It’s All Relative

Zanzibar is a very beautiful island off the coast of Tanzania. Lots of expats and missionaries who I've met in Zambia recommended going there, so it was the location my sisters and I chose for our summer holiday destination.

My sister very generously contributed to my share of the accommodation as an early birthday present for me. It meant there was no need for camping; in fact we stayed in a rather luxurious place (my sister Rach is a bit fussy, or has ‘high standards’ as she puts it!). ‘Next Paradise Boutique Resort ’, where we stayed, is very aptly named. There are only 20 rooms in a large, beautiful space. We spent 12 peaceful, fun and relaxing days there. I would thoroughly recommend it!

Most of our time was spent at the beach, swimming in the pool, reading in the sun, snorkelling or playing Bananagrams (a game a bit like Scrabble). We had a guided tour around Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, where we learned more about the history of the slave trade and bartered in some of the local markets. We also walked around the local area and learned some Swahili from the waiters and resident Masaai warriors (the security guards at our resort).

We Cross sisters love travelling and holidaying in new places. In the last few years we have enjoyed visiting St Lucia, Sri Lanka and Cuba together. Organising this year was slightly different with me living in Zambia on a tight budget, but we decided to book something so that I would get to see Rach and Rhi during my year away. Since Rhi is due to move to the States in the next few months, I don't know when I will next see her. So it was great fun for the three of us to be reunited again.

In some ways for me it felt different travelling to this luxurious destination. Rather than working hard and saving up all year in the UK, I've been surrounded by poverty in Zambia. I interact with people struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. I could ask myself how I can justify spending the money (either mine or my sister’s!) to go on such a nice holiday when I know people who don’t always have enough to eat. It can be hard to know how to hold these things in tension.

One of the things that helps me is realising that everything is relative. Some people who live in Kaniki have a family, a job, food, friends, a church community and a happy life. I'm not sure that they need all the 'luxuries' we are used to at home, such as Wi-Fi and dishwashers! At the other end of the scale, there are some people who live in huge mansions and only holiday on private islands. And in the same way, I don't need those luxuries in order to enjoy my life. These things are all relative depending on the situation you’re in.

I guess we can get used to a certain standard of living (like grubby kitchens with endless piles of washing up in student digs!) but it doesn't mean it is necessarily what everyone else wants or needs. Not everyone I know at home would relish the thought of living here among the dirt and insects, enduring constant power cuts (more on this topic in another blog post…). But I think that’s ok; we’re all different. 

This doesn't provide an adequate answer for how to fully live with the tension between poverty and wealth. But I'm learning that there are many complex issues involved in changing communities. One person denying themselves treats or luxuries does not necessarily go very far in solving anything, although on the other hand, it is good to be generous. I am reminded of the serenity prayer: ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference’.

Funnily enough, there is also a type of materialism that exists in Africa. I’ve noticed some people who have TV sets in their houses even though they don’t have a job, just because they want to be seen to have a television. Someone I was talking to here recently didn’t understand why I would prefer to walk somewhere instead of drive, because travelling by car is seen as superior to walking! Although we’re all different, there also seem to also be some commonalties, even across cultures.

A Trip into Town

Where I live in Kaniki is approximately 15km from the city of Ndola, and most of the journey to get there takes you straight along a really long road called Mufilira Road. Although there are a few vegetable stalls nearby and our local farm sells a small selection of foods, most of our shopping has to be done in Ndola. This means a trip into ‘town’ at least once a week, as well as other trips there for church, restaurants, sports etc. As this has become a regular part of my routine, I thought I’d give you a flavour of what Zambia’s third largest city is like.

If you've read my previous blog posts, you may have noticed that the roads here are bumpy and full of potholes! Some areas are particularly bad and the potholes also gets worse after rain. On our journey to town there are two roadblocks where the police stop people to check insurance or the condition of their vehicle and so on. However, you will not find any police there if it's raining!

A roadblock along Mufilira Road

Ndola itself has a population of over 450,000 and is reasonably built up. The main road in the city is called President's Avenue. There are lots of local shops, selling everything from food, clothes and chemists to hardware, car parts and wigs. There are also two big shopping centres which are more similar to the shops we would visit at home. They are called Kafubu Mall or Jackaranda Mall and are where we go if we want to feel at home.

