Halfway Point

I’m now back in South Africa after a terrible journey from Ndola to Nelspruit; running to five different desks in Johannesburg airport in between. I spent my first weekend back doing some photography for Tommy and Morgan’s wedding, they’ve been volunteering out here for a few years now and have been the first couple to get married while at Hands at Work. Morgan asked me to do the photography because the person who was meant to do it had to leave suddenly for Canada due to a family emergency. So I was asked along with my friend Alicia to shoot the wedding, I’d always been warned in the past never to do wedding photography because of the stress involved – and doing the photography at a photographer’s wedding is even worse! It was a stressful day but in all honesty I loved it, I got some shots that I’m very proud of and enjoyed running about with a camera after the service at a beautiful location with the bridal party. All in all some good shots and a great day to first try wedding photography (and I think Morgan was happy so I think I passed the test).

I spent last week being introduced to the communications team. The communications team is responsible for everything that gets sent out to partners, sponsors and the public; this includes things like reports, newsletters, websites, t-shirt design, Facebook and visual communications (photography & video). I’ve been lucky enough to join the team just as two members have gone back home to Canada for a while and one has gone on a honeymoon, so It’s just three of us in the office at the moment. I spent most of the week preparing the audio from the celebrations in Zambia and making podcasts of all the talks that were made during the conference, we also did a little bit of filming and interviews ready for a video that will be taking shape in the next few months.

My weekend was nice and quiet; I’ve been living up at a farmhouse that Hands rents from a local farmer which is 7km away from Hands Village, it’s a pain getting lifts up and down every day because I’m too young to drive the charity’s vehicles and my bike isn’t fit for duty at the moment. But I managed to get out on Sunday to church and then to a mall in Nelspruit to get some much needed shopping in (although I did get side-tracked by the fancy kit in the outdoors shops). It’s always refreshing to get out at the weekends because it can feel a bit trapped here in South Africa, in Zambia I could go out and hitch to town but it’s just too dangerous in South Africa, I’m not even really safe to walk the 7km to my home on my own. I’ve been feeling a bit homesick lately because living half at the farm and half at the village doesn’t feel like I’ve got a home to settle into (I’m living out of my suitcase because I’ll be moving back down in a few weeks so it seems pointless to unpack) so I’ve been thinking about England a lot.

I’ve been asked by a few people what I miss about the UK so I thought I’d answer on here.

I miss…

            My brothers and sister, parents, step-parents and granparents are at the top of the list, the freedom of driving to the mountains with my mate Lozz and our bikes. Going walking with my Dad in the mountains.  My old school mates who I’d normally see every week, at the pub or round for a DVD and takeaway. A few good friends that I see less often, I’m missing KFC dates with Shane and tinkering with cars with Joe. The guys at the youth group I helped lead. Chinese food & a good chippy.

But other than people (and the freedom of a car and my bikes) there’s not much I really miss, there’s not much that I need to live in comfort and anything luxury like my camera and bike is just a bonus. I think I miss home because of the new memories with family and friends that I’m missing out on, it’s a shame I’m missing six months of everybody’s lives. Especially things like my big sister’s graduation.

Having said that, I’m having six months in Africa with a heap of amazing new friends, making memories and experiencing some aspects of life that I would never be able to in the UK. I do miss home but if somebody bought me a plane ticket home tomorrow I wouldn’t get on the plane, not yet, I’ve got another three amazing months ahead of me and it’ll be three months I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I’m only half way through my journey… I wonder where I’ll end up…

The last of 33 nights in Zambia

Tomorrow morning I leave Kachele farm and fly out from Ndola airport to Johannesburg, from there I will fly to Nelspruit and will be picked up from Kruger airport (about 40 mins from the Hands at Work Hub).

I have really enjoyed my time in Luanshya, Zambia. I have been living and working here for 5 weeks (It seems so much longer), mostly on the building team but also doing some audio/visual work during the conference. I have only been into Zambian communities a few times but each time has been an experience that I will treasure as I move on through my journey. I have seen amazing things happening within Hands at Work and have met many people who give their lives to serve their communities.

So tonight I'm off to sleep in my sleeping bag, under my mosquito net for the last time. I will be sad to say goodbye to Kachele farm and Zambia but I am really excited for what I’ll get up to in the second half of my time in Africa...

