Another long post for you, so long I almost feel bad. Feel free to start with the photos. I expect you will find some encouraging stories this side. I hope you are encouraged to see that works done overseas, works you have in the past and currently support financially, have great outcomes. More than classrooms were built here. Besides the education of youth, another outcome is the new foundations that were built for those that did the building and learned many skills they have gone on to use in exceptional ways. All. Worth. It.
Here is a video of the construction in 2008 to provide some more context for those who may not have followed along during that adventure. I have yet to mention that we also completed the exterior finishes on an existing building. That and the block making area are also shown in this video.
Makuwa: The local word for the white man. I am a makuwa! And I hear it often, from the little children as you pass by to wherever you are going at the moment. The children will call out, “Makuwa” and most frequently partner it with, “How are you?” The traditional response, “Fine thanks, how are you?” Interestingly, every child in a group may shout the same question, and each wishes to receive their own answer back from the makuwa. But sometimes there is not time to respond, “Fine thanks, how are you?” more than just a few times.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The mornings are good here, as I wake up to birds chirping not far away. Not too early, not too loud, just right.
As I lay in bed before starting the day, I exchange texts with my mom. She is sending a lot! Yes, I am okay, wonderful in fact. (Note: A phone text is called ‘SMS’ here. Short Message Service. Local SMS: 3.6 cents. To the US: 6.7 cents. Local calls: $0.18/min. To the US: not sure.)
I have saved the phone numbers of the people I knew from when I was here before. I open the spreadsheet and save them into my current phone and send SMS to each of them to let them know I am here. Some of them already know but I want to make sure.
I catch a mini bus out to the school and arrive at 9:30am. (Note: The mini bus service has no official stops between Mongu and Limulunga (10 miles), they just stop wherever you are along the road after you wave them down.)
Mutemwa and Mulele meet me at the road in front of the school. They were both great workers on the school construction project. Their reactions are incredible, they are beyond excited to see me and don’t know what to do with themselves. I don’t either! They each start to say why it is so good that I am here and recall ‘those times’ and what they remember. More than anything it seems, they remember how much they felt their standards were raised and that they were given ‘focus.’ I just have time to see them briefly now, but will be seeing them more soon.
The community uses the classrooms for various meetings throughout the week. This includes church services, one of which I am here for. It is the church Mbuywana attends. It turns out she is actually one of the preachers today, along with another women, Rosemary. Apparently there was some confusion on if the congregation was gathering today since the large hall area was in use for a student program, and therefore the church service was in a classroom. In attendance: eight adults, two teens, and two children. It is an unusually small service with the just the 12 people. The programs are handwritten including the verses for the day as well as which song numbers from the hymn book.
After meeting Mulele in front of the school, he decided to attend this church today. After returning home to change, he joins us and sits beside me. This ends up being good for me, as the service was unexpectedly in Lozi, the local language. The songbooks are in Lozi and the preaching was in Lozi. Mulele was able to translate some of the service for me. When Mbuywana preached she alternated between Lozi and English due to me being there.
In the afternoon I find Mutemwa and we go to his home. Mutemwa was a carpenter for the school construction and one of my foremen. He is now 38. He married in 2005 and now has four children ages 12, 10, 6, and 1. They all go to the community school. When we met at the school in the morning he had invited me to see his home and also let me know he wanted to discuss construction and his business. He has had his wife cook me a traditional meal.
The meal includes nshima, fish, chicken, rape, and a sauce made from tomatoes. They actually call the sauce ‘soup,’ but it is not eaten like a soup. Nshima is the staple food here. In pronunciation, the ‘n’ is silent. Nshima is made from milled maize. The maize flour is boiled and then you have nshima. It is a bit of an art though, with additional maize flour being added part way through to end up with the ideal texture. Made incorrectly and it is very sticky: fail. The ideal nshima is not sticky and has the consistency of extra thick mashed potatoes, if there were such a thing. (Imagine!)
