Who is Responsible ?

Whenever an act of violence is committed in any part of our country, the first thing that one hears is a variety of opinions from various quarters of our society as to who may have been responsible for it.

As a child I was brought up in a place which was subjected to seasonal flooding.

One of the sports we used to enjoy, as children, was to swim and bathe in flooded pools of water.

This could go on for hours until when we were all exhausted. It was real fun!

The back side of this game was that of poor sanitation because the place of play was very far from any lavatory.

At times one of the children would, out of pressure, empty his bowels in the water. This was with the hope that no one would know who has done it!

Once the contents of the bowels were noticed floating on top of the swimming area, we would all quickly come out the water denouncing the "son of a cow" who has done such a despicable act of barbarism and insanity !

On many occasions the culprit would not be known, as we all came out of the water "very clean".

However, suspicion of guilt was always pointed to the younger boys in the group.

This often resulted in heated arguments, and at times, fist fights would ensue amongst us.

On one fateful day soon after being forced out of the swimming area, a heated argument was going on and a fist fight was about to take place.

Suddenly, to our amazement, one of the boys started emptying his bowels on dry ground!

We later learned that he had a bout of diarrhoea as a result of over eating of mangoes the previous day.

Remember this. 

Whilst the "Playing Ground" is wet for you it is easy to hide, but once it has dried out you will certainly be found out!

“Trinity – The Eternal Divine Wisdom”

The Topic for the Service of 26^th May 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church- Kitwe was entitled:  “Trinity – The Eternal Divine Wisdom”.

Preacher:  Reverend Bellington Kabaso

Scripture Reading:   Proverbs 8: 14, 22 – 31

                                     Romans 5: 1 – 5

                                     John 3: 1 – 17

SERMON SUMMARY

The theme for our Service is “Trinity - The Eternal Divine Wisdom”. Looking at the meaning of the three words:-

·         Eternal – means everlasting or continuous without end.

·         Divine – means something provided by God and not of human nature.

·         Wisdom – means the ability to use knowledge and experience to make a sensible decision or judgement.

In Proverbs 8: 14, 22 – 31 we learn that wisdom was the first to be there during creation. In John 1: 1 we are told that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This Word is the wisdom. Nothing was created without the Word or wisdom of God.

Everything we see in the world was created before man. Everything in this world was created to be used by man.

In Romans 5, Paul is telling the believers in Rome that there must be a change in the one who becomes a believer. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”  (Romans 5:  1 – 2). Through peace we are able to talk to God in prayer.

God cannot continue to be in peace with a person who claims to be a Christian but continues to live in sin. The peace with God can only happen if we take Jesus as our Saviour and we get justified with God. Jesus has taken away that sin and we are able to be in the presence of God and we become His children. If we repent of our sins we are forgiven and become justified with God.

 However, we have taken that forgiveness for granted by continuing to sin and saying forgiveness will be given to us in Church at the next Sunday. God is not only found in Church. God is omnipresent so sinning deliberately is mocking God.  Ecclesiastes 5:  4 – 7 says “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfil it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?  Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.”

Nicodemus was an educated and rich man who was full of knowledge and lacked nothing. In John 3: 1 – 17 we read that when Nicodemus met Jesus, despite his knowledge, he was taught what it was to be “born again”.  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

For every Christian to be saved he or she must be born again. It is not a matter of coming to Church every Sunday and looking very humble. One must be born of water and the Spirit of God. Let us not take being born again lightly. Ask yourself whether you are on the right pass to be born again.

We should prepare our lives before it is too late, and do not say that “I shall be born again at a latter date”.

Nicodemus was taught on how to enter the Kingdom of God in heaven. We should emulate what has been told to him.  It is time to change our ways of living.

May the Lord bless his Word!

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

Trinity Sunday Prayer

Almighty and Eternal God, through your Word and Spirit you created all things.

In Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh; you revealed your salvation in the entire world.

Through your Holy Spirit, you give us a share in your life and love.

Keep us Firm in this faith, and fill us with the vision of your glory, that we may serve and praise you all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

(Book of Common Order, Church of Scotland P. 674)

AMEN!

“Jesus, The Giver of Eternal Life”

The Topic of the Service of 21^st April 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church was entitled: “Jesus, The Giver of Eternal Life”.

Preacher: Mr B. Chirambo

Scripture Reading:   Psalm 23

                                    Acts 9: 36 – 43

                                    John 10: 22 - 30

SERMON SUMMARY

 If you were asked “Why are you a Christians?” what will be your answer? Today we are reflecting on who we are in the Kingdom of God.

What does the Bible say about eternal life and Christianity?

To be a Christian is not a mere formality.

The Bible in John 3: 16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” and 2 Corinthians 5: 1 says “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

What Is Eternal Life?

From the beginning God has been there and his presence is everlasting.

·         Eternal life is a gift from God that is given to those  that believe in Him

·         The moment you totally surrender yourself to the Lord you are assured of eternal life.

·         Eternal life is knowing God.

Christianity is a total surrender to God so that we understand Him. When we understand Him we then know how we should live in relationship to Him. It is not by our own power but it is by the love of God that we can have eternal life.

In Psalm 23 King David says:-

 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

God is awesome who provides everything to us because He is available all the time. Psalm 23 tells us of the need to totally depend on God.

In Acts 9: 36 – 43 we read about Tabitha ((in Greek her name is Dorcas). She was a believer in God who was full of good works and helping the poor. She became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Peter was sent to raise her from the dead because her service was not completed.

What area is God requiring you to serve the community in which you live?

In John 10: 4 Jesus says his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Those who read his Word and mediate on it are those listening to his instructions and following them.

How many times have you read the Bible? Unlike other books, such as popular novels which are read once and put aside, the Bible is different in that the message is different whenever you read it.

