At 7:30 tomorrow morning I'm taking a bus about 5 hours south to Kalomo where I will be living for the next part of my stay. Kalomo is a small village in southern Zambia, situated on the main road between Lusaka and Livingstone. I'm looking forward to getting out from behind the walls of Lusaka and living a little village life again! Internet and other forms of communication will be harder to come by, but will work to keep the blog as up to date as possible!
You can see holes in the sides of the cliffs where birds make their nest.
Sunset over Zimbabwe.
Hippos swimming in the Zambezi.
On our last night in Livingstone our immersion group took a river cruise up the Zambezi...above Victoria Falls.
Pictured are Brother Mike Burke (South Africa / Zambia), Adrian White & Don O'Leary (Ireland), Ruben Comotto Basanta (Uruguay), Sister Deb Nelson (USA) & Mariela Pilar Uberti Serrat (Uruguay)
In this photo you can see people standing on the Zimbabwe side of the falls. They get a better view this time of year.
We visited the falls during the very dry season, so there isn't much water flowing right now. After the rainy season the whole wall to the right would have water flowing over it. Now there is only water on the Zimbabwe side.
The bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders) is on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are, by some measures, the largest waterfall in the world.
Victoria Falls is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, the claim that it is the largest is based on a width of 1 mile and height of 360 feet, forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world.
The unusual form of Victoria Falls enables virtually the whole width of the falls to be viewed face-on, at the same level as the top, from as close as 200 ft, because the whole Zambezi River drops into a deep, narrow chasm, connected to the long series of gorges. Few other waterfalls allow such a close approach on foot.
These are photos of the gorges below Victoria Falls. The walls of the gorges are nearly vertical and generally about 400 ft high. Over at least 100,000 years, the falls have been receding upstream through the gorges eroding the sandstone-filled cracks to form the various gorges. The river has fallen in different eras into different chasms which now form a series of sharply zig-zagging gorges downstream from the falls. Some of the gorges each represents a past site of the falls at a time when they fell into one long straight chasm as they do now. Their sizes indicate that we are not living in the age of the widest ever falls.
Our vehicle got stuck in the sand very near this rhino, so we all had to get out and push. Once the vehicle was unstuck it couldn't stop until it was out of the deep sand and we had to run after it. I kept my eye on the rhino the whole time...luckily it stayed put!!!!
Two girafts eating leaves from the trees. They are hard to see because it was dusk and the light wasn't very good anymore.
Chase, I took these pictures and video of the monkeys for you. I know you asked me to bring a monkey back for you, but this is probably as good as you'll get!!!!
As we entered the game reserve there were several monkeys playing by the riverside. I kept getting closer to take these videos until the mother monkey thought I had gotten too close. She started to come after me and I consider myslef very lucky that I didn't get a monkey bite that day! However, my family says that they wouldn't be surprised to find out that I got bit by a monkey...guess I have a bit of a reputation with animals!
This is the lodge I shared with Mariela and you can see the outdoor shower with the thatched fence to the left.
Each lodge had both an indoor bathroom and the option of an outdoor shower. These are photos of our outdoor shower.
The beds had mosquito nets around them which I was greatful for. It seemed all sorts of wild life was able to get into the lodge. We were visited by several frogs, lizards, insects and hunting spiders.
We completed the last few days of the immersion traveling to Livingstone in the southern province of Zambia. The drive took most of the day and a lot of the road is practically undrivable. The pavement was completely giving way to huge potholes that had to be dodged! We talked of how the view of this road would look from overhead with vehicles swerving to the more drivable parts of the road...which often meant driving on the opposite shoulder! The view from above must look like there is total chaos on that stretch of the highway.
While in Livingstone we stayed at the Livingstone Safari Lodge deep into the bush. We were able to see some of the natural beauty of the country. We visited a museum, the famous Victoria Falls and the gorges of the Zambezi River. We also took a river cruise up the great Zambezi and drove through a game reserve to search out some of Zambia's wild life. The only disappointment was not seeing any elephants, but we were in their natural habitat and not a zoo...which is what makes a safari so special! I was lucky enough to see a whole elephant heard on my way to Kaoma, but the rest of the group was a bit disappointed not to see any.
Friday was also a day for the group to try some of the African food. I had already eaten such things as nishima, rape, country chicken, etc. However, the brothers had a new dish for us to sample. As we walked through the markets we saw baskets full of dried worms and on our trip to the market on Wednesday we were given the assignment to purchase some of the worms. Well, the African cook at ISC prepared them for our dinner. Yes, I did try them and I thought they tasted horrible!!!! And come to find out that Br. Mike (who by the way is from S. Africa) has never gotten up the courage to try a worm yet. The next day when we visited a craft market we took the left over worms for some of the marketeers that Br. Mike knew. They were so excited to get them and wished we would have brought more!
