Sakeji School

Ashley, Erika and myself arrived safely at Sakaji on May 7, 2011. Our pilot Don, took us on the three hour flight over Zambia and it was neat to see the different rivers, the large swamp, and the general landscape. We received a warm welcome when we landed and we were able to met several of the other teachers and families living at the school. Ever since we first landed, I (and I am sure that I can speak for Ashley and Erika) have been blown away by the hospitality that we have been shown by the people here. None of us were really sure what to expect Sakeji to be like, but I am sure that it has exceeded any expectations that we may have had. The people here are very understanding, welcoming and helpful. We have been fed wonderful meals and have been inspired by the amount of food that is homemade (even though this is a necessity down here, it still is quite an accomplishment). We have also had the privilege of trying some new food including guava, rice cakes and mealie meal.
Although the grounds are nice, and we were even given our own house (which in itself is crazy!), the life of Sakeji abides in the people here. The kids arrived yesterday and we have already fallen in love with them. We have been given the privilege to teach a science unit to a grade 3-4 class, and the rest of the time will be involved in supervising and helping in different grade levels along with other activities and lending a hand in other areas where help is needed. Ashley is helping with the grade 5&6 class as well as the 7&8’s, Erika is working with the 1&2’s and I am helping in the 3&4 classroom. There are about 70 kids in total. We had a couple of preparation days before the children came which was allowed us to get a bit of grasp on the routine, although by the time Tuesday came around it was good to have the school filled with children.
We have already experienced a couple of days in the classroom and all of us are really enjoying being involved in teaching, planning and even the opportunity to help out with some marking (it will be interesting to see how long we enjoying the markingJ).
The girls here love to play with our hair as it is apparently soft and as we all enjoy the feeling there is little hesitation to grant these girls their wish of plating our hair.
We are also starting to see the differing personalities of kids and becoming friends with them.
For interest sake, Sakeji is building a new dinning hall and so we get to see that process as it unfolds.
For the two Sundays that we have been at Sakeji we had the opportunity to go into Ikelenge to attend a local church there. The singing is wonderful and it is so encouraging to see the bond that fellow believers have with each other even though we are from different sides of the globe. It is also a good place to learn common phrases in Lunda, to practice them and to learn how to act in this different culture. One common new appropriate action when greeting someone is to shake their hand and then clap your hands together a couple of times as a sign of respect
The days here begin early and end early, which is a new routine to get used to. Overall the three of us are doing really well and enjoying this marvelous opportunity that God has given us to be here in Zambia at Sakeji. I myself have found that many new friendships have been formed and old one’s strengthened. So far it has been a really interesting, encouraging, and learning experience and I am excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of the trip.

Leanne

As a side note: We were given the amazing opportunity to be guests on the CVC radio station the night before leaving for Sakeji. It is interesting that we all had to wait to come to Zambia for a chance to be on live radio. We were able to share our experiences in Livingstone, our impressions of Zambia, and our purpose for being here. It was so amazing to be able to openly express our love for the Lord, and our desire to serve Him to the 7 countries that the station is broadcasted to.