Another Footprint

Hi every one

You will be pleased to know that I did not bash the Bishop... I pleaded and begged him to make a difference and put it in writing as well - he was already planning to visit the school and should be there by now. He agreed to look into the situation. It was amazing how easily I got an audience with him. God is good.

Owen and Rebecca and Philan came home for the long weekend holiday which was great. We chatted every day and then I took Owen to Ndola for 2 days so we could attend an interview for him to see if they would accept him into Chiwala Boys High School - a govt school where the late President attended. Of course Owen is such a lovely young man they accepted him but he then told me he was too afraid to shift. I was gobsmacked.. after all my effort etc.... BUT I wasnt going to force him and sent him back to that awful school at Mutanda.

I asked him to pray about what God wanted for him and wouldnt you know it he text me last night to say, "Hi grandmum I have decided to go to Chiwala Boys next term." So the saga is almost over. Its taken two months and hundreds of kms travelling into the most isolated areas - it seems thats where the good schools are. Rebecca has decided to stay where she is and quite frankly I dont have the energy to to do anything but accept her decision. I have agreed to attend the Mutanda PTA meeting 31 July to propose some ideas for immediate upgrade. That should prove intertesting... maybe the Bishop has done the job already... I am definitely leaving footprints on the schools in this area. The three schools in the area now have Christian headmasters.

The other exciting footprint in the area is that Rabbi has successfully registered as a nomineee for the local by-election next month. Registration day was a huge day. We began at 8am meeting the people. Our transport didnt arrive, we organised more. I shook hundreds of hands, even danced for the crowd to their drums - they laughed at my efforts.. When the successful nominees were announced they covered Rabbi with meal flour and he was white...they lifted him to their shoulders and carried him across the road to where he had arranged for speeches and a meal.. I was moved to tears. He is very popular - now he needs to keep the momentum going until 13th August which is election day. Dr Robi and Noleen I thought of you that day - your mentoring has born fruit. Although he is standing as a councillor it is very political and he has his sights on Parliament in 2011.

I have been invited by the Chief to attend a ceremonial day on July 27th. Many local people will attend and Rabbi has arranged for 14 of our nursery school kids to dance for the Chief. I am so proud of them and this week have been busy sewing them special costumes - a labour of love. David I wish you were here to see them. The school has added such a positive note to the area. Its not just one footprint its many... These small children are learning english and now chant,"Goodbye teacher we are going home." But they are also learning their traditional language, songs and dances. I have ordered a truck to carry us there and food for them - this is not NZ and the children will sit on the back of a truck.

Tomorrow the Womens Sewing Club is holding a celebration of their success with a lunch party. I am in town today to buy food supplies. Chickens, potatoes, rice etc.... They also voted to give themselves a small payout of money. They have been the leaders in the community to create change and are setting an example for the co-operative which is slow getting started. I am very proud of them. More than that we have a good strong bond even though they dont speak english. Its amazing. I have asked one of our teachers to help me learn more of the local language - so thats my next challenge. Could I ever be content to stay at homne in Australia or NZ again??

I have been praying for an assistant, maybe a dedicated married couple who could come and help. There is so much work to be done. The poverty strikes at my heart every day. So please pray with me for a wonderful assistant. And also please pray for a vehicle preferably a land rover because the roads are rough. I waste such a lot of time hitching rides and lugging supplies home on the bus is a challenge. Walking more than half a km is too difficult for me now and climbing into the big trucks almost impossible.

I wish you could all come and visit me and see for yourselves the delightful people I serve. Sometimes I want to throttle them its true but mostly I just love them.

God bless each and everyone of you
Durelle

Footprints in Africa

Hi Everyone

The past two weeks have been spent researching alternative schools for my 'kids' . They are coming home for this weekend as its a holiday here on Monday and Tuesday. I have two options - try to improve the conditions where they are or transfer them. I am working on both..... I ventured a whole days travel to Kasempa by myself to look for schools but the schools there were little better than Mutanda where they are. I am having to take off my NZ picture of schools..... Two kids to a be, 3 kids to a desk, 50+ kids to a class.....Praise God I have found a school for Owen here in Ndola and we have an appointment with the head teacher on 11th July. Please pray that they will accept him - they worry that he is too old... but I said, "He deserves a chance. let me bring him to meet you." and so that's what we are doing.

I am utterly amazed but God has arranged for the Bishop of the Evangelical Church to come to our tiny village on 6th July. I will be lobbying him big time because his church sponsors Mutanda school........ please pray that I will not yell at him rather that I can convict him to take some action. I mean how can a Christian church condone such appalling conditions?

I arrived in Kasempa in the dark with no idea where I was but a very nice young man, Vincent offered to escort me to a lodge. I limped along the dusty road in the thick darkness not knowing where I was and very glad of my escort. Vincent is a Dr at the local hospital. I visited his clinic the next day and its the first one I have seen that is spotlessly clean. I was impressed. Vincent would like to do more study. He is aged 28, married and even tho he is in charge of the small hospital he earns Kz 1,5 million per month that's the equivalent of AUD 333...... and has to pay rent for his house. Unbelievable eh....

If anyone of you out there feel you would like to help Vincent financially please let me know. Or maybe you know a group somewhere who would like to sponsor his studies. Africa is very short of doctors. Although he is not in my village my heart went out to him. He proudly showed me his Diploma and his marks were high. He was the best student in his class. Please pray for him. He was an angel to me.

I am slowly getting back into the swing here. The people in this area need a leader and so while i was away things went quiet but slowly I am reasserting that we need to change slowly slowly is the operative word. It is freezing here and most people don't have coats or blankets... hard to imagine isn't it. I've given away my jacket and one of my blankets...... Almost every day 'patients' arrive for treatment - nasty cuts and wounds, colds, coughs, malaria.

The school is operating and there is great excitement as the parents bring their little ones to school each day. Always tho there are ethics to speak to.... I stand for doing the correct thing and against injustice. Sometimes it is a struggle to get the people to see the truth... anything goes for them. e.g. the little children have no idea how to use the latrines we put in... they pee on the concrete floor... With the money I got from Bosnia I bought the school a radio tape deck so they can play Zambian music and they are learning their national dances... they look so cute in their costumes I made and we are taking them to dance for the Chief at his palace on 25th July. Quite an achievement for our new school. Of course Rabbi got permission for us......bless him

The co-operative venture is going at snail pace .... the men need a good kick in the bottom. I've tried the gentle approach and they just don't get it... however trust me I have not given up. They want to raise chickens....... Do you remember me talking about the nasty headmaster I did my best to get rid of? Well it took 6 months of lobbying but this week the people came to tell me they are rejoicing that he has now finally gone and they love the new headmaster. They have learned I hope that its important to speak out against injustice and in fact good things happen - some of them thought they might die if they said anything against him - I'm not joking....

I have spent a couple of night totally alone in the village and cant quite believe this is me here in deepest Africa..... I light a big fire at night to keep away the tigers.. joking. I feel very safe but I do wish I was a millionaire so I could do more. Poverty stares at me every day. Its hard to look at the filthy children in their rags, its hard to see a baby coughing wrapped in the thinest cotton cloth, its hard to see deep wounds untreated, its hard to see children hungry..... Please pray that I stay strong.

That's about it for this time. I love getting your emails so that I feel connected to you. I love you and miss you and yet I cant not be here. Be blessed in all you do

Durelle