Southern Africa - South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia
August 23 - September 15, 2016
Part Four, Page Three - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
This is the home of a village chief that we visited and had lunch cooked
by his wife using the groceries we had bought at the supermarket in
Victoria Falls. The home consisted of several rondavels surrounded by
fencing. Each rondavel had a different purpose, such as a kitchen
or bedroom.
Part of the extended family greeting us as we arrived.
A couple of the kids. The girl was shy.
Some of the family sitting in limited shade.
Village Chief Nanbe talking about the family's life and
village life. The title of chief is earned by inheritance. The
tribal king also comes to the role by inheritance. The chief
reports to the king. This chief looks after about 30 homes.
He is sitting inside the building where the cooking is done.
The area between the walls and the thatched roof was open
to the outside and provided ventilation.
His wife eventually came in to cook for us over the fire. The smoke inside
the rondavel was oppressive, and I could not stay inside to watch the whole
process.
Members of the family
The toilet area. No plumbing involved. Notice we were
wearing the native skirts that we bought in the local
market in Zambia. The chief's wife helped us tie them on
over our clothes. We would otherwise have failed miserably.
The chief showed us the drum he uses to send messages to the other villagers.
A kids' bedroom.
One of the daughters - she brought us water to wash our hands before eating.
We ate such things as caterpillar, kale, dried fish, fried crocodile
fingers. We ate with our fingers.
Saying goodbye to our hostess.
After the home visit, we went to Jabulani Primary School. A student was
assigned to each of us to take us around. Here I am with my student,
Nomsa.
She was in 7th grade and took me first to her classroom where she
showed me her workbooks. She pulled out her English workbook and read
a paragraph in English to me and asked me to read another paragraph in
English to her. I could tell she would have liked to sit and talk to me, but
her assignment was to take me to all the classrooms.
Jabulani Primary
School receives support from Grand Circle Foundation, the parent company
of
Overseas Adventure Travel, the tour group
I was with.
This is the headmistress of the school who told us how much
it had meant to the school
that Grand Circle had adopted them
3 years ago. Before, they had to cram several grades into one
classroom and try to teach the different levels in the same room.
Grand Circle had built classrooms for them, so now they have a
separate classroom for each grade. Grand Circle also built toilets for them.
Nomsa's best friend wanted me to take a picture of them together.
Nomsa wants to be an accountant, but most families have a hard
time funding the schooling.
In each classroom, most of the kids seemed to like to
have photos taken.
Don't know what the hand signals meant.
As we got to the younger classrooms, the kids got more rambunctious.
With most of the photos I took, I showed the kids the photos.
Boys in their school uniforms outside a classroom.
At one point, three young boys each asked if they could hold my hand.
I said "yes," and all three grabbed my right hand and walked with me
to the next classroom.
Zimbabwe's education system consists of 2 years of pre-school,
7 years of primary and 6 years of secondary schooling.
The academic year in Zimbabwe runs from January to December,
with three terms, broken up by one month holidays,
with a total of 40 weeks of school per year. Since 1988, the Government
has steadily increased the fees associated with school enrollment. It is
estimated that about half of students do not go beyond primary school.
Wealthier families send their kids to private school.
Outdoor craft market in Victoria Falls with lots of
stone and wood carvings. Competition is fierce and
bargaining is expected and not just in cash. Since the
Zimbabwean currency crashed due to hyperinflation
and is worthless,
they wanted U.S. dollars.
Also, it was not unusual for vendors to ask for goods
like pens or t shirts in exchange for their products.
Grounds of Victoria Falls Hotel with Victoria Falls Bridge in the background.
Having high tea at this historic old hotel is supposed to be on your bucket list,
but I
was more interested in just walking around the town during our free time.
Girl outside a shop in Victoria Falls.
She saw my camera and asked me to
take her picture and show it to her. The
shops on main street had set prices.
Bargaining was expected at the local markets.
Workers at a souvenir shop in Victoria Falls.
They wanted a picture with me. After they took
photos with their phones, I asked to photograph them.
Such friendly people. I hope the turmoil in their
country caused by the dictorship of their longtime
leader Robert Mugabe ends peacefully and positively
soon.
Link to Part Four, Page Four - Victoria Falls
Pat's Home Page