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 !
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
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 !
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 !
Friday, September 10, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
" Say Something !"
In 2008 I travelled to the Tanzanian port of Dar-es-Salaam to pick a car which was purchased for the family from a Japanese company .
Since it was my first time to go there, I requested a friend who had been to the Tanzania before to accompany me.
In order to cut down on travelling time for the 4,000Km round trip to Tanzania, we flew from Lusaka to Dar. This takes just over two hours.
When we arrived in Tanzania, I was amazed by the heavy traffic and the crowding in the city of Dar-es-Salaam.
We spent two nights in Dar before the car could be cleared at the port.
Due to the heavy traffic within the city, we hired a local man to drive the car, up to some ten kilometres away from the port.
All vehicles that are imported via the Dar-es-Salaam port are given a specific route to follow up to the Zambian border, which is some 998 kilometres away.
There are four check points on the route at which the car's importation documents are checked.
After the local driver left us, my friend took over the steering wheel. He told me that he was now comfortable as to which roads were to be followed to be on the authorised route.
We travelled some ten kilometres when we crossed some traffic lights.
Soon after the traffic lights, we saw a Tanzanian traffic police patrol car behind us flashing its beacon instructing us to stop.
My friend thought that we were being stopped for going through the traffic lights when they had indicated "Stop". I told him that was not the case. They were showing "green" at the time we crossed the road junction.
When the two policemen came out of their patrol car, one of them, who could speak English ( Swahili is the official language in Tanzania) asked us where we were heading to ?
We told him that we were going to Zambia. He told us that we had gone off-course the authorised route by one kilometre.
We thanked him for pointing out this mistake to us and requested him to direct us to the right road.
To our surprise,he told us that we were under arrest!
He told us that we had to pay twenty thousand Tanzanian shillings (about US $12) for the "offence" or the vehicle would be impounded.
We were to appear before a Magistrates Court the following day. The charge was to be: "Attempted theft of a vehicle destined to go to Zambia and illegally diverted into Tanzania."
We were told that there was a gang of thieves who were involved in this racket.
After a protracted discussion with the English speaking policeman, the other officer who was of a higher rank, spoke to his junior in Swahili, which we could not understand. It looked like he was telling him that we could be let off after showing them our Zambian passports and the relevant documentation.
The junior officer then came into the back seat of the vehicle and closed the door behind him. He said, "Now my friends, say something!".
At first, we could not understand what he meant by "say something". After he repeated the sentence several times, we realised that he meant.
He was given a ten thousand Tanzanian note, which he quickly put in his breast pocket. He was all smiles and said, "Thank you my friends, greet people in Zambia and make sure you do not get lost again!"
Have you thanked someone who has corrected your mistake which could land you in deeper trouble if you went "off course" any further?
Remember next time someone corrects your mistake to "say something " or thank you !
Since it was my first time to go there, I requested a friend who had been to the Tanzania before to accompany me.
In order to cut down on travelling time for the 4,000Km round trip to Tanzania, we flew from Lusaka to Dar. This takes just over two hours.
When we arrived in Tanzania, I was amazed by the heavy traffic and the crowding in the city of Dar-es-Salaam.
We spent two nights in Dar before the car could be cleared at the port.
Due to the heavy traffic within the city, we hired a local man to drive the car, up to some ten kilometres away from the port.
All vehicles that are imported via the Dar-es-Salaam port are given a specific route to follow up to the Zambian border, which is some 998 kilometres away.
There are four check points on the route at which the car's importation documents are checked.
After the local driver left us, my friend took over the steering wheel. He told me that he was now comfortable as to which roads were to be followed to be on the authorised route.
We travelled some ten kilometres when we crossed some traffic lights.
Soon after the traffic lights, we saw a Tanzanian traffic police patrol car behind us flashing its beacon instructing us to stop.
My friend thought that we were being stopped for going through the traffic lights when they had indicated "Stop". I told him that was not the case. They were showing "green" at the time we crossed the road junction.
When the two policemen came out of their patrol car, one of them, who could speak English ( Swahili is the official language in Tanzania) asked us where we were heading to ?
We told him that we were going to Zambia. He told us that we had gone off-course the authorised route by one kilometre.
We thanked him for pointing out this mistake to us and requested him to direct us to the right road.
To our surprise,he told us that we were under arrest!
He told us that we had to pay twenty thousand Tanzanian shillings (about US $12) for the "offence" or the vehicle would be impounded.
We were to appear before a Magistrates Court the following day. The charge was to be: "Attempted theft of a vehicle destined to go to Zambia and illegally diverted into Tanzania."
