This past week saw the rains come with a vengeance. After three days of heavy downpour, Livingstone made the national news due to flooding [...]]]> Since we don’t have internet at our home and our office is located in a Federal building which is closed on Sundays, I will now be posting my weekly blog on Mondays.

This past week saw the rains come with a vengeance. After three days of heavy downpour, Livingstone made the national news due to flooding in the compounds and over some of the bridges. This picture (below) shows the grasses that piled up along the side of the bridge after the water receded. A whole section of the city, called Lubuyu, was cut off for a day. We had two drummers who couldn’t get to our Thursday dance workshop.

Bridge to Lubuyu

The rains stopped on Saturday and it is amazing how quickly the water drains from the Maramba river to the Zambezi and then over Victoria Falls. I haven’t been to the falls since we returned but the mist rising 40 meters into the sky is evidence that it is flowing with full veracity. The wet weather also caused some problems for us in terms of drying our costumes. We had to take three loads to a laundry and pay for their dryer. It is quite expensive so the remainder we hung inside our porch. The geometric pattern of hanging the strings is scientifically the maximum use of clothes line (at least Marilyn thinks so and she did it.)

Drying Costumes Inside

Our big push this past month is to see if we can get more people coming to our shows from the Zambezi Sun Resort. In February, we had almost as many people travel to the Sun from other lodges and resorts as we had guests who were actually staying at the Sun.  In February we held a special show for all the staff of the Sun in the hope that they would begin to understand the nature of our musical theatre production and how it differs from other dance groups. Now we are waiting to see if there is more promotion done by staff.

Marilyn has also been meeting with the General Manager who has been helpful in suggesting ways to promote the show. This includes getting Sun International to advertise the shows when people are booking rooms, banners at the airport and other strategic locations, information on the Zambezi Sun web site, and better promotion by the events department for groups looking for entertainment.

Dancing Around Zambia

Marilyn met with the events departmentlast week and we are hopeful something will come of it. Last year we didn’t receive even one booking through the events department which meant something was obviously wrong. Now we will wait and see if there is any measurable difference in the coming months.

We are seeing much more enthusiasm for LiPAF around Livingstone. At last Monday’s show, we had the President of the Livingstone Tourism Association (www.livingstonetourism. com) and the owners of two lodges in attendance as well as the Executive Director of the Mukuni Development Trust.  Mr. Brian Mwagye, President of the College and School Arts Association was at our show last Saturday.

Speaking of Brian and the Arts Association, this is the organization which holds school festivals in categories such as  choirs, drama, traditional dance, drumming, and poetry. At the end of February, we had two of our staff leave to pursue other jobs and Brian managed to help us recruit some excellent talent to replace them. The next two day festival is being held on March 20 and 21 and the Arts Association has invited me to be the guest of honour. I’ll actually find out today just exactly what that means but working with others in arts and culture is a big goal of ours.

That brings me to another exciting development which we have kept somewhat under wraps until we had more news. As far back as November 2009, LiPAF developed a proposal and outline for the establishment of an Arts Cafe. In brief, the idea was to have a place where tourists and locals can meet and mingle while enjoying entertainment six nights each week.

This is the concept – create a welcoming and inspirational environment which will support the developmental and creative needs of individual artists and allow them a space where they can likewise support and inspire each other in their learning.

This past month we met with a European Development Agency and they are going to provide consultation and help link us with other potential supporters of our Arts Cafe concept. We have also identified two excellent locations and have obtained estimates to renovate the buildings. I’ll have more on this in future blogs.

Vocational Training Program for Disabled Persons

Earlier in the week, I met with Maggie who heads up a program to work with disabled children and adults. One can barely imagine the difficulties for disabled persons in a country where there is already 65% unemployment and virtually no social safety net. Marilyn met Maggie some time ago while walking back to our house on Maramba farm and they became instant friends.

LiPAF has helped sponsor this program by providing some funding but this week we took some of the remaining donated items (clothes and shoes) to distribute to the clients. Those who came to Maggie’s small office are some parents, their children, and some individuals. That’s Maggie – third from the left in the back row (barely visible).

