It has been a real struggle to get this week’s blog loaded. Our office internet has been down since Friday. I tried a few internet cafes but they too were hving problems. Finally, I came to Olgas Restaurant where the connection seems pretty good. I can’t do blogs on Sunday anymore since we can’t access our office and I don’t have internet at home. Therefore, blogs will be either Saturday or Monday from now on.
February in Canada is often a dreary month with cold, snowy weather and little sunshine. This is the month where Canadians start to think the winter is now going on too long. In Zambia, it is the rainy season and everything is green and lush but there is still lots of sunshine. Thank goodness for the nice weather because we work so hard here and often seven days each week. We did decide to take Sunday off this week though and went for a really nice drive out on old Lusaka Road.
Group of British Students Joining Our Cast
I tried to get some news about the Olympics in Vancouver and found one tv channel doing a summary each morning. It was only a few snippets but nice to hear that Canada was doing so well. I also got the news about the Women’s Hockey Team drinking and smoking cigars after the game. Oh my goodness. It’s Monday and I just found out Canada won the Gold in Hockey in overtime. I would like to have seen that game. Football (soccer) is the big game in Africa but to be honest I don’t enjoy watching it all that much compared to hockey.
Water Monitor Lizard
We started out this past week with the news that the Sun did not have a venue in which we could perform due to a very large conference taking place. We were having a pretty good month up to this point and it was quite disappointing to think we might once again fall short of our required revenue to meet expenses. By Tuesday we got a call from the Maramba River Lodge where a group of over 40 travelers from Britain were wanting cultural entertainment. Since Tuesday is our staff’s day off Marilyn had to call them to see if they were available. As it turns out, every staff member came to perform. The group of young people between the age of 18-20 really enjoyed the show and got up and interacted with our cast. I negotiated dinner for our staff as part of the package so we all ate and mingled at the end of the performance.
hippo next to the bar at Maramba River Lodge
On Tuesday afternoon I got a call from the Sun to say the people organizing the convention wanted to hire us to perform on Thursday evening. It seems they had asked the Sun’s events department to book us but for some reason the Sun booked another group. When the convention organizers found out they got quite upset and insisted on us.
We met with the organizers at the pool bar and negotiated our best fee yet for a performance for over 600 people. It went off very well and the crowd loved the show we gave them. There were a lot of logistical problems for such a big event but our staff worked very hard and really rose to the challenges. It was also a lot of work for Marilyn to get the stage, lighting, sound, etc all set up without much help from the Sun staff who were all busy setting tables and cooking for so many delegates. It took her a couple of days to get rested up again.
Over 650 enjoying our show
As it turns out, February was our best month yet and the first month where we made enough money to cover all our expenses. Unfortunately, we have been advised by the Sun that we also don’t have a location to perform for 5 nights in March. We are thinking of trying to find another location for two weeks in March – perhaps at another resort.
This picture below was taken at the Sun Resort at night with the bar and stage reflecting in the pool. I took about 20 and none really captured what I was seeing with the naked eye.
Reflection in the pool
This week I have a lot of meetings. I’m going to the community school in Lubuyu to make a donation to help them install windows in their new classroom. The money for this came from Marilyn’s cousins and aunt and uncle. Nicole sent over money last year from a class fundraising project where she teaches and this past Christmas Dave and Leanne and Aunt Mel and Uncle Wayne donated to our foundation. The windows will help keep out mosquitoes to protect the children and also help keep in some heat when it cools down in the coming Zambian winter (June-August).
I am also meeting with a school headmaster to see if I can get a young girl back into school since she failed grade nine. We will be working on the bore hole to complete it and I’m also gathering letters for our Canadian sponsors from the kids. Tomorrow, I’m helping Maggie distribute shoes and t-shirts to vulnerable families who are dealing with mental illness in the family. It will be a mixture of sadness and joy this week for sure.