We were told that there was a gang of thieves who were involved in this racket.
After a protracted discussion with the English speaking policeman, the other officer who was of a higher rank, spoke to his junior in Swahili, which we could not understand. It looked like he was telling him that we could be let off after showing them our Zambian passports and the relevant documentation.
The junior officer then came into the back seat of the vehicle and closed the door behind him. He said, "Now my friends, say something!".
At first, we could not understand what he meant by "say something". After he repeated the sentence several times, we realised that he meant.
He was given a ten thousand Tanzanian note, which he quickly put in his breast pocket. He was all smiles and said, "Thank you my friends, greet people in Zambia and make sure you do not get lost again!"
Have you thanked someone who has corrected your mistake which could land you in deeper trouble if you went "off course" any further?
Remember next time someone corrects your mistake to "say something " or thank you !
Friday, August 27, 2010
Luggage on Lap !
Recently I was traveling from the Copperbelt to Lusaka on a luxury Coach.
Seated next to me was an elderly lady who was traveling to the same destination as myself.
What attracted my attention to this lady, was the fact that despite the coach having luggage compartments, the lady decided to carry her traveling bag on her lap for all the more than three hundred kilometres to Lusaka!
http://is.gd/eGwNe
I could not find out from her why she decided to do so, as I saw it fit that it was none of my business.
My only conclusion I made was that, the lady was just trying to protect her valuables in the bag. She must have heard of travellers who have lost their property whilst traveling.
In our own lives a lot of people carry their burdens in their shoulders unnecessarily.
Our Lord and Saviour tells us that we should offload our burdens onto Him. This will give us the opportunity to enjoy the comfort of traveling on His "luxury coach".
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).
By having a constant companionship with our Lord by abiding in his Word, the burdens of our lives will be lighter to bear as He will carry them for us most of the way.
Good day and stay blessed.
Amen!
Seated next to me was an elderly lady who was traveling to the same destination as myself.
What attracted my attention to this lady, was the fact that despite the coach having luggage compartments, the lady decided to carry her traveling bag on her lap for all the more than three hundred kilometres to Lusaka!
http://is.gd/eGwNe
I could not find out from her why she decided to do so, as I saw it fit that it was none of my business.
My only conclusion I made was that, the lady was just trying to protect her valuables in the bag. She must have heard of travellers who have lost their property whilst traveling.
In our own lives a lot of people carry their burdens in their shoulders unnecessarily.
Our Lord and Saviour tells us that we should offload our burdens onto Him. This will give us the opportunity to enjoy the comfort of traveling on His "luxury coach".
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).
By having a constant companionship with our Lord by abiding in his Word, the burdens of our lives will be lighter to bear as He will carry them for us most of the way.
Good day and stay blessed.
Amen!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Your Testimony - A More Effective Sermon !
In our lives we go through so many trials and temptations .
The situation one finds himself can sometimes become so desperate that one looses all hope of ever coming out of it.
In my life, I have experienced several trying moments.
I am sharing them with you here for the glory of God.
In his book, "The Purpose Driven Life" ....Rick Warren says:-
"You may not be a Bible scholar,but you are an authority on your life, and it is hard to argue with personal experience.
Your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon, because unbelievers see pastors as professional salesmen,..".
In 1961, when I was only eight years old, I suffered from a sickness that almost took my life.
For over three months, I was bed ridden with no hope of recovery. My parents took me for treatment at various health centres without any improvement.
Finally they sought services of a traditional medicineman who, somehow, managed to restore by health!
As a result of this sickness, I had to repeat my Grade three class (then called Standard "1") in 1962.
When I was doing my fifth to seventh grades, between 1964 1966, I used to stay with my Grandparents at Moonga Village which is found on the perimeter of the Barotse flood plain in Mongu District.
I was then attending a school which was some four kilometers from the village.
My parents were then working at Namachaha primary school which went up to Grade four.
The school was located on the Barotse flood plain. It used to shift to the dry land (Kuomboka) annually during the flood season which is between April and July.
The Barotse flood plain is very rich in fish and milk during the dry season, hence it was always a pleasure for me and one relative of mine, whom I was schooling with at Namachaha school during our lower grades, to visit my parents regularly.This would be on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend holiday.
The journey to the school was over a stretch of some fifteen kilometers across a mainly grassy and sandy piece of land.
Because of the danger of being attacked by bandits, in areas which were not populated, we used to travel in groups of between ten to fifteen children.
After crossing the Zambezi River, it was safer to travel in smaller groups in populated and nearby villages.
