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Dear Friends It has been a long time since we have had a letter from Lukulu, but as with many things the New Year presents a new opportunity! Neverthless our living in Lukulu has remained busy (perhaps a little too busy to be writing ‘Letters from Lukulu’ in recent months!) and very interesting, so there is much to write about if only we had the time. I will however begin this new year with a familiar subject which has become topical again in recent weeks - our somewhat infamous road! - the 200 kms of gravel that connects us to the rest of the world. As some of you will remember this was upgraded three to four years ago and maintained (in a fashion) over the next two years. However nothing at all was done by way of maintenance over the past year, and now that the prolonged wet season is well under way the road is rapidly turning into a muddy quagmire as well as being pitted with mega potholes.
Buses and trucks are now getting seriously bogged, often spending a number of days stuck on the road. The signs are everywhere, as shown by the branches lining many potholes along the way which have been used for traction and leverage in getting the vehicles moving again. This makes travel in and out of Lukulu increasingly difficult with the large buses (which the majority of people rely on) threatening to halt their services. This is understandable, because apart from the mechanical problems that arise with vehicles constantly travelling on such a poor surface, it is also becoming dangerous. Obviously the restricted movement of trucks also affects supplies for the town, everything from diesel, to groceries. This necessarily has a knock on effect on prices for goods and service delivery eg. the one generator that supplies the power for Lukulu is dependent on a available fuel supply.
Just as the potholes abound, so also do the promises. This is an election year in Zambia so we are constantly hearing rumours that the road will be repaired this year and in fact even tarred. But one has only to look at the quagmire to know that the latter is not even possible without serious attention being given to substructure – and given that that has not happened in the past five years of our presence in Lukulu, one doesn’t expect it to happen in the near future either, despite the talk! However, on my way to the shops today, just outside of the Old Market area, I did find evidence of true appreciation of our potholes!
Until next time Pat ibvm |
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Dear Friends Greetings from Lukulu after a long time. We have had a number of visitors in recent months, and so we have been inviting them to share their experiences with you. Now, I will tell you a little about the more settled Lukulu life. Sadly we have been a little shocked over the past week when we have experienced our mighty Zambezi taking two lives; the drowning of a school boy who was swimming with friends, and a fisherman taken by a crocodile. We are beginning to realize that the latter are little more common at this time of year than we had previously been aware of! But there are good things to share as well. A few months ago I attended the annual agricultural show which is really the focal point of life in Lukulu each year and is a show piece of what local farmers can indeed produce. When one sees the variety of produce on display, it reiterates our constantly asked question –why is there so much hunger and malnutrition when such a variety of food can be produced in such abundance by the local peasant farmers? I guess part of the answer lies in what can be seen in the pictures below; the vast majority of farming and growing is done by the women, who are also so extensively engaged in cooking, cleaning, gathering firewood, fetching water often at a great distance, as well as looking after the children. Meanwhile it seems culturally the men get served first, and get the greatest portion of meat and relish to eat. Perhaps therein lies more of the answer! It certainly seems that from the abundance that can be produced as can be seen in the pictures below that everyone should be able to get sufficient.
Some local service providers as well as Government Ministries also take the opportunity to display their services such as the bank and the Dept of Education shown below.
One of my own projects , the widow’s HEPS group set up their own stall which was also a wonderful display of their work. Throughout the day they educated the community on the production of HEPS (High Energy Protein Supplement) and even managed to sell some of their produce.
The show was well attended over the two days when the crowds of people we entertained by musicians with their home made instruments, cultural dancers and Makeshi (Traditional masked dancers).
Unfortunately one of the sad things of such a festivity is that the nominal K1000 entrance charge is beyond many of the impoverished community of Lukulu as was evident by the large number of people outside the grass fence trying to get a glimpse of the activities when the gate opened to allow access to those who could afford to go in. Until next time, Pat ibvm |
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23rd August 2010 Dear Friends, As mentioned last month, we were fortunate to have a visit from two of our General Consultors in Rome. Sr Carmen Diston now shares with you some of her reflections on her stay here with us in Lukulu for a short period during July.
