Here we are at the very beginning of our journey to Africa. I bumbped into my friend Steve at the aiport. He was on his way to Las Vegas for a wedding.
This is the view of Johanessburg from our hotel. We stayed one night in South Africa after traveling 15 hours from Washington D.C. to Africa.
We went out for dinner that night in Johanessburg. While we were ordering our food I saw a guy get jumped in the alley below the restaurant.
Our team boarding an ExpressJet from Johanessburg, South Africa to Livingstone, Zambia.
We've landed in Livingstone, Zambia.
Packing our bags to take the 2 hour ride to Choma from the airport in Livingstone. Welcome to Zambia.
Between the airport and Choma we stopped in a town called Zimba. There is a mission station there that we stopped at to visit and get refreshments. There was this great tree in the front yard that some of the kids were climbing. Korey, Sarah, and Jim joined in.
Sarah (right), Sunny (left), Katie (rear) with a little Zambian girl at the Zimba Mission.
This is the guest house we stayed in while in Choma. This is considered a mantion to Zambians.
Just the front door to our guest house in Choma.
A window that looks out onto the back yard of the guest house.
This is a gecko. They were all over the place.
This is Mochipapa Church. We attended and put on some services here while we were staying in Choma. This is right next door to the WHIZ mission and trust project.
The entrance to Mochipapa Church.
These are the pews in the church in Mochipapa. All of the children sat on this side during the service. There were probably over 150 children all on that one side.
Sarah and Katie with some girls eating mangos.
The front porch of Jeff Johnson's house.
Daryn is taking pictures and playing them back for Emanuel (cargo pants), Junior (far left), and Day (facing) while I pushed this little boy on the tree swing.
My turn on the swing! Emanuel spun me around and around until the swing was wound up tight......
My friend Emanuel.
Pushing Day.
Daryn, with the little boy whose name I don't know and Day.
Stretch
Junior, Emanuel, Day.
How to eat a mango.
Shelly (World Hope), praying with some of the women. The woman with the umbrella is Pastor Sichikatae's oldest daughter.
This is Pastor Sichikatae. I had an opportunity to ride alone with him from Choma to Livingstone at the end of our trip. He is an amazing man.
Air Eustice and Daryn "Not so much here, or here, but here" Sheldon playing basketball with some of the children in Jeff Johnsons front yard. The hoop is attached to that tree.
I can't remember this kid's name but he was a cherry picker. Every time I turned around he was underneath the net with the ball.
Basketball with a soccer ball and one huge root sticking out right underneath the net. I tripped over that like five times.
This girl was intense! She would dig for the ball and knock you over if necessary. She even threw elbows though I'm not convinced she did it on purpose. The kid in the Mighty Ducks sweatshirt is Junior. He was on my team.
Raindrop!
Behind Mochipapa Church is a trust that has been established for this area. One of the projects is pigs. These are some of those pigs.
Shelly gave us a tour of the pig pens. They smelled like urine. Just sayin.....
This is the path back to the compound behind the church. The name of the compound is Mowpawna. This is the perfect landscape for snakes.....seriously.
This was taken inside of a compound (a bunch of villages tightly grouped like a congested urban environment). I thought it would be a fitting cover page for this. There is no scale but this is a child's footprint.
A typical house.
This man lives here in the compound. This is his village. He is a member of Mochipapa Church. We called him the "bouncer". He watched the 150 kids during the church service and moved them around when they misbehaved.
This picture was taken in the compound behind Mochipapa Church. We were given a walk through to experience some of the poorer living conditions. I had never seen anything quite like this. You can't tell here but there was garbage all over and some of the dirtiest standing water you could imagine. It's no wonder disease is so out of control.
Sean noticed this little boy with a slingshot. I walked over to talk to him but he was very shy. I took his picture and then played it back for him.
Soon, little kids were coming out of the wood work to have their picture taken.
It is not uncommon to see one little kid holding another. This little baby most likely has no relation to this girl. In Zambia you just take care of each other. Most of these children are probably orphans.
This kid on the left caughed all over me after this shot.
A well.
This is the school building in Mowpawna (the compound). It used to be a bar until it was donated and turned into a school.
Home Security System.
Outside Mowpawna on the way back to the church. The kids followed us all around that settlement.
