Foundation of a dream

From Great North Road

By Mwizenge Tembo

This is the first of what I hope to be periodic reports from the ground on how the Village library project is going. The reports will be far in between as I don’t want to be caught up in writing when nothing significant has happened since the previous report. Besides time here is plentiful but it is very deceiving as each day goes so fast; activity goes in slow motion. I would like to contemplate how Einstein’s theory of relativity would interpret all of this.

Since early March 2007 when the library project took off in earnest, I have received reports by email and cell phone on the progress. I arrived in the village on June 1st and did not get the opportunity to visit the site until 2 days later.

Since the Zambia Knowledge Bank Libraries: Nkhanga Branch construction committee did not have a bank account yet, the money Six Million Zambian Kwacha ($1500.00) was wired by Western Union. This initial amount sent in small sums as needed, was the purpose of clearing the project site of grass, trees, and tree stumps all by hand. It was also for digging the foundation and setting it, hauling river sand by a hired pick up truck and ox-carts. I am learning a lot about building lingo and what each stage entails. It was a mammoth task since the 42 meters (138ft) long by 7 meters (23ft.) wide building is huge by rural village standards. I had heard and had been told so much about the project site and what had been accomplished. Seeing it for the first time was going to be hopefully an encouraging experience.

I finally walked to the site with the builder, Mr. Mwale, on Sunday June 3rd at 5:00pm. He is a short man; may be 4 ft. 11ins. with a baby face. But from what I saw, the project was so lucky to hire a man with such remarkable building skills and experience. He knew exactly what and how to set the foundation on the sandy soil. I saw the partially raised foundation box with beautifully put together bricks. I could see the massive amount of cement he had laid at the bottom mixed with crushed stones and had apparently used tons of water.

I walked all around and took numerous photographs from all angles. I stood there thinking: “This is the actual foundation of a dream”. I thank you very much for your contributions and support.

Foundation slab.

Library foundation Construction.

Library foundation Construction.

Library foundation Construction.

Completed foundation slab for the Zambia Knowledge Bank Libraries (ZANOBA): Nkhanga Branch Village Library. July 23, 2007: the building is 42 m long and 7 m. wide.

Construction Commitee.

Nkhanga Village Library Construction Committee Members holding and informal meeting on the foundation slab. July 23, 2007

Paying a worker.

The Village Library Construction Commitee members paying one of the workers who had delivered dambo sand using an ox-cart in Lundazi. Office under the trees. June 2007

Cooking lunch.

Cooking lunch (Nshima) for construction workers at the Zambia Knowledge Bank Libraries (ZANOBA): Nkhanga Branch Village Library. July 2007

Lundazi Castle Hotel.

Early morning view from my room upstairs in the Lundazi Castle Hotel July 2007

Lundazi Castle Hotel.

The Lundazi Castle Hotel. June 2007

Lundazi Castle Hotel.

My favorite view of the beautiful Lundazi Hotel. I had to include it in my romance and adventure novel: "The Bridge". June 2007

Chimtali dancers.

Chimtali dancers.

Two Chimtali traditional dancers at the annual Lundazi District Agricultural Show. July 2007

Muganda dancers.

Muganda dancers.

Muganda traditional dancers at the annual Lundazi District Agricultural Show. July 2007

Dance Drummers.

Zambian Traditional Dance Drummers at the Arcades Shopping Mall stage in Lusaka. May 2007

At my sister's home.

My brother and last born sister and an assortment of nephews and nieces at my sister's home in the compound of the Lilayi Police Training School in Lusaka. Her husband called me last week from Monrovia in Liberia where he is serving in the Peace Keep Force.

My 12year old niece.

My 12 year old niece acting coy and silly behind the wheel of the pick up truck I was driving when I visited the family at Lilayi Police Tarining School in Lusaka. May 2007

Buying a chicken.

Buying a chicken can be interesting. Girl buying a chicken from many sellers at the Lundazi Market Square where all the action is. July 2007

Fisherman.

A fisherman at the Mphamba Dam behind the Lundazi Castle Hotel. He was retrieving his Chono basket that he uses to catch fish which he sells at the Lundazi market.

Hitching a ride.

Already tremendous organizing efforts had been expended by the estimated ten active members of the Nkhanga Library building committee who are all volunteers. The breaking of the rocks by hand to make crushed stones at the nearby hill was so demanding that some workers sustained bleeding hands. There has already been literally blood and sweat expended on the library project. I am so glad that the leadership at the site gets it and understand the unique nature and historical significance of the project in the district, Zambia and probably Africa as a whole.

Of course on a project of this complexity requiring unforetold imagination, there are already some people dropping out because there wasn’t a great deal of money in the project to share through some under the table deals. There was vying for power and access to the purse, and some loud demands for accountability. Some stopped attending meetings once they found out hard work and sacrifices were required.

This could be a blue print for some of the small projects like this one which have very thin margins of error or cannot afford the costs of thick red tape. Once small amounts of money were released by Western Union, within minutes the project managers and the builder were purchasing the first thirty bags of cement, brick force wire, hiring a truck to transport the supplies to the construction site.

The project so far has provided much needed temporary jobs to earn cash for an estimated twenty adults including four women who draw water carrying it on their heads from about two hundred yards away from the Nkhanga Clinic bore hole. Two families who own ox –carts have hauled river sand and have earned some money. Young men have been crushing stones, There is some hunger here as some families had a bad harvest due to bad rains and not having any fertilizer. The cash income they earn from the library project is used to buy corn so that they can feed their families. Many are grateful to have a job to earn an income. Labor problems have to be solved as we go. Some laborers quit after the first pay, others are unruly as they have never worked in structured environment and do not know how to follow orders.

The foundation Slab for the Village Library project was finally completed on July 23 and all workers were paid. The women and the men did a great job. Due to circumstances too long to explain here, there were nights when workers shovelled stone gravel and crushed stones at night under the moonlight. Lunch was under the shade of a tree near the site; of course nshima and kapenta. There are a great group men and women working on the project and I am infinitely so proud of them because they "get it".

The next phase is to mould bricks. We hope to put the roof on the building before end of October. For now, it’s back to fundraising.

I fly out tomorrow at 6:00am.

Shalenipo mukwayi, Kharani Makora.