Global Samaritans School

School starts early in the village. Before the sun rises students are up and already making their way through the African bush. The path is well worn by many little feet. For some, it’s a seven kilometer walk each way, five days a week. Once they arrive, the first class begins at seven thirty. These students, whose ages range from 13 to 20, have a full curriculum.  They are taught math, science, English, Tonga, history and geography. The day finishes off with a prep period. This is when students tackle their homework and do readings. Many of them tend to their families garden after school; and with the long comute, most don’t have any time for homework when they return for the day.

Mr. Harrison let me sit in on his grade 9 health class a few days ago. Here are some of the stills I took, while brushing up on my science knowledge. After the principal of the school, Owen Lisulo treated me to the sounds of the school choir – they make five part harmonies seem so very easy.

A real African safari – Chobe National Park

A safari in Chobe National Park in Botswana is a dream come true for any animal lover, explorer, or photographer. The 11,700 square km park is home to hundreds of thousands of animals. Herds of elephants, prides of lions, towers of giraffes, troops of baboons, herds of water buffalo, bloats of hippos (yes…we were tested on what animal congregations were called) all gather near the riverbed, also known as the Serondela.

Tourists decked out in their kakhi uniforms come to Chobe from all over the world for their chance to see these animals in the wild. I fought off the urge to dawn the cream-coloured scrubs, but made up for it with the over 1000 photos I snapped in three days.

For our safari we signed up the full camping experience. We stayed in safari dome tents for the two nights, and enjoyed food cooked by our guides over the fire. On the second night I realized how much a part of the park we had really become. A badger went through our garbage one evening and after chasing it away, I light up the surroundings to find about 50 little eyes looking back at me. A herd of antelope had circled around our tent to ensure their safety for the night. This is how these animals survive together out there. They use each other for protection. The antelope have learned that the lions and predators will stay away from the light of our fires, so they have a safe haven around our camp.

Here’s a selection of the animals we spotted during our safari.

Livingstone – Street photography

Black and white photography is a style I have always admired, but rarely attempt. It seems timeless and bold. I hit the streets of Livingstone for the day to try my hand at the style and along the way met some very interesting people. Most of the ladies selling their wares on the side of the road were not up for getting their photo taken. They either said straight up ‘no’, or wanted me to pay them for their picture.

So I took a different approach, get off the main street, and focus on something more specific. That’s when I stumbled across a gym. The Powerhouse Gym had a hobbit sized door that lead way into a dingy little workout room. The fellas working out seemed surprised that I was interested in photographing the space, but it didn’t take more than a few minutes before they all had their shirts off and arms flexed. After I made my way to the Mukuni Market. The result was an empty wallet, and a bag full of trinkets. Who knew I was looking for a salad spoon and folk set, two bookends, and a handful of bracelets. Of all the markets I have visited, Zambian markets seem to have the most bold sellers, the most personal, and definitely the best at their job. When you walk by they pull out a seat for you, and you exchange names and handshakes. If I had to grade their customer service, they would pass with flying colours.

 

Livingstone – a quick tour

I’ve landed in the Mother land. After 27 hours in the air, 47 hours of travel, a brief visit with my friend Katie in downtown London, a wrong turn on the tube and almost a missed flight to Johannesburg, I’m here.

For those of you who don’t know (and I’m sorry to my friends who have heard the story over and over and over again), I’m here to make a documentary on the lives of small-scale farmers in Southern Zambia. In the past three days since I have arrived I have had all types of culture shock, but there is no better way to give you a run down of this place than recapping my first walk through an African town -Livingstone.

Livingstone is said to be the most touristy city in all of Zambia. It is situated on the cusp of the Victoria Falls or the Smoke that Thunders – one of the mightiest waterfalls in the whole world. Rightfully so, the city plays hosts to thousands of tourists. The first thing I did when I got to town is met up with my new friend Fred for a tour.

Fred works at Wonderbake, the popular coffee shop and bakery on the main strip. Fred is 22, and interested in film, and is going to help me film and more or less survive over the next few months. He is so eager and full of energy. He knows English, as well as two native languages, Tonga and Chewa, so he will be a great translator.

On our tour we walked down a side road to take some photos of the sunset. Most of the roads here are dirt, only the few main drags are paved. The roads were still busy with people as the sun went down. Everyone walks the streets, at a lazy pace. No one is in a big rush to get anywhere. People take the time to wave to others as they drive or walk by. It’s like being in small town Saskatchewan, everyone giving you a nod as you pass.

In a similar vain, people are very polite. It is ‘please madam’, ‘thank you, sir’, ladies first, and I haven’t heard anyone swear in days….a problem for me, since I have the dirtiest mouth. So five minutes into our walk I am not remembering to wave, bite my dirty tongue, and look left when I cross the road. That last one should be out first on the priority list…there is little room for error.

Every time I travel I was try to get a sense of how comfortable people are with getting their photo taken first thing. I know in some cultures getting your picture taken is like ‘stealing their soul’ and I don’t’ want any soulless Africans on my account. So as I walked I asked a few people if I could take their photo. To my surprise, people here love posing for the camera. Not only that, but they want their own copy of the picture. I’ll have to arrange a pick up location right away.

As the sun went down, I was thankful of the advice my friend Vicki gave me – it gets cold at night, bring warm clothes. She was right. As soon as the sun was out of sight, the cool breeze took over and it went from hot to chilly. It was around 10 degrees with a good wind. It is Zambia’s winter right now, which is also the dry season. The days are still hot. In the mid afternoon it is around 25 degrees out, but the sun isn’t too strong yet.

As we walked back to the hostel I was staying at for the night, we helped push a broken down truck up a hill. Vehicles take a beating here on the unpaved, rocky roads. The last thing I did on my tour was buy a single cigarette from a guy selling smokes and SIM cards on the sidewalk. I paid 500 kwatcha for the dart, about 11 cents Canadian.

It was a good, brief little introduction to a beautiful and so very foreign place.

***Also to note, uploading photos here is near impossible. The connections are just too slow, broken and unreliable. Hopefully I will come up with a solution and be able to give you a better glimpse soon.