The high school I attended (and later taught at) in Lloydminster has been building a relationship with the orphaned and vulnerable children attending the school Royie started up in Mngwere, Malawi. The Lloyd school has been learning about Malawi and Hands at Work, raising funds, generating awareness and interest and writing letters. One of the main reasons I visited Malawi was to understand more about the community and the children in the schools so I can bring more information back to my school. I visited all the schools Royie's children are attending. There are three schools in total: Tima (which the Community Based Organisation [CBO] runs out of Royie's church in Mngwere), Milonde 1 and Milonde 2 (government schools). Tima CBO takes the children for the first 2 years in order to get them adjusted to school, to keep closer tabs on them, and build good skills and passion for school. Royie's first group of kids he started with in Tima CBO have just entered the government school this year. After Grade 2, the children attend Milonde 2 which runs up to Grade 6, and then further onto Milonde 1 which goes up to Grade 8. After that, one of the best Secondary Schools in the country is very near, but many don't make it there.
To understand the schools a bit better, I spent a whole day interviewing teachers, principals and children. This is what they had to say.
Principals:
[The headmaster of the school and head teacher spoke about their school, successes, and challenges.]
We teach 9 subjects: English, Maths, Chichewa (local language), Science & Technology, Social & Environmental Studies, Expressive Arts (music, dance, games, drama), Life Skills, Agriculture, and Religious Education (including Islam, Christianity, and ADR, their traditional spirituality). We have 804 learners and 11 teachers. Our classes have up to 150 children per 1 or 2 teachers. The government recommends 60 children per teacher, but we just can't manage that. Because of this, we are preaching, not teaching. This is our main challenge. Our classrooms are overcrowded. The rooms are very small and children are sitting on the floor, shoulder to shoulder. Ideally we would want a ratio of 1 teacher to 40 students. We are also short of books. The government sponsors us, but we mostly have to supply our own. We would love to have posting boards to post papers on and demonstrations for teaching, lockers to store learning materials, and desks and chairs for the students. Another challenge is the unreliable water source. We have a seasonal water trap but when it is dried up we have to fetch water over 2 km away. This makes a huge challenge for teachers because it is difficult to keep clean and they often come to school unbathed and with dirty clothes. Other challenges include parents' inability to meet basic needs, lack of permanent and adequate toilets, and no teacher housing (part of the deal of being a teacher is that the government provides houses for you near the school). [One thing I found very interesting is that they never one mentioned or hinted at their salary.]
[I was impressed that these guys spoke so much about their successes. In my experience, mostly challenges are spoken about and successes difficult to come up with.]
We have very hard working teachers and they love their learners very much. They are quick to offer extra classes to ensure their students succeed. Our school always wins competitions against other schools in the district. We won a National Quiz on Aids. Our students won us MK 40,000 (approx $212). Our school sends the most learners in the district to National secondary schools and because of this, pupils come from all over to attend our school. We are also proud that our learners can read and write in Grade 1.
[Because I was curious, I asked about salaries].
Our pay ranges based on the grade we teach. When a teacher first starts out, they are placed in Grade L. They can only move onto the next grade level (and pay scale) by receiving a promotion. The problem with this is that if a teacher completes all the requirements to receive a promotion, but gets denied, they are never allowed to receive a promotion again. The teachers can upgrade themselves to teach at higher levels by going back to school, but they can't afford it.
Grade L pay starts at MK 19,000 per month (approx $100) before deductions. They usually earn a net pay of around MK 15,000 per month (approx $80). A teacher in Grade 8 can earn between MK 40,000 - MK 50,000 per month (approx. $212 - $265). There are very few Grade 8 teachers, though, because the government controls how many are promoted. Too many Grade 8 teachers costs too much. They currently have 1 Grade 8 teacher in their whole district.
Teachers:
[A teacher, Peter, spoke about the kids from Tima CBO and their adjustment to Grade 3 in the government school.]
The children attend regularly. They are average students, they definitely aren't the bottom of the class, despite the unique challenges they face. They were facing many challenges (food, clothing, health, grief, etc.) but Tima CBO has minimized these challenges so the children are better able to focus in school. They interact very well with the other children. They all play well together and aren't stigmatized. As a teacher I face a big challenge of the large numbers of learners and the little learning materials we have. In order to cope with this, we do a lot of group work. Another challenge is that we don't have enough classrooms for all the classes. One of the classes takes place outside under the big tree. During rainy season (Oct - Apr), the class learns in the hall (which is basically outside still, but under a veranda).
Students:
[Interviewed 3 students cared for by the CBO, one of Royie's original students in Grade 3, one student in Grade 6 and another in Grade 7.]
Teleza is an 11 year old girl in Grade 3B. She stays in Mngwere Village with her Granny. She is a very clever girl whose favourite subject is Chichewa and who desires to be a teacher. She loves to play a common Malawian game called Wishu. You use bowls and collect sand. There is a person in the middle that has to fill the bowl with sand while others are trying to hit him/her with a ball. She says her biggest challenge is soap for bathing and writing materials for school. She says she loves school and knows that if she stays in school, she will know how to read and write. She has a field where they have planted maize and beans. They will harvest between June and July and Teleza will be a big part of this harvest. As the Granny gets older, responsibility will fall more and more on Teleza to do the farming. This is the only way they are surviving. From the CBO, Sarah visits her three times a week. Sarah encourages her to go to school. Teleza is very happy when Sarah visits and so is her Granny (she gives a big smile). Her mother passed away when she was 4. When her mother passed away, her father married another woman. He comes sometimes to see her, but really isn't around much. In Malawi, when men marry, they become part of the woman's family and stays with them. When they divorce or the wife dies, the man must go back to his own family. The man can take the children but he will most likely get re-married and the new wife usually treats the children poorly. He knows it is best for the children to stay with the Grandparents. When asked if she's happy, she just smiled and giggled, then proceeded to take me to a bush of flowers to pose in front of as I took her picture.