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“Trouble and Beauty” Trouble and Beauty[1] is the title of a publication I once read; it came to mind during my recent week long stay in Lukulu, Zambia. These words – trouble and beauty – help me to make sense of the complex reality I encountered. There was much to affirm and much that was challenging about the people and place, about women, education and health care. There are stories full of strides made (beauty) and huge challenges still present (trouble). I share here some of this – as in other “Letters from Lukulu” you have details about projects and the specific activities of Elizabeth and Pat. [1] Trouble and Beauty: Women Encounter Catholic Social Teaching. Riley, Maria and Sylvester, Nancy. © 1991 Center of Concern, Leadership Conference of Women Religious and NETWORK. |
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Land and People: Heading west from the international airport in Lusaka early one morning, I was immediately struck by the landscape. The city was quiet at that hour and the road out ran very straight, dotted with sacks of coal for sale, and then bunches of thatch. Still later on, not one, but a dozen women hurriedly approached our vehicle as we stopped to buy oranges. I wonder: do they help each other if one gets the business? Trouble and beauty. The return journey – arriving in Lusaka late afternoon – was very different. We drove through a mix of well kept places and businesses, the market and in the midst of it the garbage dump – life in the midst of squalor. Trouble and beauty. Driving through the northern reaches of Kafue National Park we enjoyed trying to spot wildlife in the forest and grasslands, and crossed the wide, deep glistening blue river. Often we saw and smelled the burning off of the underbrush. Amazingly it didn’t seem to go out of control. We passed plenty of children walking distances, some very small and young and by themselves, others in groups – usually in a school uniform. So, the first 400 kms was fairly uneventful, except for occasional potholes that Pat and Elizabeth were expert at anticipating and avoiding. The last 200 kms on a rutted dusty dirt road told a different tale as we went over bumps, into potholes, around walkers, or chose the oxcart track as being a little more navigable! Carts pulled by oxen appear in the evening and through the night – times that are cooler for the animals to work. Travel is not always easy, but we had a good vehicle, companionship and snacks. For most people travel is on foot or occasionally bicycle – hour upon hour upon hour! Trouble and beauty. In and around Lukulu subsistence farming and fishing is the activity of most people. Sunsets on the Zambezi River are spectacular, a sight to behold, with the colours changing each evening. Somewhere there is a message about living with the land, sun and moon and their changing rhythms. There is something idyllic about the view, but life is not easy for people. I wondered about the capacity of the land to produce more. Some few women turned their hand at fabulous vegetable gardens, yet many more people don’t appear to have adequate food. Trouble and beauty. People: women – almost all with a child on the back and others in tow – are busy with the labour-intensive daily tasks of living; they can also be seen chatting and walking with each other – always time for the person. Women are often the subject of violence – physical and sexual. Still we met beautiful women and men who are teachers, nurses, builders; some are educated and trained, others have the training of experience. Children are eager to learn and play and like children everywhere are easily engaged, but most lack what another part of the world takes for granted: facilities, trained teachers, materials, supportive learning environments; clothing, food and water: lack of hygiene appears to be a huge challenge – whether it is information, or resources, or some other thing I’m not sure. Trouble and beauty. Education: The first step is often providing a well for water; then supporting “community schools” until they can qualify as government schools with access to some trained teachers and materials. I was moved to see on the wall of the hut that served as a classroom, a recipe for garlic pesticide, something simple, made with products at hand, and that would help people in their daily living. Working towards status as a government school is important, but there will be some casualties – the present untrained yet dedicated teachers who might no longer fit in the system. Trouble and beauty. Health care: Overseas funding is making it possible to construct new health clinics; these are badly needed as people walk hours and days to find care. We met nurses and care givers, proud and committed, doing much with little. Lukulu has a very good HIV/AIDS testing and treatment center, with evidence of some government led coordination. We saw a milk program for mother and infant care. Services are improving and growing; people are accessing them. More of this will need to continue. Trouble and beauty. Faith: A parish church, with a large number of ‘outstations’ relying totally on village leadership. Because of the high rate of illiteracy, faith education and formation takes place through stories, pictures, acting, song etc. Other Christian churches, some fundamentalist, are plentiful . . . Writing this reflection on the Feast of Mary Magdalene, a phrase from the second reading spoke to me of the work of Pat and Elizabeth: the love of Christ urges us on: it is surely this that sustains each one in her ministry and endeavours – in health care and education. It is surely this love that animates their support and encouragement of those they meet and work with, and that motivates them to seek project funding and other kinds of assistance. Encouraging leadership among the people themselves has both its disappointments and rewards. Understanding and living with other ways of thinking, communicating and acting was a daily challenge. Trouble and beauty. Thank you Pat and Elizabeth for your hospitality, for introducing me to another people and place interconnected with mine. There is much to ponder and wonder about in that. Carmen Diston ibvm |
