The Hospital is a major part of Mukinge. I don't very much like hospitals in the states and this one is no easier. The hospital beds were so close together, all in one room, with no privacy or peacefulness.
We decided to go visit the Pediatrics area (Paeds ward) to give out some stickers and bracelets to the kids. We thought they would love to have little gifts, well, we were right... but their parents loved the gifts even more! They were asking for bracelets, too! And most of them did not speak English! Once we brought out the camera, oh boy, they had a grand time! Posing with each other, by themselves, running to pick up their babies for a photo. There was one man who did speak English and told us that the ladies were asking for copies, unfortunately, we were not able to do that for them.
We gave away many bracelets in the Paeds ward and then walked outside to see if we missed any children. Turns out, we handed them out to more adults! One lady was pretty old and she was so happy to get a bracelet that she stood up on her mangled feet and started dancing for us! I took a photo with her because she was so happy, but I'm not going to post it for privacy reasons.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Maurice
So, today was our first full day in Mukinge. We began by sleeping in and taking our time. After visiting the Academy and secondary schools, we walked to a store that is run by Jennie's former student, Maurice. Maurice is close to my age and along with running the store, he runs his family farm. When we get to the store, we greet him and see the store. He asks us if we have a little bit of time to see the farm... since it was "right down the road." Well, it was not close, and it was not right down the road! In fact, it took about 45 minutes in his car, each way! We were just thankful he had a car and we did not have to walk there! I suppose I should also mention that the road is made of red dirt... not cement! Since it was the dry season, all the dirt and dust was seeping through the doors and windows and getting all over our clothes and into our airways!
While on the way to the farm, we passed many villages. It was neat to see the differences between them all. Some had a lot of land, some had only a little. Some had only one hut/house, some had more. We saw a lot of people walking, some with shoes, some without. We saw a couple of kids playing with a large tire.
Finally, when we arrived at the farm, we had to walk a bit to get to it. Which meant crossing the stream! As you can see below, the men crossed with no trouble and left us ladies to take care of ourselves!
As we walked the path, we approached the area where the care takers of the farm lived. There were a couple of homes and a "kitchen," which is simply a shelter where they cook their food. The walls of the homes are made of clay bricks and the roof is made from a straw-like material called thatch. I asked Maurice if the rain ever comes in the roof. He said, "no, no it does not come in...never." I asked him this because when we were in there, I could see the sun shining through the thatch. A couple of seconds later, he said, "It just leaks a little."
He took us for a walk to show us the rest of his farm which is about 200 hectares (480 acres.. I think!). He has many vegetables including eggplant, cabbage, rape, and maize. He had pigs, chickens, fishponds, and some banana trees!
While on the way to the farm, we passed many villages. It was neat to see the differences between them all. Some had a lot of land, some had only a little. Some had only one hut/house, some had more. We saw a lot of people walking, some with shoes, some without. We saw a couple of kids playing with a large tire.
Finally, when we arrived at the farm, we had to walk a bit to get to it. Which meant crossing the stream! As you can see below, the men crossed with no trouble and left us ladies to take care of ourselves!
As we walked the path, we approached the area where the care takers of the farm lived. There were a couple of homes and a "kitchen," which is simply a shelter where they cook their food. The walls of the homes are made of clay bricks and the roof is made from a straw-like material called thatch. I asked Maurice if the rain ever comes in the roof. He said, "no, no it does not come in...never." I asked him this because when we were in there, I could see the sun shining through the thatch. A couple of seconds later, he said, "It just leaks a little."
He took us for a walk to show us the rest of his farm which is about 200 hectares (480 acres.. I think!). He has many vegetables including eggplant, cabbage, rape, and maize. He had pigs, chickens, fishponds, and some banana trees!
He also grew carrots and had one of his workers pick some for us. Which worked out because we needed something to bring to the missionary's potluck that night!
We finished our tour and Maurice drove us back to our guesthouse and we went to the "take away" which is a restaurant. They did not have any food left... just scones. They were good!
I should also mention that Maurice is a very good artist, but it is not easy to get supplies. First of all, he has to have the money for them. And second, he has to travel to the city to buy them. If anyone reading this would like to pay for a piece of art (which may take a while to get here) or donate money for his supplies, let me know.
More to come....
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I fell in love...