Ndola city centre

There is quite a variety of places to eat out within Ndola, some of which you would recognise. These include Nandos, Subway and Hungry Lion, which is pretty similar to KFC. One of my favourite places is a restaurant called Bojangles which only opened at the beginning of the year. In fact, most of the development within Ndola has happened in the last five years.

A recent visit to Bojangles

Another favourite place in town is Gigibonita ice cream parlour. This is run by an Italian charity called 'Rainbow' who support orphans. One of the girls in my class is sponsored by them and had a heart condition, so the charity paid for her to travel to Italy for surgery when she was younger. As many of you know, I am very happy to eat ice cream, and even more so if it supports a good cause! There's lots of choice...

Working my way through all the flavours...

When I first arrived in Zambia, I heard that at the beginning of the month you often can't get cash out of the ATM machines here. Apparently this is because this is the time when most people get paid their wages, so many of them take their money out and the banks run out of cash. I didn't quite believe this until I tried to get cash out, can now confirm that it’s true!

A trip into town usually takes us a whole afternoon since the journey itself is a good half an hour drive either way. We also find that regardless of what we go into town for in the first place, everything takes longer here so shopping is not as straightforward or efficient as we are used to. This is quite different from my usual two minute walk into town back in the UK, as my flat is in the city centre! However, as living in Kaniki can sometimes feel quite out of the way, it is great to still be able to ‘pop’ into town and access so many of the facilities that Ndola has to offer. 

Guest Blog - A Visit from Rhi

Rhi, my younger sister, recently came to visit me in Kaniki. I asked her to write a post about her experience...

Most people who know me would be able to tell you how much I love my job as an Occupational Therapist. I have the privilege of visiting patients in their own homes and helping them find ways of improving their independence and quality of life. So I was very excited to have the opportunity to join Ellie and Rosie on some of their regular visits to people supported by Arise during my time in Kaniki.

Twice a week, Ellie and/or Rosie drive out to the surrounding areas to visit the families who are part of the Arise project. As they only have about two hours each time and there are over 80 families in the project, they get to meet about three or four families per visit. Either Lister or Evangeline, the two Arise volunteers, joins them to help translate between English and Bemba. These visits allow the Arise team to see how the families are, find out what challenges they are currently facing and offer encouragement and support. It also means that the Arise team can ensure that the money being donated to the charity is used for the most urgent needs.

Eva, Rosie, Ellie and Lister

I found the Arise visits both encouraging and incredibly humbling. Over the past year Zambia has faced a poor rainfall, so many families have been unable to harvest enough food for the coming months. Understandably, this was often mentioned as the biggest challenge that the families face. We also met families with other needs, such as an elderly lady caring for her orphaned granddaughter who didn’t even own a pair of shoes, and an orphaned child living with her grandparents who didn’t have a coat, despite the fact that it can get very cold at night and in the mornings. Being face-to-face with such extreme need can feel uncomfortable, especially when you have four pairs of flip-flops in your suitcase and lots of coats hanging up at home, not to mention seven supermarkets within a mile of your home in England. It is difficult not to jump in straight away and buy them whatever they ask for. But this level of need is on such a large scale, and so wisdom is required when providing support. Ellie and Rosie try to find out what the most urgent needs are and ensure the families know that the Arise project is there for support during desperate times.

Visiting an Arise guardian

The most memorable family that we visited during my time in Kaniki was a lady called Charity and her three sons. Charity is malnourished and bedbound, suffering from a very severe and undiagnosed condition which results in open, weeping sores on her hands, head, face and feet. She also has Herpes which has similar effects on other areas of her body. In England, if a patient is bedbound we would be able to provide them with a pressure-relieving mattress, equipment for moving them, toileting equipment, and sometimes a profiling hospital bed. In Charity’s case, she lives in a small mud hut and sleeps on a single wooden bed with a worn blanket and a bowl underneath for toileting. Charity’s teenage sons live with her and are the only family she has nearby. In England the family would receive help from carers to meet Charity’s care needs and to help with domestic tasks. Her sons would receive support from local organisations and at school, and the family would receive the financial benefits that they would be entitled to. In reality the family relies solely on the generosity of donations from the Arise project to provide their food, and fortnightly visits from the Arise team to provide encouragement and support. Rosie and Ellie have been trying to get support from the local clinic and church, but at present Charity’s sons are expected to wash her, care for her, run the household, provide the meals and go to school. The boys are very hardworking, but aren’t able to earn the money needed to sustain the family.

