Christmas and Grace Academy

Friday 12^th

Back onto the sorting of the Christmas presents. We are getting there. Each child will receive one larger gift, a smaller gift and a backpack for school. Aggie, 16, who lives at Grace but goes to a public school (Grace doesn’t have year 11 and 12) was a companion for a lot of the day. I just love spending time with her. She is friendly and very articulate. She helped with choosing the presents for the girls and with the sorting of more boxes from the container. She would like to be a doctor.

I had another trip into town to exchange money and buy food for the Christmas lunch. While there, I also bought a really large avocado and some limes off a lady sitting on the footpath. The avocado is for Phil and Sam for breakie tomorrow. I hope hope it is as delicious as I have been told they are.

I also dazzled the Canadians with a few new words today “cuppa” and saying I was “wrapped” about something. Sue

Saturday 14^th    

Well we’ve been here for 5 days now – so what can we say about Ndola and Grace Academy.

Well Ndola is maybe what you would expect from a poor africian country. The drive out and back  in each day is always exciting with lots of people walking along the road, lots of crowded little mini buses chugging along and pouring out thick black smoke. Trucks are everywhere – who knows what they are carrying. Along the side of the road there are people selling corn and tomatoes and repairing cars , or washing trucks and some making and selling Hoes and Axes. We stopped at one today and met a man who was making these farm tools under a tree beside the road. He used a plastic bag and a length of pipe to make his mini forge, and there beside the road he manufactured and sold his wares. We bought a couple and told him to give them to his next customers free. They cost 25000 kwacha , which is around $5 , which is close to the average wage for a day. On his tree he had a sign with Genesis 3:19 – have a read and you will know his marketing strategy.

There are also contrasts too, with a huge new Pick and pay supermarket and shopping Mall, where you can get everything you could get in a western city. Lots of people are living in mud brick house as small as a garden shed ( Sue has been out to visit some ladies in these “compounds”) and there are also big houses behind huge walls with manicured gardens.

Grace academy is quite an astounding place. To see what has been done since 2005 in a country where building anything is a slow and difficult process, is amazing. Grace is divided into 3 areas. The first area has the 8 Dorm houses where the kids live with dorm mums. Then there is some staff house, a clinic and administration building and the large kitchen and dining building. As well as some toilet buildings and  a laundry

The second area is the school area, which has a big multipurpose building (which is also the church and music room ). Then there are 2 primary school building that have classrooms and offices etc. Up hill from there is the new secondary buildings. It has 2 wings – One is classrooms and the other has computer, science and home ecomonics rooms. These rooms are not finished yet and that is where Phil and Sam are working. There seems to be some hold up with the government approval for the secondary school so it may not open in Feb as planned, but that is just how things go. The school area also has a big playing field, playground and basketball court.

The third area is phase 3 – It is where another 8 dorms will be built ( 4 started now) So that the boys and girls will be in separate areas. ( they already have very strict rules on which areas boys and girls can be together) Also in Phase 3 is the new BUSEKO house. Buseko house is where we are staying – it is close to the centre of town and is a big house with quite a few out building ( including the one we are living in). It is where the little babies and children up to school age live. The plan is to move them out to Grace into a big new home and then use this place for a transition home for the older kids when they leave Grace and move into adult life.

All of these 3 areas are fenced with a 2.5 mtr high concrete block wall with electric wires above that. There are a few security men who open and shut the gates as people come and go. They hold all the keys and we are continually going to get a key to open and shut one thing or another. The place doesn’t seem that unsafe to us, but everyone that can – does have a big wall around their houses – some with broken bottles stuck in the top.  

Grace has it’s own water from 2 bores ( which is safe to drink) but the power is from the town grid and that has been out a few times. At the moment the back up generator cant run the pump so when the power is out there are no showers, and you have to use the hand pump to fill up the toilets – but everyone copes quite well when it happens.

The kids are very friendly and everyone is an honorary Uncle or Aunt. All of these kids have stories of abuse and neglect that is quite hard to hear. Many would have died if not for Seeds of Hope rescuing them. They are so kind and considerate and full of life. Friday after school they have bible study and if you ask them what their favourite music is , it is always gospel.

Tomorrow – Sunday – is their Christmas. They all get presents from their sponsors and Grace. There is a big roast turkey lunch – ( you can not guess what sort of food the Canadians have brought with them in their luggage). The kids are all very excited and keen to get their presents. Sue has been busy all week with some other ladies sorting all the presents to make sure it is as even as possible. Over 100 kids equals a lot of presents. The staff also get some presents and gifts. There are 76 staff, which includes the carers and dorm mums, teachers, cooks and cleaners, security staff and the building team. It was Sue’s job to write in the card for each staff member so she know there is 76.

So it promises to be a big day tomorrow. Hopefully we can get some internet access and send some photos and info your way.