Mongu, Zambia

We've just returned from two weeks in Zambia. We started from Lusaka with an 8 hr. bus ride. Normally the buses are good but this one was crowded with 28 passengers behind us in seats for 17. Then they filled the baggage hold with freight so the aisles were jammed with boxes, suitcases, you name it. It was an obstacle course to get on and off the bus!


Once we got to Mongu we hit the ground running. We thought we were doing a CHE seminar the second week we were there and the coordinator thought we were doing it the second week of May. We were hoping for a week to prepare, but we had a day and then evenings. Once we got going it went well. Now the question is whether these folks will start a program that is community-based with volunteers. We had an interesting discussion and they stated that volunteerism does not work. They suggested that the communities pay the volunteers. Well, that could work, except that those funds should be used for community initiatives. And when the money to pay them runs out, then what? One pastor stated that we need to pray that God will transform minds and give people a willingness to volunteer again. Sad to say, it is one of the down sides of receiving so much aid from NGOs and other organizations when it shuts down local initiative and looking for their own resources.



When we weren't at the seminar we were working on other Zambia Works work. Since Steve grew up on an apple farm he was very interested to find a guy who is growing apples in Mongu! He also has tangerines and oranges in the same mini-orchard. He says the apples grow quickly as they can grow year round. These are Mexican apples.


At church on Sunday we enjoyed the worship team, except that the keyboard sound ran through this big speaker which was on HIGH. I definitely wouldn't sit right in front of it if I attended this church regularly. Whooeee! It was ear-splitting. Note the other items besides money in the morning offering - some reeds and something in a bag.


The pastor of the church is our friend, Lubinda, who directs a ministry to orphaned children, Kids Alive Intl. They have 57 kids in different houses and they wish they could take more as the need is great, but they are filled to capacity. Here he is with his wife, Esther and some of the boys.





Lubinda also took us to meet a man, Emanuel, who was an Angolan refugee. (Angola is about 500 km from Mongu.) He started a preschool and then an elementary school. He also takes in the elderly and others who need a place to stay. He calls it is "village of refuge." It was encouraging to find someone who is giving his life to help others.


No recounting of a trip to Mongu is complete without a note about the Oasis Restaurant. It is Lebanese owned and has great Shwarmas. Their business has gone down since they raised their prices, so we'll see if they survive. The ambience is great with mounted animal heads, a fountain with bubble soap and golden oldies music.




The trip back on the bus was a whole lot better with no overcrowding or stuff in the aisles. We got on at 10 p.m. and got to Lusaka by 5:30 a.m. Sleeping sure does make the time go faster!

I'm always amazed at the signs that include references to God or the Bible and the Christian music on the buses. Zambia definitely has a different culture and history than Mozambique!













This is a little hard to read - it is the Good Samaritan Bar and Guesthouse.

Begging for a Bribe (oh, so subtly)

Jumping through bureaucratic hoops is never fun, especially here in Mozambique. We get to do it at least once a year from now on as the government has decided that holders of foreign residency documents (DIRE) must appear in person to renew them. Last year they also upped the prices by 1200% and re-interpreted the quota systems for foreigners to apply to each office, i.e. not just on an organization or company-wide basis. Since some of our work is in Gaza, our Dire process was shifted to the provincial capital of Xai-Xai, about 3 hours north of Maputo by car. We left April 30 at 6 am to miss the worst of Maputo rush hour.

Since this was the first year of the new “bio-metric” process, it took extra time to take photos and fingerprints. That was understandable. The one handed, one finger approach to typing by the person in charge, did drag things out considerably. Once we had filled out all the forms, it took about 30 minutes per applicant to do the data entry and photographs. We had arrived at 9:30 and were finished by 1:30, most of the time standing up in a small waiting area with 15-20 other Mozambican.

Now you might think that since everything was in the computer, the process would be speedy from then on. Well, it will take at least another 15 days to get our Dire’s back. In the meantime, we have two trips planned. The option of traveling without Dire’s is somewhat formidable since you have to buy a new visa upon re-entering the country or have an authorized letter. Last time they almost did not let Rachel out, because she did not have either. In the meantime, visa prices are now $66, up from $25. The government likes visitors for obvious reasons, but sad to say it seems like fewer are coming due to the price increases.

Since we knew we were traveling, we asked up front if we could get two letters, one for each trip. No problem, but you have to wait to start that process until after you have your receipts for the Dire. OK, no problem. So at 1:30 we made copies of the receipts and started the process for the travel letters. Now it was. “Oh, you want two letters at the same time? No, that is not our way of doing things. “ So we appeal to the next level. Sure, you can go ahead and fill out two forms each. We do and pay but the receipt says we can collect the next day. You have got to be kidding. When we appeal, it was a resigned, “OK, just wait here.” By now we are getting hungry and tired of standing, but the few chairs were all full. Finally, we got to sit down.

After an hour, I stick my head in the office of the person who said we could fill out two forms each. “Ah, just be patient, 15 minutes, it will be coming.” Well, we know 15 minutes is never 15, but we surrender and wait. Finally, we are some of the few left in the waiting area as closing time has come and gone. The person who promised us 2 letters each and 15 minutes appears with only two letters and the word that he would be hung to death should he attempt to issue two letters per person in one day. “ Come back tomorrow.” We take our papers and leave. Someone else will have to spend a half day coming back tomorrow for the forms that are already finished.


Upon review of the letters, they are pre-printed forms with about a half dozen words hand written into blanks to identify us, the date and place of issue. And that took two hours with three of us sitting there. A total of 6 person hours lost forever. The only conclusion we can come to is that he was waiting for money under the table. We did not pay any cash, but it cost us anyway.

By 4 PM we are on the road again, hurtling back toward Maputo knowing we will never make it before dark. The traffic is not too bad, but we come across vehicles with no tail lights and no reflectors, some of them moving slowly. At one point, we round a curve and face cars coming at us two wide, on a hill, that forces us off the road, onto the berm. But by the grace of God, we did not get hit head on. By the time we got home at 7:30, I was exhausted from the travel alone. In times like these, we repeat the words of the national anthem with tongue in cheek, “Moçambique nossa terra gloriosa (our glorious country)!”