Felista in 17 years old and stays in Mngwere village with her mother's younger sister, who is 25. She has an older sister who is 19 but she is away doing domestic work for a family in Lilongwe. Royie found Felista in 2009 staying alone in her house, both of her parents had passed away. She was incredibly vulnerable to lonely men and the CBO feared men could come at any time. She was 15 at that time and in Grade 4, but was taken away to work a farm for 1 year. This seems to be common with vulnerable children. Because Mngwere is not a developed or highly educated place, people see it as a place they can get workers. Farmers come into the community and advertise that they want workers and it seems to be children that get taken. Vulnerable children see it as an opportunity until they come back after 1 year and received very little pay. When the CBO found out she was working the farm, they talked to the person that hired her. They were kind enough to allow her to attend school when she wasn't farming. After coming back from working, she stayed with her Aunt and is now attending school at Milonde 1. She says she likes school because she wants to assist all her relatives when she finds work. She says her main challenge is at home. Some days they can't find food and this causes her to struggle with her school work because of her hunger.
Deborah is 14 years old and stays in Mngwere village. She stays with her Granny and her Uncle. She likes school because she wants to be a useful citizen in Malawi and become a nurse. She says she knows people who are sick right now, one of them being her Aunt's daughter. She has been sick for 3 days and Deborah has been helping them fetch water for her bath. She loves to read books in English and does it every opportunity she has, which often isn't much. They struggle with water and she has to fetch water up to 1.5 km away. This usually takes her 1-2 hours, depending on the cue. She says she fetches water because she doesn't want her Granny to be troubled to go. She does this as soon as she comes home from school and as a result has to complete homework during the night with a torch.
All the children spoke highly of their Care Workers from Tima CBO that visit them regularly. The CBO is doing a lot for the children, 165 orphaned and vulnerable children in total. Everyday after school, they come to the Care Centre (Royie's church in the meantime) for a meal. All the children also receive exercise books and pens, uniforms, home visits, and blankets. Many children sleep on the bare, dirt floor which is a huge problem especially in the winter when it gets down to 0 degrees Celcius. The Care Workers also provide homework help for the children at the Centre after school. This is very important (as we learned from Deborah) because the children become very busy fetching water and working the fields as soon as they get home from school. Tima CBO is also providing Grade 1 and 2 classes for 28 children, an additional meal for them, and soap.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Bonjour! Je pense ... je suis ici.
Greetings from the Democratic Republic of the Congo!
I arrived here on May 6 with Willis and his brother TCat. This place is hectically crazy but it's nice to have Will (who lived here for 5 months last year) to direct us around. It's just nice to have those boys in general. So entertaining. Will has the dirtiest feet in the history of dirty feet and Thom is rocking the Orlando pony.
So far we've been doing nothing. It's been nice. Just hanging out. Yesterday we went to Kikula, a community just outside of Likasi (the town we're staying in). Kikula is caring for 50 orphans and vulnerable children, visiting them regularly in their homes and feeding them 6 days a week. We arrived around 1:30 pm and stayed until 5:00 pm. Doesn't sound like very long, but it felt like eternity. We were so tired by the end. When we first arrived Will, Thom, Carey & Alissa instantly started playing games with kids. Thom invented this French counting game with actions. He would count to 5 in french and on each number he had a different action. I think "un" was a clap, "deux" was hands on lap, "trois" was crossed arms over chest, "quatre" was touching the head, and "cinq" was arms in the air. The kids loved it, I found it entertaining. All round good fun.
I've spent many, many days and hours in communities like this one and my first instinct isn't usually to play with the kids but to sit with the care workers and learn about them and bond with them in the kitchen. This is what I did. But the Congo wasn't colonized by English people. Their native tongue is Swahili but the colonial language is French. There were 3 care workers in the kitchen and only one could speak a bit of French. It was quite nice because I'm not fluent and neither was she so our conversation was a series of simple sentences and head nods. It was really fun to practice my french ... I'm actually really surprised how much I've retained from Chabot's classes 7 years ago. The most difficult part about trying to bring my french back is that I've learned multiple languages after that and usually resort to one of these languages when searching my mind for the right word. Spanish (University), Siswati (SA), Shangaan (SA/Moz), Bemba (Zambia), Chichewa (Malawi).
