Jude in Africa
 Heading for Samfya As my thoughts turn to Samfya in readiness for my next visit there, I think about the challenges of life there and recall a story I wrote after my last trip. It`s a snap shot of what life is like for many: Sometimes people ask “what’s happening in Africa” ... “what`s it like”. Often is hard to explain the various layers of complexity that surround the poverty that so many struggle with combined with the fact that after almost 6 years of life in Africa, many aspects of life here become almost normal ... A recent bus trip reminded that some things are not normal at least not to most of us. I was on my way to Samfya. Buses in Africa are always interesting ... safety wise, personal space wise, livestock wise … in just about every way I guess ... I’d boarded the bus in a busy market on the outskirts of Ndola and was shown the best seat in the bus ... Not by choice and the seat allocated wasn`t either - right at the front by the driver ... Not the safest place to sit for one thing. Fortunately for most of the trip the road was quiet and so between dozing, reading a book and some conversation with the man next to me the long trip passed quite pleasantly. Despite this my thoughts were troubled ... What disturbed me was that both of the people who greeted me as I took my seat and settled in for the journey were travelling to Samfya for the funerals of close family members. Both had lost a brother ... separate brothers. These people were not related. As I chatted with the man beside me I asked if his late brother had left family ... “Yes” was the reply “and a widow”. The burial had already taken place but details must be organised so he was travelling to take care of these. We discussed AIDS and the problems surrounding it. What could be done? … What is not being done ... The following day as I walked down the road to the market I was met by one of our ministry partners from the Samfya Bible School who was also on his way to a funeral. Neither of the ones mentioned above ... This was a lady who had died suddenly, just on Sunday supposedly of high blood pressure. As we walked along the narrow path to the market we again discussed the high rate of untimely deaths in this continent. I visited the market primarily to see the new hammer mill which is operating there as part of the income generation initiative of the Samfya Community of Care Providers (which is a group of 22 churches in Samfya who have come together to care for orphans, vulnerable children and HIV+ people in their churches and community. The hammer mill has been installed to raise income for the project and is providing a service to the local community. The guardians of the orphans and members of the public are able to bring their maize there for milling. The new mill is rumoured to be the fastest one in Samfya!!! Later I left the market with Prisca - one of the SCCP staff. Prisca takes care of several orphans in her home. She also heads up the income generation part of the SCCP project. As we left the market; she on her way home me in search of some eggs for lunch, and rounded the corner to head back home, the sounds of a funeral procession greeted us and we stepped back under the shade of a shop verandah while the procession went on by to the cemetery. The United Church of Zambia youth band came first then two vehicles with mourners. One a large truck and then a small ute carrying the coffin surrounded by the women’s group of the church, followed by several cars. After the procession had past we set off along the road. School. As we walked, we talked of many things, why so many die? if in fact the tide of death can be stemmed from HIV/AIDS? My studies in statistics tell me that this is hardly an objective study - no control group, not a wide enough selection for a start ... But these were the people I met and the things I encountered during my first two days back in Samfya in July … Most of my time this year has been spent with the Samfya Community of Care Providers (SCCP) assisting them as they cope with the challenges of caring for 1,000 orphans and vulnerable children and 60 HIV+ patients. Please pray for this project and for those who work hard to address the needs of orphans who are left behind as a result of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Bright Hope World has many other smaller, often more rural orphan projects … It`s always encouraging to meet up Bright Hope project partners who despite having little themselves are making efforts to care for the needy in their communities.
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Diary Photos
| 7th Oct 2006 | |
| Lake Bangweulu - Samfya | |
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