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28th July 2010 Dear Friends Recently we had the good fortune to have two visitors from our General Council in Rome and they are very willing to share their impressions of Lukulu with you. Sr Sandra Perrett will write this time and will be followed in the near future by Sr Carmen Diston. Watch this space!
These past days have been full of blessings and incredible surprises and it has been a challenge to know where to begin this letter. But my favourite verse of a psalm came to me (also my motto) and I knew where to begin and what to include. From the ninth verse of Psalm 116 we read: I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living. Walking is what you do in these parts – unless you have a bicycle, an oxen cart or a motor bike, you set out on the dusty paths and roads and walk! You might be going to the market in the village to barter your fresh vegetables, rice, cassava, or chickens; you might be going to the bore hole to retrieve the life-giving stuff called water; you might be visiting someone in the next little patch of thatch or you might be walking to school or church or a meeting. Africa on the move is what it seems like when one looks down the road ahead.
On another day I went to a village some 17kms north of town where about 50 or so people gathered for instruction in Baptism first and then an hour later another group Confirmation. They too had walked – some from their village close by and some from a distance away. With their instruction books kept safely in a plastic bag they took to their bench and awaited the instruction in English and then the translation into Luvali. The lesson was about John the Baptist for the first class and the gifts of the Spirit for the second. When invited to stop and pray they bowed their heads in reverence and made the sign of the cross and as an onlooker I knew the presence of God was there in the midst!
Presence is a word that takes on various meanings these days but whatever the nuanced meaning there is always that awareness of company, of the other and one’s graced relatedness to that other. Let me tell you about a young woman living with AIDS who has a presence that is obvious within the first minute of meeting. I think her name might mean faith and that is what she has, to be who she is. Living alone in her little house in a small village some 6kms from the town, she tends of piece of land and produces vegetables of every kind and in the wet season, rice. This is not a small garden for a small woman but a big garden for a small woman with a big heart and a deep faith in life. Those 6kms are walked to barter her goods in the market and the walked back again.
And so to a thought about the land of the living! I cannot be anything but impressed by the life of these men, women and children, and add to that the ministry of Elizabeth of Pat. Each day I have been drawn into their smiling, welcoming company and while they admit to struggle and challenge and hardship, poverty and disadvantage, they are gentle and faithful and very much alive. The statistics and the stories tell of early deaths from sickness, mothers bleeding to death in childbirth out in the villages, malnutrition amongst the little ones, dog bites, accidents, leprosy …. but their spirit remains a testimony to their strength of character and their constant desire for and choice of life. And for those following the words of the psalm you will see that the Lord in whose presence these people live and love and have their being has been left until last. The church buildings abound, whether Seventh Day Adventist, Assembly of God, Catholic or Uniting Church of Zambia. But the church community who gathers for worship and connection represents a fine group of women, men and children whose faith in the Lord is expressed in the way best understood here and I would suspect wonderfully received by that same Lord. Indeed, I have been walking in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living in Lukulu this past week. Hopefully I will return for more of this walking, living and loving. With best wishes Sandra ibvm
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What a gift it has been to spend two weeks in Lukulu! It is enlightening to read the regular letters from Lukulu and to picture the scenes. It is an experience with a difference to live here even for a short time, to meet the people and see the development over the four years Elizabeth and Pat have been here. On the way from Mongu we stopped at Sitaka, 80 kms. from Lukulu and formerly an outstation of Lukulu Parish. In 2007 it became a parish with two resident priests and 18 outstations. The new church was blessed on Pentecost Sunday. In Sitaka I saw a project which is being spearheaded and monitored by Pat. A nine room health care clinic is nearing completion, built by joint effort of the community and the builder Liyungu. The Femto Trust donors support this project. The clinic has its own borehole and pump also funded by Femto. Pat has worked in collaboration with the District Health Board who provided the plan for the clinic and will staff it and the very enthusiastic and appreciative parish priest, Fr. Francis.