Mama Deda, the coordinator of the program for the kids, made us play game after game with the kids and sing song after song for the kids. We were seriously running out of things to do. Erick was supposed to fetch us at 4, so we figured we only had to run a few things, but when it became later and later, we feared there would be no end. Alissa and I tried to think of every camp song possible and Thom and Will also dove into their camp songs. I had to resort eventually to songs like Little Bunny Fufu (which I didn't remember anything past "bopping them on the head" and was forced to stop), MM-NN went the Little Green Frog (which didn't really last long so tried to make up verses past the first and failed miserably when what came to mind was "Bam Bam went the Rabbit" of which didn't go well with the rhythm and was so funny to me I couldn't contine). We sang Jesus Loves Me, the Banana Song (3 times), Tarzan, Funky Chicken (twice with new and improved actions), and Petite Poisson. We played Duck Duck Chicken (Alissa didn't know Swahili word for Goose) and that was a HUGE hit ... until the kids started cheating and cutting through the circle. Poor Thom just couldn't make it back to the space before any of the kids...
We're here in the Congo for two weeks and don't really have much planned. We will probably just visit communities and hang out and explore as much as we can without getting harrassed by the Yellow Fever (what Erick calls the police here.. they wear full yellow outfits and yellow hats).
But speaking of harrassment, just want to love on all the Mothers out there! In particular want to send love to the mothers in my life: Pauline, Kimmy, Helen, Jessica, Trish, Grandma G,B,D, and Aliah. I love you all! Hope you enjoy this special day and take pride in all those years of worry, tears, and sacrificial love.
Prayer:
Please pray for Katie who got Malaria and left the Congo early to receive proper treatment in South Africa. Pray for quick recovery and for their insurance to come through.
Please pray for Kelvin (our bookkeeper at Hands). He got Cerebral Malaria, which is the most serious kind. He's currently in the ICU at our nearby hospital in South Africa.
Also pray for me on a less serious note. I've had a cold for over 2 weeks now and just can't shake it. When I think it is getting better and almost gone, it just kicks in again.
Thanks.
Much love.
I arrived here on May 6 with Willis and his brother TCat. This place is hectically crazy but it's nice to have Will (who lived here for 5 months last year) to direct us around. It's just nice to have those boys in general. So entertaining. Will has the dirtiest feet in the history of dirty feet and Thom is rocking the Orlando pony.
So far we've been doing nothing. It's been nice. Just hanging out. Yesterday we went to Kikula, a community just outside of Likasi (the town we're staying in). Kikula is caring for 50 orphans and vulnerable children, visiting them regularly in their homes and feeding them 6 days a week. We arrived around 1:30 pm and stayed until 5:00 pm. Doesn't sound like very long, but it felt like eternity. We were so tired by the end. When we first arrived Will, Thom, Carey & Alissa instantly started playing games with kids. Thom invented this French counting game with actions. He would count to 5 in french and on each number he had a different action. I think "un" was a clap, "deux" was hands on lap, "trois" was crossed arms over chest, "quatre" was touching the head, and "cinq" was arms in the air. The kids loved it, I found it entertaining. All round good fun.
I've spent many, many days and hours in communities like this one and my first instinct isn't usually to play with the kids but to sit with the care workers and learn about them and bond with them in the kitchen. This is what I did. But the Congo wasn't colonized by English people. Their native tongue is Swahili but the colonial language is French. There were 3 care workers in the kitchen and only one could speak a bit of French. It was quite nice because I'm not fluent and neither was she so our conversation was a series of simple sentences and head nods. It was really fun to practice my french ... I'm actually really surprised how much I've retained from Chabot's classes 7 years ago. The most difficult part about trying to bring my french back is that I've learned multiple languages after that and usually resort to one of these languages when searching my mind for the right word. Spanish (University), Siswati (SA), Shangaan (SA/Moz), Bemba (Zambia), Chichewa (Malawi).
Mama Deda, the coordinator of the program for the kids, made us play game after game with the kids and sing song after song for the kids. We were seriously running out of things to do. Erick was supposed to fetch us at 4, so we figured we only had to run a few things, but when it became later and later, we feared there would be no end. Alissa and I tried to think of every camp song possible and Thom and Will also dove into their camp songs. I had to resort eventually to songs like Little Bunny Fufu (which I didn't remember anything past "bopping them on the head" and was forced to stop), MM-NN went the Little Green Frog (which didn't really last long so tried to make up verses past the first and failed miserably when what came to mind was "Bam Bam went the Rabbit" of which didn't go well with the rhythm and was so funny to me I couldn't contine). We sang Jesus Loves Me, the Banana Song (3 times), Tarzan, Funky Chicken (twice with new and improved actions), and Petite Poisson. We played Duck Duck Chicken (Alissa didn't know Swahili word for Goose) and that was a HUGE hit ... until the kids started cheating and cutting through the circle. Poor Thom just couldn't make it back to the space before any of the kids...
We're here in the Congo for two weeks and don't really have much planned. We will probably just visit communities and hang out and explore as much as we can without getting harrassed by the Yellow Fever (what Erick calls the police here.. they wear full yellow outfits and yellow hats).
But speaking of harrassment, just want to love on all the Mothers out there! In particular want to send love to the mothers in my life: Pauline, Kimmy, Helen, Jessica, Trish, Grandma G,B,D, and Aliah. I love you all! Hope you enjoy this special day and take pride in all those years of worry, tears, and sacrificial love.
Prayer:
Please pray for Katie who got Malaria and left the Congo early to receive proper treatment in South Africa. Pray for quick recovery and for their insurance to come through.
Please pray for Kelvin (our bookkeeper at Hands). He got Cerebral Malaria, which is the most serious kind. He's currently in the ICU at our nearby hospital in South Africa.
