Sorry for not blogging for so long... Today we have said goodbye to the first of this year's summer teams and they have been excellent! They have helped enormously at Kamfinsa and even helped complete our Hammer Mill project that we began 11 months ago. Many of you gave generously towards this project and so we hope you will enjoy seeing the photos below... Along with the construction of the hammer mill (which should be ready to use next week when the concrete has fully set and all the bolts can be tightened) we have also been working getting the community school up to a high standard so that it is ready to take it's first pupils in September when it will be under new management. on the new house for Pastor Albert
 What a crazy month it has been! When we put out the appeal for land back in April, we didn't know what the outcome would be. It seemed like such a huge amount to be asking for and with such limited time - for most of which we were on expedition in South Africa with the AQ team running youth camps, school activity days, hospital services etc as well as getting to enjoy some of the sights and experiences Kwa-Zulu Natal has to offer! Incidentally, while we were in South Africa we managed to visit Dihlabeng Christian School in Clarens which was set up to help educate orphans (facebook page here). An amazing place, and exactly what we're aiming to replicate here in Ndola. Anyway, whilst we were away we were getting almost daily reports of what money was coming in and just a week before the deadline we were only a few hundred pounds short of the £12,667 target. However, after a quick post on facebook announcing that fact we discovered that there was still much more money you generous people had raised but not yet paid into the account. We have soared well above our target now and it is very clear that God's hand is in it! As of last Monday (21st May) the total amount raised was £21,836.06!!!! Wow! And it's still coming in! Thank you!! Yesterday Ndola Council came to survey the land so that the 'Ministry of Lands' can approve the sale. The decision will be approved by the council sometime in June. Remember, this is Zambia, things take time. Please pray that all goes well. The money has now been transferred from the UK and should be accessible in Zambia sometime soon (when the bank has processed it). Some pictures of the council at work are below. Obviously we have more money than we needed to secure the land, but in building the school it will not be wasted! The additional funds will be enough to cover not only those hidden fees (for the Ministry of Lands etc), but also will go a long way towards building a security wall and of course the school build itself. As far as the school itself goes we are currently putting together a support group which among other things, will help to write the school's constitution which has to be in place to enable us to register with the 'Ministry of Education'. One seemingly weird thing we have to have in place in order for the school to be approved as a school is a library (it's weird simply because many Zambian Government schools don't have a library or many books at all!). Again we know that these things can be found!
 Kamfinsa has come on leaps and bounds recently, it is definitely exciting times!The AQ team has been preaching and giving words of encouragement in church services as well as helping to lead new cell groups which are meeting in different places in the community on Thursday mornings. The church membership is at an all time high and weekly church attendance is consistently 100 or more people.People of all ages have reason to be excited!!The men have been working to complete the new Pastor's house and have made great progress. All the materials apart from the glass for the windows and a final few bags of cement for plastering the walls have been bought and are being stored securely in the school.
Lots of ladies have been meeting one of the school classrooms for the last 5 weeks to learn how to sew in readiness for the delivery of 4 sewing machines that came from the UK a while ago but hadn't yet made it out to the village. On Thursday this week, however, I was able to take the machines along with a Landcruiser packed full of gardening and carpentry tools to Kamfinsa at last. It took about 4 hours to catalogue all the items but the community were delighted to see the investment people from the UK have made in them.
 As for the children, well their future also looks bright. We had the amazing blessing last week of meeting a married couple (both teachers) who have a heart to go and live in Kamfinsa village and run the community school there. They realise there is not a lot of financial backing in terms of them receiving a salary but are willing to sacrifice to see the area and people flourish. The husband, Chama, says that "money doesn't just come from the UK or praying for it, but from working the ground with all God has given you". He has great vision for the school and community which is excellent. The more people who want to carry the load and share responsibility for the future of Kamfinsa, the better! It also seems rare to find people that genuinely want to give of themselves so readily in the knowledge that their reward will be the fruit of their labour. I think Chama follows the Biblical teaching of "you have to lose your life to find it"! Please pray for this big step. Chama and his wife may move into the teacher's house in Kamfinsa, soon after Albert and his family (who are currently living there) are able to move into the new pastor's house.