Korey pulled out his video camera and caused a child stampede.
My first day of Kindergarten. Just kidding.....just about to leave for Chababoma.
The roadside market on the way to Chababoma. The road it is off of is nicknamed the "AIDS road". The theory is that truckers first spread the virus throughout Africa via this widely used truck route that disects the continent.
Mrs. Sichikatae (out of the frame to the right) bought bananas from this vendor at the roadside market on the way to Chababoma.
The vendor selling bananas.
A vendor at a roadside market on our way to Chababoma. I took this picture from inside the bus through the open sliding side door.
The Toyota bus we used to get around Choma and to Chababoma. Mr. Cleanwell always drove. You can kind of see his head behind the seat in the middle. The guy to the right is Jeff Johnson, Community Health Director of World Hope International in Zambia.
Carrying corn meal to the hammer mill.
Bags of charcoal being sold on the roadside. This is the road we took to get to Chababoma
Two women waiting to cross the flooded bridge.
Testing the waters to see if it was safe to cross the flooded bridge yet.
A flooded bridge on the way to Chababoma. This pickup truck was there when we arrived. He waited for the water to recede and then went accross before us. We would bump into him later in the day.....
What, a flooded bridge won't stop you? How about no bridge at all?
This picture was taken while standing in the 10 foot gap of a washed out bridge we encountered on the only road to Chababoma.
A view of the side of the bridge we were stuck on. The truck in the background was transporting the 70 25kg bags of corn meal.
Now we've seen it all.
As you can see, the cement blocks only went so far. Sand and gravel was used to fill in the rest. Not a good choice for an area that has flash floods. This bridge was built just one year ago.
It didn't take long for someone to get the idea to build a bridge across the stream using the stones collected around the bank. The man on the far left is Mr. Cleanwell. He is the wisest man I have met. Also, he is the cleanest. We were all muddy and drenched. He stayed clean and his shirt and shoes pristine white.
Stuck.
Remember that Toyota truck that crossed the flooded bridge before us? Well, somehow he got on the other side of that broken bridge before we got there. An hour or so later he wanted to cross back using the bridge we built. He got across the stream but missed the landing pad and got stuck in the mud. This is all the guys pushing him out.
I was standing behind the wheel when we pushed it out....mud all over me. Sean turned around and stepped into the mud patch the truck was stuck in. He sunk down to his knee.
The ultimate bridge building team.
The drivers of the big truck we rented to transport the corn meal didn't want to cross the stream. We had negotiated to give them $100 US to try at their own risk. We didn't need to as it turned out. Another truck from the village came out to see what was up with the bridge and we were able to transfer everything over to his truck. This is us getting ready to pass the bags and corn meal across the gap.
Mosquito nets.
Sarah washing dishes in Chababoma.
These are the hoes we used to plant that bag of maize seeds.
The cows we used to plow the fields with, the old fashioned way. The cow in the front is Fanta (like the soda) and the one in the back is Angola.
Here I am plowing for the first time ever. I had know idea what I was doing and I think it shows.
Jim's first time plowing. He, too, had no idea what he was doing. It also shows. A few moments after this he drove those cows into a barbed wire fence. Oops.
Some of our team with the villagers after working in their fields. Korey is in the back and Sunny is on the right. Later on that night this boy in the front asked Korey to be his father. He was an orphan.
Another shot of the children we worked with in the fields and some of our team. You can see Sean in the middle there.
Quitting time. The man on the left is Derek. He was our group leader from World Hope International who came with us to Chababoma.
The Team: Erik, Korey, Daryn, Jim, Sean (Top from left) Sunny, Meredith, Sarah, Katie (Bottom from left)
This is an ant hill. It's the same height as a full grown adult. Crazy. We actually saw some taller than this one.
The walk to the fields in Chababoma was over a mile from where we were staying. This is us walking back.
Some of the guys putting away extra Maize seed in the storehouse. From left to right - Friday, Godfried, Bestern, and Chambwa
Playing soccer with some villagers after working in the fields.
The girls sat and colored with the children. They handed out stickers. You can see them on their faces. They also made bracelets and necklaces. We brought all the supplies as well as the soccer balls and volleyballs.
