From Kaniki With Love: Guest Blog

I was delighted to have my first visitor from the UK come and stay recently! My Dad (Bryan) returned home on Tuesday after spending almost two weeks here. He very kindly came to help the Bible College with their accounts and also got to experience a bit of my new African life. I asked him to be a guest blogger and write a few words about his experience...

I am writing this as I sit in the departure lounge at Ndola airport (which is very small), having said goodbye to Ellie after a wonderful 12 days with her. It has been a real privilege to be here and see first-hand what Ellie and Rosie are doing in Kaniki.

Although school starts at 7.30 each morning (with porridge), many of the children arrive before 7.00 with some having walked for an hour or more. They enjoy playing on the newly installed play area or talking to their friends and offering to help the teachers get ready for the day.

In the school playground

Other than a short lesson in Bemba (the children’s native language), all the lessons are in English. I was very impressed with the way that the classrooms have been laid out and they look great. I found that coming to visit Ellie meant that I was a courier, as she made sure that I brought out extra resources from the UK to enrich the children’s learning experience.

Who's teaching who?

Some of the children at school

It took a few days before I really understood the impact that this small Christian school is having on its pupils. Having visited a few of their homes, I soon realised that life for the children here is very different to what we know at home. Many of them live in very dilapidated houses made of mud or breeze blocks, with the better ones having corrugated iron roofs, pieces of plastic or another assortment of materials to cover the roof. Their houses are often no bigger than many of our lounges. Most or all of the family sleep on the floor, and often the only furniture may be a tree stump or an old oil can to sit on. Often the families have very little food or have to go without.

During my two weeks in Kaniki, I spent some of my time helping sort out some of the accounts for the Bible College. I also managed to visit some of the children in their homes, a Zambian football match in the local stadium, a small safari park, two churches, the market, and a Zambian curry house! Everyone I met was very friendly and hospitable. The children at the school were very excited to meet me as a new visitor and one of them gave me the nickname ‘Pastor Cross’. They really seem to enjoy school and seemed very happy even though they don’t have much.