VIDEO OF THE ZAMBIAN COUNTRY SIDE ON THE DRIVE FROM LUSAKA TO KAOMA

VIDEO FROM THE BUS OF ONE OF LUSAKA'S MARKETS

PICTURES OF THE ZAMBIAN COUNTRY SIDE ON THE DRIVE FROM LUSAKA TO KAOMA

I was lucky enough to see a whole elephant herd that was at a water hole near the road!

SCHOOL DANCE VIDEO

DOING THE LIMBO

LIMBO VIDEO

VIDEOS OF LIMBO & OTHER DANCING

I taught the students how to do the Limbo and they had a great time!

Some of the food prepared by the girls at the Kaoma High School dance party that I helped with.

The meal consisted of rice, noodles, potatoes, an egg, & a small piece of sausage.

SOME OF THE MANY BABIES THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE ORPHANAGE.

THE DAYS ARE GETTING SO HOT DURING OCTOBER THAT THE BABIES ARE TAKEN OUTSIDE AND LAID ON MATTRESSES TO TRY AND KEEP THEM MORE COMFORTABLE.

HOME FOR AIDS ORPHANS IN KAOMA ZAMBIA, CENTRAL AFRICA
*Begun by the Zambian Presenation Sisters*
(Above is one of numerous buildings needed to care for the many children that are given care)

THESE PICTURES ARE NOT STAGED...IT IS LIKE THIS THE ENTIRE TIME I'M AT THE ORPHANAGE!

KAOMA ORPHANAGE PHOTOS

A COUPLE OF THE OLDER GIRLS AT THE ORPHANAGE

ONE OF MY VISITS TO THE KAOMA ORPHANAGE - Video taken by one of the older girls...they took pictures until the battery died!

THE KAOMA ORPHANAGE

One of the older girls at the orphanage took the video and held the camera sideways! The video player on this computer is the free download and wouldn't give the option of flipping it...but here it is anyway!!!

CHOIR FOR A LOZI MASS KAOMA, ZAMBIA

MUSIC AT A LOZI MASS AT ST. MARTIN'S IN KAOMA

MY BED IN KAOMA:

I HOPED THAT THE NET WOULD KEEP OFF MORE THAN THE MOSQUITOS...SEE BELOW!

ONE OF THE SPIDERS CRAWLING ON OUR LIVING ROOM WALL!

ST. MARTIN'S CONVENT AND WHERE I LIVED WHILE IN KAOMA

THE BACK YARD OF THE CONVENT

THE BACK OF THE CONVENT AND THE CONVENT CHAPEL

INTERIOR AND CEILING OF THE CONVENT CHAPEL

ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH IN KAOMA & PARISHIONERS MEETING UNDER THE SHADE OF A TREE!

KAOMA MARKET

KAOMA MARKET

A STREET IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE IN KAOMA & TWO BOYS WHO SAW ME TAKING PICTURES AND WANTED TO BE INCLUDED!

PHOTOS OF KAOMA VILLAGE

PHOTOS OF KAOMA VILLAGE

MY LAST WEEK IN KAOMA

This is my last week in Kaoma. I'll be traveling to Lusaka on Thursday with some of the sisters. All of the Presentation Sisters in the Vice Province of Zambia are gathering in Lusaka for an assembly. They will be electing a new leadership team.

There is a project going on throughout the country to reduce the number of malaria cases. There are more people who die of malaria in Zambia than aids or starvation. There are teams of people coming through and spraying all buildings and homes. Our place was sprayed last week. I don't think they fully knew what they were doing! The entire house was completely saturated with spray! It was running down the walls, curtains were soaked, puddles on the floor, etc. We washed curtains and other fabric that was contaminated. Many people have been getting sick from the spray. The children at the orphanage had sore eyes, rashes, etc. Some had to go to the hospital. All the children had to sleep outside for several nights. And I still saw a mosquito in the house the other night...even after the spraying! I quickly killed it before it bit me!

Saturday, I spent a good part of the day with the 11th & 12th graders at the high school. The day started with a morning farewell Mass at the church for the 12th graders. Later they celebrated with a party in one of the school classrooms. For decoration they had colored bed sheets hanging on the walls, colored toilet paper for streamers, and a few balloons.