Zambia artists performing some of the native tribal dances.
On Friday day 6 of the retreat we decided to mostly stay at the retreat center. It was the day after Zambia's presidential elections and there was possibility of some unrest throughout the country when election results were released. We were going to visit a compound in the morning, but received word that there was trouble brewing in the compound and it may not be safe to visit. Zambia is mostly a peaceful country...it is one of the few African countries that has not had civil war. However, because of the continuous decline of the country and corruption in the government many people were hoping for change and had a lot invested in this election. Luckily, there were no major outbreaks of violence.
We did venture out on Friday evening to watch some dancers perform native tribal dances. Two members of the dance troupe were Darius and Raphael...the two young men whose homes we visited in one of the compounds on day 1. They were scheduled to come to ISC to perform personally for us, but because we were a small group we chose to go see them perform at a Lusaka hotel. It turned out to be a profound experience for us to go and see them perform at a very fancy hotel. We had visited their homes and saw where they lived and we realized that we were watching the performance with different eyes than the rest of the audience. The performance took place during a very nice meal where you could eat as much as you wanted. The hotel environment was beautiful...and we knew what the performers were going home to after they finished dancing. The contrast was heartbreaking.
Photo of the compound where the dancers returned following their performance.
I didn't get any photos of the orphans at Mother Teresa's Center, but here are a couple pictures of a child being bathed from one of the other orphanages.
Sr. Bernard
On day 4 of the immersion we visited Mother Teresa's Center which is run by Mother Theresa's order the Missionaries of Charity. They run both an orphanage and a hospice for those affected by aids. We spent a portion of the morning visiting patients in both the women's and men's wards of the hospice. It was a great opportunity visit one on one. The visit I most remember was with a woman covered with a sheet. After I began talking with her she pulled down the sheet to reveal that her whole body was covered in a terrible skin disease. Her legs were in so much pain that she could barely move them. Even laying the sheet down over her skin caused tremendous pain.
We finished off the morning in the orphanage and again there were so many children. There were two rooms filled with cribs. Some of the babies were just days old and very small...some had physical disabilities. I held one baby who laid her head on my shoulder the whole time and seemed so content to just be held. Brother Mike had a hard time getting our group to leave the babies. He told us he would wait out by the van and to come when we were ready. Eventually, we came but not without picking up several more babies on the way to the door. In the second crib before we reached the door was a little guy who could pull himself up in the crib to stand and he gave a high 5 and a big smile to each of us as we walked by. I held him for several minutes and just hated to sit him back in the crib and leave.
In the afternoon we visited Sr. Bernard's community and heard her story as a Zambian woman. She is now the chaplain at the airport...and from what I hear she is Zambia's main "homeland security officer"! Through personal experience I have found that it is very helpful to have a connection with the chaplain when at the airport! Sr. Bernard also shared stories of her vocation and previous ministry experiences. The most dramatic stories were of her time as chaplain at Zambia's maximum security prison. She spoke of visiting with prisoners on death row and also watching some of them being hung by the neck to die for their crime. I can't even imagine having to witness a death by hanging once...much less multiple times.
A community school in the compound. Those living in the compounds are often preoccupied with providing basic food and shelter and education is not always a priority...by providing community schools within the compounds children who might not go to school are provided access to education.
On day 4 we visited a compound in the morning and went to Ng'ombe Clinic & Home Based Care. We sat down with a number of Home Heath Care volunteers. The women greated and welcomed us with a song and then shared about their ministry to the sick of Zambia. The women were very impressive to us. Many of them were quite poor and gave up time working as marketeers in the market to volunteer their time visiting the sick and dying. They keep a register of all of thier clients and when you look in the register book and see the ages of the young children it is very sad.
We also visited Kondwa Community School which is located within the compound. We were very impressed with the orderly classroom setting. The students stood as we entered each room and said "Welcome visitors. We are fine, thank you! And how are you?" They had great respect for the teacher that was showing us around. When we entered the classroom of the older students we had a very nice exchange with them. They started asking us questions and eventually they taught us some greetings in their language and our spanish speakers taught them some greetings in spanish.
Later in the day Dominic Nkata came to ISC and shared his story of what it is like to live with HIV. He was very open and courageous in sharing with us. He also allowed us to freely ask all sorts of questions of him. He shared about finding out he had the disease, reaction from familiy and friends, the stigma involved, the medication and side effects, etc.