Rhi showing the boys how to treat Charity's hands

It is difficult to put into words the frustration and helplessness that I as an Occupational Therapist felt visiting Charity and her boys. In England there would be so many solutions and avenues of support that I could offer to them. In Kaniki, I felt powerless. It was in feeling like this that I noticed the one thing we were able to offer them is the one thing I am not allowed to offer to patients in the UK; God. We sang and prayed with Charity and her sons, and the peace and hope that defies all unfair, desperate situations was tangible in her home. Charity was joyful, dancing in her bed, whilst singing to God. She seemed a different woman from the one we found crying out in distress when we arrived.

Seeing first-hand the amazing work that Ellie, Rosie and others are doing through the Arise project was exciting. There is so much need out there, and they are using whatever resources are at their disposal to meet it as best they can. The Arise project brings love and support to people who have nowhere else to turn, and through the Arise sponsorship programme they are giving children and young adults opportunities for education and training that would otherwise be beyond their grasp. To say that I am proud of my sister would be a massive understatement.

Ellie, Rosie and Rhi

P.S. The elderly lady got some shoes and the child got a coat! 

A new coat!

Meet Doris

Doris is the cleaner and cook at school. She always greets me cheerfully, works hard and will do whatever is asked of her. Every morning she makes porridge for the children and then cleans the classrooms and toilets. Her English is limited but good enough for us to have basic conversations.

Doris serving porridge at school

The children enjoying the porridge Doris has cooked

Doris is one of the guardians supported by Arise. She has told me a little of her story and I thought I would share it so that you can understand more about some of the people who Arise support. Doris is a widow raising her four children alone after her husband died a few years ago. Her husband became ill quite suddenly, although his actual illness was never diagnosed. Sadly as time went by, he became less able to function and spent the last seven months of his life unable to speak.

Doris’s youngest two daughters attend Kaniki Primary School, in grades 5 and 7, and live with her in Kaniki Extension. There is no secondary school in this area so her older children, her son and oldest daughter, who are in grades 10 and 12, attend schools in town where they live during term time.

Doris' younger daughters when I visited during the rainy season

Doris and her daughters live in a small brick house with a corrugated tin roof. In the lounge there are a few old sofas crammed in with a table and a dresser. The windows are actually just holes in the wall. During one of our visits to Doris’s home, the rain was so heavy that conversation became impossible because it was so loud! Once the rain had died down, Doris explained that she was struggling with money and was finding it hard to provide food for her family, even though Arise pays her children’s school fees.

The kitchen area in the entrance of the house

Doris earns K200 (roughly £20) a month for her work at school, which is a reasonable wage here. When we talked to her, we found out that K150 (75% of her monthly earnings) was going towards her son’s accommodation near his school in town. Her older daughter is able to stay with relatives there. This meant that Doris and her younger daughters were living on the equivalent of £5 a month between them. Fortunately Arise rents out a couple of houses for boys in town and so we arranged for her son to move there, funded by Arise.

Following that visit to see Doris, I bought her a bag of meale meal, which makes nshima. I have never seen someone so grateful. She got down on her knees and said thank you, which was very humbling and brought tears to my eyes. This small gesture which meant so much to her cost me just K210, or £2.10.

It is great that Kapumpe Primary School has been able to employ one of our Arise guardians. It helps to give Doris some dignity, since having a job means she can directly provide for some of her family’s needs. Sometimes it is difficult to see how we can empower people to fully escape poverty, but Doris is an excellent example of a step in the right direction.

So far, yet so near

As I write this blog post I'm also instant messaging my sister Rach on my phone, and I’ve just finished reading some emails from friends and family back home. Thank goodness for technology which enables us to keep in touch so easily! Shortly I’m going to Skype my sisters, parents and auntie who are all having dinner together at my parents’ house to celebrate my auntie’s birthday. I regularly Skype my family as well as friends from Winchester (the beautiful city I have come to call home having originally moved there for university) and friends in other locations around the UK. It’s amazing to be so far away yet thanks to technology, feel as if you’re having a conversation with someone almost in the same room.