How does God seeing you as a Christian? Are you seen as gossiper talking ill of others, etc.?  This is the position we should examine ourselves. What does Jesus know about us? How do you participate in servicing the community?

Eternal life starts now. It is doing the will of God. Be in his presence day in and day out and it should start now. Jesus walked on this earth in human form and he never departed from the presence of his Father.

What will you tell Jesus when he asks you, “Who are you?”. Jesus will say “I do not know you” if you never did the will of God.

Take part in projects like “Friends of Street Children”, etc. as much as we would like to our own needs there is more work out there in the community.

Jesus is the way and the light. We should hear his voice and walk in the way of his Father.

We should position ourselves in the Kingdom of God.

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

John 10:28

The promise of God is to give abundant life, life in full. Those that act in bad faith however, cannot be Christ’s Disciples and cannot receive this great promise.

Christ acknowledges those who obey his voice and they follow Him. He gives them the opportunity to experience life in every aspect of their being.

They begin to experience “Zoe-life”, the God-kind of life, and nothing remains the same.

They cannot help but exclaim “Hallelujah!”, “God is good”, “Thank you, lord”, each time they remember what God has done for them! They acknowledge that without God, they can do nothing!

The truth about abundant life cannot be over-emphasized.

Suffice to say, however, consider your ways as you begin this brand new week!

AMEN!

“The Road to Emmaus”.

The Topic of the Service of 7^th April 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church was entitled: “The Road to Emmaus”.

Preacher: Mr Kelvin Mufwambi

Scripture Reading:  Psalm 16: 1 - 11

                                    Acts 1: 1 - 5

                                    Luke 24: 1 - 11

NOTE:

The Unlimited Praise Team’s magazine called “Outreach Magazine” was launched by the Reverend Chipasha Musaba before the beginning of the service. Get yourself a copy at the Church for KR40.

SERMON SUMMARY

We are gathered here as witnesses of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In our lives we have a lot of worries such as those regarding poverty, lack of shelter, poor health and unstable marriages, etc.

In a similar manner there was a lot of worry amongst the disciples after the death of Jesus. They were worried if, indeed, he would rise from the dead after three days as he had promised them.

Psalm 16: 10 is a prophetic uttering about the resurrection of Jesus. “Because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”

Are you still wondering if indeed Jesus rose from the dead?  Isaiah 55:8 says “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.”

Those who crucified Jesus made sure that he will not rise again by sealing his Tomb with a big stone and putting a guard to watch the Tomb. Despite this, Jesus rose from the dead and the stone was rolled away without the guards knowing what was happening.

The disciples knew that Jesus will come back. However, they had fears and doubts about whether this was going to pass as he had promised them.

Whatever doubts you have in life Jesus will always come back to attend to your problems because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” ~ Hebrew 13:8

We are the living witnesses of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. If Jesus had not risen from the dead we would not have gathered here today to proclaim that.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the beginning of Christianity. If Christ had not been resurrected and seen by many people (more than 500), Christianity would not exist today. Jesus made twelve appearances after his resurrection:

1.       His first appearance was to Mary Magdalene, on that early Sunday morning. (Mark 16:9; John 20:10-18).

2.       Jesus appeared to the women returning from the tomb. (Matthew 28:9-10).

3.       Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-32; Mark 16:12-13).

4.       He appeared to Peter in Jerusalem. (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).

5.       He appeared to his disciples and other followers, and also a second time to the two men from Emmaus, in a locked room in Jerusalem. The apostle Thomas wasn't there at that time. (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23).

6.       A week later, Jesus again appeared to his disciples behind locked doors, and this time Thomas was present. (John 20:24-29).

7.   Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. (John 21:1-24).

8.   Jesus was seen by 500 believers at one time. (1 Corinthians 15:6).

9.   He appeared to James. (1 Corinthians 15:7).

10. He appeared to eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee. (Matt. 28:18-20).

11. He walked with his disciples along the road to Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, and then  

       ascended into Heaven. (Luke 24:50-53).

12. He was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8).

We need to bring people to understand the meaning of Christianity by prophesy. One cannot proclaim prophesy by writing it down. However, when you empty yourself God will reveal a lot of things to you.

The Bible says:” Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” ~ Revelation 2:17. Therefore demand your portion with Jesus today. When Jesus reveals himself to you, you become a new creature and will be called by a new name.  When you have a new name people will recognise you.

Let us have an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ as the two men on the road to Emmaus.

Remember that whatever you do here on earth will follow you after your death.

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

The road to Emmaus is a common path for most Christians. It is a place of self-acclaimed awareness of Christ’s mission and what ought to be done by His Church; a place of confused understanding about the Christ and unacknowledged inability to recognise the Christ.

Imagine how Cleopas responded to the Christ saying, “Are you the only visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he and his Friend went on to recount the events that had taken place, (Luke 24: 18-24). Recounting them to whom? They were telling them to Jesus, the Christ.

Would you have done better than him, yourself, or are you doing any better? Can you imagine how many people are telling others about the Christ, when on the other hand; they themselves have failed to recognise Him? It is shocking to find people in Church who cannot even recognise the one by whom they are named. Be careful!

As you begin this new week, make it a point to remove your name from the list of those who claim to follow Jesus and yet they cannot recognise Him.

AMEN!

The Beauty of Ashes

TEN RECOVERY STEPS: AFTER BEING BURNT IN A RELATIONSHIP.

This note is based on the message that I got from a Sermon I listened to from a Christian Radio Station during the night of 20 September 2010. I can not recall who the Preacher was, but the Sermon was entitled “The Beauty of Ashes” which is based on Isaiah 61: 1- 3 (NIV).

I may not have grasped the entire message of the sermon but I believe that some people will be assisted in one way or another. I have written it to comfort those who are burnt in life through loss, broken relationships, being cheated through broken promises and many more.

