LIFE IN KALOMO
I've been living in Kalomo for a couple of weeks and really like this spot in the world! I'm living with two Presentation Sisters. Sr. Teresa is an Irish nurse and works with homebased care. Sr. Numba is a Zambian in temporary vows. She teaches in a school and has helped some widows begin a farm project. Both sisters are involved in various projects to help the people become sustainable.
I've mostly been going around with Teresa to the huts of people living with aids, TB and various other illnesses. She checks on their health, gives out some meds, checks to see if they have something to eat. The hunger situation right now if very bad and many are struggling to find something to eat everyday. Some have plowed their fields by hand for the growing season, but have no seed to plant.
One of the women we visited in a compounds was so sick that she was unable to stand. She was on the dirt floor of her hut crawling to get around and she had two young children. Her husband abandoned her when she got sick.
We also had a young woman stay at our house for a few days. She traveled with her severely handicapped sister and her little girl from the home for disabled children in Mongu. She was so sick when she arrived that we couldn't take her out to the village. She slept on a mattress on the floor in our house for several days and Teresa treated her. When she was well enough to go to her family's village we drove them much of the way. At one point there was no more road so she had to walk the rest of the way a long way into the bush. She had bags, her four year old daughter, and her 10 year old physically disabled sister (who had to be carried the whole way). Some family members walked from the village to help her carry her load.
There are two Zambian priests in the parish and they have persuaded me to help out with some youth programing while I'm here, so I'm helping with advent retreats, etc. The youth are beginning to drop by the house now looking for me to visit with them. The ability of even the younger children to sing, harmonize, go into parts, dance, etc...is amazing!!!!! They lift the rafters off the roof!
I've mostly been going around with Teresa to the huts of people living with aids, TB and various other illnesses. She checks on their health, gives out some meds, checks to see if they have something to eat. The hunger situation right now if very bad and many are struggling to find something to eat everyday. Some have plowed their fields by hand for the growing season, but have no seed to plant.
One of the women we visited in a compounds was so sick that she was unable to stand. She was on the dirt floor of her hut crawling to get around and she had two young children. Her husband abandoned her when she got sick.
We also had a young woman stay at our house for a few days. She traveled with her severely handicapped sister and her little girl from the home for disabled children in Mongu. She was so sick when she arrived that we couldn't take her out to the village. She slept on a mattress on the floor in our house for several days and Teresa treated her. When she was well enough to go to her family's village we drove them much of the way. At one point there was no more road so she had to walk the rest of the way a long way into the bush. She had bags, her four year old daughter, and her 10 year old physically disabled sister (who had to be carried the whole way). Some family members walked from the village to help her carry her load.
There are two Zambian priests in the parish and they have persuaded me to help out with some youth programing while I'm here, so I'm helping with advent retreats, etc. The youth are beginning to drop by the house now looking for me to visit with them. The ability of even the younger children to sing, harmonize, go into parts, dance, etc...is amazing!!!!! They lift the rafters off the roof!
posted by Sister Deb Nelson at
3:39 AM
4 Comments:
Hey, your back amongst communication!! Good to hear from you. So how is your eating going? So, do you have food to eat? How is the weather, still so hot? Your take care.Lori
By
Anonymous, At
December 8, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Sr Deb,
As a five year lay Catholic volunteer in Lusaka and Kabwe Zambia, I will continue to read your blog. I will be back in Zambia (based out of Kabwe again) in march on three month project. Hope to connect with you at some point.
There are some Irish Presentation sisters in Lusaka who have developed a Community School project ---called Chipata ZOCS school. I had been with the ZOCS (which helped 17 schools) project for my first two years ---on a pilot project to train teachers (who had Grade 12 certificate)...now most of them are on Govt payroll and the families will be able to survive.
I am a mother and grandmother and live near Gettysburg, but was raised on family farm in eastern Iowa. I taught for 2 years near Mason City, Iowa and then spent 35 years at diocesan Catholic high school in McSherrystown (near Gettysburg) and two years at Neumann College, a Franciscan college. I have been a Companion with the Sisters of St Francis of Philly for about 18 years.
How long will you be in Kaloma? One of the teachers that I taught is teaching in that district, but I forget the name of it.
I am enjoying the Christmas lights, trees, etc that I have not seen since 2003!!
My email (and not sure how easy your access is due to sporadic electricity, etc)
furlong.mary@yahoo.com
Blessed Christmas!
Mary Furlong
By
Anonymous, At
December 9, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Sunday dec. 14th and it's a BLIZZARD!!! We have 40mph winds.And COLD!!! -2degrees. How do you like that?? Tell me how nice and hot it is there. It's suppose to be really cold this week. Garry's already dredding it. With his blood thinnners he's always cold. I've been doing some x-mas baking and we took our family pictures SAt. so should be able to get them out this week. What will you do for x-mas there. Do they celebrate? The kids are ready for x-mas break. Time for some fun!! Finals always wears them down. We've been lucky not to get the flue bug thats been going around. Well, I better check on my supper. Talk again soon. lori
By
Anonymous, At
December 14, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Hi Sr.
Just came across your blog. Great to hear about Kalomo again. We shared a week last May with Sr.Numba and Sr.Theresa as part of the Presentation GEE project. We plan to return for two weeks in late May so please pass on our regards to all in the house. You can look in on us at www.actionzambia.wordpress.com and see what we are about.
Regards,
Tom and Barry.
By
Tom's Retrofit, At
December 17, 2008 at 5:23 PM
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