Day 4 - the real urban africa

Hi Everyone,

Well here we are and it’s day 4. It has been another remarkable day. This morning we set out to visit a couple of schools in the compounds. The compounds are where the poorest Lusakan’s are living. The roads are incredibly rough and full of large pot holes left at the end of the rainy season. There is a lot of garbage lying around and any plants growing here or there are covered in a muddy dust. The roads are lined with shacks made up with wood and tin roofs that may either be homes or little stores. Some of the better homes are made out of cinder block and covered with anything that would serve as a roof . And then there are the people. Children are running everywhere, almost all of them in extremely dirty, dusty and torn clothing. The moment the children see our white truck coming, they begin yelling “Mazungu” and run along side the truck and wave furiously. I have never felt so much like a celebrity unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. Other people are going about their work washing clothing, fixing cars, nursing babies.

A child outside the school

As soon as we pulled up to the school we were surrounded by children saying hello and wanting to shake our hands. We were greeted by Esther the woman who started and runs this school. It is a very grass roots situation, as Esther lives in this community and saw too many children in the compound not able to go to school. They now have 230 students and have to turn many away. They are meeting in a building made out of cinder blocks with only half a roof. It has a mud floor. Fortunately this building is also used as a church and there are wooden benches for the children to sit on. Each grade has their own corner of the building. Today was also interesting as it was a health clinic day. All of the children were being treated for worms and Bilharzia (and for all you medical types, that is Shistosomiasis) which the children contract from all the contaminated water around the compound.

Another highlight at the school was that the children all gathered round and sang for us. After that we had to lead them all in some singing - so we sang the chorus "I've got joy like a fountain". Below is a short clip of the children singing for us.

Zambian school children singing

Esther then took us to visit some of the families of children who would be attending the school so we could have a better understanding of the situation of the children and people here. The first woman was we visited was Gertrude. She is a widow with HIV. She was in better health and so she could sit up and talk to us. On her hip was an18 month old baby simply clad in a very dirty tank top. She was very attractive but I felt her eyes held a sadness and stories I would never know. I could go into detail about her one room home but I will just say it was the most meager and ragged dwelling I have ever been in. Esther told us that when Gertrude is really sick, her 10 year old daughter looks after her and runs the house. I found Gertrude’s situation and story extremely compelling and I know that her story represents the stories of thousands of other women in Africa.

Doris and Heidi

The second family we visited was a household where the grand parents are the head of the household as all of their children have died. They in turn are looking after all of the 9 orphaned children. The grandfather had not had employment for 21 years due to health problems, so it was unclear as to how they survived. They were currently hoping the school, or the community would somehow be able to raise the money for a school uniform for their grand daughter Doris. Esther said Doris was exceptionally bright and in order for her to go to school she needed a uniform and a small fee for tuition. It took a lot of self control to not just open my bag and thrust all my money at the people we were meeting. However this experience put a real face on the many problems faced here, and it reinforced my thinking over what type of projects we would like to support financially when we get back home. It has been very interesting to learn about the different aid agencies, how there are different ways of helping and that providing aid and help can be complicated and is not always an easy thing to do.

More school kids

We also visited a second school in the same compound. This school was slightly better off than the first. It was also a community school, however it was not free. The school has been supported by MCC for a few years. Last year a SALTer was located at the school teaching computers, grade 8 and civics. The school has a computer lab, which is using used computers supplied via MCC. My brother John has been responsible for setting up the computers, and getting the network hooked up. He has also managed to get the local internet provider to supply wireless connection for free as part of a pilot program. The lab doubles as an internet cafe and it is successful it will eventually pay for the internet for the school use.

John in the computer lab

All in all it was a meaningful and thought provoking day, the details of which I hope not to forget.