Six men, a taxi and me!
Thursday, June 21st, 2007Dear All
Much of the time when going in and out of town I use ‘public transport’ to save on fuel costs and because it’s fun. There are no buses but minibuses and cars do duty, ferrying huge numbers of people from Ruashi on the outskirts of the city down the Chaussee de Kasenga (the only easily passable route) and dropping them in a cloud of dust within walking distance of the main city streets. The capacity of most vehicles remains a mystery as there’s always room for one or two more and the normal capacity is double the number you first thought of. Returning from town last week, laden with shopping, I collapsed into a taxi (luxury, it costs 5p more than the taxibus), where there were already 2 passengers and the driver. As soon as I got in 2 more bulky men climbed in on either side, threatening to eject me and my bundles from the central position. The gentleman on my right kindly volunteered to relive me of one bag which he sat on his knee, leaving me with the remainder. As we left town and the temperature rose, I could feel frozen fish and meat begin to melt on my knee… Happily we weren’t travelling in the rush hour so the drive lasted only about 20 minutes and I hastened to put everything in the freezer!
I see the Vatican is issuing ‘commandments’ for car drivers. I think I’ll have them posted all over town. No highway code pertains here and driving alone is a somewhat reckless venture as you need at least 3 other passengers with their eyes permanently peeled for traffic arriving from all sides, irrespective of pavements, traffic lights or often traffic police.
Last time I wrote about the work due to start on the electrification of the other side of the Living Water Centre. Hard to believe that so much work has been accomplished in such a short time. Trenches which were prepared in advance have been deepened to 75cm and where necessary stretches of laterite have been broken up, then 1000m of cable have been laid. All the work has been done without any machinery, just hand tools and a lot of brawn. Yesterday the distribution cabin arrived from Zambia. It had been en route for some weeks from UK (via Tanzania where it was delayed for 2 weeks outside the port) and was brought by Carol and Ginny, my 2 colleagues here at Eau Vive. They crossed the border in record time (1/2 hour), the cabin comfortably horizontal and looking, as someone commented, rather like a coffin! It still looks like a coffin standing up and I’ve suggested some trees be planted around it once the rains come at the end of the year. Installation work has already begun inside the staff houses and project buildings and people are getting excited at the prospect of being able to use electricity for cookers and fridges as well as having lights. Meanwhile the neighbours who were recently connected to one phase, following discussions with the local electricity board, have already exceeded the permitted load (causing the system to trip at least 3 times), so urgent meetings are under way to try to resolve a looming problem.
There are lighter moments in my busy schedule. Yesterday I managed a trip to Lubumbashi zoo with a friend and we enjoyed a pleasant walk in the spacious grounds, imagining ourselves far from the hurbly burly of the city centre even though it was just the other side of the wall! The zoo recently acquired a lion cub, a gift from President Kabila, and work is underway to improve the facilities for the animals, starting with a big enclosure for rescued chimps and good, conservation friendly signboards with children in mind. Tomorrow evening we are hosting a buffet for various invited guests, including managers of Ruashi Mining who have expressed an interest in helping with the construction of a school and a small hospital. Today will be non-stop baking and cooking. Happily, my house guest (Judith Muleka) has offered to cook the evening meal for our two electrical engineers, leaving me free to get on with some of the other work.
Hope the Harrisons visit was enjoyed by all at SBC and I look forward to hearing how plans are developing for the next Kosovo team!
Time for a coffee - it’s really cold at night here. N Zambia recorded 4 degrees recently and it’s much the same here. Good thing Amanda gave me a hot water bottle to bring with me!
Love
Bridget