Another program we are assisting is the Maanu Mbwami Community School in Lubuyu. You may recall, I wrote about the school last year when we went with clothes, shoes, and school supplies for the students. Community schools get no government funding and often rely on volunteers to do the teaching. Pastor Smoke Chewe who started the school is extremely dedicated and has managed to get two new classrooms built.

When we were home at Christmas, we received donations from our families as a gesture in lieu of them buying gifts. We really appreciate this kind of support for our project. We also received a donation from a school where Marilyn’s cousin Nicole got her class to do some fundraising.  We decided to use the Christmas money and the school  money from Nicole to help Maanu Mbwami School.

Old Original Mud Classroom

When I met with Smoke, he first wanted to use the money to install windows in classrooms. This would help keep the classroom warmer as winter approaches and also keep out mosquitoes. However, as we talked, we decided on another way to use the money which can help them generate some revenue.

The school is in possession of a “hammer mill” which is sitting in a small building. Unfortunately, the building was damaged in a wind storm over a year ago and Smoke has been unable to repair it. It also requires electrical connections in order to work.

A hammer mill is for grinding maize into mealie meal (the staple in every Zambian’s diet). If the roof is repaired and the electricity connected, the school can earn money grinding maize for local farmers. This money can then be put back into the school’s operating budget.

Thanks to Nicole’s class of 2009 from Blantyre Public School in Toronto, Canada, and our family – Aunt Mel and Uncle Wayne Crossley, Nicole and Mark Butkovich, Dave and Leanne Blackwell, Ryan and Sally, Sean and Makiko, Michele Davis and Frank Brewster – the mill should be up and running within a couple of weeks and ready for the maize harvest.

New Classrooms

Pastor Smoke wants to build another classroom, outfit the existing classrooms with desks and supplies, and they also have a broken pump on their borehole which needs fixing. I hope we can generate money through our shows to help again in the future.

New teaching space but no desks yet

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 ( [...]]]> 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.

Our porch but soon to be our kitchen

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.

Living and TV Room

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.

Our Bedroom and ensuite

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  .

Large spare bdrm with ensuite

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.

Third Bedroom

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.

Our big bathroom

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.

Olga's Italian Restaurant

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).

Back Yard [...]]]> It’s the rainy season but it hasn’t rained for 10 days. We thought it would rain today for sure since we had an afternoon outdoor show but it didn’t. The roads, which are mostly pot holes from the earlier rains, are now dry and dusty. The temperature is a consistent 28-30C each day.

Back Yard at our new home

Thanks to Marilyn’s efforts, we have managed to formalize a deal with a fairly large tourist booking agency whereby they will sell our shows through their many activity centres at various resorts and lodges. Of course there is a price to pay in commission but we are hoping an increase in numbers will offset the loss per ticket sale.

The Rolling Kencheyo (our band) is back together and rehearsing for a gig tomorrow at one of the larger resorts. It’s a Valentine’s celebration so they’ve been working on a collection of love songs. Marilyn is going to do a guest appearance with them and Tiika, Tembi, Marilyn and I are also going to enjoy the dinner.

The Band is back rehearsing

The Ngoni dancers want us to travel with them on a bus to the Eastern Province town of Chipata for their annual ceremony. It’s a long ways away but would be fund. Still I don’t think we can afford to be gone for the 5 days. We do want to take in some ceremonies this year but will probably pick a few within a days drive.

On Monday our plumber/electrician, named Paul, is starting the final phase of the bore hole project. I need to get some planks for under the tank but these are being donated by Zambezi Sawmills. All the materials have been purchased and it is possible the water will finally flow within the next week. (Why do I keep saying such things when everything takes weeks longer than expected?)

Our fruit trees

We’ve renewed the school sponsorships for our kids and they are writing letters to their sponsors. This is something I wanted to have happen last year but it didn’t.

I’m not sure if I mentioned that Air France gave each of us 3000 flying blue miles after I wrote to complain about a problem we encountered on our last trip. That’s so cool because with those extra miles we now move from “Ivory” to “Silver” and have access to their airport lounges. That will be great for our trip back to Canada in July

Some of you may know that the Colleges in Ontario held a strike vote a few weeks ago and the majority (57%) voted in favour of a strike. Management sweetened the deal a bit but our union still said we should vote against it. I was worried what would happen since I’m way over here and wouldn’t be able to picket and therefore not get strike pay. My Seneca pay is what is keeping LiPAF afloat while we wait for the big breakthrough.

