Visiting a village
Our work day started out as usual with everyone pitching in in one way or another. Amazingly, within the past five days, we have managed to assist the locals accomplish much toward their goal, in spite of regular side adventures that have taken the EduDeo team off site. Today was no exception.
After lunch, we were invited to visit some of the local households to get a sample of the day-to-day lifestyle of the Mzululwa community, ask questions and share in a cultural exchange. We were separated into two teams and sent down different paths in an effort to reach a broader area. Our team, guided by Collins and a local leader, were led on a 2km trek under the beating sun to the nearby home of one of the area's Headmen and his family.
We were greeted warmly upon our arrival and offered blessed relief from the sun in the shade of a massive mango tree as the family gathered around. Initially, the conversation was stilted and awkward, each side wrestling with the language barrier and nerves(?) So many questions to ask! So much cultural gap to bridge! But eventually we grew more comfortable in each other's company and the questions began to flow. We learned about the crops they grew, the size and composition of the family and were shown around their well organized farm. We saw their goats, pigs and doves ingeniously penned within structures constructed from locally gathered hardwoods. We learned how they stored their maize within a metal bin, protected from the sun within a thatch hut on stilts, which, before being filled, was primed by the clever burning of a candle inside. The flame of the candle intended to consume any possible corrupting air within which could rot the precious grain.
Afterward, we were led down a pastoral path to visit a nearby, humble and bright eyed metalsmith and his family. He informed us that he made pots, pans, "spoonies and knifies", which he sold in town. He briefly demonstrated how each utensil was painstakingly etched, cut and shaped by hand from sheet metal bought in town, transported to his tiny workshop by bicycle and cut with his precious shears, then hammered into shape. His wife inquired about our families and life in Canada and we joked about the weather, it having just snowed 10" back home. Then we were shown a demonstration of his handmade hoes in their garden and we each took our turn cutting the weeds from the dense hard soil. A toilsome chore to be sure! After this we were shown about his simple yard complete with well, outdoor kitchen and dove coop.
Sitting in the shade of his well kept yard I couldn't help but feel a sense of peace, a profound quiet and simplicity rarely found the the hectic pace of our modern world back home. In spite of this family's obvious poverty, by our standards, they were imbued with a certain intangible wealth and a kind of joy, satisfaction and connection to their land unlike any I'd encountered before. Everything had a purpose and function. They'd nothing extraneous beyond their immediate needs. There is certainly much Canada could learn from this lifestyle, despite its many hardships.
We were gifted a generous bunch of freshly cut bananas, then led to the yard of a third family unit nearby, our bananas proudly born by a strapping young lad no more than six years old. By this time we'd accumulated a large entourage of children who followed us with an infectious exuberance.
"Mullie ullie!", the third family greeted us in Tambuka. "Mikola!", we responded, each in turn. Here we were offered seats on lovely, squat, handmade stools polished smooth by regular use. We gratefully took a rest as the large family, our guides and translators and the, by now, massive gang of children, gathered around to get a glimpse of, as we were informed, the first white people they'd ever seen.
Here resided a young woman of nearly 15 yrs who spoke English well. She expressed her communities deep gratitude for our assistance with the school. She aspired to become a nurse, she informed us, and judging by her keen intelligence, I didn't doubt that she would achieve it one day, given the right opportunity. She led us through her family's yard, casually populated by calla lilies, papaya, bananas and exotic looking ducks with vibrant red faces. We paid a visit to the cattle within a skillfully constructed pen of gathered hardwood sticks, offered another bundle of fresh bananas and thanked again for our generous assistance. We said our farewells and thanked them in turn for welcoming us to their homestead. "Townga chowmene!", "Thank you!" We then departed with a train of children in our wake to rendezvous with the other team to share our adventures.
It is my purest hope that as Zambia develops and begins to elevate the living conditions of its beautiful people that it never forgets its connection to the land, nor its love of family and community. It would be truly a terrible tragedy if it makes the same mistake of becoming too mechanized, too industrialized, too modern in its growth, as I believe we have done in the first world.
All in all, it was a joyous and welcoming experience, one I shall never forget. I left there with my heart bursting with joy and hope for these people. I don't think I've smiled so much, nor been amongst such naturally joyous humans in all my life!
Townga chomene, Zambia!
Desmond
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