The Final Blog for Now

Well the blogging about our journey has come to an end. We will be back into our usual lives in Exmouth for another year. Of course, the blog could always come back to life with a new journey.

As the minor blogger, I would like to say "Thanks Phil!"

Phil, the Chief Blogger

For those of you who would like to keep up with some of the happenings at Grace Academy, Zambia, you could visit Elizabeth's blogspot. We had enjoyed reading it before we ventured to Ndola.

http://elizabethkroeker.blogspot.com/

Well that is it for Zambia blogging 2012.....Thanks so much for joining us on our journey. Sue

Leaving Grace

Yes, I had visions of the panic rush before leaving. Our last night was filled with some of the kids making necklaces with beads and the shells we collected; farewells to the Litanas with Gertrude and I in tears; me forgetting to pick up the resident mechanic Philip on the way back to Ndola; pizza for dinner with Sidney (a wonderful guy staying at Buseko and waiting to see if he will have good enough grades for a bursary to university); and a really fun coffee and dessert with Bill and Marcy (American missionaries). The cake was compliments of their 13 year old son Aiden. Bill and Marcy have the most amazing stories of their adventures in Zambia over the past ten years. So it was a great night and well worth not getting to sleep until after midnight. We had a fair bit of packing to do.

Our final morning involved organising Hudson and Gertrude’s doors, taking further pictures of children and me holding a meeting with some school staff and dorm mothers to implement IEPs (individual education plans) for students with reading/English difficulties.

And while it all went reasonably smoothly, there is always that sense of there being things left undone or more that we could have done. Oh well, there is always next time……

Driving in Ndola

This is what it is like in the car hen you get on the dirt roads around the suburbs and compounds.

Iron Age Workers

The guys who make the Hoes and Axes beside the road on the way to Grace always wave and greet us when we drive past. The way they can actual forge steel with a plastic bag and a pipe has been fascinating. We asked them to make some mini hoes and axes for us to take home for souvenirs. They did a great job and made 2 of each sort - 2 hoes, 2 axes and 2 adzes. All we have to do now is get them through the Australian Customs. The guys even burnt ZAMBIA into the handles for them.

I hope the video shows clearly what they are doing. My friend Joseph Obrien will be fascinated by this Iron Age work.

When we put our bags through the X-ray machine at Ndola airport the man came up to me and asked “ Are you checking that bag?” when he saw all these weapons in the bag. 

Zambian Workers

Even though we haven’t worked with the Zambian building crew every day, we have got to know a few of them quite well. Emmanuel worked with us on the doors and locks and the formwork and concreting for the school benchtops. We also had him on the roof to show him how to do ridge capping.

Geoffrey is the welding man and can really make anything you want out of steel. He picks up what you want him to do very quickly and a basic sketch is all he needs, He is making all the steel door frames for the new dorms and Buseko House.

Nyamba looks after the electrical work and the plumbing as well as lots of other things on the construction site.

The guys write a daily and weekly report that gets sent through to John. And though the output is less when John isn’t there the Zambian workers continue at a good pace and keep the construction moving along.

Musonda is the pickup man who goes to all the suppliers and get whatever is needed each day. There are no accounts with suppliers here. Everything is cash. So Musonda often travels with a lot of Kwacha in his pocket. Many of the suppliers have a thing with the pickup people like Mysonda called “topup” – this is where the ask “ Do you want top up?” meaning “ will we add extra to the bill and split it “ – Rekays – the big Indian owned hardware is notorious for this form of corruption. Musonda told John “ did you know the last driver you had always got “top up”. It is good to know that Musonda is an honourable man who can’t be corrupted by the suppliers. Musonda has also helped us with sorting Hudson’s stuff.

Daniel is the maintenance man for Buseko and also does a lot of the driving dropping kids off to the clinic for their HIV check-ups, and taking people here and there. And he painted the external doors of the high school while we were there. It was Daniels house that had a wall fall down while we were there. John had some of the Grace workers go and put in a proper foundation and concrete block wall to fix it.

Hudson and Gertrude Litana

Hudson and Gertrude’s House

Phil and Sam spent Wednesday out at Hudson and Gertrude Litania’s house fixing up some broken windows. For those that don’t know Hudson – He is a Zambian Baptist Pastor who has been to Australia 3 times since 1980. He has been a guest of the Australian Baptists and has been to a lot of churches to minister to Australian Christians. We met him in 1980 and when he returned in 1985 he stayed with us at our home in Kallangur. Our first son Michael was just 2 years old and I have a photo of Michael and Hudson. After his stay with us, Sue started writing to his wife Gertrude and then she would send off parcels of clothes and shoes to them. They had 12 children so whatever you sent something would fit someone.  The tea chests of clothes would take 6 months to get to Zambia. When Hudson came the next time, he told us that school was to start and many of his children did not have shoes to fit them but the day before school was to start the parcel from Sue arrived and there was a pair of shoes for everyone who needed them.