On one particular trip, I and my relative were the last ones to head towards our destination.
It was then getting very dark. We were only guided by footpaths and silhouettes of trees and lights from fires which marked the presence of oncoming villages.
At one time we drifted offcourse westwards, until we reached very thick vegetation which was near a tributary of the Zambezi River.
We were very scared and had to run towards a village which we could figure out in a distance.
When we reached that village the residents there were surprised to see us. We had just travelled through some unmarked landscape, without a foot path.
We told them that we were going to Namachaha School. They told us that we were almost there. However, they advised us to spend the night in the village.
As children, we were advised not to spend nights in strange villages for fear of being bewitched, and thus we turned down the offer.
We were then advised to be rush as it was already very late in the evening.
Due a large number of school children travelling to the school on a regular basis, the footpath approaching the school was fairly wide. We could therefore manage to run on it without difficulty.
When we reached the school it was close to midnight. Our parents were surprised to see us. They wondered how we managed to reach the place under difficulty conditions.
The following morning we learnt that there were some lions that had come to the area recently and had killed a number of cattle in the neighbouring villages.
On hearing this, we trembled at the thought of what could have happened to us if we had come in contact with the beasts!
On 28 October 1994 I was admitted into an intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital. This was after I lost nearly two litres of blood due a bleeding peptic ulcer.
I went into a comatose state as result of shock brought by the loss of blood. My life was saved by emergency blood transfussion. My breathing was assisted via an oxygen mask for several days.
I stayed in the ICU ward for a total of ten days.
The peptic stomach ulcer was as a result of a heavy beer drinking habit which had been going on for nearly twenty years.
In April 1996 I was temporarily dismissed from employment with a workmate.
This was after investigations of one senior official, linked us to his questionable activities.
On appeal, we were both found innocent. The truth was that the official used our positions to carry out his activities behind our backs. The ordeal took 51 days of torment before we were reinstated.
On 18 May 2005, I was in another near-death situation due to a diseased appendix in my stomach. An operation to remove it, saved my life on 19 May 2005.
The surgeons who removed it could not believe their eyes at how big it had swollen and puss filled due to infection. This could have killed me instantly, had the infected appendix burst and fed the puss into my blood system.
On 8 January 2010 I was out employment , after a fixed term contract which was due to expire in a year's time, was terminated without notice.
My efforts to secure another job or start a business has not been easy.
As if that was not enough, my only source of income, rentals for a house I have in Lusaka, were not been forthcoming for over six months.
The last tenant vacated the house on 31 December 2009 after a dispute.
I have had four potential tenants who intended to occupy the house from January 2010. In all cases they withdrew at the last moment due to one reason or another!
The fifth person who showed interest to rent the house in May 2010, turned up to be a con man.
It took me an agonising sixty days to get another tenant.
I believe that the Lord shall see me through this episode of my life as He had done before.
The Bible says :-
"Stop your striving and recognize that I am God! I will be exalted over the nations! I will be exalted over the earth!" (Psalms 46:10).
"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).
"At that time you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." (John 16:26-27).
"But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you."" (John 11:22).
Amen!
The situation one finds himself can sometimes become so desperate that one looses all hope of ever coming out of it.
In my life, I have experienced several trying moments.
I am sharing them with you here for the glory of God.
In his book, "The Purpose Driven Life" ....Rick Warren says:-
"You may not be a Bible scholar,but you are an authority on your life, and it is hard to argue with personal experience.
Your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon, because unbelievers see pastors as professional salesmen,..".
In 1961, when I was only eight years old, I suffered from a sickness that almost took my life.
For over three months, I was bed ridden with no hope of recovery. My parents took me for treatment at various health centres without any improvement.
Finally they sought services of a traditional medicineman who, somehow, managed to restore by health!
As a result of this sickness, I had to repeat my Grade three class (then called Standard "1") in 1962.
When I was doing my fifth to seventh grades, between 1964 1966, I used to stay with my Grandparents at Moonga Village which is found on the perimeter of the Barotse flood plain in Mongu District.
I was then attending a school which was some four kilometers from the village.
My parents were then working at Namachaha primary school which went up to Grade four.
The school was located on the Barotse flood plain. It used to shift to the dry land (Kuomboka) annually during the flood season which is between April and July.
The Barotse flood plain is very rich in fish and milk during the dry season, hence it was always a pleasure for me and one relative of mine, whom I was schooling with at Namachaha school during our lower grades, to visit my parents regularly.This would be on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend holiday.
