Zambia is home for us

Our New Neighbours

Foster and Miriam and the three kids

We really like our new house which is located at #12 Lusaka Road within town. It is a short drive to our office on a new paved road all the way. We have now met three of our neighbours who are all lovely. Yesterday, Foster ( a young boy in Grade 9) came to help me repair some fencing around the property. He lives with his sister Miriam who also came over later with her two children and a nephew. Their mom died in 2001 at the age of 37 and their father died in 2005. Typically, the sisters took Foster in with them and support him in school. One of Foster’s uncles works for Zesco (the local hydro company) and is coming to Canada at the end of March for some training. I’m not sure which part but it would be great if he could hook up with some of our friends while he is there.

Getting Settled:

It is so nice to have lots of space and a feeling that we can do as we please in our new home. Our band, ‘The Rolling Kencheyo’ have been rehearsing each morning in our porch and our neighbours say they really enjoy the music.

Tour Agencies:

It has been a very interesting week. Marilyn has been busy rehearsing a new show with our cast and finalizing the arrangements for various tour agencies to begin selling tickets through their activity centres. She has also been holding regular meetings with the Sun in order to improve the marketing done on our behalf. All in all, there is an excitement about these developments and optimism about 2010.

The Czech Republic:

We also just received a contract to perform at the Livingstone Museum on March 11, for a function being hosted by the Ambassador from the Czech Republic. An early explorer, Mr. Holub, from the Czech Republic (around the same time as David Livingstone), is being honoured with an exhibit at the Museum. This is very timely because we have spoken now with the Ambassador’s office about our invitation to the Czech Republic for the international dance festivals in June and the Deputy Head of the Consulate is going to see if we can get some financial assistance from the Czech government to cover our air fare to Prague.

We have also been offered a group discount fare from British Airways for this trip if we can make it happen. We aren’t sure yet what this actually involves but will know this week. A representative from SNV (a Netherland’s Development Agency) (www.snvworld.org) has been helping us with the airline contacts and may partner with us on other projects involving our shows. She is also going to be in touch with Kenya Airways on our behalf. Our thinking is that if we get some sponsors others might follow. So far we did not hear back from any of the corporations to which we sent letters.

LTA Board Member:

On Thursday at the Livingstone Tourism Association Annual General Meeting, I was elected to the Executive Board of Directors. There are approximately 100 members in this organization. If you have time, take a look at the LTA website at  www.livingstonetourism.com  .

Trip to Lusaka:

We have also been in discussions with a few different contacts to arrange a possible trip to perform in the Capital City of Lusaka. It is about a 7 hour drive (longer due to a poor section of road just north of Livingstone). There is a good chance we will be asked to perform at the 2010 Zambia International Travel Expo being held from March 25-27 ( www.africast.com.zm). It wouldn’t be practical for us to hire a bus and pay for accommodation for just one event in Lusaka so we are working to arrange a performance or two at the Lusaka Playhouse and maybe another at the Sun International hotel in Lusaka.

Other Trips:

Marilyn and I are planning to get out and see some more of Africa in the next few months. Working 7 days each week hasn’t allowed us to do so in the past. We met some people who own a small lodge in Kafue National Park ( www.kafue.org) which is several hours north west of Livingstone. It sounds lovely and we would like to make the trip soon for a weekend get-a-way. We also plan to travel to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe as soon as we get Interpol clearance for our vehicle to leave the country. We also want to travel a bit in Namibia as soon as we can find the time.

February 2010

We were actually having decent size  crowds at the Sun in February (120 in two weeks) but then the bottom fell out. Unfortunately we have had to cancel three performance nights at the Zambezi Sun Resort because there is no available indoor venue due to a large conference taking place. This is something we can ill afford and makes us realize having all our eggs in one basket presents some potential challenges. About half the guests who attend the shows at the Sun come from resorts other than the Sun and it is difficult when we have to cancel with all of them and really damages our marketing. Still we are pleased with the new efforts being made by the Sun to help us market internationally and will survive somehow. The big issue is having money to pay our bills when we don’t have any show revenue coming in.

Our dance workshops with Olga’s Italian Restaurant (  www.olgasproject.com ) are doing well. This coming Thursday we have 10 people signed up. Our cast volunteer for this “gig” and the money goes into their travel account.

Bore Hole Project:

Our plumber/electrician who is going to complete the work on the Linda West Bore Hole, has asked if he can start the work this coming Wednesday as he is busy finishing another job. All the materials have been ordered. Zambezi Saw Mills has donated teak planks for the base under the water tank and hopefully they will be trucked down from Mulobezi in a few days.

School Sponsorships:

I have met with the school kids we sponsor thanks to the donations of our Canadian friends and they are all writing letters to their Canadian sponsors which I hope to collect and send out soon. Unfortunately, I learned that three of our kids failed grade 7 exams which mean they must pay extra fees to return. We will help them with this but it is also possible they won’t all return since one has just had a baby. There is also a new fee for Grade 8 students including the requirement to provide a bag of cement (K55,000) for the new teacher’s residence being constructed.

Visitors:

We are so pleased that Amy and Wanda, friends from Hawkestone/Barrie), are coming to visit us in September. They are participating in our friend Gary’s Safari from South Africa to Zambia and will be spending 11 days with us. Now we have great accommodation for them and can’t wait to introduce them to cast and all our friends, and show them around as only locals (that’s us) can do. We are also expecting Marilyn’s cousin’s family in July as they are planning to attend the World Cup of Soccer and then come to Livingstone for a visit.

New Staff:

Marilyn held auditions this past Friday to replace two cast members who left last week. We needed two drummers who can also dance and sing. She had 7 people show up on short notice and three were exceptional. One we hired is also a fire eater ( soon to be introduced into our show I guess).