Remember what you are becoming after being burnt is more important than what you have been. Emotions belong to you and you can choose them.

 ISAIAH 61: 1 - 3 - THE YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOUR

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,] 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.

 1) KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHER PEOPLE’S ACTIONS When someone made a decision or taken an action that affects you emotionally do not carry somebody’s burden on your head. Stop self condemnation. Do not be a sacrificial lamb for somebody’s action.  

2) DON”T EMBARRASS OR HUMILIATE YOURSELF Do not let people to use you as their doormat. If someone has left you it is his or her choice. You need your dignity. You are a human being created in the image of God.  

3) THE GRIEF IS A PROCESS NOT A DESTINATION Do not force an emotion. Grieve as much as possible and get over it, but do not let it haunt you for the rest of your life. Pain is never permanent. A grief of 40 days is ideal and biblical.

 4) YOUR EXPERIENCE IS NOT UNIQUE There are other people who are going and have gone through the same experience. You are not the only one and do not develop the “Elijah syndrome”.  

5) THE HEALING STARTS FROM WITHIN It starts when you surrender to the Lord through the Holy Spirit. This will change your heart. This may not be so easy to some people but it is the only way of healing.

6) THERE IS POWER IN FORGIVENESS Forgiveness is a release of pain. Unless the pain is taken out by forgiveness it can not be relieved. Forgiveness is like removing a bullet from a wound in order to allow it to heal. You can not get someone new without removing the pain. If you do so it is like covering a wound whilst a bullet is still in the body.  

7) EMBRACE GOD’S RECONSTRUCTION God will use people in the healing process. New people, new places and new principles and ideas will be introduced in your life.

8) BE GUIDE BY THE WISDOM OF YOUR EXPERIENCE Be wise not cynical or sceptical about a new relationship. Do not conclude that all men or women are the same.  

9) LEARN TO TRUST AGAIN There will be doubts in new relationships. Remember life does not give us guarantees but opportunities.

10) SMILE AND CELEBRATE YOUR RECOVERY Look back at your life and smile. Laugh at yourself. Come back to your senses. Do not take your victory for granted.

Finally Read Psalms 40: 1 - 3

1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.

Amen !

Emergency Services in Zambia

On 15 May 2011, there was a news item from the local media about the loss of lives of more than a dozen children in the Zambian city of Ndola.

A hired mini bus, that was carrying some forty children who were going for a Church function, careered off the road and plunged into the Kafubu River.

The Police and the local Fire Brigade were called to the accident scene to rescue the victims.

According to one television footage of the accident, some witnesses who rushed to the scene of the accident were of the opinion that, if the rescue team had acted swiftly, not so many lives would have been lost.

What incensed them was the method that the Fire Brigade officers used to rescue the victims.

One witness claimed that a rope was thrown to the children so that they could climb out of the sinking vehicle !

They expected the officers to have dived into the water and assist the children.

When one looks at the equipment that the emergency services in Zambia have , it would have been suicidal for the Fire Brigade officers to have gone into the water.

The only section of our community that have adequate emergency rescue systems are the Mines and the Military.

There were two similar accidents which occurred on the Copperbelt in the recent past.

A few years ago, there was a heart breaking loss of a Luanshya mother and her children who drowned in their family car. She was apparently trying to drive through a flooded road at a bridge near the Kamfinsa township after a heavy downpour.

The vehicle was swept off the road into the fast running stream. Their bodies were recovered after several hours by the Fire Brigade with the help of a Mine Rescue Proto Team from a nearby Mine.

Recently a car went off the road and plunged into the Kafue river at a bridge on the Mufulira - Kitwe road. It took many days before the car and the body of the driver were recovered by a team of military divers.

Several road accidents have occurred where lives have been lost unnecessarily during rescue operations.

There two reasons to this.

Most people who rescue road accident victims are not familiar with First Aid practice.

There are cases where people bleed to death because there is no one to help them to stop the bleeding. Others die or become paralyzed permanently due to the manner they are transported from the accident scene to the hospital. A person with a broken spine needs a special method of transportation, for example.

One worry is that it takes time for authorities to respond to emergencies or to remove hazards from the roads.

A recent example is that of a Tanzanian truck that overturned at a sharp corner on the Chingola- Kitwe Road very close to the CEC substation at Luano early this year.

The truck, which was carrying a load of dump truck tyres each weighing over five tonnes, apparently overturned after going through a very big pot hole.

Despite the truck being a danger to individual motorists and passengers of public transport vehicles, it took more than five weeks before the truck was removed.

I happen to have been traveling on the road on a near daily basis during that time. I and friend used to cross with a Police traffic vehicle that was commuting between Chingola and Kitwe.

There were several near misses where some vehicles almost rammed into the obstructing truck. The only warning to other motorists were pieces of tree branches spread on the road from either side and some warning triangles which were not easily seen. The crew of the truck were stuck at the place for all that time without any assistance from anybody.

At one time we stopped our vehicle and interviewed the truck crew. They told us that they have sent word via fellow truck drivers to the owners of the truck who was in Tanzania.

Had a fatal accident occurred as result of the obstructing truck, it was going to be high profile news. As long as no accident occurred it was, apparently alright, with the authorities in charge of road safety !

This is a very sad state of affairs which needs urgent attention from all concerned.

What is lacking in our society is the lack of urgency to resolve problems which are under our control.

What comes to mind is the establishment of road safety organizations which would supplement authorities to reduce the accidents on our roads.

In many parts of the world there clubs such as the Automobile Association (AA) which look into the well being of motorists. If I remember well we used to have such an organization in the distant past when I was just a school boy.

There is potential for establishment of motoring clubs that would remove dangerous obstacles from the roads, provide first aid to accident victims and do rescue operations at accident scenes.

The country has a lot of people who are professionals in the field of first aid and rescue operations. If these put their heads together a formidable organization would be formed.