To make a long story short, Management asked that their latest offer be put to a vote of the membership and by a margin of only 210 votes, Faculty decided to accept the offer. No Strike-No Worries. (To be honest the vote count isn’t official yet so let’s hope something doesn’t go wrong)

We have a lot of irons in the fire and I’ve just added a new one by letting my name stand to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Livingstone Tourism Association. The election is at the AGM on the 18^th.

Our New Home

Perhaps the biggest news this week was that we “shifted” which is how Zambians say they have moved. We moved our furniture items from Kelly’s place to our new home on Lusaka Road on Thursday. Several of the cast showed up to give us a hand. We didn’t have a lot to move by rented truck but it was a good thing we had so much help after the truck got stuck in some soft sand and we all had to push to get it free.

Side and Back

Today (Sunday) we moved our clothes and final items from Maramba Farm to our new home and got the keys. It will take us a while to get settled but we are happy with having such a lovely yard full of fruit trees and three bedrooms and three bathrooms. We’re turning the full length porch into our kitchen as soon as we get all the openings screened. Marilyn has always wanted an outdoor kitchen and now she will have one.

The picture below was taken on Saturday while I was on my way to the Sun with a staff member. A lone bull elephant was in the road and not happy. Cars were doing everything they could to get turned around and four way flashers were going everywhere. We did a u-turn and waited far down the road until the elephant went off into the bush. Quite a rush actually. Sorry it was too dark to see the elephant in this pic.

Elephant Traffic Chaos

We’ve had a difficult week trying to find time for everything that needs to be done and making some tough decisions. I didn’t get much chance to take pictures and since we don’t have internet at home anymore, I have to [...]]]>

It may look bad but it's Saturday afternoon and I'm still at the office

We’ve had a difficult week trying to find time for everything that needs to be done and making some tough decisions. I didn’t get much chance to take pictures and since we don’t have internet at home anymore, I have to find time to Blog on Saturdays at the office. Anyway, here’s where we’re at.

Theatre:
We took January off due to the fact that there are hardly any tourists in Livingstone and we felt it would be a good time to rehearse for Marilyn’s new show. It will be called BaZambia. I’ll have more details later but it is really cool and our biggest extravaganza.

We had some tough decisions to make this past week. Without much revenue in December and none in January, LiPAF is in danger of going broke. Hey, whose fooling who–we’ve been broke for a long time and only through donations and dipping into our own savings have we survived the 2009 economic crisis. Anyway, we presented our staff with the grim news and they rose to the challenge. They’ve accepted a reduced work week and a cut in wages. That’s not easy when you figure they get paid $120.00 per month. Still, we all believe in what we are doing and the prospects for a successful season if the economy recovers.

Marilyn is so very passionate about this project and this week she worked so hard to make contact with many lodge owners, etc. to see if we could get some concrete support for our shows. She got a great response and we are all a bit pumped by the prospect of having support among the Livingstone tourism community which has been lacking somewhat in the past. It does seem as though still being in business has helped us cement a reputation.

I’m letting my name stand as a member of the Board of Directors of the Livingstone Tourism Association which is also undergoing a renewal following a tough year. I hope I can help in some way to bring people in the tourism industry to work together for the benefit of all. I also hope to contribute some articles for their advertising of Livingstone as a tourist destination.

We did manage to kick off February with a good size crowd. The volunteers from the US who were in Livingstone building a school signed up 33 of their members to attend on Feb 2nd and we sold another 9 tickets at resorts. We met the coordinators of this project on the flight from JB to Li.

House Hunting:

We have had to take a lot of time to house hunt. We see lots of places but few are suitable either because they are too big (and expensive), too old (and dirty), or not as secure as we would like. Anyway , the word is out that we are looking and many of our friends have been quite helpful. We did find a house on Airport Road, a fair distance from town, owned by a lovely Zambian couple. We agreed on a price and gave our deposit last night.

