- Jan – Em officially began work with Beyond Ourselves Zambia (BOZ) – starting with vision days and teacher training at the schools. She was encouraged by all the mini projects that had been successful over the previous year – classroom building, food programmes, getting fresh water at the schools and beautiful murals to name a few! Watching staff trying to cross the ‘crocodile infested river’ during team games was fun as well! We took the grade 7 pupils from each school on a mini trip and did some leadership training with a friend visiting from our church in the UK.
- February – February was the month for visitors – we had 2 teams visiting BOZ. Looking at the progress of the schools and helping with lesson observations. An early years specialist came out to support and advise the teachers at Janna school. – you can read the interview with the teacher at Janna here on the Beyond ourselves blog: http://www.beyondourselveszambia.blogspot.com At the end of February Em’s mum and Auntie Lynnie came to visit and spent the first week shopping for a sewing kit for each of the community schools and then spending their days mending school uniform – it was bright, hot and dusty but very rewarding work!
- March - The beginning of March for us was a Simba school holiday and a trip to Victoria Falls with Em’s family. (Em’s dad arrived in Lusaka and we picked him en-route) What an amazing week that was – Victoria falls is awesome in the truest sense of the word! The Zambian people call it ‘The smoke that thunders’ and you see the ‘smoke’ and hear the roar way before you see the actual waterfall. This part of the country borders with Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana and after putting a foot in Zimbabwe and getting our ‘ZimZam’ photos we headed to Botswana for a mini safari. This was our favourite part of the holiday. As we arrived on the campsite, Auntie Lynnie jumped out of the car doing a silent scream that she could see an elephant and then we all got really excited as there were two elephants about 10 metres away from us! By the end of the evening we had seen about 100 elephants walk past our chalet, 4 giraffes, a herd of buffalo and a few impala – we couldn’t believe how amazing the place was! We spent our last day in Zambia’s capital city- Lusaka – where we shopped in a little craft village for wooden giraffes, woven baskets and the like. Malcolm’s and Lucy’s next 2 weeks were completely taken up with the school play Yee-Ha - a wild west extravaganza! And we were offered a new house with 3 bedrooms – on the next plot to Dan and Melissa!
- April – Beyond Ourselves work in the schools slowly petered out this month as the children and teachers were immersed in tests. April is the end of the 1st term and a school holiday in Zambia – therefore a great time for moving house! We have spent most of the last few days slowing moving in and sorting things out like brown water and a leaking roof. But are so pleased with our lovely new house. The kids are enjoying living right next door to good friends and play outside constantly. We are all looking forward to another visit – yes another visit!! From Malcolm’s dad, Andrew who will be us on Wednesday 15th for a week and are hoping to take him away for a couple of days and of course a visit to a Zambian church. Andrew leaves the following Wednesday alongside Dan and Melissa and so we head into a new term with Em heading up BOZ on the ground, Lucy, Albert and Malcolm going into their final term at Simba and generally settling into our new home.
www.beyondourselves.co.uk
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