An example would be if each motorist was asked to contribute a regular fee of say, K10,000 per month, towards such an organization on a voluntary basis, it would go a long way towards reducing suffering to the road users.

As more and more people realize the benefits of belonging to such a "club" it would encourage others to join. This would extend even to rescue operations in residential areas where people find them selves in many emergencies.

Some people may not agree with me and say such duties should be left to the existing sytems run by the Government and Local Authorities.

If one can afford to pay, say K50,000 to belong to a drinking social club, why not belong to one which is looking after his own safety ?

What do you think ?

Your Mindset Determines Your Destiny !

This year, citizens of the Republic of Zambia will be going to the polls to elect new civic and political leaders from a number of political parties.

It is during this time like this that each party is trying to outdo others by massive campaigning to attract the attention of the voters.

Very well written manifestos will be distributed around the country.

As usual, the electrorate is promised good developmental programmes by each political party.

After 47 years of political independence, my heart bleeds when I realise that, despite the campaigns, the attitude of an average Zambian towards basic things like hygiene and self development is still wanting.

As an example, I was recently in Kitwe City Centre when I decided to go home by public transport. The family car was being used for another purpose in town, so I took a shortcut to the bus stop, via an alley that passes between two commercial banks on one end and some shops on the other end.

The water drain was full to the brim with stagnant and dirty water.

On closer look, I noticed that the water could not flow freely because people who walk along the alley have thrown away all sorts of litter into the drain, thereby choking it !

An average Zambian who has gone to school knows that stagnant water is a good breeding ground for mosquitoes, which is the cause of the deadly malaria disease. Thousands of people are killed by malaria across Zambia every year.

It is a pity that after so many years of Independence the mindset of an average citizen is not tuned to self discipline towards looking after surroundings.

There is a general tendency amongst us that the Government and local authorities will do everything for us.

If litter is thrown away so carelessly resulting in water drains being blocked, what sort of development are we expecting in the country ?

Is there any political party that will change our mindset to develop ourselves?

What every citizen should know is that this country will not be developed by any politicians if we are not tuned to develop ourselves in the first place.

Do we need a council policeman to guard that drain for 24 hours to prevent irresponsible people from choking the water drain by throwing away litter
anyhow ?

Do we need foreign experts to come and show us how to look after our cities properly ?

Remember your mindset determines your destiny !

NOTE : -

To see the water drain referred to click the link below:-

http://files.myopera.com/hmsialex/operamini/1302872245.jpg

The Deception of Wealth

Have you ever wondered why money keeps on losing value every time ?

Just after Independence, the Zambian Kwacha was equivalent to about two US dollars. Today it takes nearly five thousand Kwacha to exchange it for one US dollar.

We have heard of countries whose national currencies became worthless, to a point that to buy a loaf of bread, one has to carry a suitcase full of cash!

Money in itself does not represent wealth. Money is a means of exchange of wealth or value.

To illustrate this:- Suppose you were given one million US dollars cash today, you would be an instant millionaire and would be jumping all day long.

The one million dollars would have some value if it was given to you in a city flourishing with all types of goods and services that money can buy.

If you were given that sort of money and left with it at an isolated oasis in the middle of a desert, would it be any use to you? Certainly not. If no food and water was brought to you in time you would certainly starve to death!

For money to be useful to people wealth must be made.

Wealth comes in form of consumer goods and services that are produced by people working to have them realised.

Wealth can only be created in the nation when everyone is involved in productive work that produces value.

It is very sad to note that nowadays many societies are slowly changing from producing to consuming products.

In many countries political leaders are voted into power by promising the electrorate developmental projects in their areas.

These projects are either funded by money borrowed from other countries where wealth is produced (people working hard) or taxes of the working class.

The question we should ask ourselves is : Can development in any country be brought by merely changing political leaders ?
The answer is certainly a big NO.

Wealth can only be created when the citizens of any country are productive.

The role of the political leaders in any country is to put in place policies that will encourage productivity amongst its citizens.

If citizens are not empowered to produce wealth from the country's resources, no amount of political propaganda and bigotry will bring development to that nation.

YES YOU CAN DO IT !

When I was growing up, as a child, I used to wonder how some people were able to do certain things with ease. This was amazing to me.

I could not , for example, understand how some people were able to climb up a tall tree with great ease.

A lot us are capable of doing things we never thought of doing sometime back.

Before attending school, letters and numbers never meant anything to us. Once one is educated and trained in a certain profession, he or she able to do a lot of tasks which can only be done by those trained in that particular field.

Any individual is able to do anything as long as he or she has a passion for it.

I have always been interested in finding out how equipment worked from my early life. It is therefore not a wonder that I eventually became an engineer.

One's capacity to do anything is not restricted by any physical limitations.

Mental barriers are always playing the major role in what one achieves in life.

One chooses what he becomes in life.

Some people choose to be rich right from the beginning of their lives. In a similar vein, poverty is not an inborn situation, it is "acquired".

Circumstances always play a part in what situation someone finds himself in. It is the way one responds to the situation that determines one's destiny.

In the 1980s, it was unthinkable in Zambia for anyone to buy bottled water for drinking. With the advent of Cholera in the country that killed hundreds of people, mineral water became a must for all travellers and in most homes.

Drinking of tap water was a common practice before the Cholera epidemics. Most homes now drink only boiled water or mineral water.

The adage that says "necessity is the mother of invention" is true for getting out of most situations we find ourselves in.

"Difficulty situations are sent to reveal to us what God can do in answer to the faith that prays and works. Are you straitened in the valleys?

Get away to the hills, live there; get that honey out of the rock, and the wealth out of the terraced slopes now hidden by forest " -- Daily Devotional Commentary.