Falling in love is very easy for me... especially when it comes to children! For lunch on our first day we went to our friend Pam's house. Pam has four of her own children and has taken in Little "Lu-Lu." At first, he was not sure what to think of me. THEN, I brought out the big guns.... I tickled him!! His smile was so big! It just completely made me melt! He is so cute. I told Pam I was going to take him home with me. Although, we would have never made it since I'm sure immigration and customs would send me to jail! Because I'm not positive this blog is private, I won't post a current picture of him, but the Orphanage website has an older photo of him that you can check out. Take my word for it that he is still super cute. He is almost 2 now!
Mukinge
So, I know I said I would give you stories, but I figured it best to give you some background on where we went before I get into the stories.
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| Above Photo from Wikipedia Below is from http://wiki.machaworks.org/Communities/Mukinge |
Mukinge is a small town-ish area in Kasempa, which is in the North- Western Province of Zambia. It consists mainly of a hospital, a few schools and some residential areas (and let's not forget the "Take-away" and the BOMA!). It's interesting because, just like in America, people come from all different levels of wealth. There are the homeowners who are educated, dressed well, and have careers and a few miles away, there are villages where they live houses like this....
The house we stayed in was HUGE. It had five bedrooms.... and a SHOWER! We were thinking we would have to take baths instead of showers. We had to boil the water before we drank it for fear of getting sick. We also took malaria meds.. just in case!
It was the dry season while we were there... that means no rain, no humidity, and very chilly mornings and nights. Even though, we were grateful for our house, there was no heat, so we were very cold at night! Thankfully, it was a full moon while we were there, so even though it got dark early, it didn't get pitch black while we were walking from place to place.
Zambia is 6 hours ahead of South Carolina/Ohio time. This only made communication more difficult. Internet is a rare commodity over there. One of our team members had an international data plan on her phone, but it didn't always work.. even with a cell tower on the hill.
It is also not very easy to get to! We flew into the city of Lusaka and then had to take a six-seater plane (aka puddle jumper) to the "air strip" in Kasempa! We could have taken a bus for 13 hours, instead of the plane, but that takes too long!
When our plane landed, people from the village came to the fence to see us. It's their entertainment for the day. We were also greeted by other missionaries... I was too nauseous from the flight to talk to them though!
More to come soon...
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
And so it goes...
Wow. So for six days now I have been thinking about this darn blog... How am I supposed to write so that people want to read? How can I put 2 amazing, incredible weeks of Africa into words? Well, I decided that instead of giving you the play-by-play of every little thing we did, I will just tell you stories.
Before I do, I would like to give a shout-out to my friend, Sarah, and my new friend, Haydn. Sarah and Haydn were our official tour guides in London when we had our layover there. They were super generous. They took us on the train to what seemed like EVERY hotspot sight of London: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, a pub, Buckingham Palace, the park, a coffee shop, a tourist shop... and just about every where else! They were the best. Thank you so much, Sarah and Haydn!!
More posts to come...
Before I do, I would like to give a shout-out to my friend, Sarah, and my new friend, Haydn. Sarah and Haydn were our official tour guides in London when we had our layover there. They were super generous. They took us on the train to what seemed like EVERY hotspot sight of London: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, a pub, Buckingham Palace, the park, a coffee shop, a tourist shop... and just about every where else! They were the best. Thank you so much, Sarah and Haydn!!
More posts to come...
Friday, July 1, 2011
No turning back now!
Ok. Wow. How to even express the emotions right now. Stressed, stoked, nervous, excited, worried, curious, etc. etc. etc.
4 days until we leave!! I have started packing, but I am no where near close to being done!
So, Tuesday is the big day. From MB, we go to Atlanta, from Atlanta overnight to London. A friend of ours will show us around in London on Wednesday before we head to Lusaka to get in on Thursday.
Here is the official itinerary:
Tues., July 5th - 4:45pm Leave MB Spirit Airlines flight 403 to ATL (1.15 hour flight)
-Arrive in Atlanta, GA at 6:07
-9:15pm British Airways 226 to LHR (8 hour flight)
Wed., July 6th -10:15am arrive in London, England
-In London for 9 hours touring
-7:10pm British Airways 255 to LUN (10.10 hour flight)
Thurs., July 7th - 6:20am arrive in Lusaka, South Africa & fly to Mukinge, Zambia on a small plane
-Stay in Mukinge until July 15th
While on site we will:
-Probably do “entertainment” at the girl’s school.
-Attend 3 total church services.
-Work at the “elementary” school.
-Visit the orphanage & with missionaries.
Fri., July 15th –Leave Mukinge on the small plane and travel to Livingstone (3 hours)
-visit the falls & spend the night at Greentree Lodge
Sat., July 16th –go on safari in Botswana
Sun., July 17th –fly to Lusaka.
