Zambia Village Tour

 

On our final morning in Zambia, SA, we met a man named Webster (our 2nd Webster of the trip) down at the dock in front of our lodge.  He was a very soft-spoken young man who explained that the village he was about to tour with us was his own. We boarded a small fishing boat with one other couple and the captain, and set off down the Zambezi River toward his village...his home.

 

As the boat approached land, one lone little boy came running down to greet us. Big curious eyes and a warm smile, he stood and watched as we disembarked.

We were told we could take photos of anything we saw.  However, if the person appeared older than 18, we were to ask their permission first.  Respect the elders.

Webster explained that huts can be made in various ways.  This one was made with mud and sticks and was not a structure that would last more than a few years.  You can see how it is already cracking and getting holes.  The owner has already begun building new shelter to move into.

The blue machine here is a grain mill.  It was recently given to the village by a missionary.  Before that, they had to grind all their grain by hand, which takes quite a long time.

  

These men rode their bikes over to grind some grain.  It was a very loud machine!

 This was the nicest home in the village and, of course, belonged to the Chief, whom we would later meet.  Check out the intricate carving in the door.

 Our little greeter ran into a friend and they followed one of the boys on his bike with a bag of grain.

 Women working out in the fields; it was quite a hot day.

The kids love to have their photos taken and then look at the picture.  They don't have mirrors so they rarely get to see what they look like.  Here, Eric is showing them what they look like live on the Go-Pro.  I am actually sending copies of these photos to the village for them to have.

 

Here you can see how they use branches to build a sort of fence structure to keep animals out of their crops.  Webster told us, however, that this doesn't stop the elephants.  So, when the elephants walk through their village, they come out and bang pots and pans and try to reroute them.

I love taking photos of laundry hanging out to dry.  Is that weird?!

Cutie patooties!

 Another mud and stick structure nearing the end of its life.

 Someone's home.  Cloth door, dirt floors, tin roof.  We are blessed.

This little stinker wanted to exchange karate chops with me!

 This area was their bar.  They had music playing and they brew their own beer.  I did not try it.

A shared outhouse structure.

 

Sweet little girl who loved seeing herself when I showed her this picture on my camera screen.

 

This little child was so cute and timid; wearing a headband that was too big and carrying a stuffed bunny.

And here we have the Chief of the village. I asked him if I might take his photo and he posed like this as if he were buttoning his cuffs, though there were no buttons.  He did not speak English so Webster translated for him. He welcomed us to his village and said to make ourselves feel at home and take as many photos as we liked.

 The Chief's primary role is to keep peace in the village.

This brightly dressed woman walked past with her baby boy on her back and I stopped to talk to her.  She permitted me to take some photos.

 This is her baby boy; sadly, I've forgotten his name.  But he was very cute and curious and had cute little shoes on his tiny little feet.

 The children of this home came out to see us but held back a little, shy.

 All of the women carried items even larger than this on their heads and walked at a fast pace.  I fall off porch steps and sprain my ankle.  :0/

This is an old rusted out car bumper that the Chief uses as a bell when he needs the attention of everyone within the village.

Women doing some washing up in buckets.

 

 This village raises pigeons as a food source.

This little boy began following us along our village tour.  Eric gave him a Cliff bar and he was so excited!

 This was a small kitchen area to be shared.  It's kept outside of the home due to the heat that it puts out when they have a fire going.

More structures and homes.

 

This is their beautiful garden! They have a sturdy fence around it and placed it near the water's edge.

 Mom bathing and dressing her kiddos.

 Here the Chief is overseeing some of the village men as they build a fence.  The man in the bottom left of the photo carrying a small cooler is our guide, Webster.

 Fence around the garden.

 Webster leading us into their garden.

 This mom was washing dishes in the Zambezi River with her baby strapped tightly to her body.  Notice the large tree branches that form a border around her working area - this is to keep the crocodiles away.  They have a lot of problems with crocodiles and many villagers have been bitten and even killed.  A lot of them are now too afraid to go into the Zambezi at all.

 Mom came up to say hello and to accept a granola bar from Eric.  She broke off little pieces and fed it to her baby girl.

Then she turned and looked out over the great river.

