Dear all,
Sunday morning 08:30, Dondey picks us up from the Protea Cairo Road and we depart for the outing with the children and staff of WONS Orphanage, the Grand Day Out, what our visits to Zambia are all about, really
. We get to WONS and find the bus waiting there and the kids already excitedly piling in to get going already. Soon we are off, the children and staff resplendent in the Ireland Supporters' Club t-shirts, Tommy and I in Zambia shirts.
The journey is over bumpy dirt tracks and taking way longer than it did yesterday. But finally after two hours we reach Chaminuka, a 10,000 acre woodland and savannah turned into a game reserve and luxury safari lodge. The kids were in awe of the place as they stand on the balcony of the Insaka (lounge area), soft drink in hand, taking in the glorious panoramic views. It was a scorching hot day, yet the children still needed persuading to jump into the swimming pool. The younger ones required no second invitation though, and scrambled into the junior pool, but soon leapt out again having spotted worms at the bottom of the pool. Strange to think that these children who grow up amongst all manner of bugs, spiders and insects in Chunga should be so fearful of a few worms
. And so, earlier than planned, I change into my trunks and dived on in to fish out the dead worms. The kids plunged in straight after and splashed away to their hearts content.
Lunch was served at 13:00, a barbeque buffet offering chicken, beef, sausages, a full range of fresh vegetables and side dishes for them to tuck into. The last time they ate like this was probably the last time we took them out, so the children rightly made the most of it and went back for seconds, and dessert. Though most of them weren’t used to such things and found the chocolate gateaux too sweet.
After lunch there were activities organised by Chaminuka. There were boat rides across the lake, which were nothing to write home about. Much better were the drives through the game reserves; we saw elephants, lions, hyenas, giraffes, wildebeest and many others. As I’ve stated many times before, this is how you should see wild animals, not caged up in a zoo
. Coming up to the last hour, it was back for a final wallow in the pool before our bus took the long drive back to Chunga at 17:30. My only regret is that we did not bring along a football for a kickabout on the lush green lawns. But never mind, the children and staff of WONS Orphanage thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They still speak of the previous times we took them to Kalimba Reptile Farm, Fringella Lodge etc. and now we have added further unforgettable memories for them to fondly recall. And at what cost you may ask? The final bill for transport, entry, food and drink for 45 people came to about £280.00. That’s great value in anyone’s money.
Monday, my last day in Zambia. It was a free day to see some of the sights and do a bit of shopping in Lusaka. I went up to have a look around the Heroes Stadium just off the Great North Road. It is currently being built by Chinese construction workers and is watched over by sinister looking Chinese guards. When completed (sometime later this year) it will be the new national stadium of Zambia
. And from circling the perimeter, I can clearly see it will be a magnificent stadium and a venue I want to visit. I hereby pledge that the next time I return to Zambia, I will take the children of WONS to see Chipolopolo (as the Zambian national team are called, it means The Copper Bullets) play a World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match here.
Zambia were African champions in 2012 and a souvenir DVD entitled The Full Circle was released to commemorate the occasion. However I searched high and low down the Cairo Road and in Manda Hill for it but to no avail. The Football Association of Zambia headquarters did not have any either, I was to return home empty handed. Though as a consolation, I managed to procure copies of the final against the Ivory Coast from ZNBC, Zambia’s national broadcaster.
Contrary to what aid agencies and lazy media might have you believe, Africa is booming. Colossal investment from China (not entirely for altruistic reasons, it must be said) has seen the Zambian economy rise sharply over the last few years
. There certainly seems to be a lot of construction works going on in and around Lusaka. One of the new buildings to have emerged since my last visit was Levy Business Mall just off the Cairo Road. A smart modern shopping mall catering to Zambia’s burgeoning middle class. It was a hugely impressive place, and a marvellous example of Zambia’s economic development. So I took a few snaps in the mall… And was soon surrounded by security guards and made to delete them.
This was an outrage; I was in a public place, I wasn’t taking photos of anyone and was doing nothing wrong. It was out and out intimidation and I wasn’t having it. So I asked the security guards for directions to the Management Offices, their minds suddenly went blank and they strangely could not remember where it was. They started chatting animatedly amongst themselves in Bemba and were quite clearly going to stall me. So I headed for the upper floors were I thought it would be, and found the Management Offices myself. I made my complaint and management apologised profusely and assured me that I was indeed allowed to take photos and I would not be accosted again. Curiously enough, when I went back to the exact same spot where I was stopped to snap my pics again, all the security guards had completely disappeared. I would take this further with management, but Levy Business Mall does not appear to have a website or email address. I will not be going back there again…
In the evening, we returned to WONS for one last time to deliver the final donations of a few laptop computers, do a bit of IT work on their existing PCs, and to ply the kids with lots of sweets. And with that, it was farewell again. I made a promise to the children that I would return and take them to the Heroes Stadium. I really wish that will be sooner rather than later.
So there you have it. Another visit to WONS went off brilliantly bringing unalloyed joy, however briefly, into the lives of some massively underprivileged children. Although I am given much credit for this, it really would not be possible without all your unstinting support and donations. So may I thank you all again, this is as much your success as mine. And to all of you who say they wish they could do something similar; not to quote an old Nike advert or anything, but just do it. Because you can. The fact that I can go to Zambia and help an orphanage and organise a day out for the children should be all the proof you need that anyone – really anyone – can do it.
As for where the rest of the year will take me, the answer is nowhere yet. I have vague ideas of going to Hong Kong for Christmas, but right now I have no definite travel plans for the next twelve months. The draw for the Euro 2016 qualifying groups will be made on 23 February. After that I will have a clearer idea where I will be trekking over the next two years. But wherever that may be, my 2014 has gotten off to the greatest of starts. So may I wish you a similarly Happy Joyous New Year.
Cathal
Grand Day Out
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Lusaka, Zambia
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2025-02-07