Part of the Home Based Care Volunteer Project in Lukulu is to train a team to be Home Based Care givers in Sitaka. On Saturday Pat drove six of the Lukulu team to Sitaka and they spent the day working with this team. All these women volunteer their time and service. This is part of health care projects in Lukulu and beyond in which Pat is engaged. Wamba is a village on the floodplain of the Zambezi, 15 kms from Lukulu. At present there is one classroom where 47 children from several villages are in Grade 1, taught by an untrained volunteer teacher. This area is surrounded by water during the rainy season. This and long distances make it impossible for the children to go to other schools. Many of the boys go down the river with their fathers during the fishing season. No adult is literate in this area so education is a huge need. Elizabeth invited me to travel with her, Mrs. Mabelo, the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS), Mr. Mwene, the Education Standards Officer and Mr Liyuwa the Ward Councillor to a meeting with parents and teacher in Wamba. Liyungu, the builder, travelled behind the land cruiser on his motorbike. Guided by Godrefy we made the way by driving as there are several paths through the plain! With joint effort by donors, community and the builder Elizabeth hopes to build a two classroom block with office and storeroom. The purpose of the meeting was to set in motion the request to the Minister of Education to officially register this school. The benefit from this would be the potential in years to come for the school to get full government funding for teacher(s) and also resources.
The children were ready inside the small thatched classroom. They greeted us, singing “We are happy, we are happy to see you…..” To see them and hear them would melt anyone’s heart! Later the parents arrived and the children moved outside to play under the mango trees. The meeting took about 2 to 3 hours. Prayer was followed by introductions and the giving and receiving of information, all in siLozi. Then Liyungu was asked to describe the future building, what would be needed and the part the community would play e.g. clearing the ground, carrying the poles in canoes across the river, bringing sand and filling in the walls and more. Even though I did not understand siLozi I enjoyed seeing the people engaged fully in the meeting. Elizabeth made a plea that the trees would not be cut down! As we left the school the children followed singing “We are happy…”I think the request will be presented well to the Minister, Mrs Mabelo told us that she, herself, had grown up on the plain near Mongu! Pat and Elizabeth are also engaged in many other ministries. Pat and Elizabeth, I enjoyed sharing community with you, experiencing Mysticism and Prophecy at its best. I am grateful for the opportunity to read, meditate, reflect and contemplate in this beautiful setting. I will always savour the evenings, looking out past the two palm tree sentinels, over the river and the vast floodplain on the far side to the everchanging sunsets as the night sounds of Africa began. Thank you Elizabeth and Pat. Emer IBVM |
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Dear Friends
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During May and June we were enjoying the company of Sr Emer McNally ibvm, with us from our home Province in South Africa. She is happy to share her experiences with you.
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Saturday 1st May 2010, a text message reads: “Pat is on her way to Lusaka; Elizabeth and Mutumba are on their way to Mongu.” In Pretoria I was on my way to the shower before setting off for the flight to Lusaka and a long drive the following day to Mongu, the capital of the Western Province of Zambia. Saturday night Pat and I stayed with the Salesian Sisters in Lusaka, enjoying the warm hospitality of Sisters in Zambia.