Two volunteers are preparing porridge for the children before they go home from preschool. The porridge is prepared from mielie meal (maize flour). It is made to a thinner consistancy than the maize flour used to make nshima (the staple food eaten at most main meals). Cooking in big kettles with wood or charcoal is the most common way of preparing meals in Zambia. When the women needed to reduce the heat they just removed some of the wood.
On our 3rd day of the immersion we spent the first part of the morning at the ISC Pre-School that is right on the property of the retreat center where we were staying. The children come from around the neighborhood to prepare for entering basic school.
We had a great time with these children and enjoyed the very warm, welcoming and energetic teacher. They sang some songs for us and one of our retreat participants (Mariela) taught the children a song and dance from her country of Uruguay.
Later in the morning we traveled to Assisi Centre in Ng'ombe and were hosted by Sr. Helen. Assisi is a center where they work with special needs children who are mentally challenged. An important part of this ministry is contact with the parents and families of the children. Disabled children are not always well accepted in this culture, so involvement with the parents is essential. There are still strong beliefs in witch craft, etc. in Zambia, so if a person has a sickness or disability it is often believed that the person has been bewitched.
This visit gave me the oportunity to photograph the common way that many people here wash up for meals, etc. Plastic containers with spickets are filled with water and here at the center one of the older boys is helping the younger children wash their hands before being served their food. These plastic containers are especially common in the villages where most people don't have running water and have to carry water from a well.
In the afternoon we had an assignment to travel in pairs in public transportation (mini-bus) to the City Market...purchase a specific item and engage in conversation with various marketeers. Adrian was my partner and we walked up the dirt road and got a bus to town. We were very squashed and sweating in the hot bus. We didn't get off at the right spot and were not sure of the exact route to the market. We saw a very small police station and stopped and asked for directions. The police woman just looked at us and asked where we were from. She was very surprised by our destination! She gave us directions and asked if we wanted a police escort. We turned down the offer of an escort and discovered we were only a few blocks from the market.
The market was a pretty unpleasant place to be. It was very rugged and little "shops" were set up in any open area. The food area was the most unpleasant because there was the smell of fish and meat sitting out in the hot sun. We discovered we were in the "informal market" rather than the "formal market" and after awhile it felt quite unsafe. The farther we walked into the market the scarier the experience became. I was walking a little ways ahead of Adrian and looked back to see exactly where he was and a man saw me looking and pointed to where Adrian was walking. I realized at that point that we were being closely "observed". As we continued to walk we realized that several men were falling in around us and surrounding us. Adrian and I looked at each other and said we better turn round and go back the direction we came. The men continued to follow for a little ways and then started shouting at us asking why were were turning around...it was a very intimidating walk out of the market! Luckily, they gave up and left us alone. I also had an experience of some of the street children grabbing my arms and asking for some kwatch. I have had several situations since being in Zambia when I have not felt very safe. It is one of the consequences of extreme poverty.
After hearing the story of the mission from the adults I asked if we could go outside and hear from the boys themselves, so we all sat on the ground and heard a little from each boy.
Photos of some of the street boys who reside at the mission.
The green metal container in the background behind the group of boys, is the first container in which the school began within the compound. The young boy pictured above just returned to the mission from streets while we were visiting.
A school classroom for learning carpentry and a little girl getting a drink from a well.
Moses being held by two of the immersion participants.
Mrs. Miyanda (left) with Chanda holding her child (Blessing) and little Moses sitting on the lap of one of the older children. If you haven't read the story of these children under DAY 2 - of the Immersion post you must scroll down and read these powerful stories now!
We started the day out with morning prayer and then visited Libala High School. It has a student population of over 1500. We were met by the head master and a few of the teachers who spent alot of time answering our questions about education in Zambia.
We learned that there are over 50 students per class and the classrooms are so full that students sit right up to the teachers desk. The students have no books and sometimes even the teacher has no book. The teacher has to write all problems, etc on the board for the students to copy.
The teachers were very dedicated and articulate, but were extremely frustrated by the challenges of the school situation. The teachers had as many or more questions for us on how things were done in our countries and really desiring some solutions to their struggles. The teachers also have to deal with serious behaviour problems as you can imagine. We were told that around 50% of students don’t pass grade 7 and just drop out of school. The government does nothing about these students.
After the school, we visited the Kibwata orphanage, and our host was Mrs. Miyanda (wife of a presidential candidate in this Thursdays Zambian elections). She has 73 children in her orphanage, 4 of them fostered and 69 resident. They come to the orphanage for many different reasons. For example, little Moses is only 4 months old. He was found on the grass in a park when he was two hours old. He was just lying on his back, wrapped in nothing. So he was brought to the orphanage.
