Spending time with the "Lubasi" family!

Returning to Livingstone was an epic undertaking with a 22 hour public bus marathon relay being my mode of transport! Needless to say I was relieved to arrive at 3am and step off into familiar streets but there was much to be done with new volunteers arriving the very next day!

(Full story and images after the jump)

Bye Bye Meheba Bye Bye!

So the Bookbus project 2009 in Meheba has drawn to a close. The final two weeks have been packed with reading, activities, library sessions and more moving stories. The acceptance of the project and the group of M’zungos in yellow t-shirts has steadily grown throughout the time we were there. Everywhere we went we were greeted with genuine smiles and lots of waving and shouting, at first just from the kids but by the end from parents and absolutely anyone we encountered!

(Full story and images after the jump)

T.I.A This is Africa!

So week 2 in Meheba refugee settlement and we are slowly becoming used to the long drop toilets and our open air showers! The weather is slowly getting warmer and warmer and it is now 18.45 until it is dark, but we still struggle to stay up later than 9pm!! Life at camp has become the norm now and we are getting to know the schools, pupils and teachers.

(Full story and images after the jump)

Life at Meheba!

So the Bookbus has started in Meheba!! After some missed flights, lost bags and multiple trips to the airport we got on the road to the North Western Province! After an overnight stop in Chingola and a last shopping stop at the colourful and exciting markets of Solwezi, we arrived at the gates of Meheba. The guard seemed quite confused, saying “but this is a refugee camp, why would you want to enter here?” We assured him that we did and continued on our way down a wide, potholed dirt track for 30 minutes until we reached block C where we were to set up camp.

(Full story and images after the jump)

Puppets & Pineapples!

This is the last entry from Livingstone for a while, and this week we have been busy with the logistics of our big trip up north!! The books are being packed as are the art materials. Yes, even some glitter has found its way into the mix!! I wonder if it will have the same effect in the Zambian Copperbelt as it does in the Southern Province?

(Full story and images after the jump)

Pipe cleaner spectacles & cabbage trucks!!

Another cold week in Livingstone but the necessity to wear all our clothes at once in the mornings and evenings doesn’t stop us having a great time at the schools or in our free time. Apparently this is the coldest it has been for years! This week there have been 2 public holidays, Monday, Heroes day and Tuesday, Unity day, so it meant our timetable was slightly disrupted. The previous Monday we had asked the teachers at Linda school to tell the pupils that we would still be bringing the bus on the holiday Monday and that any kids who wanted to, could still come to school.

(Full story and images after the jump)

Individuality and Imagination

This week we hear reports that it is warmer back home in the UK than out here in Zambia!! We are not impressed!! But despite the cold(ish) conditions we are continuing to have great fun teaching our groups of kids at the schools, although jumpers are being kept on and the mats are being set up away from the shade - not normal practice!!

Hand painting, elephants and sophistication!!

Now the strikes are over the schools seem to have settled back down to their routines and we find the teachers back at work welcoming our visits just as much as the children. Thursday at Dambwa I was speaking to the headmaster and he said he wished we could visit two times a week so twice as many of his children could benefit. It is a great feeling to know that our visits are appreciated. That afternoon I was entertaining a dozen children with an impromptu animal impression game. It obviously looked good fun because the numbers soon swelled to over a hundred! It was slightly chaotic but great fun and ended up with me being knocked over by a huge swarm of kids trying to stop me leave. They did quickly pick me up and brush me down though!

Pirates in Zambia!

Finally on Monday the strike finished and things seem to be getting back to normal. Last week was still seriously disrupted. At Dambwa school there were hundreds of pupils and only a handful of staff. The kids had turned up to just to see if anyone would teach them. Our usual 30 children in grade 6 turned into nearly 100!! It was pure chaos but everyone had real fun. Most of the children went home covered in glitter; even the boys want sparkles in their hair! The head teacher thanked us several times for our presence…it felt like we were extremely welcome.

Bonfires, Thunder and Lunar Rainbows!

The strikes are continuing and are expanding to all walks of Zambian life, but the bus keeps rolling out to the schools to find the super keen children waiting for us. That was until today… when a huge thunderstorm in the night, turned the sandy roads to quicksand!! This made driving the bus an impossibility and made camping and outdoor cooking……interesting! All Zambians seem shocked at the fact it has rained, something almost unheard of in June. We spent the day categorising books and getting messy making papier mache! Fingers crossed for bright blue sky tomorrow!