Living here in Zambia is pretty far from home, 4719 miles to be exact. I miss a lot of people and have missed some special events whilst I’ve been away; my sister Rhi’s 30^th birthday, my Mum’s 60^th birthday, my Nan’s 90^th birthday, and my cousin’s wedding to name a few. Yet, when I'm asked if I feel homesick, I always say no. I hope my family are not too offended by this! Although I would love to see everyone at home, and can’t wait to catch up in December, what I am doing here right now feels pretty special…challenging yes, but also a great thing to be part of.

Rather ironically, my family are now eating dinner and drinking prosecco, whilst I’m sat in my room in near darkness. We are in the middle of another Zambian power cut! Yet, as I'm sat here alone typing this blog on my phone by candlelight, I am actually very happy to be here. Despite the power cuts, insects and dirt, Africa is a great place to be and a continent that I have grown to love. I love the kids I work with and it is a privilege to be in a position to help people who live on the opposite side of the world (in more ways than one) to home.

Sitting in my room, all I can see is the candle and its reflection in the mirror!

I'm learning to live in the now. Rather than thinking, ‘If only I could be there or do that…’ I can choose to make the most of where I am at the moment. Jim Elliott (the missionary murdered in Equador) said, “Wherever you are, be all there”. I find this an encouragement to fully commit to and engage with what I am doing now.

When I think of people who travelled or worked abroad many years ago before the internet and telephones were invented, I realise how fortunate I am – if I had to rely on the Zambian postal system to keep in touch with people at home then I really would feel remote! Just a couple of months ago, we had a newspaper delivered for someone who was here eight years ago!!! I think that must be some sort of record. I love to hear from friends and family back home and I really appreciate all of your emails, Facebook messages, Skype calls and even some letters. Thank you.

My Dinner Club buddies

Nan at 90!

Skype with Stew

Clothes and bras in Zambia

I love clothes shopping! I think my sister Rach and I both got the shopping gene from Hope, our Nan. Both of us enjoy shopping for hours at a time and even at 90 years old, Nan still does well going round as many clothes shops as possible whilst being pushed in a wheelchair!

Nan and I stopping for cake during a shopping trip

I know some people hate shopping for clothes and only do it when absolutely necessary or maybe choose to shop online, but either way it's very easy for us to do in the UK. Whilst most of us don't have the money to buy all the things we want, we do have the means to buy the clothes that we actually need. Sadly this is not the case for the families that we support through Arise.

Each year, Arise runs a clothes distribution where children and guardians are invited to come and collect some clothes for free (or make a small contribution towards any shipping costs). This year, Rosie and I were the organisers. We were warned we would need military-like precision to keep things orderly, since given the chance most people will grab as many items as possible!

Mrs Chomba (one of our Arise volunteers) who calls herself  my African granny!

The clothes that we distributed were donated by people from Denmark and shipped over to us in a container with lots of other items. The bags of clothes had been left in the container for some time so they were pretty wrinkled and a bit smelly, but nothing that a good wash couldn't sort out.

These football jackets were snapped up quickly!

Children in grades 1-5 were invited to come to the clothing distribution on Monday afternoon, with those in grades 6-9 on Tuesday afternoon, guardians on Thursday morning and anyone who had missed their session on Thursday afternoon. People were limited to taking two or three items of clothing, depending on availability for their age group. Unfortunately we didn't have many items for younger children (apart from babies), and in particular boys. Everyone had to sign their name (or get us to write it for them if they couldn’t) on our list, so that we could track who had been. At the end of the week, we let anyone who is supported by Arise come back and take as many of the leftover items as they wanted. Several people left with sacks stuffed full of clothes!

Although not all the people who came could write to sign their name, Grade 1 children from Kapumpe could!

It was interesting seeing different peoples’ reactions to the clothes. As we helped people search through the piles, some screwed up their faces at our suggestions and spent ages looking for something they liked, whilst others were thrilled with anything that we showed them. One of the sweet old grannies even started dancing because she was so happy with what she’d been given!

White clothes were not so popular because they get so dirty in the dust!

Anyone who found a warm jumper or a coat was happy. Now that we're in the cold season, people living in the villages do need lots of clothes to keep warm. It gets pretty chilly in the mornings and also at night. Underwear was also in demand. Very few of the women in the villages where Arise works own a bra, because they simply can’t afford to buy one. If you don’t have enough money to buy food, then underwear doesn’t often make it on to the priority list. I’m pleased to let you know about an idea of Rosie’s that we have started…we have declared BRA AMNESTY!

