Charlie Chikankata has a lot to answer for! Here I am in the heart of rural Zambia, working for The Salvation Army as the Manager/Hospital Administrator of Chikankata Health Services. Not so much an intellectuall reflection rather a kind of journal of the unexpected.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

NEW TERRITORIAL COMMANDERS

This weekend past, we traveled to Lusaka again, this time for the welcome to our new TC’s Colonel John and Dorita Wainwright from the UK Territory. It is the third territorial meeting I have sat through in 4 weeks and the 3 meetings have last a cumulative time of 15 hours and 45 mins. It's good though that there is not the same rush to get away from church to get on with other things.

However, once again it was a great occasion and once again the Junior Soldiers stole the show with some great singing.


In Zambia you see some of the worth of The Salvation Army uniform. Back home it is considered outdated. However here you see why it is so important. In a land that has such a high level of poverty, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the rich and poor. It’s a great leveler and really adds to the sense of unity within the church. Also, there is a pride attached to wearing the uniform. Proud to belong to the Army, proud to be considered a soldier of the Lord. In fact many of the other churches have opted to invent their own uniform in Zambia.

At the same time, people don’t get so worked up about the style as long as the uniform identifies you as a soldier. This raised a chuckle for me on Sunday.



I think the gangster shoes should be made uniform regulation across the world - they are much more interesting!

On Friday, Luke went to Maternal and Child Health Centre within the Hospital to get weighed. He is now 73cm and weighs 8.5kg. Luke is five months.

On Friday, a child was brought to the Hospital. He was 4 years old. He weighed the same as Luke (8.5kg). Unfortunately he passed away on Friday night.

HIV/AIDS is a horrible disease, which destroys the lives of innocent victims.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

THERE IS POWER...... (Not here)
I really hope Scotland and Denmark qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 because right now it’s getting some of the blame from the Zambia government for the ongoing electricity problems. Currently we have about one or two hours of electricity per day. As you can imagine trying to run a hospital without electricity (and as a result, water) is pretty interesting. Fortunately we do have a generator. Unfortunately, it’s very old and very expensive. However we are doing the best we can, having been reminded that there are people in the world worse off than us. We have become pretty good at cooking on charcoals too. My specialty is bacon and eggs, Heidie can somehow manage to cook the sauce and the pasta in the same pan at the same time.

On the plus side, I am reading more than ever before and this week I have read a biography on Mugabe. I have very mixed feelings about that whole situation. This weekend Zimbabwe becomes the largest SA territory in the world as a result of the move to split Kenya from one to two territories. Last week we said farewell to our TC here who will take up the reigns there. I sat through two farewell meetings in Mazabuka and Lusaka, which lasted for a combined time of ten and a half hours!

Luke is now eating solid foods and loves prunes and bannanas. It is making life very interesting!


I have spent the weekend in Livingstone. I had a meeting at the Provincial Health Office on Friday and decided to stay until Sunday, mainly so we can get a flaming shower with some decent water. Once again we had a great time. The Victoria Falls never cease to amaze me. The great thing about the Falls it is quite unspoilt. It would be possible to drive past the entrance if you didn’t know where you were going, as it is really under commercialized. People from the West would have an absolute fit about the health and safety issues. But it’s rawness appeals to me and I am always reminded that Zambian country is rich in the beauty of it’s people, landscape and wildlife. Luke enjoyed morning coffee at the 5 star Royal Livingstone - I am bit worried he is getting a taste for the high living, which will of course please his Uncle Kevin!




Finally Happy Mother’s Day to my mum and my wife (I am actually typing it is Mother’s Day – although I am typing by candlelight but probably won’t be able to post for sometime given the issues mentioned above). Heidie is just doing brilliant. I am really proud of her. It is not easy to bring up a child with a number of obstacles including no water and frequent interruptions of electricity (this morning she got up at 4.30am just to prepare food and wash bottles etc), but she is just the best.

 
Sally Bloggers
Sally Bloggers
Previous site : Random : Next site : List sites
Powered by PHP-Ring