So, with nshima being the staple food here, it is the base of the meal. Nshima is eaten with something else, and that something else is generically called relish. So all these other things are relish. So every bite should include nshima plus at least one other item, if not several. It is not common that many locals would be eating fish or chicken each day due to the cost, so an average day would be nshima and cooked vegetables. The fact that there is both chicken and fish is unusual and I know that Mutemwa is trying to impress. I’ll accept.
Two things to know about eating a traditional meal here are the hand washing and lack of utensils. Before your meal, you will wash your hands where you are sitting. A person, normally the host, will provide a basin, soap, and a jug which they will use to pour water over your hands as you wash them, the then dirty water ending up in the basin.
Utensils? No. Meals are eaten with your bare hands. This may be a contributing reason why the host makes sure your hands are washed at the table, along with there commonly not being running water in their homes, so it is simply how hands are washed. Eating with your hands takes you back to when you sat in a highchair, but you have no parent to wipe your face when you are done. Oh, and napkins are generally not an item provided. So you just get used to being okay with a little food on your face and washing at the end. The nshima is usually the hottest item and it holds its heat well. Most makuwas cannot handle the nshima when it is hot like the locals can handle it. Their fingers have just adjusted and calloused to be able to handle the temperature. So if you ever find yourself eating nshima, be careful. And since there are not utensils and napkins, you wash your hands in the same manner where you sit once you are finished eating.
So that was a lot about food, but I’ll be eating that meal quite a bit, so now you know. And the fish are served full with skin, head, and all. They have been gutted and cleaned and then are just cooked whole in oil in a frying pan. There, all done about the traditional meal.
After we are done eating, we reach what Mutemwa wants to talk about. I hear what he has been up to and am very surprised. He has gone on to become a general contractor, having been a carpenter before the school construction project. I am definitely in disbelief. He shows me drawings of the buildings he has built. So very much in disbelief. These do not look like easy buildings to build. The square school buildings had been difficult enough here and he has gone on to build some challenging designs. All the buildings on the drawings are at a resort north of Limulunga. We agree that we will go and see them while I am here.
We talk about different elements of contracting. We cover ways to manage risk, maintaining relationships, and ways to try to open doors to create new. We also talk about saving our income. He has had a lot of work, but has not done a lot of saving. I tell him he needs to because some time he might not have any contracts and having savings will mean his family can still eat and he will not have as much worry. For the people here, there are no credit cards, there is no refinancing your home. You have cash, or you have nothing.
The Home of Mutemwa Photo Gallery
Before heading from Limulunga to Liseli Lodge, I rent a bicycle for the rest of the time I will be here. Just $2.84 per day! Is there a place to rent bicycles? Nope. I just brought the idea and Mutinta found someone with a new bicycle that was willing to rent it to me. I ride it the six miles back to the lodge.
This was the weather today.
Monday, March 23, 2015
In the morning I have tea and have a walk outside. The birds are chirping. This is the way to start a day. When is the last time I did this? Or noticed if birds were chirping?
I ride my bike four miles north to a farm. It is a place that I enjoyed to visit when I lived here, it was a bit of a getaway from it all, even thought it was along the way I travelled to and from the school every day.
A Crocodile Farm Photo Gallery
Yep, a croc farm. I made friends with the owners before and am back to see how things are going. The owner I know, Paul, is actually not here but his son Andrew is. I have not actually met Andrew before but do know his brother. He lives in Zimbabwe and flies a Cessna plane into Mongu when he comes here. Recently he and his father have been trading off on who is here and managing the farm. He is normally here about ten days then home for two weeks and then back again. Quite the job.
After visiting the farm, I head out to the school to meet with Mutinta (the head teacher) and Mutemwa to discuss the repair projects. When I was at Mutemwa’s home yesterday, I had let him know about the repair projects and that all the labor would need to be done by parents of the students and the funds were only to pay for the materials. I suggested he take the lead since he is a general contactor now and has the time since he is between projects, waiting for the next to start. The two projects we have identified to be done are repairs of windows and doors. We walk around the first building and they make a list and tally quantities. I want this to be their project so let them walk around the second building on their own and head back to Liseli Lodge. They are both more than capable of handling this and I want them to. Mutemwa will have a quotation provided by a hardware store in Mongu.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Internet is fun here. Slow, inconsistent, absent. So, it is challenging to get a new post up, and photos uploaded at a decent resolution. But I got this, I got this handled. After switching between two WiFi connections, as well as hot spotting from my phone, I had photos loaded through all three connections. But not all of what I wanted to post, so then gave up after each option was not good for much.