"Got rivers they say are uncrossable, Got any mountains they say 'can't tunnel through' ?
We specialise in the wholly impossible. Doing the things they say you can't do."--Song of the Panama Canal builders.

The Bible says:

"I am able to do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13).

Do not be afraid to show off what you are capable of doing. It is your birthright to do what you are good at.

Always remember this "Yes you can do it!"

As Mark Alofokhai puts it : "
Is it showing off when you do the extraordinary things you are capable of doing?... Is a bird showing off when it flies ? ".

Of course not!

Decide today to start a business that you have always been dreaming about.

Stay blessed and remain in the Lord's favour. Amen !

Take The Step of Faith

The Bible says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

For by it the people of old received God's commendation.

By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God's command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible." (Hebrews 11:1-3).

An example of faith is when you flick a switch to "ON" for an electric bulb to give you light.

If you live in a home that is connected to mains electricity, you do not see the electricity but you have faith that it exists.

When you turn the knob of the switch to "ON" you expect the light bulb to give out light.

In a similar manner when a child is tossed high up in the air by its parent, it is by faith that instead of being terrified, he shouts out in joy.

If the child has no faith of being loved by the parent, he would cry out in terror at the thought crashing to the ground after being tossed up into the air.

The child has faith in the parent that no harm would come to it. He knows that the parent would get a strong grip on him a few moments before hitting the ground.

Our heavenly Father is our faithful parent who would not break his promise of protecting us when we are facing trials in our lives.

I am a living testimony to this fact. I have gone through many trials and temptations from childhood as documented in my writings.

He says "No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13).

When we are faced by trials it is only by faith that we know that we would come out of them unharmed.

"My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything." (James 1:2-4).

To a Christian trials are for testing one's faith in God.

The Bible, which is the Word of God, says :-

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?" (Numbers 23:19).

Our human tendency is to make us to depend more on the physical rather than on the spiritual part of us.

"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

Pastors Neil and Joanne Anderson, writers of the "Daily in Christ" devotional, say.

"If you are hoping for a magic formula or list of foolproof steps for walking in the Spirit, you will be disappointed.

The moment you reduce the Spirit-filled walk to a formula or an intellectual experience, you won't be Spirit-filled anymore."

Take the step of faith and live by the Spirit of God.

In Jesus Christ's name.

Amen!

Burning Old Bridges

During this festive season it is important to keep our families united.

The following story is an excerpt from Chapter Four of my recently published book entitled " Snares of a Deceptive Society" which will soon be on sale.

"Durkent was trained as technician electrician at one of colleges on the Copperbelt. He was admitted there after successful completion of his grade 12 education in Lusaka. He joined one of the electrical companies that manufactured electrical panels in Lusaka .

Durkent only worked for the company for four years. He shifted from Lusaka where his parents were living and started his own electrical panel manufacturing company.

He was assisted to start the business on the Copperbelt by a businessman of Asian origin who was a long time family friend to his parents. Durkent's father was a senior civil servant in the ministry of science and technology.

Durkent managed to get some good business with the mining companies because of the good quality of electrical panels he made from a rented workshop he was operating from.

Within three years, Durkent Electrical Company Ltd. (DEC Ltd.) grew from a small backyard company to one of the biggest suppliers of electrical spares to the mining companies.

A new workshop was built and manufacturing equipment was imported from Australia. He went into partnership with an overseas electrical company who brought in experts to train local staff on how to use the sophisticated manufacturing equipment.

Durkent became one of the richest men in Zambia.

He got married to Meeky who was his childhood lover from his school days. They grew up together in the rural part of the country.

Meeky was of humble educational background. She was a beautiful lady with a typical black African skin. She had an attractive wide smile which was augumented by her very white teeth with very dark gums. She developed a dimple whenever she smiled.

Durkent got married to Meeky when he was working as an electrician of an electrical company.

By the time Durkent Electrical Company was celebrating its tenth year in business, the couple had three children, two boys and a girl. The girl was the youngest of the three children.

Due to the affluent life Durkent now led, he was exposed to so many women he met during his business transactions.

There was a young lady who was working in one of the financial institutions called Mercy.

Mercy was a spinster who was very light in complexion. She had a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management . Durkent was attracted to the young woman, who was some ten years younger than him. The two soon fell in love and decided to get married.

Mercy was aware of Meeky whom she and her boyfriend referred to as the "native" from the village.

Durkent was convinced that in order for his business to grow bigger, he needed to marry an educated woman. Mercy, with her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration,was the right candidate for that.

Meeky was a very cheerful lady with strong Christian faith. Her father had been a Pastor of a pentecostal church until his death a few years after his daughter got married to Durkent.

Durkent on the other hand,
was not coming from a family with a Christian background.

He was introduced to Christianity by Meeky, during their courtship, but he really never became a regular church goer. He took Christianity as one of the social functions and not a way of life.

Once he fell in love with Mercy, he started to sleep out. At first he pretended that he was kept busy by business transactions which could not allow him to come home.

When Meeky started to doubt and question his excuses of sleeping out, Durkent became abusive towards her. A couple that had lived in peace for over ten years started to have brawls which sometimes attracted the attention of neighbours.

Meeky tried to save her marriage by involving her in-laws and church leadership without success .

Durkent's father was opposed to the marriage right from the beginning. He did not want his son to marry a girl who was not very educated and brought up in rural areas.

Finally Meeky was forced into leaving her husband and went back to the village where she was brought up.

After divorcing Meeky, Durkent was free to marry his "graduate sweetheart" , as he was fond of calling Mercy.

Their wedding reception was held at one of the classy five star hotels in Lusaka. The pastor who married them was hired to do so at a small church without a public ceremony.

After the wedding the couple went for their honeymoon in Thailand for two weeks.

When Meeky was divorced she was given a $15,000 compensation by a local court. Durkent was also ordered to look after his three children's welfare until they finished college.


