Recently MCC received a shipment from Canada that included 8 computers.  Four of them went to some of my local partners and the remaining were going to Sikalongo Basic School in the southern province.  (A basic school is a primary or elementary school).  It is about a 4.5 hour drive from Lusaka and is located between Choma and Lake Kariba, in other words, it is in the middle of no where.  There is a basic and secondary school at this location which are run by the Brethren in Christ church. 

  The roads were actually quite good, even when you got onto the dirt roads as a grater recently went through.  I understand that only happens once every few years and with rainy season coming, it won’t last.  When we arrived at the school the power was out so they welcomed us in the headmasters office and provided pop and scones.  The headmasters wife made the scones and they were really, really good.  After we visited for a while, the power came on and I started setting up the computers.  They said that no one there knew anything about computers but they could get help from the secondary school, however, it was clear that one man knew what he was doing much more than he let on.  I didn’t really have time to train them on how to use the computers and we are concerned about how much use they will get.  Apparently having a computer on your desk adds credibility and it isn’t uncommon for someone to have a non-working computer on their desk, just for show.  While this is my first trip to the southern province most of our work with the BIC churches is down there so I expect I will get back there and have the opportunity to check in on them.

  Since the road grater had been through, they recommended we take the “short-cut” to Choma where we spent the night.  Below are two photos I took on the road to give you an idea of what the road in the bush is like.  I then spent the night at the BIC Guest House in Choma and the next morning, I jumped on a bus to Lusaka while Kathy and Eric Fast (our managers and country directors) continued on to meet with other projects.  This was my first time on the bus and it wasn’t crowded or too hot, so it was pretty good.  The only exception is the horrible movie playing loudly.  It was from the US but had rudimentary “Simple English” subtitles, which was interesting.