My sister Rhi and Rosie's Mum, Kathy, are both collecting any old or unwanted bras from the UK, to bring over to Zambia in August so that we can give them to the ladies here who don’t have one. We’d like to ask you to donate any spare that you might have; it’s a small thing to many of us but will mean a lot to the women here in Zambia. You can contact Rhi (Winchester/Woking) at rhicross99@gmail.com or Kathy (Birmingham) at kathy@loescher.co.uk or you can find them on Facebook. Thank you to those of you who have donated to the amnesty already. Feel free to message me for further details; you can find my contact details to the right of this post.

I have been hearing that it has been lovely and sunny in the UK - hotter than here for once! I hope you are all enjoying the sunshine just as we are starting to wrap up warm here.

Healthcare in Zambia

Since I’ve lived in Zambia, it hasn’t taken me long to realise that the healthcare system is poor, and very limited compared to what we have at home. Although most services are free, they are also hugely under funded and suffer from a shortage of doctors. According to WHO (the World Health Organisation), there were only 650 doctors working in the country between 2000 and 2010. This means one doctor to every 10,000 people! Since moving here I have visited three different clinics - Sikania, Kanini and Mary Begg.

The first clinic I visited, Sikania, is in a village along the Mufilira Road, just a little further out of town than KBUC (Kaniki Bible University College) where we live. The clinic serves a large community, about 10,000 adults and probably nearly as many babies and children. This includes some of the children from our school and many people supported by Arise. Rosie and I have visited Sikania on several occasions, taking sick children from school, to get help for a lady in Arise who is bed-bound, and also on a school trip. The staff at the clinic kindly let us take our Grade 1 and 2 children from Kapumpe there to look around and speak to them, as part of our topic learning about peoples’ jobs.

Grade 2 in the waiting room

One of the treatment rooms

Our tour guide

Nurses running a baby clinic

Whilst the staff at the clinic were very nice, we could see that the facilities are basic. This was particularly evident in the maternity area, as there is no washing machine so all sheets and other bedding have to be washed by hand. Outside there is a small building used as a placenta drop! As well as basic equipment, the general standard of hygiene appears poor. The rooms and floors are very bare, with minimal furniture. Another difference is that there is no appointment system. People turn up when they need to see someone and wait around until it is possible. Interestingly, clinical officers are employed instead of doctors. I have learnt that this is a strategy used in some developing countries to alleviate the shortage of medical doctors. Clinical officers have a separate training programme to doctors but their roles include many similar medical and surgical tasks. Reduced training and employment costs as well as retention helps to keep local healthcare systems running, like at this clinic.

The delivery room

Where new babies are weighed

Maternity ward

The placenta drop!

Kanini Clinic is the second clinic I visited, and serves Kanini Village which is just outside Ndola town. My reason for going there was to have the yellow fever vaccination. I have actually had this vaccination before in the UK, but over ten years ago. Within the last couple of years, the ten year booster has been deemed unnecessary in many first world countries since medical staff have found that the original vaccination actually provides lifelong protective immunity. Africa don’t seem to have caught onto this yet so I recently had to have the booster injection to get a certificate which allowed me to travel through Congo.

There were some similarities with Sikania clinic including basic facilities and minimal equipment. Organisation didn't look like it was a priority, with piles of files and receipts stacked up over desks where I went to pay. Whilst the staff at the clinic were able to administer the vaccine, they didn’t actually have any supplies. So I had to drive to a pharmacy to buy one and then go back and give it to the clinic staff to inject in to me! As I sat down on the chair to have the vaccination, I noticed a file on the table next to me clearly labelled ‘CIRCUMCISION’. I’m not sure that is something that anyone would want to endure in that clinic!

Most recently, I have been something of a regular visitor to a private clinic in town, Mary Begg Community Clinic. I first took a friend there for a check-up after a bout of malaria, and then a couple of weeks ago I spent several afternoons there visiting Rosie, my fellow teacher and housemate. You might have already heard that Rosie suddenly became ill and was admitted with typhoid, ecoli and aboebic dysentery! Not nice at all.

These diseases are all passed through contaminated food or water. Since Rosie and I share all our meals, it's only by the grace of God that I kept well! I am also very grateful for our health insurance that pays for a much better standard of care than is generally available in Zambia. Rosie was well looked after during the week she spent in the clinic and since being discharged, she has thankfully fully recovered.

Rosie did well to keep her sense of humour through the sickness :-)