I went out to the croc farm. From there I was able to upload the remaining photos and then complete my post. Imagine, the fastest Internet connection I could find that day was on a croc farm that would normally be further away from a good connection than other locations.
Andrew flies tomorrow to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe where, believe it or not, is a croc convention. From there he will continue on home to Harare, Zimbabwe. Before I leave the farm, he makes a call to log his flight plan for tomorrow.
As I am leaving the farm, it looks like it is going to rain. The gates are already locked so one of the workers walks me out. I comment that it is going to rain. He says that it is not. There a few drops that come down as we walk. I point it out to him. He is still skeptical, while I know it is guaranteed. He asks, “Will you be okay?” I say, “It doesn’t matter, it won’t rain,” and by this point he has seen what I just did there.
I start walking south and plan to catch a taxi or mini bus as it passes. Rarely are taxis empty along this road. If they have an empty seat, they’ll stop for you after you wave them down. Sometimes it is cramped, but that is how it is here. And the fare is far less than taking your own taxi, so it is all good. The rain turns from sprinkles to consistent and is picking up. I stop, take off my backpack, and put on a waterproof pack cover before continuing on. I look back to monitor for a taxi and a vehicle is close. I wave and wave because I want out of the rain. It is less than a minute since I’ve put on the pack cover and the car is pulling to the side of the road. The car is full but they take me in the front seat. The person who was in the front passenger seat crawls over the seat and into the back where now there are four people. He was not going to go out of the car into the rain.
Back at the lodge, the power goes out tonight and there is a good rain. It hasn’t rained much here recently and it is the rainy season. It has actually been quite harsh on everyone’s crops. And when most people are a farmer to some degree, growing their own food, that is devastating. And it is a delayed sort of impact. Because if it doesn’t rain this month, it means your food availability is affected two months later. It is sort of like a winter in Washington State that does not have a lot of snowfall in the mountains. We don’t see the effects until the summer when the missing snowfall does not provide the snowmelt that feeds rivers and lakes.
There is a new makuwa at the lodge. His name is Shaun. He is a PhD student from Canada, just coincidentally here at the same time as the Canadian nurses. He is here following up on research he started last year. During the rain we talk.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
On the way to Limulunga today, I make it there by way of both tractor and taxi. You have to do what you have to do.
Hitchhiking in Zambia.
I meet with Mutinta at the school and we review the material quotation for both projects, which is more than twice what I had raised amongst some friends before I left. We separate the costs for each project so we can focus on moving forward with doing one in its entirety. I tell him I will see what I can do about gathering some additional donations to be able to do both. We are moving forward with the window repairs and also hope to be able to do the door repairs as well.
For lunch I go to Ngela’s home, he is the one who sent me the SMS late Saturday after I had gone to bed. I did see him briefly on Sunday. Mbuywana is at the school when I am there so she joins us as well. Ngela was a welder for the school construction project. He is now 38. He married in 1999 and now has five children ages 14, 9, 6, 4, and 3 months. His 14 year old is beyond the community school now since it goes through grade 7, but the others that are old enough are there at the community school.
His home is incredible. It is not what you would expect along side the thatch, stick, and mud construction of the area. He has built this home over time, having first built the room that is now the kitchen, and added room by room until it was complete and like it is now. He has recently built a second house on his property, the structure is done and now it needs the finishes. It has two rooms and the original plan was that it would be a shop but now he plans to rent it for additional income. Having two proper homes here in Limulunga is basically unheard of, so this is a big deal.
Ngela shares that after the construction of the school, he knew what to do to be able to build his own home. He specifically talks about foundations. This house has legitimate foundations and I am shocked. I know that hardly any homes around this area would have foundations. It is for several reasons: knowledge, cost, and phasing.
