Last time i mentioned that we had a turkey friend here on the compound. Well, a few days after that post we all got to see Fred, one of the guys who works on the compound, cut the turkey's head off. A lot of the girls took pictures of it and a few took videos. I must say that it was interesting to watch. We will all get to enjoy that turkey plus one other turkey on October 24th which is Zambia's national Independence Day!
On the 22nd for my history class we all went to the museum of history in Choma and to the Zambia Library Service in Choma. The museum was small, not like the museums we have in the States. There were several big boards that covered history of Zambia from when the British arrived and colonized Zambia to when Zambia received its independence from Britain in 1964. There were several display cases that had various artifacts from different tribes in Zambia and described what all of the traditional items that were used were. The display cases talked about traditional life for women and men in a tribe and about such things as childbirth, farming, and celebrations. We spent just about a half hour to forty-five minutes at the library in Choma. I was very interested to see the library and to be able to compare it to the libraries we have in the States. The first thing i noticed was the size of the library. There was one main larger room that had several bookshelves. Most of the books looked old and had been well worn. Off of the main room there were a couple smaller rooms. One room that i found interesting was a room dedicated to literature on HIV/AIDS. There were a few signs that listed the rules for the library. The one i found most interesting was that no sleeping or dozing is allowed in the library.
On September 24th, our team traveled to Arise School. This school is a school that was opened in the community of Choma by a pastor's wife. This woman had previously worked as an educator for the government but decided to open a school for orphans and other vulnerable children who could not afford to buy the uniform and supplies necessary to attend the government schools. In Zambia school is "free" but the children must have a uniform and supplies to be allowed to attend. Many orphans do not have the money to buy these things and cannot go to school. The Arise school has 7 volunteer teachers and has grades 1-7 offered for the children. There are about 250 students who attend this school. The woman in charge told us that they will not turn away a child who is vulnerable and in need of schooling. This was an encouragement that these children have a place to come to receive an education but also discouraging for the fact that there are so few teachers and supplies for the teachers and children. Only the teachers have books and they copy down the chapters onto a chalkboard for the children to copy down in their notebooks.
The 25th was to be a trip to the market place for a history field trip, however, when we got to the market to shop and ask some questions of the women who work there we were told by the market chairperson that we would not be allowed to ask questions that day because the committee members first had to meet and agree that it was okay for us to ask questions. So instead we had class for a little while and then in the afternoon we were able to go to a village and play with the children there for an hour or so. It was so good to be out with the children and see the smiles on their faces.
Lastly for this week, on the 26th, we had a guest speaker come who talked to us about much of the traditional beliefs and practices among Zambians. I learned a lot from the speaker and as he talked with us, he related how the practices and beliefs could influence the health care of the people. That was important for us as nursing students to know as we begin our time of working and caring for the people of Zambia!
(I am not including class time in my highlights but I am attending class sessions! :) )
Click on the picture below for more pics!
 |
| Week 2 Photos |
Thanks for posting the pictures! We enjoy looking at them!
ReplyDelete