Also pray for me on a less serious note. I've had a cold for over 2 weeks now and just can't shake it. When I think it is getting better and almost gone, it just kicks in again.
Thanks.
Much love.
Malawi, The Series Round 2
Last time on Malawi, The Series:
Maize fields, long walking, precious family, lots of love.
So to continue with my update on Malawi I choose to discuss the topics of bathing, eating, electricity, and mosquitoes.
If you have been following my blogs regularly, you know by now that I am not an avid bather. But when you are not in control of your life (being hosted by the most hospitable people on the planet), you change. Vailet made me a bath twice a day. This is not a porcelain tub lined with candles and rose petals, filled with bubbles, rubber duckies and other fun bath toys. This is a small basin of extremely hot water placed in a grass hut with a dirt floor and large rocks strategically placed around the floor. These rocks are meant for balancing. The hut had a blue mosquito net placed over the door for privacy ... on non-windy days. Baths are basically a lot of scooping water in hand and splashing. But honestly, these are my favourite types of baths. I'm planning to have a bath basin in my bathroom.
Overly hospitable people can at times be stressful, especially in terms of food. And not just the amount I am forced to eat, but also knowing that the most hospitable families are usually families that are too generous for their own economic capacity. I would get this incredible spread every meal (4 a day) and the kids would get a half piece of dry bread. Hard to swallow that. It was not physically possible to ingest all the food I had ingested.
Common breakfast: 3 giant buns with 1 inch spread of margarine, 2 bananas, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 cups of coffee. One time she made homemade deep-fried potato wedges and popcorn for breakfast. She filled my bowl with wedges and I ate very slowly, hoping the elapsed time would display the fill of my stomach. As soon as I finished, she tried to fill my bowl again. After explaining I'm full and her responding, "You have long journey", she filled my bowl. When she left, I put most of it back in the main bowl and continued to test my elapsed-time theory. When she returned and found my bowl nearly empty, she filled again. And then brought me a giant bowl of popcorn. There's no winning. Breakfast, lunch (which included 3 full plates of rice), tea at 5 pm (which included anther 3 giant buns with margarine and 2 cups of coffee), and supper. One time we had fried chicken for supper and in total I ate 6 pieces of chicken, along with the mountain of Nsima and veggies.
The house had no electricity. No one had electricity. When it got dark at 6 pm the candles would come out. Difficult to use the toilet (literally a small hole 8 inches in diameter) on a windy day with a candle. Step outside, candle instantly out, proceed to aim. One thing they did have that gave a tiny bit of light was a wire hanging around the house with mini flashlight bulbs hooked to a battery. It made it look really nice, actually.
Mosquitoes were the worst I had ever seen. The first night they were all in my net with me so I tried to sleep under the blankets but you know how that goes. It gets so hot and stuffy so you try to make a small breathing hole but know the mosquitoes can smell your lips so you continue to suffer. I'm honestly surprised I don't have malaria. If I was to get it anywhere, should've been there.
Next round of the series we'll explore the communities and schools I visited.
Maize fields, long walking, precious family, lots of love.
So to continue with my update on Malawi I choose to discuss the topics of bathing, eating, electricity, and mosquitoes.
If you have been following my blogs regularly, you know by now that I am not an avid bather. But when you are not in control of your life (being hosted by the most hospitable people on the planet), you change. Vailet made me a bath twice a day. This is not a porcelain tub lined with candles and rose petals, filled with bubbles, rubber duckies and other fun bath toys. This is a small basin of extremely hot water placed in a grass hut with a dirt floor and large rocks strategically placed around the floor. These rocks are meant for balancing. The hut had a blue mosquito net placed over the door for privacy ... on non-windy days. Baths are basically a lot of scooping water in hand and splashing. But honestly, these are my favourite types of baths. I'm planning to have a bath basin in my bathroom.
Overly hospitable people can at times be stressful, especially in terms of food. And not just the amount I am forced to eat, but also knowing that the most hospitable families are usually families that are too generous for their own economic capacity. I would get this incredible spread every meal (4 a day) and the kids would get a half piece of dry bread. Hard to swallow that. It was not physically possible to ingest all the food I had ingested.
Common breakfast: 3 giant buns with 1 inch spread of margarine, 2 bananas, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 cups of coffee. One time she made homemade deep-fried potato wedges and popcorn for breakfast. She filled my bowl with wedges and I ate very slowly, hoping the elapsed time would display the fill of my stomach. As soon as I finished, she tried to fill my bowl again. After explaining I'm full and her responding, "You have long journey", she filled my bowl. When she left, I put most of it back in the main bowl and continued to test my elapsed-time theory. When she returned and found my bowl nearly empty, she filled again. And then brought me a giant bowl of popcorn. There's no winning. Breakfast, lunch (which included 3 full plates of rice), tea at 5 pm (which included anther 3 giant buns with margarine and 2 cups of coffee), and supper. One time we had fried chicken for supper and in total I ate 6 pieces of chicken, along with the mountain of Nsima and veggies.
The house had no electricity. No one had electricity. When it got dark at 6 pm the candles would come out. Difficult to use the toilet (literally a small hole 8 inches in diameter) on a windy day with a candle. Step outside, candle instantly out, proceed to aim. One thing they did have that gave a tiny bit of light was a wire hanging around the house with mini flashlight bulbs hooked to a battery. It made it look really nice, actually.