Today, we got a call from a female lawyer in town who said she has some houses for rent. We drove around with her today and looked at a 12 room lodge, a 1 bedroom cottage, and a 3 bedroom house. Now we don’t know what to do. I think if we can get our deposit back from the other home we might prefer the three bedroom house we saw today. It is in town and is fully furnished. The price is a bit high but we may be able to negotiate.

Linda West School.

Linda West School Debate

Yesterday I delivered some letters from Canadian sponsors and met with the students we are all helping to get an education. Gosh I love these meetings. Such wonderful smiling faces. The letters from Canada that we brought with us were appreciated and so were the gifts of school supplies. Each child wants to write back to those in Canada so I am going to collect these and send them as a package to our son Ryan and ask him to mail them out.

We also hired the electrician and plumber to complete the bore hole project and have ordered the supplies. Unfortunately, some have to be picked up in Lusaka.

While at the school, I also stopped for a bit to see a school debate being held on the grounds. The students were debating the topic “Should there be any difference in the educational expectations of men and women in Zambia”. It was fun to watch and there were definitely some future lawyers and politicians in the group. A panel of teachers was judging the debate.

We are happy to be back in Zambia and have received such a warm welcome from all our friends and acquaintances. It’s a tough time right now and still a couple of months away from the beginning of the tourist season but we have lots for which to be thankful and know many of you reading this blog are rooting for us.

We arrived back in Zambia on Wednesday January 20th to a wonderful reception from our staff and friends. LiPAF [...]]]> This post is being copied and pasted in a rush. I’m working on my lap top battery because we haven’t found our adapters which we packed last November so I have to be quick. Here it goes……

We arrived back in Zambia on Wednesday January 20^th to a wonderful reception from our staff and friends. LiPAF remains intact although somewhat altered by our absence.  For the most part things ran smoothly while we were away.

January has been terrible for the tourism industry in Livingstone. Some lodges are empty while others are operating at 30 to 50% capacity. This has a direct impact on our operations as we depend on ticket sales to survive.  Our goal has been to survive the recession and see what 2010 will bring.

It's all Greek to me

On the airplane from Canada we met a couple escorting a group to Egypt on behalf of a Canadian tour company. They are also bringing a group to Livingstone in February and we have exchanged emails in the hope that they will pre-book our show.

Charles de Gaulle Airport

In Johannesburg, we met two men from Minnesota who were on their way to Livingstone to build schools in the area. Bob and Garwin are with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and will be leading 140 volunteers who will be arriving next week. They were quite interested in having their volunteers attend our show and we are looking into the possibility of moving it to the resort in which they are staying. It seems if Marilyn and I could just spend our time hanging out in airports we might actually increase the attendance at our shows significantly.

JB Airport

Right now we realize we are at a cross roads. As I’ve always said “When you come to a fork in the road…..take it!” We have inspected a facility which may be available for rent. It was once a garage and petro station which had been converted into a restaurant. It has been empty for about 3 years. We looked at it in order to see if it might be suitable as a place to develop our ‘ARTS CAFE’.

The idea behind an ‘ARTS CAFE’ is to bring together artists in Livingstone thereby creating an environment where tourists and locals can meet and mingle while being entertained. We will also use the venue for our performances of a new show we are developing and have something scheduled each night of the week. We envision workshops being held as well in storytelling, script writing, acting skills, etc.

Tall grass at the farm

We are still working out the details but the ARTS CAFE may have an Improv Night, a ‘Livingstone’s Got Talent Night’, poetry reading, an evening for up and coming performers, and various afternoons with local schools using the venue for drama, choirs, etc. There will be an art gallery displaying works of local artists and perhaps a library of arts and culture.

Although LiPAF has presented many unexpected challenges to us, we are still dreaming big. We’ve been discussing the idea of the ARTS CAFE with a number of community leaders in the hopes of establishing a strong working committee. So far the reception has been all positive and many people want to help.

Our biggest challenge will be financing. The venue we are exploring will need renovations. There is lots of ‘grunge’ work to be done by volunteers but also some materials and supplies to be purchased. Whether we can afford to get it up and running is questionable. We are still waiting to hear back from the owner to see what he wants for rent.