Most people are just not aware of how a foundation should be built, but also most homes here do not have heavy walls due to them being made of stick and mud, so would never need a proper foundation. The cost of a proper foundation is also significant so it is easy to overlook and skip when you can barely afford to build one room. Another item is the nature of how they build and improve their homes. A common sequence might look a little like this: Phase 1: dirt floor, stick and mud walls, thatched roof; Phase 2: replace thatched roof with galvanized metal roofing sheets; Phase 3: place concrete on top of the dirt floor, room by room over time; Phase 4: plaster stick and mud walls or replace them with block walls, one by one over time. It might not be in that exact order and other items would be included as well such as improvement of doors and windows, but the point is they don’t start from the ground up when they build their home into what it eventually becomes. As it advances, there is not an appropriate time to put in foundations. But Ngela built his new home while living in his existing home so was able to do it from the ground up, room by room, but each room starting with the foundation being continued as the home expanded.
I also learn that Ngela has his own welding shop amongst the area of Limulunga that has shops and booths. He has enough work that he employs others. His receipt book is custom made with his business name and everything. Most businesses here use generic receipt books, so this is also a big deal.
Lunch was scheduled for 1pm, but it is 3pm by the time the food is ready. This is called Africa time. I do admit that before the meal was ready that we did have some oranges. These were from a tree right outside the front door. They are actually green on the outside, so I guessed they were not ripe. But it turns out that they are a hybrid of orange and lime, giving the green color of the peel, but miraculously not adding the lime taste to the fruit inside. They were really good.
The meal is similar to what I described before, but having chicken rather than both chicken and fish. Again, most people can not afford to have chicken or fish each day so this is something, and I know it is because I am a guest. We sit in the living room and eat and it is very common in most homes to eat in the living room, as they are not spacious enough for both a living room and a dining room, at least not as we would think of them. Ngela’s home does have a dining room area and he is saving to purchase a dining room table.
During the time I was here for the school construction, one thing I did was had savings accounts for the workers. This allowed them to accumulate funds by not taking home all of each week’s pay, where it inevitably would be spent. Part of the savings program was oriented around the purchase of a quality bicycle, if they chose to save for that. I purchased them in Lusaka and brought a total of 30 to Mongu. (That is the back-story.) I ask Ngela about the bicycle he purchased, and what a story he had.
Ngela used that bicycle for a fish business. He would ride his bike to the Zambezi River, purchase fish, and then ride back to Limulunga. He would freeze the fish. Once he accumulated a large quantity of fish, he would take them on the bus to Lusaka (the capitol) and sell them at a profit. From where he lives, the Zambezi River is 35 miles away. He would bike there and stay the night before heading home the next morning at 5am with between 80-90 fish (which can’t be light). He would leave at 5am so he could reach home before it became too hot for the fish to keep. For the trips he made to Lusaka, he would take between 300-500 frozen fish. He started this fish selling business in 2009 after the first school building was completed. A lot of work, but it was income and helped him reach where he is today.
He told a story of one time when a tire on his bike went flat and had a puncture. He had no spare. This meant he had to dry the fish. All of them. One day in the sun, then one day being smoked.
On top of the items already discussed, Ngela has one more business venture: charging cell phones. For people who do not have power in their homes, Ngela will charge their phone for them. He has an assortment of chargers already plugged in and waiting for this business and charges 1 kwacha ($0.14) per charge.
I learn that other workers I have not seen yet have heard I have come and they were excited to work for me. Not specifically me, but to have work, income, be productive, and to learn more. Unfortunately I am not here to start another project, so when they hear that, they are surprised I have come just to visit and see them.
I also learn that one of the workers has passed away. Mangweta was the guard at the school before I arrived and then helped with the construction when it was occurring. He died from tuberculosis. I know that means he probably had AIDS because tuberculosis is an extremely common thing to contract and die of when you have AIDS.
As we are leaving, Ngela says that one of his children said to the neighbor child, “This is our makuwa.”
The Home of Ngela Photo Gallery
From Ngela's home we take taxi and drop off Mbuywana at Mukola House and then go to see his welding shop.