Mosquitoes were the worst I had ever seen. The first night they were all in my net with me so I tried to sleep under the blankets but you know how that goes. It gets so hot and stuffy so you try to make a small breathing hole but know the mosquitoes can smell your lips so you continue to suffer. I'm honestly surprised I don't have malaria. If I was to get it anywhere, should've been there.
Next round of the series we'll explore the communities and schools I visited.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Malawi, The Series.
A few things have happened since last time I posted: Celebrations in Zambia, our first Hands wedding (where both parties met through Hands - mine is the second), and Malawi.
I have much to say about 7 days in Malawi but don't want to make you read 100 pages at once so instead I'll write a series of blogs and make you read 100 pages over a period of time. I hope pictures will come at some point.
I arrived on 26 April. It was a fun and interesting journey, mostly because I did it all on my own. Big for me. I left my house in SA at 5 am on Monday, took the Bug to Johannesburg, got on a flight, landed in Lusaka Zambia, stayed the night and caught a bus the next morning. The bus took me to Chipata. I got on a taxi which took me to the border, I crossed, then got on another taxi to Mchiji and then another taxi to Lilongwe where I finally met up with Royie. We then travelled together to his beautiful home deep in the moutnains and maize fields of Mngwere. This place is much more rural than I could have imagined. It is literally winding footpahts through tall grass and maize. Everyone travels by foot or by bike if you are fortunate. Royie and I had to walk 9 km to work each day. One way.
But the thing that burns in my heart the most to share now is Royie's family. I fell in love with them and couldn't part without tears. Every second of every day I was deeply moved by the beauty of their family. Royie stays with his wife, Vailet, and their 7 children, ranging from 3 to 24. The two eldest girls (Chimwewe, 24, and Ireen, 22) are married with children and have their own houses on Royie's plot. In Malawian culture, when a woman marries, the man joins the woman's family. A very matriarchal society. Royie and Vailet have been married 31 years but to watch Vailet giggle as she chats with him you would think it has been 3. She's such a good companion and helper to him. As I approach my wedding, I loved watching her and the way she brings life into the home.
I think my favourite part of staying with the family was sitting in the kitchen (an outdoor room with a dirt floor and a spot to build a fire) with Vailet, Chimwewe, and Ireen. These three beautiful women would be preparing meals for their own family and would do it together with such joy. They would chat and laugh and sing together. They truly loved each other's company. It just made me see the specialness in raising families together and remaining together through all stages of life.
I'll stop here but on the next entry I need to describe their home, where I bathed (loooved it), the simple but tough way in which they live, the things I did and places I saw, how much coffee I drank, bread I ate and how many baths I took.
Before I end, just a huge shout out to Elizabeth. I missed your birthday. I'm sorry. Happy 6th!
Much love.
I have much to say about 7 days in Malawi but don't want to make you read 100 pages at once so instead I'll write a series of blogs and make you read 100 pages over a period of time. I hope pictures will come at some point.
I arrived on 26 April. It was a fun and interesting journey, mostly because I did it all on my own. Big for me. I left my house in SA at 5 am on Monday, took the Bug to Johannesburg, got on a flight, landed in Lusaka Zambia, stayed the night and caught a bus the next morning. The bus took me to Chipata. I got on a taxi which took me to the border, I crossed, then got on another taxi to Mchiji and then another taxi to Lilongwe where I finally met up with Royie. We then travelled together to his beautiful home deep in the moutnains and maize fields of Mngwere. This place is much more rural than I could have imagined. It is literally winding footpahts through tall grass and maize. Everyone travels by foot or by bike if you are fortunate. Royie and I had to walk 9 km to work each day. One way.
But the thing that burns in my heart the most to share now is Royie's family. I fell in love with them and couldn't part without tears. Every second of every day I was deeply moved by the beauty of their family. Royie stays with his wife, Vailet, and their 7 children, ranging from 3 to 24. The two eldest girls (Chimwewe, 24, and Ireen, 22) are married with children and have their own houses on Royie's plot. In Malawian culture, when a woman marries, the man joins the woman's family. A very matriarchal society. Royie and Vailet have been married 31 years but to watch Vailet giggle as she chats with him you would think it has been 3. She's such a good companion and helper to him. As I approach my wedding, I loved watching her and the way she brings life into the home.
I think my favourite part of staying with the family was sitting in the kitchen (an outdoor room with a dirt floor and a spot to build a fire) with Vailet, Chimwewe, and Ireen. These three beautiful women would be preparing meals for their own family and would do it together with such joy. They would chat and laugh and sing together. They truly loved each other's company. It just made me see the specialness in raising families together and remaining together through all stages of life.
I'll stop here but on the next entry I need to describe their home, where I bathed (loooved it), the simple but tough way in which they live, the things I did and places I saw, how much coffee I drank, bread I ate and how many baths I took.
Before I end, just a huge shout out to Elizabeth. I missed your birthday. I'm sorry. Happy 6th!
Much love.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Long Bus Rides
Hey everyone.
Today I officially wrapped up my work in South Africa. Tomorrow at 3 am I begin my big adventure.