Then there is Chanda, an 18 year old girl whose parents died and who was being “cared for” by her extended family who didn’t really want her. She was working as a slave for them. Then she was raped and when she had the baby she was left at the hospital because her extended family didn’t want her. So she ended up at Kibwata orphanage. Her baby’s name is Blessing.
We were having tea in the garden with Mrs. Miyanda when Isaac approached us, so she asked him if she could tell us his story. She said that Isaac's Dad is in prison and then she asked him to lift his shirt and show us his back. It had loads of scars on it where his father beat him with an electrical cable. Mrs. Miyanda said when he arrived at the orphanage you could see his bones through the lacerations, they were that deep.
The priority of the orphanage is to meet the basic needs of the kids (as well as emotional needs as far as I can see). They are given a full school uniform to go to Kibala High school, so that when they go on the street, no one can tell they are from the orphanage.
4 students from the orphanage have gone to University and two are presently in it. She said some of her kids are very poor but very intelligent, and simply have no money to go to school. A past orphan has a good job in a Zambian bank.
Seven kids in the orphanage are HIV positive and are on a lot of medication, up to 20 pills per day, depending on the development of the illness. She mentioned the side effects of the anti-retroviral drugs (ARV’s). One child had gone blind while another has stunted growth. Kids need good food to help with the immunity she added, and that the drugs change yearly as the body doesn’t respond and infection sets in.
Mrs. Miyanda said all the children are a family and the older ones take on the role of parents for the younger ones. The elder boys dress the young boys and the elder girls dress the young girls by 7.30am in time for breakfast. The also help them with their homework. These kids are traumatized kids when they arrive and may have been abused or raped by a parent, older boys, extended family or a neighbour. They are not all orphans. Mrs. Miyanda shared that she has to make many sacrifices of money to bring the kids to private medical hospitals, especially girls who have been defiled and someone has had sex with them when their body is not yet ready. They need surgery and the orphanage pays for it.
They also run an extension programme, for local kids in the community where they buy everything for school and pay the school fees for them.
Some of the children have no names and no birthday so the orphanage has to make up a name and birthday for them. They need papers for the kids for the social services. So the baby in the park was called Moses as the biblical Moses was abandoned in a basket and thrown into the river. Three quarters of the kids that have come through the orphanage have been given a birthday by the orphanages, the older ones being able to pick the date for themselves.
After tea we were shown around the complex and brought to the sleeping quarters. We were then introduced to Gift, a boy of around 17 years old. Mrs. Miyanda asked him to show us his scars. So he took off his bandana and lifted his shirt. His whole back and head was burned. His parents are dead and his Uncle didn’t want him. He was locked in a hut and the hut was set on fire. He had 1st degree burns and Angela paid $2,000 in one night to look after the operations.
MONDAY AFTERNOON: In the afternoon, we drove on a very rough road to visit the St. Lawrence Mission’s Home of Hope hosted by Sr. Mary Annie and another Mary who lives there 24 hrs. This is a complex where they run a school and an home for street children. They have 23 boys, aged 6 to 18 years old who reside overnight and we met most of them. The home always tries to make contact with the family to establish why the child left the family in the first place. If the situation is too dangerous, then they keep the child, but their aim is to reintegrate when possible.
There are 500 children going to school here from the local compound. This school actually started in the compound in three lorry containers. They were looking for financial support but the government replied that “you help the under-privileged so show us what you do.” So that’s how the containers came about. The government wanted tangible evidence.
When we arrived in a compound the children came running and followed us as we walked through the neighborhood. During one of our visits one little boy came running up to me from his house and gave me a big hug...I was a complete stranger just walking by. The children always put a smile on our faces.
Zambians like uniforms so you often see people dressed in various kinds of uniforms to distinguish their role or perhaps an organization they belong to.
Sunday liturgy at a Catholic church in the Matero area of Lusaka.
The Immersion Retreat began on Saturday October 25th with an introductory session at the retreat center and a tour of Lusaka. The tour ended at one of the Christian Brother communities where we received an official welcome to Zambia by Brother Nsamu Moonga, a young Zambian brother who shared about life in his country.
Sunday morning began with a very lively Sunday liturgy at a church in Matero. There was much singing and dancing throughout the Mass. The procession of gifts went on for a very long time with many people carrying various gifts of food, clothing, etc. The most surprising gift offered was a goat carried up the center aisle tied upside down by its feet to a long stick.