The girls prepared and served the food...biscuits, rice, noodles, potatoes, cabbage, an egg, and a little piece of sausage for each person. For a treat they each received a piece of hard candy. The students chipped in money to pay for the food...and I made a good size donation for the cause! They danced and played games all day. I taught them how to do the limbo and they had a great time. I also had a bible quiz contest and was impressed with how well they knew their bible. Out of 30 questions there were only a couple that I stumped them on.

I video taped some of the day which I hope to display on the blog. The students made me get up and dance (to great applause)...but I didn't video tape that!!!

LOZI LANGUAGE LESSON

One of the nearby villagers asked me if I was picking up any of the Lozi language yet. He said I had to learn at least a couple things before I left this tribal area...so our cook, Clement, is trying to teach me a bit of the tribal language in this province of Zambia. (Muzuhile cwani) is the common morning greeting and (mutozi cwani) is the common afternoon greeting. This is about all that I will probably learn. In just a few weeks I will be moving to another province where they speak another language.

TRIP TO MONGU

just returned from my bus trip to Mongu. I went to the Zambia immigration office to get my visa renewed. They let me renew it for two months so I don't have to travel again for that task until December. The electricity was out yesterday afternoon in Mongu (just like Kaoma) so the immigration officer couldn't photo copy my passport. We had to make a copy of it and run it back after the electricity came back on...an example of life in Zambia!

Living at the Presentation Sisters' home in Mongu are two sisters from Ireland, one from India, and one native Zambian. The main ministry of the sisters in Mongue is running the Cheshire Children's home for physically disabled children. The children are usually recovering from limb surgeries and are receiving physical therapy and schooling. After going to the immigration office Sr. Cathy and I took a little boy down to the market to buy some shoes. He had a very bad limp and needed shoes so he could wear a splint on his leg. His eyes were wide as he got to ride up front in the pickup with Sr. Cathy and myself! The boy went to the market wearing no shoes and held his new pair on his lap all the way home.

OCTOBER IN KAOMA

The weather keeps getting hotter these days...the thermometer said it was 90 degrees (inside) today. This week the phone and email has again been out for much of the time, but I'm back in contact again! I've done various things this week: Spent time at the orphanage and have presided over a couple of communion services for the parish. One of the high school students came looking for me on Sunday after Mass...he wanted me to attend a meeting in the afternoon with some of the Catholic students at the school. The meeting was to plan a party for Saturday of traditional dances, games, & food. I taught them a couple of games before--so they wanted my help to make it a "good party"! It's the first teen party where the teens actually asked me to come up with a BIBLE QUIZ for the party...ha! The simplicity of what makes the African young people happy is refreshing!

As I walked home from the orphanage today several young girls came up to me and asked if they could walk with me. They said "We would like to be your friend." We had a nice conversation for a few blocks until they had to turn off in another direction. There is also a group of very small children that I always see by the hospital shelter. I once stopped to shake their hands as they greeted me, so now every time they see me coming they run over to shake my hand and ask, "how are you"? They always put a smile on my face.

I leave on the bus on Wednesday for Mongu to get my visa renewed for another 30 days. I can't believe I've been here a month already...time is going by fast! I'm coming back to Kaoma on Friday to make sure I'm here for the big party on Saturday!!!

A MORNING AT THE ORPHANAGE

enjoyed a wild morning at the orphanage today! The children come running as soon as they see me come into the yard. All morning I had at least ten little ones hanging on my back...sitting on my lap...and holding on to my arms and legs. The temperatures are very hot right now and it's even hotter when you're covered in tiny little bodies! Two little boys fell asleep on my lap even amidst all the chaos.

Since my white skin is so different from theirs they constantly love to rub my face and arms...and play with my hair. One sweet little boy was walking around wearing bibs and the hooks were missing, so he was constantly having to hold up his pants. Sr. Vianney saw this and had one of the caretakers get him a different pair of shorts. She said in her Irish accent, "the poor boy shouldn't have to be holding up his pants"...ha!

Sr. Vianney just returned to Africa after several months in Ireland and the children were so happy to see her return. She spent much of her vacation raising money for the orphange. It is hard to get the funding to care for the many babies that keep coming. A number of the babies are in the hospital right now due to sickness from the heat here.

The children are so happy and loving that you can't help but fall in love with each one of them! I hope to post some pictures of them when I get back to Lusaka later this month.