Here are my dates:
9 Apr - 21 Apr : Luanshya, Zambia (travelling through Zimbabwe by bus, then Botswana by Kombi on way back)
22 Apr - 24 Apr : South Africa (Busie's wedding)
25 Apr - 3 May : Dedza, Malawi (flying to Lusaka then busing to Dedza)
3 May : WILL & THOM ARRIVE IN LUSAKA!
4 May - 19 May : Likasi, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kristal, Will, and Thom)
19 May - 22 May : Travels back to South Africa via Zambia, Botswana
23 May - 31 May : Final Good-byes in South Africa
1 Jun - 16 Jun : Singapore/Cambodia
16 Jun - Arrive in Calgary, Canada
I've been looking forward to the start of this adventure for a long time, and now it's here! I leave in 4 hours and haven't started to sleep yet. That's unfortunate considering it's a 28 hr bus ride. But I made caramel popcorn for the bus ride so I'm sure that will give me a little kick and entertainment at some point.
Zambia is going to be fantastic! The Regional Celebration is happening, which normally is just a family gathering and celebration of the 3 countries represented in the region (Zambia, DRC, Malawi) but this time all the countries will be represented (South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, DRC, Malawi, Nigeria). Most of these people I haven't seen since 2009. It's always such a powerful, beautiful time. Passionate and anointed people from all across Africa coming together to share in God's goodness from within the daily suffering and trials of the work with orphans and vulnerable children.
It's going to be amazing!
Not sure the best way to contact me during this all. Probably e-mail. And not facebook. kristalgadsby@gmail.com
I'll try to keep you all updated, especially with contact details.
Much love!
Today I officially wrapped up my work in South Africa. Tomorrow at 3 am I begin my big adventure.
Here are my dates:
9 Apr - 21 Apr : Luanshya, Zambia (travelling through Zimbabwe by bus, then Botswana by Kombi on way back)
22 Apr - 24 Apr : South Africa (Busie's wedding)
25 Apr - 3 May : Dedza, Malawi (flying to Lusaka then busing to Dedza)
3 May : WILL & THOM ARRIVE IN LUSAKA!
4 May - 19 May : Likasi, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kristal, Will, and Thom)
19 May - 22 May : Travels back to South Africa via Zambia, Botswana
23 May - 31 May : Final Good-byes in South Africa
1 Jun - 16 Jun : Singapore/Cambodia
16 Jun - Arrive in Calgary, Canada
I've been looking forward to the start of this adventure for a long time, and now it's here! I leave in 4 hours and haven't started to sleep yet. That's unfortunate considering it's a 28 hr bus ride. But I made caramel popcorn for the bus ride so I'm sure that will give me a little kick and entertainment at some point.
Zambia is going to be fantastic! The Regional Celebration is happening, which normally is just a family gathering and celebration of the 3 countries represented in the region (Zambia, DRC, Malawi) but this time all the countries will be represented (South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, DRC, Malawi, Nigeria). Most of these people I haven't seen since 2009. It's always such a powerful, beautiful time. Passionate and anointed people from all across Africa coming together to share in God's goodness from within the daily suffering and trials of the work with orphans and vulnerable children.
It's going to be amazing!
Not sure the best way to contact me during this all. Probably e-mail. And not facebook. kristalgadsby@gmail.com
I'll try to keep you all updated, especially with contact details.
Much love!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Sushi for Breakfast
I know, I know, it’s been a while and for that I am sorry. This last little while has been hectic, but how is that different than any other period of time in my African life. I’ve finally come to an understanding of why it’s so difficult for me to blog. How easy would it be for you to blog regularly about life in Canada? When a routine is set up, there doesn’t really feel like there’s anything new and eventful and worthy of reading updates on. So, that’s sort of how I feel. This has been my life for three years and it’s become so normal to me, it’s difficult to see anything interesting to write about.
Now that being said, this has been my life for three years, and soon it is coming to an end. Next week is my last official week of work (in relation to my responsibilities in South Africa). I leave on April 10th for Zambia and then Malawi until Will arrives at the beginning of May. Then we go to Congo and then head east to the Asian part of the world.
I was fortunate to have our Family Celebrations during my last weeks. It was a 3 day celebration of Hands in South Africa and Swaziland. We’ve been planning this sucker for months so it was exciting, enriching, beautiful and slightly stressful. And now that it’s over, I’m a bit relieved. We had 5 people from every community come, plus all of us at Hands, plus other outside friends and partners. In total, we had 121 people. It was a really big ordeal, but just so beautiful to see a giant tent full of people loving God, dancing, learning, sharing, interacting, growing. The theme was “Going Deeper in Christ” and we saw some incredible things happen! We felt so strongly that God wanted to bring people back to Him and there was a very powerful time when people gave their lives to Him! It was also nice because it was all the people I spent 3 years serving, so it was a nice way to end my time in South Africa.
It’s strange how at peace I feel about this transition, and honestly speaking this peace has only come in the last couple weeks. When you invest yourself for 3 years in something, how do you just leave it? How do you feel at peace with leaving with what was invested in you for 3 years? It’s tough, but I need to remember that this is God’s work and He is the one that has invested in me here. He hasn’t invested in me to just stay here, but He also has more out there for me. It’s all one big project. One big Kingdom project. It feels like my role here is naturally closing off, which is great. I’ve spent the last month investing in and teaching two incredible women (Lise and Elise – talk about confusing for the African people ... and then put them together in the same team.. disaster). Lise is a teacher from Edmonton and Elise is a dance teacher from Calgary. I met Lise at Missionsfest last February and instantly developed a crush on her. It’s been such a blast to just hang out with these ladies every day and I feel fully confident in the impact they will make. They are different and offer different things and the season for what I offer has ended. It’s their season now. Wow, that’s really neat.