In the afternoon we visited the homes of two families in Kamanga compound (compounds are neighborhoods where the very poor live). We visited the homes of Darious and Raphael -- two young men who began taking care of their families at a very young age. They lost their fathers young, which meant they had to stop going to school in order to help put food on the table. Darious shared with us his excitement at having the opportunity to return to school now as an adult. The homes were very small with lots of people living under one roof...and speaking of roofs...most roofs in the compounds are held down by placing big rocks and other heavy objects on top of them. Darious recalled a humiliating moment when someone commented to him that his house is where goats and other animals live.
Darious invited several of us to sit with him on a mat outside his home. He shared very personally about his life and courageously allowed us to ask him all sorts of questions. As he spoke about his home and living situation you could see a saddness come into his eyes and he would tend to look to the ground instead of at our faces. And than he became very animated and excited as he shared his passion as an artist. He is part of a dance troup that keeps alive some of the native tribal dances. We were able to watch the dance group perform at a Lusaka hotel later in the week.
The evening closed with time for group reflection and sharing on the experiences and emotions of the day.
This October immersion retreat falls during the Flamboyant Season. It's the time of year when all the Flamboyant trees are in bloom. The trees are a beautiful brillant red and grow abundantly in Zambia. I think the trees are appropriately named!
I took these pictures of the tree growing in the street (just outside of the wall) of the Presentation Provincial house in Lusaka.
Some shots of the ISC Retreat Center in Lusaka where we stayed for most of the Immersion Experience. This building where we were lodged is called the Nano Nagle House in honor of the foundress of the Presentation Sisters. It had a beautiful veranda and courtyard where we sat each evening reflecting on the adventures of the day!
Pictured above are the Immersion participants: Brother Mike Burke (ISC team, originally from South Africa), Adrian White (Portlaoise, Ireland), Don O'Leary (Cork, Ireland), Ruben Comotto Bsanta (Montevideo, Uruguay), Sister Deb Nelson (USA), and Mariela Pilar Uberti Serrat (Montevideo, Uruguay).
Hi Group! Miss you and wish you were all still in Zambia. You made a great experience even better! If you have any reflections to add to my posts please make some comments ...you all brought so much personal richness to our experience.
From October 25th -November 6th I participated in an Immersion Retreat Experience at the INTERNATIONAL SPIRITUALITY CENTER (ISC) in Lusaka, which is directed by the Christian Brothers.
An immersion experience challenges us to engage the realities of the world while reflecting on the values of human dignity and respect for all God's creation. We were exposed to issues of poverty and injustice while experiencing the unique culture and environments of Zambia, Africa. We engaged in direct service activities, participated in experiential learning, and made numerous site visits. The purpose of these visits was to help us see the world through the eyes of other people, especially those made poor and the marginalised
We had morning prayer and evening group sharing time to reflect about the people, issues, and realities we encountered. It is truly an experience that leads to a life-time of transformation.
SISTERS NORA, ANCILLA, & SHEILA DRAMATIZING IRISH LIFE AROUND A WARM FIRE WITH A POT OF TEA BREWING IN THE FIREPLACE. THEY ALSO TAUGHT US SOME OF THE GAMES THAT WOULD BE PLAYED WITH THE IRISH CHILDREN!
SISTERS SYSTEM, SANDRA & BRIGIT DRAMATIZING SHONA TRIBAL CUSTOMS FROM ZIMBABWE AND SR. MBOLOLWA DRAMATIZING LOZI TRIBAL CUSTOMS FROM ONE AREA OF ZAMBIA.
We each demonstrated common greetings, ways to show respect, ways to solve conflict, etc. We found that food was often a common way of welcoming people into our homes no matter what culture you come from!
On October 24th Zambia celebrated its 44th year of independence. It was formally the British colony of Northern Rhodesia, the country was developed purely for its vast copper resources. It was grouped with Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (Malawi) as part of a federation in 1953. Independence from Britain was achieved in 1964.
In celebration of Independence Day I was invited to the Presentation Novitiate house in Lusaka, where several young women from Zambia and Zimbabwe are training to become Presentation Sisters. We spent the day learning about oneanother's cultures through food, song, dance stories, drama and laughter! The sisters present represented the countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe, India, Ireland, and I represented the US.
Sister Deb is a missionary living in the remote village of Kalomo, Zambia, in central Africa. She is a member of a religious congregation of women called the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA. This blog tracks the journey of living and working among some of this world's poorest people.
About Me
Name: Deb Nelson
Location: Kalomo, Central Africa, Zambia
I'm a Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary from South Dakota, USA. I've been a Formator of youth for 16 years in the South Dakota area. After spending 5 months of a sabbatical year in Zambia, Africa in 2008-09 I've decided to return to Africa to experience life in this culture and to live and minister amidst those who have been made the poorest of the poor.