It was amazing to discover that amongst all the boxes of tools/sewing machines etc that I took to Kamfinsa, there were also 7 boxes of Children's story books and 3 boxes of English and Maths textbooks, plus counting beads, dominos, clocks for learning to tell the time etc! This means that when Chama does start at the school he will also have some classroom resources! Wonderful - a timely delivery!! One of summer teams this year is hoping to also paint a number line and alphabet on the classroom walls to brighten up this new learning environment - we think it is all coming together!The gardening tools (there was even a petrol driven plough amongst them) will also encourage the community to grow more and more food which is in line both with Chama's belief that the people should be working the land more and also with the plan to build a hammer mill in the village. We hope that the AQ team will head out to Kamfinsa in June to lay the foundations for this as we think we have all the funding needed for the project finally in place! Below (right) is a photograph of the same hammer mill machine we are going to buy and erect a building for. Also below you can see the sewing class that is now underway thanks to those Singer sewing machines!
I hope you can sense the excitement in the many things that are happening in Kamfinsa - God is good, All the time!!
 Thank you so so much to those of you who have already donated - we're a third of the way to our target in just under a week! PTL!
Kaniki is 12km from the nearest town, Ndola, Zambia. It is within a few hundred metres of the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unemployment is high and many families can’t provide for the basic needs of their children. HIV/AIDS is a huge problem, with almost 50% of the adult population in the immediate area infected with the disease. This has led to a missing generation with many children left orphaned and being brought up by either grandparents or their older siblings. With such immediate needs education is often considered a low priority which means that many people are unable to read and write. Children growing up here have little to aspire to when they look at the poverty which surrounds them.
For the last 12 or so years a project has been run from Kaniki Bible University College that have been providing for some of the most needy children in the area. The Kaniki Orphans Project (KOP) currently supports just over 300 orphans, paying for their school fees, uniforms, books and food. We encourage and support them along with any family members within their home environment. Within Zambian culture family is important and so we do not want children to be separated from their few surviving relatives. However we have become increasingly aware that paying children’s school fees in the current system is not enough.
It was in 2011 that ideas of starting a school started to fill our minds. As part of KOP we work relatively closely with the only local school in the area. It became apparent that many of the children were failing in school because of lack of English and huge class sizes. The school has over 1400 pupils and just 17 teachers. Many children go to school hungry and the teaching they receive is substandard– the problems are so complex that there is no easy solution for the school.
Having been teachers in the UK, we know that education needs to be holistic and cater for all the individual needs of pupils – something which the Zambian system does not leave room for. We are going to start a school in conjunction with KOP that will provide holistic education for children in an environment which makes them feel valued, safe and secure, where they are able to develop and reach their potential and help them out of the poverty cycle so many Zambians are trapped in.
Class sizes will be limited to a maximum size of 20, teaching and understanding of English will be given top priority and we will ensure the children are given at least one good meal each day. The school plans to open to its first year group in September 2013. Adding an additional year group every subsequent year.
We have received most of the needed funding for the school building itself, but until 13th April did not know where we would find land. The perfect opportunity has arisen and we have been able to pay the 10% deposit because of this week’s donations. The plot of land is adjacent to Kaniki Bible University College and is 3.5 hectares (35,000m2). The price was negotiated down to K95,000,000 (that’s 95 million Kwacha or £12, 667). This is actually a good price for such a large area of land and will enable the school to be built in the ideal location. However, we have just a few weeks left to raise the rest of the money needed to secure the land!
In a little less than a week we have raised £4434 (praise the Lord!!!!!) – so we’re a third of the way there! We need this momentum of giving to continue until we have the amount we need. We have until May 16th to raise the remaining money and have it paid into the account, details of which are below.
To donate money, please pay into the following UK account;
Name – KANIKI BIBLE COLLEGE
Acc.no – 50086517
Sort Code – 20-08-44
Branch – Birmingham Kings Heath
Mark ‘land’ for reference
Donations of all sizes are welcome but they are needed urgently. One way you can help us raise the money is by selling off metre squares of land for 40p+ each to your friends, family, work colleagues, or classes if you’re a school teacher etc. Contact us (via the ‘get involved’ tab on this website) for a copy of the land grid to record people’s names who have bought metre squares and receipt tokens for those who would appreciate something showing that they’ve purchased some land to build a school for vulnerable children in Zambia.
Each person that buys one or more squares of land will have their name logged and kept within the school in Zambia alongside all those who have helped make this school possible.
PLEASE HELP US GAIN MORE GROUND!!
 It’s been a funny old week; another busy week for KOP – although at this time of the year it seems all the weeks are busy.
Earlier in the week a lady brought her son to KOP. He’d been bitten by a dog a few weeks ago and was now sick. The lady asked if we could buy the prescription the doctor had given at the time of the bite, thinking it would help. She’d not been able to afford the medicine and had not realised that she could have asked us at the time. But it was too late. The prescription was for a rabies and a tetanus vaccine. Rabies has to be administered with 72hours of the bite in order for it to be effective. She was not told that, nor was she told that without the vaccines there was a high possibility that her son (Francis) might die.