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On Sunday we travelled with Stella, a Presentation sister at whose Cheshire Home Compound, in Mongu, Mutumba would have a longer IBVM community experience, away from Lukulu, her home town. Part of this journey passes through the Kafue National Park where we saw an elephant, wart hogs and several groups of bok. Tall grass swaying on both sides of the road took over from tall yellow flowers. Stretching away on either side were expanses of trees and shrubs of varying sizes. Dark green, shiny leafed mango trees dotted the landscape. The mango tree is in a class by itself, not only beautiful and fruitful also providing wonderful shelter and shade.
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After 400kms we stopped at the Presentation community in Kaoma where Srs. Vianney and Clementina welcomed us and refreshed us with a delicious meal ending with homemade scones and guava jam. Vianney runs a butchery and a maize farm among other projects. This year the farm yielded 2000 kgs. – a good harvest. It came as no surprise to learn that Vianney had received a national award for her humanitarian work. She is now at that age which only those who are strong reach and full of life!
At Kaoma, Pat collected the land cruiser and we drove behind Stella to Mongu, arriving at 5.15pm in the Presentation Compound. Elizabeth and Mutumba had already set up house in a Cheshire Home worker’s cottage and welcomed us with yet another delicious meal. Later we prayed Evening Prayer together singing Colours of Day and the Magnificat.
Our days in Mongu began with Mass in the Parish Church, five minutes walk away at 7a.m. and when the Teachers’ Training College opened, at 6.30 a.m! The sun was rising as we walked through the sand and there was a decided nip in the air. Of the twelve religious congregations in the Mongu diocese five were represented: Capuchians who run the parish, Holy Cross sisters and Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, five minutes walk up the road, Presentation and Loreto from across the road. English was used during the week and siLozi on Sundays. Mutumba had ministry at the Nutrition Project run by the Incarnate Word sisters and carers. She had a short time with the children at the Cheshire Home when they returned from holidays. We shared cooking, cleaning and leading Office. One of my many memories from Mongu is the laughter of the children in the playground near our house. The children come from all over the Western Province, attend classes, are helped to live a full life while coping with their disabilities and often learning to use new limbs.
The Zambian Association of Sisterhoods, Mongu Branch had a meeting on 15May which Pat and I attended. The topic, arising from the Second African Synod was Our Prophetic Vocation. Thirty three sisters attended. Srs. Diane Hesse MSOLA and Domenica OP from Lusaka gave input which was followed by groupwork on Moses, Jeremiah and Isaiah. I was in the group on Jeremiah and enjoyed lively sharing especially by the younger Zambian sisters.
Life was not all work. We visited the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate at Moya O Kenile (Holy Spirit) This is a special community as Pat and Elizabeth stay here when they have business in Mongu. It is like their second home It is also near Shoprite which stores many goods from South Africa. On Pentecost Sunday we were invited to celebrate their feast at the second community house. It was a happy and enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to meet more sisters.
Until my next installment from Lukulu itself!
Sr Emer ibvm
Dear Friends
Life in Lukulu is a little mechanical these days! Apart from much travelling to and fro from many places (recently I did about 1400 kms in four days), this in itself has brought a few logistical difficulties – like two punctures in two days. But in fact the latter has been a minor blips compared to breaking four shocks in as many days. One round trip of about 80 kms on a very rough bush track did in the original rear shocks on our 4x4 land cruiser. I gently drove to Lusaka to have those replaced and on the return journey managed to do in the new shocks before even reaching Lukulu! Thus began the complicated task of liaising with the garage in Lusaka by phone, convincing them that the shocks had finished, negotiating new shocks to be sent by bus, and negotiating with a driver cum mechanic at the hospital to replace the shocks, before finally getting the dud shocks back to Lusaka to the garage. That eventually all worked out, and the vehicle was fine - for a week!