In the meantime, the global recession started to affect the operations of most companies in the country. Business from the mining companies started to dry up and DEC Ltd. started to experience liquidity problems.

For the first time since he started his business, Durkent found himself with a $100,000 debt which was giving him sleepless nights.

Mercy assured her husband that all will be well as she could arrange to get a loan from her employers.

Durkent agreed to this suggestion and got a soft loan of $150,000. This money was given on condition that the title deeds of his mansion and workshop were surrendered to the financial institution where Mercy was working.

The company started to show signs of recovery after injection of the $150,000. However ,after a year the balance sheet of the company was getting deeper and deeper into the red. Foreign suppliers who used to supply the company started to withdraw their credit facilities.

The financial institution finally got possession of the assets of the company and Durkent was left a destitute.

Mercy kept him at her parent's home as he was trying to start a new business with one of his long time business associates.

The new business did not work out and Durkent was eventually forced to get a job as a Technical partner in one company.

Mercy told him to leave her parent's home and started divorce proceedings against Durkent.

The new employers accomodated Durkent in one of the lodges after he was rejected by Mercy.

The company managed to secure a very big order from one of the newly opened mines. Durkent was given $40,000 to purchase spares required for this order.

He was to travel outside the country to get the spares.

He was bought a ticket and he traveled to the airport with the company car.

The car was left at the fee paying parking lot so that on arrival from overseas he would pick it and drive back to the lodge.

Two weeks passed without his employers hearing anything from him.All efforts to trace him failed.

A check at the airport, where the car was left, revealed that he did not board any plane from there during the last six months.

The lodge later revealed that he had actually checked out of his room the day he was scheduled to fly out of the country.

One taxi driver revealed that he was hired by Durkent to drive him to the border of a neighboring country on the date he was to fly out.

The company tried to freeze his account where the $40,000 was deposited but to their shock they discovered that the amount was transferred to another account and only $1,500 was left as balance. The other account was no longer in use.

Durkent is now a fugitive on the run !"

A bird in your hand is better than two in the bush. Do not burn old bridges just because you have found new ones.

The grass on the other side of the fence might look greener at a distance, however , on arrival you will be shocked to find that it was afterall artificial grass not suitable for grazing !

Remember that not all that glitters is Gold.

Have a happy and prayerful Christmas and remain blessed in the New Year!

A Liar Needs a Good Memory to Survive

Recently one of my friends on Facebook, put up a post saying "A liar needs a very good memory to survive".

A lie is a statement from an individual or group of people who cheat by giving some wrong facts on a subject.

Many of us are subjected to so many lies on any given day.

Liars do so with the hope that the truth will not be known.

The bigger the lie the stronger will be the initial belief in it. This is known as "The big lie syndrome".

In order for the lie to last longer, the liar has to depend on his memory in order to tell the lie to several people.

As the liar manufactures more and more lies, he has to remember them more and more in order to keep them going.

So for the liar to remain credible he needs a very good memory to keep the lies alive.

The characteristic of a lie is because it bears no truth , it won't be long before the lie is exposed for what it is.

Some people depend on lies as a means of survival.

In order for them to do so, they have developed "lie manufacturing machinery" that churns out stories that initially look credible.

Satan is the greatest liar of all times. He is forever telling lies to us in order to keep us in bondage.

The Bible refers to Satan as follows :-

". . .He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44).

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)

As Christians we should not allow Satan to take charge of our lives. Let us forever be on guard against his intentions.

"Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth." (2 Peter 3:17).

Amen !

Getting the Best Out of a Bad Deal ?

In March 1986, whilst I was working as an electrical project engineer at Konkola Division of the then Zambia Copper Consolidated Mines Limited, I was sent for a six-month attachment with a British electrical utility company in the United Kingdom.

The attachment was part of a training programme in Electrical Power Distribution systems.

The training was sponsored by the World Bank as a way of strengthening the engineering skills of indigenous citizens of Zambia.

For accomodation the sponsors arranged for me to stay with a British couple as a paying lodger in their home.

I was staying with Mr. and Mrs. Munroe at their home. It was some four kilometers from a switchgear factory of a company called Northern Electrical Industries ( NEI) .The factory was located in a town called Hebburn, which is situated on the banks of the Tyne River.

Mr. Munroe had once worked as an expartriate at the copper mine in the Zambian Copperbelt town of Chingola around 1972.

My stay with the Munroe family is one of the most memorable time of my life. The couple, which was in their fifties, were very kind to me and I was treated like their own child. They had two grown children of their own who were by then grown adults who had their own homes.

On a typical Friday evening we used to go out for dinner at any one of the several social outlets found in the town of Hebburn.

One friday evening we went to one social outlet where we had dinner which was followed by taking of a few drinks.

A number of the Munroes' friends were interested to know more about Zambian life.

At time Zambia was under a one party system of Government.

One evening a certain man engaged me in a heated discussion when I told him about our "one party participatory democracy " in Zambia.

He told me point blank that the one party system of Government could not qualify to be called a "democracy".

I told him that when we had a multiparty system of Government we used to experience a lot of skirmishes between opposing political parties.

The skirmishes were generally between tribal or regional based opposing parties.

My support for the one party participatory democracy then was based on the fact that it had brought unity between the different tribes who have been bitter enemies for many generations.

The British man could not be convinced by this argument .

After about thirty minutes of a heated discussion he told me the following words which still linger in my mind.

"The problem with you Africans is you always choose the best option out of a bad deal. How can you call a one party dictatorship a democracy just because it has brought so called "unity " amongst you ?"

"The unity you are talking about is the unity to share poverty under despotic leaders"!

In our own lives we should not settle for anything that brings peace with the anybody else just to maintain the status quo of living in tranquility with them.

A troubled heart can not live in peace with anybody else apart from its owner.