 More of the beautiful garden.

 My favorite photo.  This boy never spoke a word.  Just stood and watched us as we admired the garden.  He saw me taking his photo and he stood still for it but did not smile.

This little boy was herding cattle right through the center of the village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the kids heard about the goodies we were handing out!  They came up with hands tentatively held out asking for bubble gum.  Eric did not disappoint.

  

Look at all the smiling faces!

A cat chasing a lizard up a hut!

A boy and his dog.

 

This woman passed us as we were walking to our boat to leave. She had a heavy load but a big smile on her face.

We, too, had big smiles on our faces. It was a heartwarming and educational experience.  One I will never forget and also one I hope to repeat many times over. 

Special thanks to the Waterberry Lodge and to Webster Maninga. 

"For it is in giving that we receive." ~ Francis of Assisi

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.  Kindness in giving creates love."  ~ Lao Tzu

Defending the Kardashians

I'm sure this blog will have lots of haters (hey...I'll have that in common with the Kardashians!).  But after reading another insulting article today, I actually put my blog about my trip to the African village on hold to write this one.  This post has nothing to do with my photography, but instead, more about being a woman.

Like a lot of you, I have been reading about Lamar Odom and his recent battle with addiction.  Today I read an article in the LA Times that has emboldened me to put fingers to keyboard; the article is Kardashians' Freak Show Capitalizes on Lamar Odom One More Time. Let me start with the title.  What makes this family a "freak show"? Is it because they are constantly in the media? If that's the reason, are they to blame?  Or should we perhaps blame the media that keeps them in the spotlight?  Or the consumers that buy up what the media puts out?  In my opinion, and obviously that is all this is, MY opinion, they are a very smart and savvy family.  They have made millions by simply being in the public eye and by building on their "brand". These women are, for the most part, not out partying and getting arrested and going to rehab like so many other Hollywood people.  They own clothing stores and have their own line of clothing and makeup, and several reality TV shows.  If this were a family of successful men would they be beaten down as much as these women?

Next in the title, I question how the Kardashians are capitalizing on Lamar "one more time". In what way are they profiting from this?  From what I understand, Khloe and Lamar are a married couple.  Obviously they have had struggles in their marriage, but does that mean that at his lowest point Khloe should just walk away from Lamar?  Some say she should, as he was found in an apparent overdose in a brothel!  That is reason enough for most to walk away.  But she is sticking by her man. How does this profit her or line her pockets?

Now let's get at the meat of the article. Much of it paints a very nice picture of Lamar Odom; the author uses phases such as "sweet soul", "affable", "powerful and popular", "deeply loving and fiercely loyal." I do not doubt these descriptors to be true.  But the rest of the article tells us how the Kardashians, or more specifically, Khloe, took him down to another level.  How the media is focusing on the reality TV aspect and not on the addiction from which Lamar suffers.  Again, I ask you, is that not the fault of the media and the consumers?  The author even goes so far as to say that Odom's basketball skills declined because of the show 'Khloe & Lamar'.  First of all, how does a show take away your skills of playing ball?  Second, was he forced to do the show?  Is he not a grown man making his own decisions?

Look, I understand if you do not like these women.  We have been force-fed this beautiful and successful family.  I get it. But I am sick of the derogatory comments.  What have they done that is so horrible?  Sex tape?  Yeah, that's gross.  But guess what...there was a man in that tape as well!  And we know plenty of men (mostly politicians whom we put into office) who have done similar.  A short lived marriage?  Yeah, that was gross, too.  But guess what...shit happens.  WNBA stars, Glory Johnson and Brittney Griner, were finally able to be wed as a lesbian couple, went through IVF, and 28 days after the wedding and months before the babies were born they filed for divorce.  I didn't see the Internet all up in a tizzy about that one.

The way I see it, there are enough bad people in this world without us trying to make something bad of a group of women who are simply successful at something that a lot of people find annoying.  Instead of bashing them, turn the channel or stop buying the magazines.  Easily solved.

Rant over.


"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me...all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."  ~ Jackie Robinson

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."  ~ Dalai Lama

"Kindness in words creates confidence.  Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.  Kindness in giving creates love."  ~ Lao Tzu