The Welding Shop of Ngela Photo Gallery
I have been trying to call Waluka since we arrived at Ngela’s home but the call is not going through, likely because his battery is dead. After we see the welding shop, we go around to some of the shops and ask if they have seen Waluka. No one has, but we do find someone that leads us to his home, which is only about a five-minute walk from the area with the shops.
As we near his home, I call out Waaalllllluuuuuukkkkaaa in a loud voice, placing emphasis on every syllable. I know he will laugh or at least smile at it. I don’t remember how it came about, but it is how I called out to him during the construction project and then just continued as a joke.
Waluka comes out of his home and he is holding a letter. I had sent this near the end of 2009, after I had been home for some time. He has saved it and says he always will. The start of the letter has a variation of Waaalllllluuuuuukkkkaaa. (Note: I sent letters to a handful of the workers at the same time, including photos.)
Outside his home, we sit on two small benches not far from a small garden. As we talk, I learn that he has not had long term or consistent employment. He has not been working recently. It makes me sad. I was not expecting to see and hear stories like that of Mutemwa and Ngela but after I have I must have had in my mind that others had great progress in their lives as well. After hearing about his lack of employment, my natural instinct is to give him money but I know that is not the best for him long term. What is better is simply being here and being an encouragement. He looks healthy and is managing somehow.
In 2008, Waluka spoke nearly no English. Somehow, through drawings and hand motions, we were able to communicate well and I made him a foreman, putting him in charge of all welding projects and concrete work. He was one of the best workers. He was responsible for the quality of all concrete made by the workers. Too much water added, what we called soup, had been a problem until I told him he was responsible for anyone’s soup. There was never soup again.
Waluka is now 28. He has learned some English now and I still can't believe we previously communicated without it. The girl he plans to marry is there on the property, not too far away, doing the hair of a little girl. They are waiting to marry because he needs money to pay for the wedding.
He brings out a photo album, at least one of the covers is missing and it is not in the best of shape. This is probably a combination of the original quality of it along with use. He has all the photos that I sent along with the letter. The album is full and additionally he has some that are loose, maybe in the realms of 100 pictures in all. Of these photos, a large number are from my time here, photos I took. Maybe 15 or so photos are ones I had taken. He has some other photos from the school project from after I had left. A large amount of the remaining photos are from other projects he has worked on, there is just a small amount not related to construction. And most of these photos are from makuwas like me, meaning that he otherwise would have very few photos of himself and his life. I think about that, thinking about if I was he and this was what life looked like for me.
As we are looking through these photos, I realize we are reminiscing about some of the best days of their lives. These are moments and experiences they will never forget, and not just because there are photos from that time. For these men it was their glory days to an extent. For Waluka I can see it is more so than for Mutemwa and Ngela because he has not had as much luck with employment and progress. During the construction of the school, some of them had the longest continuous employment they may ever have. And we were paying a little bit more than any other employer in the area, at just $3-4 per day depending on their roll. It dawns on me that the six month period that is one of the most significant in my life, is also one of the most significant periods in their lives. And for them it is even more significant, the memories they have and the way it has changed the direction of their lives is more impactful on their life experience than it has been for me. And it has been extremely impactful to me.
In the moment of sitting here and these thoughts all coming, both of how many photos of their lives were taken by makuwas, and how significant the experience was for them, I don't know what to do with all that. It is too much for me to think about. To some degree it is what it is and this is each of our lives. And at the same time, it is remarkable.
The Home of Waluka Photo Gallery
Tonight there is rain. Heavy rain. Very heavy rain. Extremely heavy rain. And lightning. Partnered with thunder.
While just starting to cook dinner, the power goes out. Since the range and stove are electric, that all comes to a halt. But it turns out that the big house has gas, and it is just the chalets that do not. With the big house having a gas range, I head over there with the food to cook. With the power out, the people living in the big house are in their kitchen with headlamps wrapping up their cooking. Did you notice my note about the rain?