Oh! I almost forgot! Last weekend I entered in a Trail Run. It was organized by an adventure place just near where I stay. It was 10km and of course being a flatlander, I had no idea what a trail run was. All our trails are flat. But soon I discovered it’s a hike, but running. I felt a bit adventurous so agreed. I’ve never entered any kind of race before in my life, except for Track & Field in Jr. High, but that doesn’t count. I do my usual weekly exercises, which include two days of some form of cardio, but I really wasn’t trained for it at all. And even if running is part of my cardio for that week, it’s usually around 30 minutes or 6 km. (It used to be 8, but after I visited Canada and was a big lazy bum, I had to start all over). Long story short, I ran and I won. Placed first. Seriously. I even won money! It’s something I think I’d like to continue doing. And Will likes to think I’m going to run for our living next year..
But, really, I need to find a job. Will and I are residing in Calgary starting September so if anyone knows of a job I’d be interested in, please let me know! Teaching, working with First Nations people, inner city ministries, coffee shop, comic book store, anything to that like. Just let me know if you think of anything.
Hope all is well with you! I miss you all dearly and I am truly so excited to be back in your lives, to journey with you on a daily basis and just love all over you.
Kristal
PS – The title. As part of preparing for this transition, to really focus on rooting myself, and in anticipation of something big during Celebrations, I decided to do a 5 day fast. I’m currently on Day 5 and get to break it in 1.4 hours. I am stoked. I’ve decided on Sushi. YYYYYUP.
Now that being said, this has been my life for three years, and soon it is coming to an end. Next week is my last official week of work (in relation to my responsibilities in South Africa). I leave on April 10th for Zambia and then Malawi until Will arrives at the beginning of May. Then we go to Congo and then head east to the Asian part of the world.
I was fortunate to have our Family Celebrations during my last weeks. It was a 3 day celebration of Hands in South Africa and Swaziland. We’ve been planning this sucker for months so it was exciting, enriching, beautiful and slightly stressful. And now that it’s over, I’m a bit relieved. We had 5 people from every community come, plus all of us at Hands, plus other outside friends and partners. In total, we had 121 people. It was a really big ordeal, but just so beautiful to see a giant tent full of people loving God, dancing, learning, sharing, interacting, growing. The theme was “Going Deeper in Christ” and we saw some incredible things happen! We felt so strongly that God wanted to bring people back to Him and there was a very powerful time when people gave their lives to Him! It was also nice because it was all the people I spent 3 years serving, so it was a nice way to end my time in South Africa.
It’s strange how at peace I feel about this transition, and honestly speaking this peace has only come in the last couple weeks. When you invest yourself for 3 years in something, how do you just leave it? How do you feel at peace with leaving with what was invested in you for 3 years? It’s tough, but I need to remember that this is God’s work and He is the one that has invested in me here. He hasn’t invested in me to just stay here, but He also has more out there for me. It’s all one big project. One big Kingdom project. It feels like my role here is naturally closing off, which is great. I’ve spent the last month investing in and teaching two incredible women (Lise and Elise – talk about confusing for the African people ... and then put them together in the same team.. disaster). Lise is a teacher from Edmonton and Elise is a dance teacher from Calgary. I met Lise at Missionsfest last February and instantly developed a crush on her. It’s been such a blast to just hang out with these ladies every day and I feel fully confident in the impact they will make. They are different and offer different things and the season for what I offer has ended. It’s their season now. Wow, that’s really neat.
Oh! I almost forgot! Last weekend I entered in a Trail Run. It was organized by an adventure place just near where I stay. It was 10km and of course being a flatlander, I had no idea what a trail run was. All our trails are flat. But soon I discovered it’s a hike, but running. I felt a bit adventurous so agreed. I’ve never entered any kind of race before in my life, except for Track & Field in Jr. High, but that doesn’t count. I do my usual weekly exercises, which include two days of some form of cardio, but I really wasn’t trained for it at all. And even if running is part of my cardio for that week, it’s usually around 30 minutes or 6 km. (It used to be 8, but after I visited Canada and was a big lazy bum, I had to start all over). Long story short, I ran and I won. Placed first. Seriously. I even won money! It’s something I think I’d like to continue doing. And Will likes to think I’m going to run for our living next year..
But, really, I need to find a job. Will and I are residing in Calgary starting September so if anyone knows of a job I’d be interested in, please let me know! Teaching, working with First Nations people, inner city ministries, coffee shop, comic book store, anything to that like. Just let me know if you think of anything.
Hope all is well with you! I miss you all dearly and I am truly so excited to be back in your lives, to journey with you on a daily basis and just love all over you.
