Finally, some news!

28APR2010

Sorry for the lapse in updates, but your esteemed BlogMaster has not had Internet access at all! Even this log I’ve been keeping is not comprehensive, because I’ve had no electricity to power the laptop. And right now I’m on a limited time schedule paying for ‘net on my own dime at a local hotel, so I’ve got to post quickly, and I can’t post pictures from here! Still, something is better than nothing, right?

Today we gave a presentation at lunch, then headed to an elementary school that has 2600 students! They have to schedule them in shifts. We brought stickers and temporary tattoos for the kids, and their response was so enthusiastic you would have thought we were handing out iPods. Rotary helped this school to grow, and the government was inspired to assist as well. It is now mostly government-funded, including notebooks and pencils for the children. We also went to a clinic that is a project of the Rotary Club of Malbua Lusaka; they see about 7000 patients per month! The disease with the highest number of people affected is, of course, malaria, but they also see high numbers of people affected by cholera and HIV/AIDS.  Go Rotary! Tonight we are headed to a District Banquet. We’re told that we don’t have to purchase tickets, but they will make us work for our dinner. Sounds interesting!

27APR2010

Another busy day! We started the day off with a visit to the Umwana Kasembee project in Chilanga. They are home to many orphaned children, and to many success stories – children they have raised and educated that have gone on to University and good careers. I had a blast, because the children invited me to dance with them; there was a group of them playing drums, singing and dancing the entire time we were there. I danced my best, but every one of those children put me to shame! I am constantly amazed how upbeat the children are; it has been that way every place we’ve visited. We then shared lunch with the Rotary Club of Lusaka, and went to visit Old MacDonald’s Farm, a project involved in helping “Street Kids.” The MacDonalds are a perfect example of how one person (or in this case, two) really can make a difference. They started out helping one boy with his school fees, and now have 40 children living with them and/or going to school with their help. While both the MacDonalds work to support the children, they have managed to reduce costs by becoming largely self sustaining – they grow much of their own food, including produce, meat and coffee beans! All the children help with the farm chores, but their Mom makes sure their studies come first.

23APR2010

We made it!

10:00 PM or 22:00 hours

Each of us was taken to our host homes, allowed a couple of hours to “rest” and then to prepare for our Rotary Meeting with The Livingstone Club, which was held at a golf course – surprised to hear it? We had an enormous meal – all the food has been delicious thus far, and there are many vegetarians here.

2:40 PM (or 14:40, for those of you on military time!)

We got a beautiful view of the Zambian wild as we flew into the International airport, which was nice, because the second we got off the plane, it started pouring down rain – sheets of rain so thick we couldn’t see anything! Our wonderful hosts, who were there to receive us at the airport, exclaimed that it hasn’t rained here for more than two weeks (until we showed up)! Still, we all made it safe and sound (and so did our luggage, which we’re informed is nothing short of a miracle), which is the important thing.

11:00 AM – on African soil! Well, African tile, anyway.

As I type, we are sitting in the Johannesburg Airport, awaiting transport to our Zambia flight. I’ve been unable to access Internet, but I promised Tammy I’d keep up with our day-to-day activities as best I can without it. We’ve been traveling for three days now, and excessive turbulence made it impossible to sleep on the plane, so we’re all a little dazed and confused. We’re all also really looking forward to a shower!

The flight from DFW to London was packed full but fairly uneventful. The weather was beautiful in London, crisp, cool and sunny. We navigated the Underground like old pros, scurried around taking photos in the Westminster area for a few hours, then met a friend of David’s for a British lunch. We raced back to Heathrow and embarked on the most turbulent plane ride any of us have ever experienced – and that’s saying something! We’ve only been in Jo’burg about 3 hours, but we are already experiencing the relaxed attitude toward time (no rushing!) that Africans are reputed to have. For all of us accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the American rat race, this promises to be a real change, one we’re all looking forward to.