When it rains here, it pours. The majority of the time, the rains are as hard as the hardest rains of Seattle. It is crippling and you just take cover. I run the food across in this rain from the chalet to the big house. There is standing water covering most of the walkways. Three trips across and I have all the food items cooking. I’m nearly drenched through.
During this time there is lightning and thunder speaking in the distance.
Guess how many photos it takes to capture lightning in just one?
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Mutemwa rented a car from a friend for the day so we can go north to the resort he has built. It was a bit of a surprise when he told me on the phone, but it is actually going to be better than taking both of us on his motorbike as had been the plan. I appreciate this once we are on the road.
Before heading north, he picks me up and we go into Mongu to go to the grocery store, there is only one. I was going to go on my own, but it was actually great to have Mutemwa there, him knowing where many things were to speed up the shopping.
After dropping the groceries off at the lodge, we continue to Limulunga. We make a stop for some freshly cooked food items from a booth and also in hopes of finding Waluka so he will join us. Then we are finally on the way.
The drive is about 30 minutes and on a sand road the entire way. The rain last night is actually helping by making the sand moist and it compacts under the vehicles weight, and there have been others already on it today. It is a bit like off-roading and we are just in a car. A SUV or van would be ideal. We do hit the bottom a few times but never close to being stuck. We pass through the village of Ikwichi then eventually arrive at Makapaela Lake Resort.
Waluka was not up to anything else, so we told him it was mandatory he come with.
This is a resort, although here they use the term lodge for what is a resort. The buildings are each amazing as well as the resort as a whole. I cannot believe that Mutemwa was the contractor and responsible for all these buildings, they are complex and beautiful. Honestly, it is beyond what I would want to be responsible for on the construction side of a project. I could handle the project management side just fine, but to work out all the details definitely took a lot of work and creativity. For me to have done this project would have stretched my knowledge and abilities.
There is the main building, which is two stories, and a large part of it is full height for an open hall area. On the side of this open hall is a concert stage. The second story area of this building includes a bar and an amazing view out over the beach and lake. All the timbers for this building were lifted in place by rope, pulley, and manpower. There was no crane used for setting any of the structure. The main building also includes the kitchen on the side that has a covered area that extends to the adjacent restaurant. The restaurant has outdoor seating along the beach. There is a coffee shop and gift shop. Near the beach is a pool that has a dedicated bar which you swim up to. There is also a smaller, shallower pool for children. There are two impressive water features, and all of the staircases are impressive as well, one of them being a spiral staircase that is actually properly designed and you don’t feel like you are going to trip.
For accommodation, there is a family villa, which is two chalets joined with additional living space between. There are an additional five chalets as well as a camping area that has eight sites. The sites are very nice and have a shared bathhouse with seven bathrooms and seven showers.
This project lasted three years during which Mutemwa managed 70 workers. It is really hard to believe that this is the same Mutemwa I met in 2008. I never imagined he would have gone on to do a project like this. I have not even talked about the utility systems that serve all these buildings and the details of the finishes. He has completed the work of his contract and the resort should have all the furniture and equipment installed for opening in about a month. And what is next for Mutemwa? Another contract for an even larger project on this same lake. It will have 17 chalets and last 5 years, to give you an idea of the relative size.
You have to be creative here. We tied my camera in place with wire as we did an interview with Mutemwa, at the same time escaping from the rain.
I have been doing multiple video interviews on what individuals remember of their experience and what that has meant for them then and now. I will be bringing these together into one video of reasonable watching length, but that will be some time until I can complete and have faster Internet to upload. I look forward to you seeing and hearing these stories through their own voice!
Makapaela Lake Resort Photo Gallery
During our time there, I reflect on my past experience and now this one. I'm not their boss anymore, and that greatly changes the dynamic. We are all six years older and they know so much more than when I first met them. They have learned not only from me, but the individuals that followed me in completion of the two buildings, they have shared that they learned from everyone. They have also done much learning since then, that is evident. It has been more for some than others for sure, but that is true of any group of people anywhere, we all have different abilities and capacities. Now, I can just be their friend and an equal. Two contractors, two people, two the same. It has been great seeing their homes and together doing activities, such as this trip to the lake, while we are not working.