Yesterday, a trip to a neighbouring mission at a distance of 80 kms brought an uncomfortable noise in the vehicle – a deep thudding sound as we went over the bumps. A few cursory inspections could not identify the problem and being away from any habitation we tentatively continued on our journey. Just as we arrived we were able to identify that our fuel tank, with a capacity of about 160 litres had essentially broken off on one side and was ‘hanging’! Two bolts had come loose, which left excessive pressure on one welded corner, and a big piece of metal had broken away along with the tank. Much of the afternoon at the mission was spent looking for two nuts and bolts to secure the unbroken side, and a thick rope to tie the tank in place – and so we set out for home, and thankfully safely arrived at our destination. Now the task at hand; to find a satisfactory solution to the dilemma of the tank, despite not having any garages or expert mechanics around Lukulu. But we know a few artisans who are innovative and enjoy a challenge – and there lies the rest of the story for the present!
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Much has to do with the state of the Lukulu road, the 200 kms of dirt which connects us to a main arterial route to Lusaka. After four years of reconstruction and maintenance, and a contract that has already finished, the last 75kms into Lukulu is in a horrendous state. On our return journey last evening, as we nursed our own fragile fuel tank over the bumps and potholes we came across an Dept of Education vehicle broken down on the road – also a robust land cruiser – but now with two broken springs! The talk of the town is that the road is going to be tarred this year. It is hard to imagine that a tarred surface could be put in place considering the present condition of the road and substructure. A tarred road would be good (if properly laid and maintained) but really, at present even a graded (or bulldozed) surface would suffice!
Until next time
Pat
Dear Friends,
After months of silence I am picking up on the story of the borehole mender.
We organized the drilling of a borehole at Kayeo Community School in February 2009. From the very beginning it produced sandy water and a couple of months ago broke down completely.
Esther Simende was recommended to us as a qualified borehole mender and travelled the 400 km from the provincial capital Mongu. The borehole and pump are of an Indian design and there is a kit designed specifically to repair this Mark 4 model. The borehole was 24 m deep and made up of 8 x 3m rising pipes inside of which was the segmented rod connected to the immersion pump at the base and the pump handle at the top. The rising pipes through which the water rises, are inside the casing pipes which line the bore hole.
Esther commenced the dismantling of the borehole in a blazer, but eventually shed it. She was ably assisted by a local, Lukulu man, Rodney, who has borehole knowhow (See photo of the two of them). Others from the local borehole committee had to assist as it was very heavy work. After removing the hand pump mechanism at the top of the bore hole, the rising pipes/ core rods were raised in sections. The first problem was diagnosed very rapidly as the top rising pipe had separated from the next riser, due most likely to small children pumping with rapid shallow movements and enhancing the force by hanging off the pump handle. Initially the heavy 24 m of pipe/rod plus immersion pump were being raised using clamps called raisers. In order to unscrew the first pipe and core rod, the second pipe had to be secured with another type of clamp. The work became lighter as each pipe and core rod was removed sequentially until the immersion pump was brought to the surface and checked. It was in working order.
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The rising rods were covered with an iron- based clay, so the children took them to a water course to clean them but not before a local potter had collected some of the clay from the pipes to use for decorating his pots. Kayeo is famous locally for its pottery, used mainly to store water. The problem of the sand in the water was solved by reducing the depth of the bore hole to 21 m.
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The community is responsible for the cost of maintaining the borehole. The bill for mending the borehole was K500000. The borehole committee collected K38000 for the month of March from the families using the borehole. It will take many years for the community to complete the repayment. These villages effectively operate as cashless subsistence communities.
Use of the borehole is free for the school children and their mentors and the families of the mentors but other families using the borehole must make a monthly monetary contribution. The borehole committee keeps the area around the borehole clean, locks it each night and monitors usage, collecting the monthly contribution. It is to be noted that the treasurer, Violet, is illiterate but knows exactly from whom she has collected the money and the amount collected.
She is pictured on the right of the photo below.
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Until next time,
Elizabeth ibvm