On other topics, I am having a lot of problems with my back. In the mornings it takes me a long time to get some relief from back, buttock, and leg pain. Usually as the day wears on, the pain subsides somewhat but it does restrict my movement. Getting in and out of our vehicle is quite painful. I keep hoping things will improve with my exercise routine but, if not, I will have to deal with it when we return to Canada at the end of July (We are planning a Canadian summer vacation this year)

I also picked up a cold which is improving. I think every time I fly, I get some bug or another. I’m still not smoking though and I think that has helped me get over the cold much quicker. (two full months free of cigarettes now)

As I mentioned, Marilyn is working on revamping our Dancing Around Zambia show to include more theatre. We have decided to take the next two weeks to rehearse instead of having our regular shows. It is the rainy season in Zambia and the roads are filled with massive puddles. Everything is green and lush and the grasses are higherthan me. It is quite something to see how lush everything has become and to know the rains will soon be gone and everything will start to dry out again in this continuous cycle.

Our temporary home

We have been house hunting and have seen several places which may be suitable. However, most of them have one or two problems and we haven’t made a decision yet. It’s either the location, the size of the yard, or the lack of a decent kitchen or shower which has kept us from renting. In the meantime we are staying in one of Tjisse’s chalets.

We made this ’snowwoman’ between Christmas and New Years at Ryan and Sally’s house. She was obviously celebrating the world Junior hockey tournament being held in Canada. Unfortunately, Canada lost the gold medal game 6 to 5 against the USA. Canada has won the gold medal in the last 5 out of six tournaments and [...]]]>

We made this ’snowwoman’ between Christmas and New Years at Ryan and Sally’s house. She was obviously celebrating the world Junior hockey tournament being held in Canada. Unfortunately, Canada lost the gold medal game 6 to 5 against the USA. Canada has won the gold medal in the last 5 out of six tournaments and the Americans haven’t won since 2004. Since hockey ‘is our game’ we really don’t expect to lose at all. Regardless, we got to watch a lot of the games.

Our ’snowwoman’ has held up well thanks to some cold temperatures. Today (Jan 11) it is snowing for only the second time since we arrived back in Canada on Nov 22nd. When people ask what it is like to experience Canadian winter again after a year in Zambia, I tell them it is more difficult to adjust to the lack of sunshine than the cold.

We will be returning to Zambia in less than a week. We have some exciting ‘irons in the fire’ but also realize the challenges that still exist due to the slump in the tourist market. We’ve had lots of time to discuss our adventure with family and friends which has also helped us formulate our goals for 2010. I guess that’s not too dissimilar to making new year’s resolutions which is something I never do. I actually quit smoking on November 22, 2009 (the day I arrived back in Canada) so that one can’t be on my list.

Last night, we had dinner with Marilyn’s cousins and Kim asked what we missed most while we were in Zambia apart from the obvious which is family and friends. In truth, I don’t think we missed anything other than family and friends. In fact, we can’t even think of anything we want to take back with us that we don’t already have.

Anyone who has been following my blog will know that life in Livingstone is very, very different from anywhere we have experienced in our years of travel. We see many international travelers on ’safari’ who may or may not get to experience the ‘real’ Africa. We also meet many volunteers who come to Africa and we admire these individuals who take time to contribute in some way. However, most are ready to return home following their vacation or few weeks of volunteering. We, on the other hand, are anxious to get back to Africa and continue our work there.

As 2010 begins, Marilyn and I are proud of our accomplishments in Livingstone but they are fewer than we hoped and establishing a self-sustaining charity such as ours is much more complex than we could have imagined. It is demanding both in terms of time and adjustment to a totally different culture. Although we could have taken on any number of smaller projects we are still enthusiastic and ready to do all we can to make it a success.

We also realize that our adventure is not in the travel brochures. We are very much a part of the community of Livingstone and not just visiting from time to time. Each and every day is an exciting learning experience.

We want to thank our family and friends who have supported us financially and emotionally. Some are talking about visiting us in Zambia this year and that would be awesome. We really want to introduce you to our new friends in Africa and give you an experience of a lifetime. Of course, each visitor also gets two free tickets to the best cultural show in Africa. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.