to have a discussion with the Head Teacher and the ECE teacher, and to see what plans the teacher had in place for the coming term! We also discussed their vision for Early Childhood at their school!  The teacher is an inspiration!

Rev Kabaghe, myself, the Head teacher and the ECE teacher at Mwase PS

The road from Chipata to Lundazi is gradually getting worse - it used to take about 2 hours, last week it took 4 hours because of massive potholes - its quite exhausting.  The whole journey from Lusaka took 12 hours! 

 

the brown patches are potholes!!

some of the potholes are big enough for the whole vehicle to fit into!

On the way home, we broke the journey with a night in South Luangwa national park where we had a few elephant encounters, among other animals! Because there have been so few visitors in the park this year, the animals are more confident and enjoying life!  In the camp where we stayed they had a visit of 10 lions just a couple of days before we arrived.  I also had a visit in my tent from the baboons!!  Thankfully I got there just as they had broken in!  Its all fun in the bush!

Baboon

lone elephant crossing the Luangwa river

waterbuck

warthog

Egyptian geese in flight

my favourite...the leopard

Beautiful Impala

giraffe

Elephant getting a little too close

Saddlebilled stork

Marshall Eagle

elephant in camp

Zebra

Buffalo with an oxpecker on his head enjoying the ticks!

lion

Kudu bulls with lots of Oxpeckers (so lots of ticks too)

On the way home we always have an opportunity to buy African sausage (or mice on a stick).  I decided not to partake lol!!

I never take for granted the privilege I have been given of living in Malawi and now Zambia.  I love the climate, the people and of course the bush!  I never tire of walking through animals and seeing different wildlife...every day holds something different.

Its a privilege too to work with my colleagues in CCAP Synod of Zambia.  I am so thankful to God for the opportunities that come my way as we try to help the young children in our church communities!  I pray that even the small things we do may have a lasting impact on our children.

I love this time of year when the weather is becoming hot, there is a lot of dust and we get amazing sunrises and sunsets where God paints a new masterpiece every day.  I leave you with the sunrise when I was in South Luangwa as we headed off in the early morning to look for animals!

With love,

Diane x