or how to find peace! Mutende is the Bemba word for peace.
Introduction:
Its really helpful when planning your trip to contact the Project Co-ordinators c/o the BCF Office in Bristol to make sure its a covenient time and the Village will be able to make full use of your skills and abilities.
Contact Email: Project Co-ordinator
Contact Tel No. 44(0)1454613305
Contact Address: 29 Gloucester Road, Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4HH, UK
Giving: If you think you would like to give into the situation please consider contacting the UK based Project Co-ordinator as there are very often specific projects requiring input of different kinds, including, but not necessarily exclusively, financial help.
Marian Uttley writes with a personal view (January 2005)
Decide when to go. The wet season is between November and March so the rest of the year is almost completely dry.
As soon as you have decided on your dates, book your flight, it is cheaper the earlier you book it. Research the internet for the cheapest tickets.
You will be looking for a flight to Lusaka – the capitol of Zambia – and a reasonable price for a return direct flight cost us £740 with British Airways. The same ticket could cost well over £1000 if bought up to 6 weeks later. It is possible to get cheaper tickets at different times of the year (we went in August) and by different routes so do your research early and then buy your ticket as soon as you find a good flight. Flights can be as low as about £480. The flight time is about 10 hours and Zambia is 1 hour ahead of the UK. You could also consider flying into Johannesburg and then getting a connecting flight to Lusaka or Ndola. Ndola is 2 hours by road from Chingola and Lusaka is 6 hours.
Victoria Falls
Anyone who has been to Zambia would highly recommend that you build in a couple of days to go to the amazing Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls are 300 miles south of Lusaka – 6 hours by road – at Livingstone.
Mutende – the orphanage is 3 miles from Chingola in a suburb called Lulamba. Chingola is 250 miles north of Lusaka in the copper-belt region. There is good coach from Lusaka which takes 6 Hours and costs about £5. A 12 hour taxi for 4 from Chingola to Victoria Falls cost c£180 to enable a 1 day journey in 2003 Visa.
Next job is to get your visa. This takes anything from 1 –2 weeks to come depending on how busy they are. You can download the application form from http://www.zhcl.org.uk or write to Zambia High Commission, Zambia House, 2 Palace Gate, Kensington,London,W8 5NG or telephone 020 7589 6655.
It costs £16 if you are just going to Zambia and back, £45 if you want to go into any other African country and back into Zambia. Consider where you are flying to and any other holiday trips you want to make when deciding which visa you need. You will need to pay the visa fee by postal order – not cheque! You will need to send your passport, 2 recent passport photos and a photocopy of your flight details with your application and postal order. You also need to send a pre-paid special delivery return envelope.
You also need to pay $20 to leave by a Zambian airport.
Get a copy of the BCF Health and Safety policy and complete the travelling abroad form and send it with a photocopy of your passport and travel insurance to the BCF office.
Vaccinations
Talk to your doctor about vaccinations as early as you can. Some doctors have long waiting lists and if you have to pay for injections it can cost up to £320. Your doctor may waive the charges on some of these if you explain that you are doing charity work.
For this trip you will need:-
* Diphtheria
* Tetanus
* Hepatitis A
* Hepatitis B
* MeningitisA + C
* Polio
* Typhoid
* Yellow Fever and
* Malaria tablets (your doctor will advise you on the choice available and they will cost between £22 - £57 + prescription charges).
The vaccinations take about 3-4 weeks in weekly doses.
Money
The currency of Zambia is Kwacha and in 2004 the exchange rate was 8,700 to the british pound – 4750 to the dollar. We tried all ways of changing money and a bankers card into a cash point was the easiest way, with a maximum per day of about £90. So change about £100 maximum until you find a cash machine and remember the $20 for the airport tax to fly home. There are cash machines in all big towns – Chingola has one in the main street. The Banks in Chingola charge up to 20$ to change a maximum of $200 into Kwacha. If you have to use them the Standard Chartered is the better bet.
A fast food meal will cost about £2. A hot pie 50p. Bottled drinks 50p. Supermarket food is very western. The meat and chicken is very good. Vegetables cost pennies and fruit is rare. More expensive items are chocolate, coffee, sliced bread but they are still cheaper than they are here.