Sun., July 17th & Mon., July 18th- visit, tourism, eating & shopping
Tues., July 19th- 1:40pm South African Airways 63 to JNB (2.05 hour flight)
-3:45pm arrive in Johannesburg
-In Johannesburg for 5 hours
-8:45pm British Airways 54 to LHR. (11 hour flight)
Wed., July 20th - 6:45am arrive in London
-In London for 8 hours 15 min
-3:00pm British Airways 227 to LHR (9.05 hours)
-7:05pm arrive in Atlanta
- Stay Over night in ATL
Thurs., July 21st – 10:30am Spirit Airlines flight 404 to Myrtle Beach
-Arrive in Myrtle Beach at 11:49 am
We need prayer for:
-Safe travel- We will be on many planes and have some long flights. We will also be flying on some very small planes.
-Health- We will be in some interesting areas, and eating interesting foods. We are excited, but can use prayers to make sure we are healthy because we do not have many days there, and we want to utilize all our time.
-Preparing Hearts- Pray that our hearts, and the hearts of those we will meet, are prepared for what God has in store for us.
-Family/friends at home- Although I am the only one in the group who does not have children, I do have a large family who will worry like crazy!
Here is a video that JJ found. It is not Mukinge, but Mukinge is just like the video
YouTube Zambia Singing
Well, I better get off the computer and get moving! Lots to do!! P.S. Happy Fourth of July!
4 days until we leave!! I have started packing, but I am no where near close to being done!
So, Tuesday is the big day. From MB, we go to Atlanta, from Atlanta overnight to London. A friend of ours will show us around in London on Wednesday before we head to Lusaka to get in on Thursday.
Here is the official itinerary:
Tues., July 5th - 4:45pm Leave MB Spirit Airlines flight 403 to ATL (1.15 hour flight)
-Arrive in Atlanta, GA at 6:07
-9:15pm British Airways 226 to LHR (8 hour flight)
Wed., July 6th -10:15am arrive in London, England
-In London for 9 hours touring
-7:10pm British Airways 255 to LUN (10.10 hour flight)
Thurs., July 7th - 6:20am arrive in Lusaka, South Africa & fly to Mukinge, Zambia on a small plane
-Stay in Mukinge until July 15th
While on site we will:
-Probably do “entertainment” at the girl’s school.
-Attend 3 total church services.
-Work at the “elementary” school.
-Visit the orphanage & with missionaries.
Fri., July 15th –Leave Mukinge on the small plane and travel to Livingstone (3 hours)
-visit the falls & spend the night at Greentree Lodge
Sat., July 16th –go on safari in Botswana
Sun., July 17th –fly to Lusaka.
Sun., July 17th & Mon., July 18th- visit, tourism, eating & shopping
Tues., July 19th- 1:40pm South African Airways 63 to JNB (2.05 hour flight)
-3:45pm arrive in Johannesburg
-In Johannesburg for 5 hours
-8:45pm British Airways 54 to LHR. (11 hour flight)
Wed., July 20th - 6:45am arrive in London
-In London for 8 hours 15 min
-3:00pm British Airways 227 to LHR (9.05 hours)
-7:05pm arrive in Atlanta
- Stay Over night in ATL
Thurs., July 21st – 10:30am Spirit Airlines flight 404 to Myrtle Beach
-Arrive in Myrtle Beach at 11:49 am
We need prayer for:
-Safe travel- We will be on many planes and have some long flights. We will also be flying on some very small planes.
-Health- We will be in some interesting areas, and eating interesting foods. We are excited, but can use prayers to make sure we are healthy because we do not have many days there, and we want to utilize all our time.
-Preparing Hearts- Pray that our hearts, and the hearts of those we will meet, are prepared for what God has in store for us.
-Family/friends at home- Although I am the only one in the group who does not have children, I do have a large family who will worry like crazy!
Here is a video that JJ found. It is not Mukinge, but Mukinge is just like the video
YouTube Zambia Singing
Well, I better get off the computer and get moving! Lots to do!! P.S. Happy Fourth of July!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Accommodations
WOW! JJ hooked us UP!
Towards the end of our trip we will see Victoria Falls and then go to Botswana for a safari in Chobe National Park.
We will be staying at this CUTE little place:
http://greentreelodgezambia.com/
Check it out... It's BEAUtiful!!!
Towards the end of our trip we will see Victoria Falls and then go to Botswana for a safari in Chobe National Park.
We will be staying at this CUTE little place:
http://greentreelodgezambia.com/
Check it out... It's BEAUtiful!!!
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