by Susanne Bohush
It all started around a Sunday lunch table in La Turbie….. ‘You must come’, ‘It would be great if we all go’……
By the time I heard ‘The insects are really only the size of dinner plates’ I was both terrified and intrigued. This is how I found myself on a plane to Lusaka via Dubai on Friday August 11th this year.
Very exciting in Dubai, a quick overnight in transit, tapas, happy hour at midnight and a fabulous hotel with lots of freebies.
We arrived in hot and dusty Lusaka on Saturday afternoon and joined up with the rest of the team. Saturday evening and Sunday three of us spent at Chaminuka Game Reserve. We saw the most amazing wild animals close-up, admired the art work, had a bit of cheetah interaction and a lovely brunch.
The cheetah interaction consisted of me plus a group, a couple of gorgeous cheetahs and their guides. We were able to stroke the beautiful animals and walk them on their leads. This was designed especially for the tourists but I was assured the cheetahs were not drugged and had indeed been brought up used to this. My colleagues had already had the experience on a previous trip and turned down the trip, not wanting to be licked by their sandpaper tongues again!
Then on to Chongwe, the nearest town to Shiyala Village. This is the location of the school which was built and completed this year, thanks to the Mothers of Africa charity with which I work. Our lodge was set back from the main town, with a nice garden, 24 hour guard and a large gate….not much water though! But, we had gospel singing at 7am each morning as the delegates of a conference being held there got together to start their day. Certainly an uplifting and upbeat way to start!!
Chongwe town consists of a main road and lots of shacks as shops. It is home to the Chiefteness of Zambia and her Royal Conference Hall. There are people and cars everywhere, dusty roads and brightly coloured outfits, chitenges and babies strapped to their mothers, women selling giant cabbages and all sorts of fruit, veg and insects to eat, as well as small children sweeping the road with sticks tied together. Chongwe is vibrant and alive and everyone says ‘Hello, how are you today? I’m fine’.
Lying awake most of that first night, intently focusing on a loud scraping sound that seemed like I could be one of those ‘insects the size of dinner plates’ I finally found a rather large cricket sharing my pillow. That was it I thought, it cannot get any worse. I can survive the cultural challenges!
Monday morning, a burst of hot water and the quickest shower ever! Oh dear I think I used the whole supply as no one else had any that day!
A bumpy taxi ride to our school, 25 excited but wary faces in class, and an amazing eagerness to learn. Holiday school begins!! It is actually the dry winter season and not summer at all, though temperatures are almost the same as in France. Geography, English school games, vocabulary, mindfulness and movement, reading and writing workshops…. A great interactive plan which became very flexible as the days unfolded, with intermittent bursting into song and dance African style by the children.
Very formal presentations of toys, sports equipment, gifts, lunch prepared in a large pot over hot stones and eaten with our hands. An amazingly dedicated team of teachers and workers on the second phase of the school. Friendly, open, natural, beautiful Zambian people.
An evening at the local market encouraging my colleagues to taste the crunchy caterpillars and locusts. Not an experience I felt I needed myself.
No phone or internet connections was a highlight and meant we actually talked to each other. The one night we were invited to a private house to use the wi-fi the contrast was quite shocking and extremely anti-social.
Evenings spent with Zambian beer, crisps and banana sandwiches as dinner took 3 hours to arrive so we gave up. Discovering cider on Thursday was so refreshing and a real treat.
Suddenly the week came to an end. Friday, the last day, hugs and tears. We did not want to leave and the children wanted us to stay. Lots of photos, selfies and memories.
Back to the city of Lusaka, traffic, loud, high buildings and a restaurant with wine!
And the saga of the flights home is a whole other story!
Life changing, motivating, a great experience!!
My involvement with Mothers of Africa
I continue to invest my time and energy in the charity which has already achieved great things. Mothers of Africa is a UK based charity, founded by professor Judith Hall OBE in 2004, when she realized that so many mothers were dying unnecessarily in childbirth in Africa. We organize events here to raise funds for this very worthwhile cause and are currently setting up an association in Monaco. We believe in supporting women in Africa to implement change via education and infrastructure.
I got to know Janice (Judith’s sister) when our eldest children where at the Mums and Tots Group in Monaco together 21 years ago! When we met again a few years ago I remember thinking how strange it was we had ever lost contact and that we were definitely due to keep in touch as we literally kept meeting by accident!!
After a few lunches together I had heard the story of the Mothers of Africa and all the wonderful work being done on the projects. Janice was wondering how to help her sister and I love organizing events and bringing people together to make a difference!
So, the first MOA dinner was organised in Menton in 2015. We had great fun, raised awareness for the project and raised some funds with the tombola. This was followed by a sponsored walk up in Eze the next year.
During summer 2016 I was invited to Grasse to take part in another charity holistic wellness day. There I met an amazing African dance teacher who kindly agreed to come to Monaco to run an African Dance Class for us. This took place in the hall where the original Mums and Tots was held and we ran a second event at the Plateau de la Justice in Eze a few weeks ago!!
Awareness raised, lots of fun and new people wanting to help out and fundraise for us!!
We took a group of supporters to a lovely Classical music concert on International Women’s Day also helping raise awareness of the organisation involved and MOA at the same time. We were then invited to another concert / recital where proceeds of our ticket sales were given to MOA.
In June we held a dinner in Monaco with the help of some lovely friends who have been coming to our events and more recently another supporter dedicated his birthday party to the charity and we raised nearly €3000.
Part of what I love about this are the coincidences, the chance meetings, the lovely team of people who have come together to help. I really feel that when something is right, it just works! This charity just proves it.
For more info please check out …
Facebook : mothersofafricacharity
Twitter : @mothersofafrica
Instagram : @mothersofafrica
To view the recent Mothers Of Africa Newsletter click here
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