Hello everyone,
After my extended break in Portrush, its nice to be back in Zambia again!
I have been here just over a month and I hit the ground running! My work permit had expired so the first day was spent at the immigration office getting my new permit - a very quick process as it turned out!
I had to get some things in my house sorted out again - buying food, gas for the stove etc! Zambia has had little rainfall over the last year. We have hydro power from Kariba dam shared with Zimbabwe and because the levels are low there is little power, and so we are in a severe loadshedding period (this means no electricity for anything up to 16 hours a day). I am thankful that where I stay we have a solar backup which means I can still charge my phone and laptop, and I have a gas stove anyway so I can cope quite well. But for most Zambians and businesses who depend on electricity it is a nightmare. Zambia really need to invest in solar energy as the one thing we have surplus of is sun!!
Schools were off for half term mid June so as soon as they opened I headed to Southern province to visit our two Early Childhood Centres in Livingstone and Mazabuka.
In Livingstone I found 2 new teachers - it is so frustrating when you spend time, energy and resources training teachers, and then they move on for one reason or another! I found the centre in a bit of a mess to be honest and had to start to organise things with the teachers again. How I long for the day when I arrive at an ECD centre and all is well!!
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| Teachers at Livingstone ECD |
The children were great - some of the children I remembered from last time but there were also a lot of new children. I met with the minister of the congregation where the ECD is held and we had good discussions about the way forward of the centre.
I spent 3 days with them and then moved to Mazabuka which is only 3 hours from Lusaka! Here I found only one teacher as others have also left. Once again, this makes me sad. However, the teacher I found was doing a commendable job all on her own. The children were enjoying themselves playing and learning! I met a granny who was bringing lunch for her grandson and she told me that she was delighted with how her grandson was developing. She said she herself had only got to Grade 5 in primary school as in those days girls did not have the chance to finish school. It was good to hear some nice feedback from a guardian.
Mazabuka ECD centre now has the job of recruiting some new teachers!
Mazabuka ECD centre had 50 children and no toilets so it was quite challenging for both teachers and children. Thanks to support from Malone Presbyterian church and some other friends, we are almost at the stage of completing a toilet block with toilets for both children and adults. This is a massive step for both the ECD centre and Mazabuka CCAP church. Here are the latest photos! This project had been planned in 2022 when I suddenly became ill and ended up spending 16 months in Ireland. I am thankful to God that finally it has come to fruition and the toilet block will be ready for use by the beginning of the next term.
Just after I came back I went on a cultural bus tour of the city one Saturday morning - it was interesting as we were led by Mulenga Kapwepwe who is an author with an amazing knowledge of the history of not only Lusaka, but the country of Zambia.
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| The national Museum |
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| Mulenga Kapwepwe |
I have also been involved with the current PW project which is supporting the Women's Guild in Zambia this year and I have met with many lovely ladies from the Women's Guild over the past few months!
Until next time,
Blessings and love,
Diane
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