It is also very nice to be here and not feel the pressure and stress of managing a project like I did before. I know that if I were to do it again, I would be much better at that aspect as well, not letting it effect me so personally and managing my emotions more effectively. I’ve learned a lot in the last six years in that regard.
When I was here before, I felt at times that I was too hard on these men with my expectations for the standard of quality, and that required them to redo their work most times. I wondered if I was just a guest trying to force something into their culture and unnecessarily extreme about it. As I now see and hear the stories from several of my past workers, I see the outcome of those expectations and the level of quality that was forced into their experience. It turns out that it has served them well and every one of them has talked about that aspect, that we raised their standards. I know now that if I hadn’t implemented the level of quality that I had, that I would have done them a disservice and the full potential of my time here would not have been met. It is possible that Mutemwa would not have come to be contracted for this resort project if the makuwas that came to lead the construction of the school buildings hadn’t laid down a new standard that would be met. I look forward to you hearing it direct from them once I have a video compiled to share.
Ooh look, Waluka has spotted a chameleon.
One of the most interesting creatures I have ever seen.
Check out more photos of the chameleon and look to see how his eyes can look backwards, and that each of his feet are like two hands.
Today was a long day folks, and it is still going!
After returning to Limulunga and dropping off Waluka, Mutemwa drives me into Mongu. I have a meeting with a prince. I wish to hear the history of Barotseland in detail, and learn more than what I already know. His name is Aka for short because his name is so long. He summarizes beautifully the history of this land in about 1.5 hours, during which I am typing away frantically on my phone to record as many details as possible. It ends up being two full pages of notes and I have never typed that much on my phone so fast. Due to the length of this post already, in the next post I will start off with a summary of the most interesting aspects of this kingdom as well as include photos of the last several kings.
From my meeting with Aka, I head out to Limlunga, stoppng at Liseli Lodge to pick up Shaun. By the time we arrive in Limulunga, it is dark. We have come out here for dinner at Mutemwa’s home and the time has been pushed out, so we are arriving in the dark, which was not the plan. Mutemwa meets us at the road and we follow him to his home, going a different route than I had before, this one actually being more direct, on a path that vehicles drive. Walking into the bush at night in the dark: quite inadvisable. But I have no worries because of whom I am with.
Dinner was great and a traditional meal, with Shaun and I eating way too much. After we were done eating the meal, I passed out some chocolate that was a bit fancy, as my contribution to the gathering. Mutemwa’s children are outside and I give them each two pieces and put out the idea that maybe they will want to save one for tomorrow.
I go back into Mutemwa’s home for another amount of time to wait for the taxi that Shaun has called for. Mutemwa and his wife walk us out to the road. As we exit his home, his children are sitting outside on a grass mat. They have eaten all the chocolate and have huge smiles on their faces. I think they will remember for a long time when the makuwas came to their home for dinner and they were given those tasty chocolates.
As we walk, there are almost no lights in the area and why it is pitch dark. The moon is only about a half moon right now but it shines enough that we have distinct moon shadows on the ground. I can’t recall the last time I experienced that. The stars here are also amazingly intense, appearing in the sky before it is actually fully dark. Again, it is quite the wonder to experience, as we never see the stars like this at home in the city like you can in a place like this.
It is late for sure, but I decide to play a game of pool back at the lodge with the night guards. As I wait for them to finish their current game, it seems to be taking them an extraordinarily long time, but I am not watching closely, but typing up some notes from the day as I wait.
After I have made a couple shots in the next game, I see why this game is going to take extremely long like the one before it.
Odd that at the end of the game all the balls are still grouping together?
The pool table is warped and has low spots on each side. The balls are also a little less than round. Good luck setting up your next shot. I do not win. They have experience reading this table, and know which balls are not always going to roll straight. Locals: 1, Makuwa: 0.
I have added a handful of new photos into each of these galleries:
Liseli Lodge Photo Gallery
Limulunga Community School Photo Gallery
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." – T.S. Eliot.
Poet, publisher, playwright. September 26, 1888 - January 4, 1965.