He was sick – fever, swelling, confusion, odd behaviour and ‘something was coming out of his chest’ (Mrs Chumba didn’t know how to explain in English, and I never saw what they were talking about for myself). I didn’t know much about rabies, but from what I did know it looked like it. We took him to the hospital and he was admitted to the infectious diseases ward. The doctors confirmed my suspicions, and so it would only be a matter of time before he went completely mad and the serious symptoms which lead to death would set in.
In the evening I went to the hospital with Mrs Chumba and Jo to give them food (you don’t get food in hospital here, friends and family have to provide it) and to pray for him. Whilst we were gone Tim and all the AQ guys were praying.
But GOD is an AWESOME GOD! The next day Francis was discharged from hospital as all traces of rabies were gone and he was completely and utterly well!!!! The hospital wouldn’t admit he was healed and it was a miracle, they figured there was a mistake or something. But I saw the difference with my own two eyes! God is a miracle working God!
On Friday we had a successful gathering of the guardians of the KOP children. We have 162 guardians, about 60 of them came, which is slightly fewer than I’d expected but a good turn out all the same. We had a good time together and many said they were encouraged by what I’d said. With the help of the AQ we were able to give each of them 2 tops, a skirt or trousers, a jumper or jacket and a pair of shoes. They were so pleased! One lady even danced out of the room she was so happy! One amusing sight was a lady who chose her jacket –which happened to be a full body all-in-one ski suit!
This morning I’ve also had to take one of the grade 11 boys to hospital as he is very sick.
We also took on a new member of staff this week. He’s called Able. It’s a trial 3 months, but so far so good!
Let’s just see what this coming week brings!
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 About 2 weeks ago on a Wednesday night I said to Gemma that it was a shame our friends Malene and Andreas hadn't been able to bring their puppy to Zambia from Denmark (in fact they had to sell her). As I thought about it I wondered if there might be a possibility of us going with them to look at puppies. I even joked that if we found a brother and sister we could take one, and Gemma said that she'd only want a boy dog. Of course this seemed like a bit of a fantasy as Gemma hasn't enjoyed touching/handling animals because she doesn't like being able to feel the bones under the fur! But somehow we managed to keep talking about what we'd call a puppy, coming up with various names, and as we drifted of to sleep I decided that I would talk to Andreas and Malene about it the next day. The following afternoon I went to their house and was amazed to hear that had just bought a female puppy from the SPCA in town as it's mother had been hit by a car. Imagine my surprise when their next breath was to tell me that the SPCA had asked if they could also take the brother puppy (also orphaned). They very nearly bought it to present to us as a gift, but didn't think Gemma could cope with a dog. I told them about our conversation the night before and they said that the brother was really cute and in good health and that they would show us how to look after it. We all agreed that it would be best if the puppies could be kept together as they're only 6 weeks old. Malene and Andreas live opposite us andso the dogs can (and do) see each other each day.
 We went to collect the dog, who we promptly named Archie and had him bathed as he was covered in his own poo. As I was driving Gemma was forced to hold the dog on the way home and by the time we were back she had got over her hatred of live furry things (she said it was worse in her head than it was in reality). For the next 3 days I was only toilet duty and Gemma sorted the food. We realise he's quite a clever dog and would only wake us up in the night when he needed to go to the toilet and would return to his bed when we told him it was bedtime. Apparently maltese poodles are some of the easiest to train. Because of where we live we don't have to take him for walks in the traditional sense as there's plenty of room for him to run around the college and there's no fear of traffic. We've left him with his sister (with Malene and Andreas) and are looking forward to getting back to him tomorrow!
 At KOP it's been a busy time giving out various items of uniform and schools books. And I thought it was about time I shared some photos. On the left is Tekwaz and Janet in their uniforms. Getting them to smile was a challenge, so you'll just have to settle for a serious picture. They were very happy to receive their cardigans! Thank you so so much to all those who have been busy knitting! Your tireless efforts are very much appreciated! This week we've started the mamouth task of giving out shoes. I can guarantee that tomorrow we will have massive queues and many (who have shoes) will turn up barefoot.....they don't realise that my record keeping has been quite good so I know exactly who is and who isn't entitled! Once again a huge thank you to those who have donated, I would like to particularly say thank you to the pupils of Wolverhampton Girls' High School - you are making a lot of people very happy - even tears of joy and thankfulness have been shed!!! A container recently arrived from Denmark and we have been blessed with more clothes than I know what to do with. There are so many I don't have the space to keep them all in our office. Many many thanks to those of you who packed and sent them. Clothes distribution will begin when we have finished with the shoes. The carpenters here at Kaniki are busy building KOP new shelves so that I can organise all the clothes.