Banks are open 10 - 2 but closed both Saturday and Sunday. Supermarkets are open 8 – 8 closed Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Climate.
Heavy showers from November to March. Pleasantly hot in April to Aug with cooler nights in June and July and then very hot in October. We went in August and the sun shone all the time. It rose at 6am and set at 6pm. The mornings were clear and warm rising to hot between 12 and 4. I never needed a cardigan in the evenings but the nights were cool enough for sleeping. I am told it was the same in April but you need a cardigan for evenings in May to July. We did not get sunburnt, despite not wearing sun lotion after the first few days, but then we were not sunbathing and were in the shade for the hottest part of the day. Take factor 20 upwards if you have a sensitive skin.
Mosquitoes
…….carry Malaria – a killer in this area so take good precautions. Take your malaria tablets as directed. Take strong mosquito spray and use it mornings and evenings. Sleep under a mosquito net – you can get them in Zambia cheaply. A ‘plug in’ is also a wise precaution – Boots do a liquid plug in for about £7 which we put on every night in the bedroom and it lasted us over 3 weeks.
Clothes
Take a smart well covering outfit for church where everyone wears their best clothes. Men usually wear a jacket & tie for Sunday meetings. The rest of the time we wore shorts and tee-shirts with something longer for Lusaka and visiting. Even vest tops were OK for working at Mutende where they are used to western dress.
You will need a thin waterproof for visiting the Victoria Falls if only to protect cameras. You can hire waterproof containers for valuables at the Falls…… or even waterproofs for yourself – but that is missing out on the experience!
Accommodation
Houses range from bungalows to circular reed roofed huts. Mostly people live in small bungalows with small rooms and large extended families. Consequently it is very hard for the locals to accommodate us even though they would want to.
There are a few guest houses in Chingola – a good one is Rosewood- B+B $40 – 45 a night. Contact them or others through the local and very helpful Travel agent – Voyagers – contact Kerry Macfarlane at voychin@zamnet.zm Tel 0026 311642 / 312195 / 311722. Address Voyagers, PO Box 10107, Chingola, Zambia. The only hotel in Chingola is very western with a restaurant and swimming pool. The Protea Hotel costs $90 – 110 for B+B per room. Special rates are available at some times during the year so check their website.
To get to the orphanage there are buses (under a £1) and taxis - 10,000 kwacha (£1.20). The last 2 miles of the road to Lulamba is made of grit and potholed so some taxi’s don’t like going down it – so check first. Any trips you want to do can be arranged when you get there at Voyagers and you will generally pay local rates for them, which are much cheaper than tourist rates. Victoria Falls is a must and safaris are very good. A good website to help you consider what you might want to do is www.zambiatourism.com.
Take with you:-
* Clothes – for church, some clothes that you would be happy to leave, nothing you would not be happy to wash in brownish water.
* Towels.
* Clorin – water purification tablets, or use boiled water.
* Insect repellent
* One roll of toilet paper – you can buy it in supermarkets there.
* Sunscreen, sunglasses and hat.
* Hand cleansing gel from Boots, for when you can’t wash your hands.
* Wet wipes.
* Imodium
* Rehydration tablets
* A syringe pack
* Simple first aid supplies
* All prescription medication you need.
* Torch
* Money pouch
* Camera, film and batteries.
* Bible
* Travel diary, pens
* Buy gifts for the children and others in Zambia, they are cheaper and the money goes into the Zambian economy.
If you are planning to do some work out there then take the tools you think you will need out with you, as tools are very poor quality. Laptops and electric drills will work as their electrical supply is the same 240V as ours. Ask the person who went out most recently what needs to be done, so that you can prepare.
The Orphanage
In 2004 the orphanage has 2 buildings called, ABC and Rachel James which are the homes for the ‘mothers’ and children. The third building is the orphanage director’s home which also contains the Clinic & Office. The 4th building is under construction.
Leontina is the director and she has her daughter, niece and granddaughter living with her. The four house mothers are widows who live in and look after the children.
In 2004 there were 25 children aged between 2 and 15. They go to the local school. They speak a mixture of Bemba – the local language and English. They speak Bemba at the Orphanage and English at school and in church. They are a family and grow stronger and more confident by the day. They are very loving and accept you easily. Be loving in return and be aware to treat all as equally as possible to stop jealousy.
