Day 157 - 159 Last Trip to Lusaka

Wednesday morning a little after 5 am Zack and I, and one the workers, Henry, and his daughter headed out to Lusaka. Henry's wife was taken to a hospital yesterday about 2 hours away for emergency surgery. Thankfully she was ok, but I had gone to the hospital when they were getting ready to drive her down yesterday and it was not good. It was great that we were going through that town anyway so he could have a ride.
Well trips to Lusaka are interesting to say the least. First, we hire one of Zack's friends Henrich, to come sit in the back of the Cantor the whole day so that none of the supplies get stolen. Second, you can't just go to one shop to buy supplies you have to drive around, order things, and wait and wait until they are ready. It usually makes for a hassle and we tried to split up to do some things, but that doesn't always work either. Third, we carry a lot of money with us for supplies so it is always a little nerve racking walking around through the streets with that in your pocket.
Another reason we went down to Lusaka on Wednesday morning was because a group from Brookside church was came in on Thursday for 10 days and we met them at the airport to help hall some of their supplies back North. We had planned to leave Lusaka with them that afternoon, but were so delayed getting the supplies we ended staying another night in town and really didn't leave until noon on Friday. I wish I would have taken a picture of the Cantor because it was jam packed of plywood, finished doors, pipes, plants, food, a well, and so many other little things but hopefully we got it all!

Day 153 - 154 Kapishya Hot Springs

We decided to leave Serenje for Easter Weekend and travel north about 5 hours to Kapishya Hot Springs. It is a lodge about 40 km off the main road through a Utopian community that was designed by a British man in the early 1900s. He built English style shops, hospitals, schools, and chapels and trained the local people to become blacksmiths, carpenters, and farmers. Most of these building are still in place today, including the large manor on a picturesque estate property. The area is still owned by the family of this man. His grandson, now runs a lodge and safari company around the property and has build a lodge next to the hot springs his grandfather discovered when he purchased the property.

On Saturday afternoon we went white water rafting down the river that runs by the lodge. It was a beautiful, calm river (only a few rapids), so it was a great way to see the property. Saturday night and Sunday morning we were able to enjoy the hot springs and celebrate Easter! It was a nice weekend away from building!

Day 150 - Living at the Mapontela and the Hope Ministry Office

So living in Serenje is not to bad (I think again most people believe I am in a hut). Hope Ministries rents an office next to a nice guesthouse (really the only guesthouse in town) called the Mapontela, which is run by Steve, an American ex peace corp worker who married a Zambiam woman. I have been staying at the guesthouse, so have a nice bed and bathroom. The office has 3 bed rooms (6 beds), a kitchen/dining area, a bathroom, and a laundry/supply area. Really it is two big rooms makeshifted into little areas. But there is an stove/oven, refridgerator, and a couple other nice American amenties that keep everyone feed and close to the comforts of home. Laundry has to be done by hand in the sink, the water turns off from about 7 am to 1 or 2 pm, and the electricity is usually on but other than that it really isn't too bad here. Once the guesthouse is done everything will be moved from the office over to the site, but the overflow of people (depending on the group size) may still have to stay at the Mapontela!

(L: Picture of the front of the office, R: Dinnertime Justin, Kory, Zack, and I (Brian's taking the photo)

Day 148 - More Painters

After the workers knocked off today, we stayed late to finish some things and a couple of the orphans and neighbor girls came over to watch me paint. They asked if they could try and one by one they each helped me roll a wall on the multi purpose room. We sang and danced to the VBS songs the remembered from last summer and then they sang other songs to me in Bemba. This is why I love it here!

Day 146 - Progress

Here are just some photos to show progress over the last couple weeks!



(l: sinks being installed in the bathroom, r: red paint on the trim)

(l: top coat of floor being poured, r: bathrooms painted with ceiling bordered up and bathroom doors on)

(l: primer on the outside of the guesthouse, r: primer on the inside of the multi purpose room)

Day 145 - Inspectors

During the day we typically have a few of the neighbor kids at the site running around and playing in yard, but today 4 orphan boys stopped by to see the facility. I gave them a tour through all the buildings and they just had huge smiles on their faces. They seemed really excited to know that this was going to be their new “home.” They also asked if they could sit in the van to see what it was like inside. I doubt any of them had ever rode in a vehicle.. Oh the little things in life that make a child's day!

It has been amazing to see all the people come through the building. It seems almost everyday Navice, Randy, or Zack are giving some group a tour of the place. People are just so impressed with the work and structure. They don’t see buildings like this around the area much, so I think it is something that the whole community will take pride in for years to come!

Day 143 - 144 Workers

The job site is a busy place most days. There are about 50 workers who were hired when the project first started. There was no place for the guys to post an advertisement or somewhere to submit a resume, so the opportunity for a job was spread through word of mouth around Serenje and over 100 men came to see if they could work at the site. The guys really had to test run the workers the first week to see if they could perform and some passed and some were fired. What a process to go through, but all the workers seem to do a good job with their daily tasks. Here are some quick facts about the workers: (pic: the American and Zambian workers)

• Work beings at 7:00 hours sharps and ends at 16:00 hours each day, because there are men who travel over 20 km each way to the town. Thankfully most of them have bikes, but they still need to leave their homes by 4:30 and don't return until 18:30 riding on awful, dirt roads.


• There is a 72 year old man who does this daily. Amazing! First because the average life expectancy in Zambia is somewhere is the 40's and second because he is in great shape!


• Each worker earns between 10,000 - 20,000 Kwatcha ($2 - $4 US) per day depending on their skill level (this is average pay in the area).


• Most workers have never used power tools before, so after lessons they have enjoyed the efficiency of the tools on the site. However, they still do most of the work by hand.





• I mentioned before that there is one woman on the job site who paints with me. Grace , has a 6 month baby girl who comes with her to the site everyday. The baby is watched by Grace's niece and nephew, 5 and 7, who were orphaned and that she is now supporting. They sit on the grass day after day playing and napping. They are very innovative with their toys and games. They have a checker game drawn on a piece of card board with glass pop tops as their pieces and they have a kite made out of plastic grocery bags. Daycare is a little different here. (pic. Grace's nephew and daughter)
  

• Typically at noon the workers have a little maize and some greens they cook over a fire to eat. However, one day last week they were thrilled to find a branch with two beds (they call birds beds?!?!), because they could cook them to eat. They also dig for caterpillars which provide a lot of good protein in their diets.
  

It has been a lot of fun working with the Zambian people. Although their can be frustrations with communications, work ethic and sometimes the standard of work (well to American standards), the relationships that have been made are much more important.