Dinner together, Originally Posted on September 20, 2011.
Reposed June 2021.
While we waited for dinner I gave them some dried apricots to try. They said they were similar to dried mango. I asked if Njamba and Ngebe could sit on either side of me on the little step of a patio outside their chalet.
I brought all of the annual reports that World Vision had sent to me for the previous 6 years each fall. They had a current picture and Njamba’s, school marks and a few activities he did that year. I brought all of these out and showed him the very first picture I had received of him. He and Ngebe let out a huge laugh! I showed him the first picture he had drawn for me of a soccer ball when he was 10 yrs old. He laughed and rubbed his hand over his face out of embarrassment. I showed him every year from 2005 to 2010 and they laughed each time. I know for sure now that he actually did draw those pictures. I also gave him the copy of the questions I had asked in 2011 when I first planned to go. David the WV rep had sent me pictures of all his friends and he pointed to them and told me there names. I left all of it with him as this would be his only photo album. As we were sitting there after the viewing and laughing, I said to Njamba” In your first annual report you said you wanted to be a soldier”, he and his sister laughed. “ In your second annual report you said you wanted to be a police man”, he and his sister laughed. “ so what do you want to be now?” he said” A teacher”. My heart swelled!” I clapped and yelled Yeah!”. Njamba shrugged and smiled. I don’t know if that is because I had given him the times table flash cards and told him he could teach math to all the little kids in his village or if that is really what he wanted to do now.
I gave them an article on how to compost and one on worms that you need to help the process. I also had found during my research an article on a certain flower that was becoming a popular delicacy in Zambia but was hard to find. I thought that if they could grow that crop they could make some extra money. I left the pages with Mwualuka and they could read it later. It was a great time just hanging out, waiting for dinner and talking. Mamma asked if I had any children and I told her my story. I said I didn’t know why I did not have any children of my own. It just happened that way. I turned and put my hand on Njamba’s knee and said, this is my son and he smiled and lifted his shoulder in his shy cute way.
The woman who owned the guest house brought all of the pots full of food to Njamba & Mwualuka’s chalet. We sat on the porch and used the plates I brought from Canada. That is a very special memory to me but unfortunately is was dark and I was so enjoying our time together I forgot to take any pictures. I have that vision of Njamba and Ngebe sitting on either side of me, etched in my mind.
We had a beautiful dinner of chicken, soup, rice and a vegetable called rape (I think like Kale but very common there, they call it relish) at around 8:30pm. Njamba was very hungry and they all piled their plates. I was too excited to eat. Mwualuka put the breast bone on Njamba’s plate, and I mean breast bone. The chickens in Zambia free feed on what ever they can find so they are quite small. They are truly free range.
There was very little meat on the bone and Njamba licked it
clean.
We then went to bed around 9:30p.m looking forward to our
visit to the Liuwa Plain National Park the next day.
See you in a couple of weeks! Sorry in the last blog I said we were going on Safari to Liuwa Plains NP but I forgot about this blog so it is now the next one!