Culture
The people are extremely friendly and we did not feel at all threatened whilst we were there. Don’t let that stop you from taking sensible precautions though – it is dark in the evenings and white visitors cause a great deal of interest and are known to be far wealthier than they are, so don’t walk alone or openly carry large amounts of money. We had nothing stolen from us, but take sensible precautions.
Most Zambians speak English and are very keen to talk to us. The women are quieter and our confident, open young woman can be seen as forward and are of great interest to their young men. Be respectful so that our western openness is not seen as disrespectful or flirty.
The Christian community is very religious. They are very dependant on God in every aspect of their daily lives and have a lot of fellowship and worship in their social lives. Christian songs are played everywhere.
Zambians discuss their feelings much more than we do. They also see us as being fabulously wealthy – which in comparison to them, we are. Many have a strong desire to study and break out of their poverty and you may well be asked openly to help with this and other areas of financial need in their lives. You will find it hard not to agree when asked by those in such need – but remember that if you send money when you return you will be able to gift aid it and therefore it will be more valuable. You will also get time to think about and discuss with others how best to support them.
Get used to ‘Zambian time’. People will meet you anything up to an hour or more after they said they would. You realise how dependant on our watches and being in control we have become and you need to drop this and the need to ‘get things done’. Life runs at a slower pace and time is not as important as it is here.
Zambians follow a 24 hour clock saying “15 hours” for 3 o clock in the afternoon.
Aids and Poverty
There are many funerals. People die from Aids, Malaria and poverty. The generation between 17 and 30 is dying, leaving children for their extended families to support orphans and street children. We didn’t take any special precautions at the orphanage despite the fact that we don’t know which children, if any are HIV positive. Just be aware of blood and open wounds. Local syringes and sex are the real dangers.
In Chingola the copper mines are closing and there is very little other employment. People are trying to start farming – the land is fertile and there are streams. Irrigation and fertilizers and buying seed are the challenges.
Alan Cable's BDWEZ micro business initiatives based in Chingola & encompassing some outlying area farming ventures could become of real significance to Chingola & Mutende – ask him for areas to help with if you are able
The Church
The church is part of the Fire Baptised Church. There is a building on the northern side of Chingola at Nchanga and one in Lulamba. Bishop Greg, who lives in Chingola, is the leader of these churches. Church is joyful, emotional, deeply devoted to God. The preaching is long but very easy to follow, given in English and Bemba. There is a collection – how much you give will depend on how long you are staying and your personal situation. Do it prayerfully – 20,000 Kwacha (about £2.50) is a good offering but if you are there for 1 or 2 weeks you may wish to bless them with more than this.
Food
A thick porridge of maize flour called Nshima is the staple diet. It is virtually tasteless and looks like mashed potatoes. It is served with most meals with the addition of a few vegetables (mostly cabbage) and some meat or fish – called relish, which is usually very tasty. Food is eaten with the fingers, taking some Nshima, working it into a ball and dipping it into the relish before putting whole into the mouth. A thinner version of Nshima is eaten for breakfast with the addition of more water and a little milk and sugar.
You will also be offered Kapenta (a very small whole fried fish), sweet potatoes and potatoes (called Irish potatoes), rice, onions and tomato, chicken and chips.
There is the inevitable coke, squash and coffee to drink in addition to water. Alcohol is available, frowned on by the church for obvious reasons and expensive.
There are fast food restaurants, like McDonalds, but we saw no other restaurants outside hotels. Supermarkets sell a very good range of western and local food, and there are markets and street sellers. Take your lunch with you when you go to the orphanage – there will be no spare food.
Useful Info
You can phone Zambia for 5p a minute by phoning 0844 566 3663 (correct in 2005) and following the instructions.
Taxi’s and coaches are cheap. Cars can be hired at Lusaka airport – but at this point I have no idea of cost. You will need to check whether this is the case at other airports. Most main roads are good. Petrol costs about 50p a litre but only keep a small amount in the car as locals steal and drink it!! There are regular police checks on all main routes - they tend to wave westerners on, but always slow down and wait to be waved through.