We are in the process of trying to set up a sponsorship programme as well as a 'shop' where people are able to 'purchase' items of uniform etc for the children in
Huge HUGE thanks to all involved in supporting the work of KOP in one way or another!
 For years I lived in Zambia and craved good ice-cream, there was one restaurant that used to sell good chocolate sundaes but even they suddenly stopped much to my disappointment. Well, now things have changed... we have an ice-cream maker (actually a wedding present from my brother that only just made it out to Zambia) and a MasterChef cookbook and they are fantastic! In fact we even have a food processor (a gift from Gemma's parents) so we are in full swing. To the left is a picture of the richest, yummiest dessert I have ever made, let me talk you through it... At the bottom is a chocolate rice-crispie cake made with chocolate and condensed milk, on top of that is chocolate mousse - but I don't think I whipped the cream enough when making it and so it was a little runnier than intended (If you have a MasterChef Kitchen Bible you can check out the recipe on page 214). Anyway, seeing as the glass was still half-empty (I chose to look at it that way) I decided to add some of my homemade Indian Ice-cream as an extra layer and then added yet another layer of chocolate/coffee sorbet. I have a good Ice-cream recipe book that I am also working my way through by the way. Don't get me wrong, while our freezer does have 3 different types of ice-cream in it currently (the latest being extreme chocolate) I have only spent about £6 so far and am only eating any of it when we have guests for dinner which is less than once a week on average! The point is I am loving my new toys and books!!
 This weekend I also enjoyed trying out a telescopic fishing rod that Gemma's dad gave me. I don't have a great record on catching fish but on Sunday enjoyed some success. I still want to catch much bigger fish but for just an hour's effort I felt that the 2 I caught were good enough. Though small, they were big enough to grill and eat. Actually there was enough for 6 of us to all have a taste. Trying to gut them did appreciate afresh my mum's efforts in preparing 20 Mackrel that we caught sea-fishing when I was about 11 or 12.. she prepared them all in our tent with just a butter knife and a bowl of water!! I still have many skills to learn, but it's a good start.
All the team bought Zambian shirts to watch the game and it was great to be part of what I think is the best final I have ever seen! Our nephew, Zak, also wore his Zambian football shirt in celebration of this great victory. After the whole Zambian football team died in 1993 in Gabon when their plane crashed, this victory in the same place holds special significance!!!! The parties continued all through the night as Zambian won the African Cup of Nations. It was an amazing game, with Zambia winning 8-7 on penalties. It was tense.... people even passing out from the stress - I kid you not!It was also great to see that their first response was to thank God and sing 'Kalombo Mwane'
It was great and many people are enjoying a day off to celebrate!
On Tuesday in the KOP office an elderly grandmother asked me if I could come and pray for her granddaughter who had been sick with a mystery illness for a few weeks. So on Tuesday afternoon I headed up to Kamalasha (a little township up the road which came about because of the ease of making money through smuggling stuff across the border into DR Congo) with two of the students from Kaniki. We met with Mrs Chumba (KOP volunteer and Kamalasha Village mother) and she took us to the house. The house was small, two-roomed and made from mud bricks. We went inside the darkroom - the only light coming in from a small triangular window about 20cm at the widest point. We prayed with the girl, nothing particularly eventful happened. but as we were finishing the heavens opened and an almighty thunderstorm began. Consequently we stayed in the house and were chatting with the girl and her grandmother, and that's when the story, and the root of the problem came out. It made me realise afresh how much of a different world we live in in the west.
The grandmother explained how last year her elder sister was murdered by her twin brother as a satanic ritual sacrifice. I'll spare you many of the details of the tale as I don't think it's appropriate to write it here, but since this incident occurred there have been all kinds of crazy goings on.....such as coming home to find the house full of dead bodies, people who aren't real people (spirit beings which they can see) coming in and raping the granddaughter on a regular basis etc - things which are inconceivable to a western mindset. We agreed to come back today, Saturday.
We arrived at Mrs Chumba's house to find a lady trying to commit suicide with a knife - she had suspected her husband (who is a teacher at the local school) of having an affair. Something happened which made her decide that she was going to report it to the police. When she arrived at the police station she saw her husband canoodling with a female police officer - the lady she'd suspected! They came to Mrs Chumba's to sort it out, but there was a massive fight, her only conclusion was to take her own life.
I had to leave the students to come back for a birthday gathering, so I don't know what happened with the girl and her grandmother from Wednesday.....life here is just something else!
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