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!!!
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!!!
posted by Sister Deb Nelson at
9:07 AM
2 Comments:
I hope you videotaped the limbo! It is amazing what we take for granted. I don't think my kids even think of hard candy as a "treat." Take care!
By
Anonymous, At
October 14, 2008 at 6:29 AM
WOW!! Deb, it has been great reading your blogs and trying to picture you in your setting. What an experience for you and your sharing with us. Keep away from those mosquitoes!
By
Anonymous, At
October 16, 2008 at 7:35 PM
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