the third week of June 2011 at Lukali Village

Long waited on June 13th for the fish pond staking at Lukali village and also to see their preparation work for the community school site and how their preparation on the building materials, etc......Good to see they have well, toilets done up to required deepth; bricks are drying and to be burnt one batch at a time......so we will have a good case report when I accompany them to see DOE on July 6th and hope this school will be on the going from September and on........

Another thing I was so proud of them was that they also working on the road in their village so the school will be easier to be reached to......althought there is still a good distance for their road to connect with the main road outside.......

They have a group of fish farmers choosen a site that is good to have seven ponds side by side, that day we got the furrow and all ponds area marked but only one pond got staked. We will be back ASAP....which is meant somewhere in August.....my schedule is always two months ahead of today's date....... Cheng 6/26/2011

The second week of June still.......

Baby Frankie is out in the sum more these days.......

The communication with Dept of Forest since February and we just got the responds and granted with two bee hives with 20 tree lings (good for fish pond and the leaves are good fish feed too) from Ba Bridget and Ba Evans with their nursery helper; while the Provincial Dept of Fishery, Ba Lumbwe was picking up few of my fish farmers from my village to Ifyiongori - 7 Km outside of Mansa to see the fingerling brooding ponds. They came back in Mansa to pick me up from the Dept of Forest, with the two bee hives, 20 tree lings and brought all of us back to Mabumba and Yasakwa.

Time all farmers are busying pick up their dried, dried mazie from the dried plants in their fields and bit the mazie in the bag to loose the kernal and the Moms and kids to separate the goods and the beds to dry them continualy on the ground or on tin roof, to sell or to store for the whole year usages.......Cheng 6/26/2011

One fish pond staking and accessing the old fish ponds in Shoti village went fine as it should.....just the road got widened by hoes and hands....that made biking inpossible from time to time..........it is the good thing of the election time - the promised roads got worked out in quite a few villages.

The women's group in Monga village did a great job on construction their fish ponds with beautiful sloops at the sides.....that afternoon at their request we did the soya cooking demo for they grow soya bean in their field but none of them ever use it in their daily food list.

Hope they will keep on making it for their own use or to sell. Hope someday before I have to go home I can just go out in the market and buy soya milk or soya biscuits in the local market. Cheng 6/26/2011

June 2011 so far...........

Animal workshop, given by Ba Hamangaba in Katangwe, this was the third time I was in that village and just found the wind mill that people kept on telling me that there is one in that village.........don't know why people don't copy it and make use of the wind power that is so strong and at same direction at all times......

Zhu was home visit his mother in Ze-Zang (east coast, south from Shanghai) few days and now is at his own business in center north of China in Lan-Zou. Wish him all the best. The frist weekend in June after I spent time in Mansa he and the new manager Sam insisted to drive me home to Yasakwa.....so nice of these nice young men in town and so wanting to take care of me.......I am the aunty to all of them......

While at the P C house, PCVs were having fun playing........Cheng 6/26/2011

The Friday before.......

The two weeks in mid May, I had the heavy subjects of sending girls to school regardless of how old they are and/or with babies or not, even teach young girls and boys to use condom to prevent unwanted pregnancies, besides my regular fish pond farming along with garden and paultry farming to convey to my encountered farmers.....I met eye contacts with approvals, but none dear to speak up to agree with me for they have to go home and live with their traditions......

May 20, Friday morning, I thought I was tired and wanting to stay home to catch up my records and relax a little, but farmers, neighbors, kids came asking for this and that so I can't do my work at home anyway, might as well pack up my computer and went for my Friday visits....from the court clerk's daughter to baby Frankie to PLARD officers.......also used internet there and charged up for phone and computer for the rest of the day.......

May 21, Saturday 7:10am that was time my neighbor, Ba Jane came told me what happened with Shio-Bai..........PC officer Ba Sunday came pick me up to PC house at noon and I stayed there till the end of the PEPFAR workshop the whole following week, this I have posted before just not to have anyone to worry about me.

I came back to Yasakwa on Saturday, May 28 and life goes on..........Cheng 6/18/2011

Another villager meeting

May 19, I have the last villagers meeting (all is 12 zones now) in this deep dembo land called Numbulu that I have biked 5 kilometer on paved road than another 10 to 12 kilometer field trail in the grassy land as anywhere else I have being going.......

We meet the villagers in one church that is also serve as the community school, there one teacher teachs grade one to grade six and the students are from age 5 to age 18 as I remembered.....

Villagers were late for there was another function going on that day so was told be one hour late.....so the school teacher asked me to speak to "his" children for they never seen one foriegnors on their land......(these kids might never step outside of their home land and fields) so I hang up maps, after introduced myself and telling them where I was born, lived for number of years, I asking "how old I am?" only one 16 yr old six grader said that I was 63 which I had said when I first came in and introduced myself....so did he counted or only he remembered......so none of others heard me nor counting any of what I had said.......I had them recite the time table and none was able to go higher than 3s........

My villagers came; the students out......we continued fish pond talking than I went into sending all children to school, including young girls with new babies, no matter married or not, for they should learn a way of living even continue living in this village.......but my counterpart that day was not doing much translating of what I tried to, for he has two wives and thirteen kids........so I just had to drop it as is..... Cheng 6/18/2011

Mid May 2011

Rain stopped in Mid April but rained once quite quick and heavy the first week of May, you can see the grass started to get brown.....but the dembo land is still accumulating the water....so sometimes you will step into where you think it was grass root to be, but into the water and mud that was higher than the gum boots I have....so got wet inside out already, what's to complain???? Kept on working.....I amuzed my farmers another way.....nothing new, like fallen off while biking, got up and get going......it was all in the low speed where I should be able to get off the bike and stand up but just did not judgeted fast enough to take action, that was all about......

May 18 I was staking new fish ponds in village called Katangwe, the grass got brown, doesn't matter the water still everywhere, the wild fire started too.......where we were was only one bush next to the fire, the farmers never blink an eye, but laughing at my concern on it, and they were right until we have done the work there, the fire was still at the other side of that bush and kept on going other way......but we were at the low wind side and got heavily smoked........ hmmm, the fire goes the high wind side, that was strange to me....here experiences counts, eeh???

That long day's work, me and my counter part got treated with boiled sweet potato and groundnut as for lunch that we all sit under the trees and enjoyed. Thanks to their concern of my tummy and my energy. Cheng 6/18/2011

Shio-Bai, October 15, 2010 to May 21, 2011

This was what I held back on the posting blog.....May 21st neighbors came tell me Shio-Bai was found died on the road side about half a kilometer from my post home.......

It was the day Bob B. left for his dive trip in Florida....I do not want him to worry about anything about me in Zambia while he was in for new scuba skill dives and fun dives till May 31st.

I do not want to point fingers on what could have happened with Shio-Bai........whatever I could hear will never be what it was or what I want or need to know....so I decided to embrace the fact that Shio-Bai is out of her mission on earth.............

At least Shio-Bai had had a decent burrial performed by neighbor, Ba Jane and his daughter, Ba Bridget and with all my close village kids present. Now Shio-Bai is resting under the fourth tree behind neighbor, Ba Jane's home, next to my post home.

All I want to let you all know is that I only want to remember how and when I have had time with my own first cat, Shio-Bai, in my live since I was twele. We had a family cat when I was little after it died we had never had another one.

It was good I held this posting this long till Bob B. had good time in Florida and came home safe. In these days I have had sort out what I want to see my life to move forward.....so be it.........Bye, Shio-Bai.

6/7/2011 Cheng