Kristal
PS – The title. As part of preparing for this transition, to really focus on rooting myself, and in anticipation of something big during Celebrations, I decided to do a 5 day fast. I’m currently on Day 5 and get to break it in 1.4 hours. I am stoked. I’ve decided on Sushi. YYYYYUP.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
His Needs, Her Needs
Will and I are reading a book... okay I’m reading a book out loud with Will called His Needs, Her Needs, given to us by our “marriage mentors”. One of Will’s needs, according to the book, is an attractive spouse. We didn’t really need to go into this one, as Will gave a “check” as I read the chapter title. But as I dove into it, I found that what goes along with being an attractive spouse is hygiene. Red flag. This is something that has become quite questionable lately as I’m finding more days accumulating between my showers. This is not necessarily due to a lack of activity causing me to become dirty (probably the opposite) but more so due to the anxiety I get prior to shower time when I consider washing my mane. The problem is my jungle hair, as my mother likes to call it. As my hair grows longer, it seems to mat into one giant chunk. And not just after 8 days of not washing it, but even just after 1 day. I’ve grown really attached to this length of chunk so cutting it hasn’t really been an option. I consider myself very fortunate, though, because I’ve found a companion that washes as often as I do. Yes, we will most likely be the smelly couple and, yes; our child will be the stinky one in the class, but our house will save a butt-load of water and our bodies will, I’m sure, have a natural glow that will attract all kinds of forest animal friends!
On the topic if Will and I, I might have made a little surprise visit to Canada. My brother had a bit of a last minute, informal wedding and I decided family had to happen. I flew into Vancouver, hung out with Aliah for a bit, and hopped in the van with Will’s brother, Thom, to drive to Kamloops. Thom had already arranged to visit Will on their reading break, so it worked out quite well. We got to the mountain, I hid in the back of the van under a blanket and as soon as Will got in the van, Thom turned on the light and out I hopped from under the blanket. I couldn’t figure out how to react to Will’s reaction. It was complete utter shock. I couldn’t even tell if it was good or bad. But it was good. I hung out in Kamloops for a few days and then Will and I set off for Lloydminster for my brother’s wedding. It was an incredible time, and I even feel like it was an anointed time. I loved every second with my family and spent some much-needed time with my mother, brothers, fathers, and sister. Sometimes being so far away and becoming used to them not being around, I forget how much I love hanging out with them. It was really great for Will to hang around too. He’s met them, of course, but this time he really blended in.
It was interesting, though, because this was the first time Will and I saw each other in the winter. I’m happy to say I still think he’s a fox in ski pants and puff jacket and really encouraged that sweat is not the single attraction factor. Seriously, this was our first time cuddling in a temperature below 20 degrees and I've heard it said you must go through every season with a person before you marry, so ... check.
I’m sorry to those I didn’t tell I was coming, which was everyone except Aliah, Thom, and my sister. It was last minute, a big surprise to most, and I really only had a week, which I recognized needed to be focused on my family.
BUT...
My rough tour dates in the next months look like this though:
Now – April 12 – South Africa
April 12 – April 20 – Zambia*
April 20 – April 26 – Malawi*
April 26 – May 2 – Zambia*
May 2 – Will Arrives in Zambia
May 2 – May 14 – Democratic Republic of Congo
May 14 – Roxette Concert in Johannesburg!!!
May 14 – June 1 – South Africa wrap up
June 1 – June 16 – Singapore/Vietnam/Cambodia
June 16 – Canada
July 31 – Wedding**
August 20 – Lloydminster Wedding Celebration
August – Moving to Calgary
*Subject to change
**Definitely not subject to change.
That’s all.
Cheers!
On the topic if Will and I, I might have made a little surprise visit to Canada. My brother had a bit of a last minute, informal wedding and I decided family had to happen. I flew into Vancouver, hung out with Aliah for a bit, and hopped in the van with Will’s brother, Thom, to drive to Kamloops. Thom had already arranged to visit Will on their reading break, so it worked out quite well. We got to the mountain, I hid in the back of the van under a blanket and as soon as Will got in the van, Thom turned on the light and out I hopped from under the blanket. I couldn’t figure out how to react to Will’s reaction. It was complete utter shock. I couldn’t even tell if it was good or bad. But it was good. I hung out in Kamloops for a few days and then Will and I set off for Lloydminster for my brother’s wedding. It was an incredible time, and I even feel like it was an anointed time. I loved every second with my family and spent some much-needed time with my mother, brothers, fathers, and sister. Sometimes being so far away and becoming used to them not being around, I forget how much I love hanging out with them. It was really great for Will to hang around too. He’s met them, of course, but this time he really blended in.
It was interesting, though, because this was the first time Will and I saw each other in the winter. I’m happy to say I still think he’s a fox in ski pants and puff jacket and really encouraged that sweat is not the single attraction factor. Seriously, this was our first time cuddling in a temperature below 20 degrees and I've heard it said you must go through every season with a person before you marry, so ... check.
I’m sorry to those I didn’t tell I was coming, which was everyone except Aliah, Thom, and my sister. It was last minute, a big surprise to most, and I really only had a week, which I recognized needed to be focused on my family.
BUT...
My rough tour dates in the next months look like this though:
Now – April 12 – South Africa
April 12 – April 20 – Zambia*
April 20 – April 26 – Malawi*
April 26 – May 2 – Zambia*
May 2 – Will Arrives in Zambia
May 2 – May 14 – Democratic Republic of Congo
May 14 – Roxette Concert in Johannesburg!!!
May 14 – June 1 – South Africa wrap up
June 1 – June 16 – Singapore/Vietnam/Cambodia
June 16 – Canada
July 31 – Wedding**
August 20 – Lloydminster Wedding Celebration
August – Moving to Calgary
*Subject to change
**Definitely not subject to change.
That’s all.
Cheers!
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