Personal satisfaction can only be realised when an individual gets the best out of a good deal with anybody else!

What Should Change ?

Recently there has been some talk amongst the Zambian politicians, who are in the opposition, that the country is ready for change.

No one has really qualified what this change is all about.

Those belonging to the ruling party perceive this as a call to remove them from running Government.

Government never changes. What changes is the political party that has control over the running of the State machinery. After every general election a particular political party would have the mandate to run Government for a given period of time.

It is more like who is charge of the streering wheel of a vehicle that belongs to a family. Any member of the family can drive the vehicle, as long as they have a valid driving licence.

How the vehicle moves along the highway is determined by the competence of the particular member of the family.

The State machinery never changes in spite of which political party is in charge of running it.

When people talk of change they mean changing of a political party in charge of running the Government machinery.

We have had several changes of political systems since Independence in 1964.

Soon after independence, we had a multiparty system of Government which was a copy from our former colonial masters.

Later on, we changed to a one party "participatory" democracy, which was in fact, a dictatorship.

In 1991 multiparty democracy was reintroduced in the country.

The reintroduction of multiparty system saw a proliferation of many political parties, which at one time totaled over three dozen! Is this really democracy ?

By critical analysis of the behaviour of our politicians, one can see a general pattern in the attributes of individuals who belong to these parties.

The country has the following types of politicians, irrespective of which party they belong to :-

1) Political Monkeys - These are non principled individuals who jump from one political party to another. This type of politician is closely related to the one that follows.

2) Political Prostitutes - These are individuals who do not care about how our natural resources are utilized for national development, as long as a few thousand dollars are in their personal bank accounts.

3) Professional Politicians - These are individuals who make a living from politics. Some have done it for more than three decades. They have no interest of the country at heart. Some of them would like their own family members to take over from them as if they belong to royality!

4) Political Dreamers - These are individuals who come up with dossiers of economic development plans which never bear any fruits. They have very good development plans which are only pipedreams or not practical to implement.

5) Political Agitators - These are individuals who think political power should be via intimidation of the electrorate. They are ready to fight those that are not of their own party in order to remain in power.

The list can go on and on.

What is at stake is not which political party is in charge of running the Government machinery , but the type of politicians we have in our midst.

A lot of our politicians have one or more of the attributes mentioned above.

Is it not time for us to have a different approach to politics?

Education and Poverty

Some few days ago, I wrote an e-mail to an old colleague I once worked with in the Mines to pass my regards.

On reply , he informed me that one of the electricians at one of the Mines I used to work at, sustained serious burns in an electrical accident. This was some two weeks ago.

I replied that I was not aware about it.

He wondered why none of my former co-workers and subordinates had informed me about it.

I told him that human behaviour is such that once one is out of sight they also get out of the mind of others.

He replied that such a serious incident should have been reported to me. I left the Mine some ten months ago.

I jokingly told him that maybe it was due to their lack of "Lorex" !

"Lorex" is the acronym for local medium exchange of cash or the "Kwacha". This is the unlike "Forex" which is the overseas medium exchange of cash or being the US dollar and others.

To some people, even sending an SMS, which costs only K250, is like having a tooth extraction !

A recent observation by the "Family Financial Intelligence " guru on Facebook, says that 80% of Zambians are literate. This means that our educational attainment, as a nation,is quite impressive.

However, one wonders why some 86% of the population is poor.

The unemployed level in Zambia is over 50% .

Those in formal employment, are paid so that they are entirely depended on their employers for survival.

Take away their salaries, they soon become destitute. It is more like a garden plant which soon withers when the irrigation water is cut off !

The reason for this poverty is not due to lack of money but lack of financial education.

When I was working as a Plant Engineer in the Mines, within a time frame of five years, I came across some thirty emerging companies which won contract work from the Mines.

The average contract price was $20,000 with some contracts going as high as $400,000.

Assuming a markup of 20%, these companies made between $4,000 and $80,000 nett profit from the contracts.

What surprised me was that out of all these companies, only six were still operating at the end of that period. The majority had gone under due various reasons.

My observation was that once the money was paid, the owners of some of the companies went into a frenzy of uncontrolled expenditure.

There is this young director of a company which had just been paid some good money.

He used to drive a Toyota Corolla for about three years as he was establishing his company.

One weekend, I found him in town. He was parking a Mitsubishi Pajero besides my fifteen-year old Toyota 2.4D Hilux.

I have been driving the Hilux vehicle for all those years because I have been maintaining it. After having done some 140,000 kilometers since I bought it, it is still in a very good mechanical condition.

Knowing that his father was a businessman for many years, I presumed that the Pajero belonged to his father and so I paid no particular attention to it.

Since he realised that I was not showing any signs of being impressed by his latest acquisition, he boastfully told me that he had just bought the Pajero.

When I asked him what had happened to his Corolla ? he told me that he has given it away to one of his younger siblings.

I had no choice but to "congratulate" him, as he had expected me to do.

He told me that he used to feel very inferior when he came for important meetings with senior Mine officials.

He told me that it was not proper for a Managing Director to drive what he referred to as a "Ka-jilijili" (Corolla), whilst other Directors were driving "good" vehicles!

I am sure he was also telling me that it was not proper for a Plant Engineer to drive a fifteen-year old Hilux!

I really had sympathy for him because I knew that his company would soon kiss dust as has happened to others I have witnessed doing likewise.

The young man, due his lack of financial education, did not see it fit to reinvest the profit he got into expanding his company. Instead, he shrunk its capacity by purchasing an expensive vehicle, which he could not maintain for too long.

Why should one's status be determined by the type and class of a vehicle one is driving ?

It reminds me of one my favourite British comedies called "Keeping Up Appearances".

The hapless husband of Mrs. Buckett was, on many occasions, forced to show the outside world that the couple belonged to the British aristocracy. This was far from the truth !