Say hello to Fieldness.
This little girl is named Pegy. I met her dad, Sam. He's a great guy. I let him use our digital camera and showed him how to take video. He got such a kick out of it. He asked me how much it cost. I couldn't bring myself to tell him so I said something to change the topic. The cost of that camera would be an absolute fortuned to Sam. He is working to provide for his family and so he can go to business school. Sam is 29.
We ran out of beads for the bracelets. Jim went back to the house to get more. When he returned there was mass hysteria. We had to form a line for the beads.
Meredith and a little boy who didn't speak any English. He stood there for minutes pointing to that sticker on his forehead.
Daryn speaking with Innocent. Daryn has this amazing ability to talk to pretty much anyone.
Sarah is a teacher. She was wonderful connecting with the children.
Our team leader, Jim, playing a guitar made by one of the villagers. The pick he is holding is cut out from the top of a to-go coffee cup.
The outhouse behind our guest house in Chababoma.
A "shed" that was behind the house we stayed in while we were in Chababoma. I think someone may have lived in this at one point.
This is the church bell in Chababoma.
Sunset in Chababoma.
This is the church in Chababoma. We did a service for the caregivers and the children one night. There was no electricity so we did it in the dark with candles.
The pulpit.
A vase made out of a used plastic drink bottle.
They have this thing they call "specials". Basically, anyone who wants to share a word or a song or whatever can do so during a certain time during the service.
Pastor Jim trying to read in the dark.
This is Calvin. I taught him how to play a few chords on the guitar. He picked it up really quick.
Mrs. Sichikatae and Sarah.
Waiting on the porch with Mrs. Sichikatae for the mealy meal distribution. Mrs. Sichikatae is the pastor's wife from Mochipapa Church. She took care of us while we were in Chababoma. She was up way early to prepare breakfast for us. She is the best.
Bags of Mealy Meal (corn meal) and bottles of cooking oil. 70 25kg bags and 70 22oz bottles were delivered by our team to the Caregivers in Chababoma.
Food distribution. Bestern can be seen in the back going down the list of caregivers to receive the gift. Sean, Daryn and I handed out the bags while the girls handed out the bottles of cooking oil.
Her tongue is sticking out because she is excited. They make this excited noise with their mouth kind of like a yell, I guess.
What a feeling.
Some sang and danced and clapped their hands for their friends.
50 lbs. on your head and a baby on your back. Can you do that? How about that older woman carrying that on her own?
One of the elderly male caregivers.
There were 3 or 4 dogs that kind of just kicked around the village. They obviously fend for themselves.
This is Friday. He is 21 and going into the 10th grade just as long as he passes the exams he had just taken. He was nervous about them. Friday wants to become a doctor.
Sean and Pastor Chambwa
Because the bridge had gone out we needed a way to get the corn meal, and us, to Chababoma. With the help of the villagers, we built a bridge across the stream out of stones and branches. This is us on our way back after the water had receded.
This is the valley that Chababoma is located in. You can see the mountains in the background. That body of water is Lake Kariba. A dam was built in 1958 and the valley was flooded. The people were forced to move and resettle in less fertile land. Kariba means "Trap" or "Snare" in Tonga (native language). The people thought that the government was going to release the dam and flood them again. When the project is finished this entire valley will be revolutionized and so will the people along with it.
Korey took this picture in Choma. This man was walking around the city apparently trying to sell this turkey.
Outside the medical clinic in Zimba.
One of the supply rooms at the clinic.
The operating table.
Medical tools at the clinic.
Hippos in the Zambezi.
Thumbs up, Daryn.
My soda of choice while in Zambia.
The Zambezi river.
Sunset at the Zambezi
Victoria Falls
Look, it's a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. Where is your pot of gold?
Sarah and Laura. They work with World Hope International in Zambia. They took care of us while we were in Choma. They cooked our meals and made sure we were good to go.
You see that mud path I'm standing on? Well, when I was walking down I slipped and started to slide. Fortunately, I stopped about 3 feet or so from the edge. That would have sucked.
The team at Victoria Falls with our friend, Mr. Cleanwell.
The market outside the entrance to Vic Falls. Everything you purchased you negotiated on price. It was nerve racking at first. Quite an experience.
Monkey!