The journey to the school was over a stretch of some fifteen kilometers across a mainly grassy and sandy piece of land.
Because of the danger of being attacked by bandits, in areas which were not populated, we used to travel in groups of between ten to fifteen children.
After crossing the Zambezi River, it was safer to travel in smaller groups in populated and nearby villages.
On one particular trip, I and my relative were the last ones to head towards our destination.
It was then getting very dark. We were only guided by footpaths and silhouettes of trees and lights from fires which marked the presence of oncoming villages.
At one time we drifted offcourse westwards, until we reached very thick vegetation which was near a tributary of the Zambezi River.
We were very scared and had to run towards a village which we could figure out in a distance.
When we reached that village the residents there were surprised to see us. We had just travelled through some unmarked landscape, without a foot path.
We told them that we were going to Namachaha School. They told us that we were almost there. However, they advised us to spend the night in the village.
As children, we were advised not to spend nights in strange villages for fear of being bewitched, and thus we turned down the offer.
We were then advised to be rush as it was already very late in the evening.
Due a large number of school children travelling to the school on a regular basis, the footpath approaching the school was fairly wide. We could therefore manage to run on it without difficulty.
When we reached the school it was close to midnight. Our parents were surprised to see us. They wondered how we managed to reach the place under difficulty conditions.
The following morning we learnt that there were some lions that had come to the area recently and had killed a number of cattle in the neighbouring villages.
On hearing this, we trembled at the thought of what could have happened to us if we had come in contact with the beasts!
On 28 October 1994 I was admitted into an intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital. This was after I lost nearly two litres of blood due a bleeding peptic ulcer.
I went into a comatose state as result of shock brought by the loss of blood. My life was saved by emergency blood transfussion. My breathing was assisted via an oxygen mask for several days.
I stayed in the ICU ward for a total of ten days.
The peptic stomach ulcer was as a result of a heavy beer drinking habit which had been going on for nearly twenty years.
In April 1996 I was temporarily dismissed from employment with a workmate.
This was after investigations of one senior official, linked us to his questionable activities.
On appeal, we were both found innocent. The truth was that the official used our positions to carry out his activities behind our backs. The ordeal took 51 days of torment before we were reinstated.
On 18 May 2005, I was in another near-death situation due to a diseased appendix in my stomach. An operation to remove it, saved my life on 19 May 2005.
The surgeons who removed it could not believe their eyes at how big it had swollen and puss filled due to infection. This could have killed me instantly, had the infected appendix burst and fed the puss into my blood system.
On 8 January 2010 I was out employment , after a fixed term contract which was due to expire in a year's time, was terminated without notice.
My efforts to secure another job or start a business has not been easy.
As if that was not enough, my only source of income, rentals for a house I have in Lusaka, were not been forthcoming for over six months.
The last tenant vacated the house on 31 December 2009 after a dispute.
I have had four potential tenants who intended to occupy the house from January 2010. In all cases they withdrew at the last moment due to one reason or another!
The fifth person who showed interest to rent the house in May 2010, turned up to be a con man.
It took me an agonising sixty days to get another tenant.
I believe that the Lord shall see me through this episode of my life as He had done before.
The Bible says :-
"Stop your striving and recognize that I am God! I will be exalted over the nations! I will be exalted over the earth!" (Psalms 46:10).
"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).
"At that time you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." (John 16:26-27).
"But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you."" (John 11:22).
Amen!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Confidence,Trust and Hope
CONFIDENCE :
Once all village people
decided to pray for rain. On
the day of prayer all people
gathered and only one boy came
with an umbrella...... That's
Confidence....
TRUST:
Trust should be like the
feeling of a one year old baby
when you throw him in the air;
he laughs.....because he knows
you will catch him........
That's
Trust............
HOPE:
Every night we go to bed, we
have no assurance to get up
alive in the next morning but
still we set the alarms to wake us up
and
still make plans for the
coming day..........
That's Hope...........
Put your Confidence; Trust and Hope in GOD
For He is Faithful and Just ...
Amen !
Once all village people
decided to pray for rain. On
the day of prayer all people
gathered and only one boy came
with an umbrella...... That's
Confidence....
TRUST:
Trust should be like the
feeling of a one year old baby
when you throw him in the air;
he laughs.....because he knows
you will catch him........
That's
Trust............
HOPE:
Every night we go to bed, we
have no assurance to get up
alive in the next morning but
still we set the alarms to wake us up
and
still make plans for the
coming day..........
That's Hope...........
Put your Confidence; Trust and Hope in GOD
For He is Faithful and Just ...
Amen !
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