I Have a Rank of Paraffin !

When I was doing my ninth grade at Sefula secondary school, I was given the responsibility of a school chief librarian.

My task was to account for library books which have been borrowed by fellow pupils.

I was then to ensure that my assistants put them back in the shelves according to the filling system of the library.

I was also responsible for assisting other pupils to select particular books.

This responsibility exposed me to some good reference books which really helped me in my class work.

Other pupils were given responsibilities such as school headboy, class monitors, school prefects and so on.

At the time, we had no electricity at the school. We depended on paraffin-operated hurricane lamps to provide lighting in the class rooms and dormitories during evenings.

One pupil was given the task of issuing paraffin to class monitors who were responsible for distribution of the lamps to various places.

That year, the President of the Republic of Zambia was attending the traditional ceremony of the Lozi people of the western province called Kuomboka.

This is the time when the Paramount Chief (Litunga) migrates from his Barotse flood plain palace to the dry land palace at Limulunga.

The President was attending as a guest of honour of the ceremony .

He flew in from the Capital City of Zambia, Lusaka, which is some 600 kilometres, to the east of Mongu town, the provincial capital of Western Province.

From Mongu he traveled to meet the Litunga at his flood season palace at Lealui by a speed boat.

It has been a traditional for the Head of State to attend this ceremony, which is an annual event.

It is one of the most celebrated traditional ceremonies in Zambia, which attracts thousands of people from all over the country and worldwide.

The Litunga travels by a huge boat, called the Nalikwanda, paddled by dozens of men across the flood plain for a distance of over fifteen kilometres.

As part of the ceremony, the schools around the Mongu area were to send some of their pupils to welcome the Republican President.

The pupils and local people would line up the route from the air strip up to the harbour where he was to board the boat and join the Litunga at Lealui.

Sefula Secondary School is some sixteen kilometres south of Mongu.

We had to board a bus from the school to Mongu as early as 4:00 hrs. in order to be in Mongu by 6:00hrs. We were then to wait for the President who was expected to land at the air strip at about 7:30hrs.

We were to have our breakfast before 4:00hrs.

It was quite hectic for us as we had to rush to finish the rice we were given for breakfast.

The rice was dispensed in deep bore plates. We were given about five minutes to finish the food. Since it was still steaming hot, it was no easy task!

I remember leaving almost a three-quarter plate of rice in my locker, and thought of having it later in the day, after returning from Mongu.

Since the space in the school hired Bus was limited, priority to board it was given to final year, grade12, pupils. This was followed by those who had some rank such as class monitors, prefects and librarian of the school.

We had a very hillarious moment when our "paraffin" pupil came to board the Bus. He was initially refused entry because he had no known "rank" at the school.

He was finally allowed to board the Bus after proudly telling the school master on duty, who was seeing us off, “I have a rank of paraffin” !

Whatever responsibility one holds in society should not be made trivial by others. We all have important roles to play to support the lives of others.

The Bible says :-

"For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.

And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness." (Romans 12: 4-8).

Amen !

Nuture that Passion !

A few months ago I was listening to a local Radio Station's discussion programme.

The topic of discussion was :

"Should parents dictate to their children what type of careers they should pursue?"

Listeners were asked to send their opinions by SMS. I sent the following SMS "Parents should not dictate to their children what careers they should follow. This is because we are all born with passions which we should nurture."

The radio announcer was very fascinated by this reply and this has prompted me to write this article.

Some people have found themselves doing what they are doing now because of circumstances beyond their control.

Their parents may have not have been able to get them to the training institutions of their choice because of financial constraints, peer pressure, or distance.

The other reason is that it had been a tradition in the family to follow particular careers.

I come from a family where many of my relatives had either been teachers, police or army personnel. This had been a general trend until about some thirty years ago.

My grandfather was a school teacher. My father was a school teacher and so were two out of five of his siblings.

I am a first born child of my family. When I was growing up, my parents assumed that I would be a teacher, just as my grandfather and father had been.

This was not to be the case.

My parents used to buy me mechanical toys such as wind-up aeroplanes and cars.

Within a short time of being given any new toy, I would open and dismantle it to pieces to study how it worked.

I would then re-assemble and make it work again. This gave me a sense of pride and satisfaction.

In some cases, I failed to re-assemble the toy. This earned me a few spanks from my mother who was always incensed by my "destructive" behaviour.

I was not deterred by mother's punishment.

My father, on the other hand, was fascinated by my curiosity.

By the time I was fifteen, I was a full fledged "mechanic" who was able to replace broken main springs in table clocks and tuning cords of transistor radios ,etc.

I remember one time when I was traveling on foot with my parents. The distance was about a ten kilometer stretch.

We stopped at one village, where we had some relatives, to rest and drink some water.

One of the villager's transistor radio had a broken tuning cord. My father suggested to him that I be given the radio and take it to our village and fix it. I was very glad to be given the chance to do so.

My mother tried to find an excuse for me not to take the radio, but I would not burge.

On our way to our village, my mother was not happy with my father. She was of the opinion that by telling strangers about my capabilities, he was exposing me to witches and wizards.
These could take me out of this world prematurely.

This did not deter me in any way.

Later, I had a several "customers" who would bring in their broken down radios, clocks, watches and bicycles which I willingly repaired free of charge!

A number of them bought me sweets and biscuits in appreciation.

This earned me the nickname "the engineer" in the locality.

My father realised that I was born with a passion of repairing things. He encouraged me to take up a career of engineering when I grew up and forget about being a teacher.

That is how I became an electrical engineer.

A lot of high flyers in society have identified their passions and made full use of them.

When you do something which you are passionate about, it does not look like work to you, but a pleasure.

My advice to our young generation is : Identify your passion and nurture it into a profession you will enjoy.