Over the years in our moves from Queensland, we lost contact with them. Last year, we did a bit of hunting around and found out a way to get a letter to him. Because we knew he was in Ndola we thought we would try to find him and do some work at an orphanage while we were here. And that is how after a few googles we found the Canadians and Seeds of Hope.  (I was just thinking that if we didn’t meet Hudson 30 years ago we would not be at Grace Academy and we would not have stayed a week extra and we would not have been here to finish the roof sheeting on the Buseko House – God knew 30 years ago that the roof supplier in Zambia would not get the roofing delivered when he said he would (I would be lying if I said it would be here today – Joke for the Canadians) and someone needed to be here just a bit longer to do the last few things).

Hudson had a serious car crash 2 years ago and is still recovering. When people saw his car wreck and he was not around they assumed he was dead and broke into his house and smashed about 40 panes of glass and broke some doors. When Marcie and Bill helped us to find their house it was obvious that we needed to help fix the windows and doors.

It has been quite humbling to help them as they are such wonderful Christian people – Hudson is the wisest man I have met. He has a deep and certain faith in Jesus and his life and Gertrude’s have been dedicated to serving Jesus. Now even when he can hardly walk and has trouble speaking for long periods he is organising a new ministry to do evangelistic work in some of the churches that are having trouble in Lusaka. They have raised 12 of their own children as well as 10 orphans (1 would go on to be a President of Zambia) and even now they have 3, 4 maybe 5 orphans they are looking after.

When we left their house one day Phil said, “I wonder how they survive – God must just send the money from Heaven.”

To which Sam replied, “Yes well he has sent Australians all the way here to fix his windows.”

They have made us know that God has sent us all this way to Fiwali Hill in Zambia to bless them and that has been quite humbling for us. We love them dearly and have been so blessed to spend time with them.

Hudson said this morning –

“My wife was so worried about the broken windows and doors, and there was nothing I could do – she was saying we should move – this is not a proper house – now her prayers are answered in a way she never expected.”

Gertrude said “It is like a dream – and a burden has been lifted from my shoulders”

This has been a great highlight of our time in Ndola.

Felson House

We have been staying in the Buseko Compound which is in the "nicer end of town". The compound has the big house where the 0-5 year old kids live, a 2 room school building, Felson House where most of the visiting teams live, Samaritan House where 2 young men - Philip and  are staying, a big playground that the kids use in the non rainy season. And all this with beautiful lawn and gardens.                          

Inside Felson House many of the visiting team members have written messages on the walls. It is quite a display. Bible verses, messages of thanks, poems, and some with the dates they have been here. We have to fine a suitable spot to leave a mark,



Driving in Zambia

There are many different rules or practices when it comes to driving in Zambia. Thankfully they drive on the same side of the road as us Aussies, after that it is all different.

You can pass anyone, at any time, on any side of the road you like. Safe passing distances do not come into the decision to overtake. You have to keep a constant watch on the people behind you because you just don’t know what they are likely to do, or what they are thinking you should do.

Flashing your lights can mean

You are going too slow go faster

I am going to overtake you move over

I am going to let you into the traffic

I am not going to let you into the traffic.

Using an indicator can mean:

I am going to turn

I am not going to turn

You can overtake me

That is the middle of the road watch out for me

Using your hazard lights can mean:

I am broken down

Someone in front of me is broken down

Someone in front of me is going slow

I am going to stop here in the middle of the road, watch out for me.

               Tree branches on the road can mean:

I am broken down and this is the best way to let you know not to hit me.

There was something broken down here once

               Driving at night in the rain is the most scariest driving I have ever done. One time the wipers stopped working properly and we could not work out the demister. It is quite acceptable to use your high beams at any time at night, no matter how close the on coming traffic is. There are no street lights, there are no reflectors in the middle of the road, the edge of the bitumen could have a 600mm drop off, or maybe not. People want to pass you on any side and the trucks coming the other way may just move into your lane to get around a mini bus on the side of the road. And of course there is always someone walking along the side of the road, or riding a bike. Seeing a dark skinned person in dark clothes on a dark rainy night is very difficult.

               On the positive side you can pull off at many places and get a car wash. In town you can get a watch and wash (you pay someone to watch your car and when you come back they have washed it as well – up sizing in the car watching business). Under every second tree is a tyre repair shop/place/area. There is a constant stream of blue and white mini busses carting people every which way, chugging out huge clouds of black smoke. Road rage is not an issue – everyone drives crazy so there is no point getting mad with any one person in particular.

Once you get off the bitumen the road become a series of holes connected by some flat ground. Corrugations are not a problem, they aren’t here. Sometimes there is way more hole than road and you weave a twisted trail from side to side looking for the least bumpy way. We do it very slowly, but a good Zambian driver goes just as fast on the dirt as the bitumen.