A very very very late blog

It's been a very long time since I last posted a blog, but my excuse is I've been too busy. After I recovered from tonsillitis I spent the weekend helping set up for the Hands at Work Celebrations - an annual conference that brings hundreds of people together from all eight countries that Hands works in and also the international offices (UK, Canada, Australia and USA). I was working mostly on the audio/visual team, so I was helping sort microphones and projectors and then during the conference I spent most of my time filming and taking photographs for the communications team. It was amazing seeing so many people come together from all over the world to meet and learn about this year’s goals and focus points. I had no idea how huge the organisation was, there was over 250 people and so many more that couldn't make it, I was overwhelmed by the size of the conference. So for the next few days I filmed the conference and the singing and dancing, I enjoyed running about with my camera on somebody else’s orders for once!
 
On the first day of the conference my Mom arrived in Zambia with another person from Hands UK called David; Mom and David where here to represent Hands UK during the celebrations and the international conference afterwards. The celebrations were spread out over 6 days but with weekends Mom was here for 9 days total. It was great seeing her again, halfway through my trip, mainly because she brought me McVities, Haribo, Wine Gums and Jelly Babies! But I suppose it was nice having her around too…
 
I spent Sunday afternoon with Mom and a load of other volunteers; we drove out to a city called Kitwe. Kitwe has a huge market which is a labyrinth of stalls and shops; the part we went to was built above what smelled like open sewers, we walked on timber boards and metal sheets that made up the alleyways, taking care to avoid the cracks and broken planks. It was an amazing place that even on a quiet Sunday afternoon was crawling with people on every street. A few of us wanted to buy shitenge fabric; a shitenge is a sheet of fabric that local women use as skirts. The fabrics often have very vivid, colourful patterns and designs, I bought one to have a shirt made and another to use as a wall hanging. I was a bit dazed by the sheer choice of materials that was on sale but in the end I went for a very ‘James May’ style pattern for my shirt.
 
We then went down the road to a gelato shop called Gigibonta’s which makes the best ice creams I have ever tasted, and three flavours for Kr15 (about £2.50) was too good to miss. So five flavours later we were back in the back of the pickup truck on the way home.
 
On Monday after my first African taxi ride I was back behind the camera but this time in a community called Chbuli. I was out filming for the communications team again; it was an interesting experience because I had to find the balance of getting good shots but only when the situation felt it was suitable. I obviously couldn’t just get out my camera and film the inside of the orphan’s houses while we sat talking, it was hard finding when was ok and when was inappropriate. It was almost impossible to film at the CBO because there were dozens of children clinging to my legs wanting a photo so keeping the shots steady was frustrating. I did get one great shot of a little girl who clung to me all day, she was holding my hand and leading me down the dusty path to where the careworkers were serving food. Halfway through the shot she looks up at me and stares down the lens for ages, sucking her thumb, not looking where she’s going (and neither can I through the viewfinder). I really felt at home in Chbuli thanks to the welcoming careworkers, the smile of one woman in particular will stay with me for a long time.
 
On the way home we stopped in Luanshya where we met Russell and Adam, we were shown to a local tailor down a crumbling back-alley with cracked brickwork and peeling paint. The tailors was called ‘Quality Taylors’, at first it looked like a market stall but then I realised it was a make-shift shelter in a burnt-out shop. The tailor called Shaddy told us he had an electrical fault while he was on his lunch break one day and came back to his whole shop on fire. You could see the sky through the burnt out rafters, the paint was almost all gone and the door was charred and black. But he was a cheerful bloke and seemed to be able to make any design we asked him for. I was measured for my shirt, Adam for his suit for a wedding and Russell for his shirt and baggy trousers (like Aladdin or MC Hammer). We’re all interested to see how Russell’s trousers will turn out when we pick them up tomorrow because when he described them to Shaddy he seemed amazed that anyone would want to wear such a crazy pair of trousers. My shirt only came to Kr120 (about £22) which I thought was a bargain for a tailored shirt, what a great souvenir.
 
I was back building the following Tuesday and have been since then. We were preparing timber moulds for the concrete lintels and ring beams that would sit on top of the walls and windows. This will hold the structure together and give more strength to the walls, the rafters will sit on top and then when the roof is on the structural work will be done. I really enjoyed working with the timber moulds; I haven’t worked in wood since my college course last year so it was nice doing something more familiar again.
 
I have booked a flight out to South Africa next Friday as I will be going back to work with the communications team at the hub. On the Saturday after, two volunteers - Tommy and Morgan - will be getting married. They have asked me to do some of their wedding photos, so I’m excited to do that, it might also be an excuse to wear my new African shirt!