Travel. The long, straight road to Chipata traversing the Great East Road…so called because it is the road leading to Malawi. After five hours of waiting for the driver to pick me and another volunteer for Chipata diocese, off we went to travel squeezed on the front seat of the land rover since there were people who hitched a ride. After two stops for water (only!), we reached Chipata at 17:30 (have to get used to their time!) summing up the 6-hour drive. I was so tired and very hungry and I am usually unpleasant when hungry. My first destination was the convent (called Father’s House in this part of the world). The people I found at the Father’s house were very helpful, I managed to unload my suitcases quickly because everyone helped. However, without minding where my things were going, I asked the driver if I was going to stay for the night in a father’s house, which was humbly replied that the Executive Director would take me to my house. I asked one of the boys helping me with my luggages where he was taking my bags who said that they are in a safe place, and asking me what was my problem. As I said, I am bad when hungry, so in a sarcastic manner, I said; my problem is I am tired and hungry! Only to know the following day that I was mean to a priest, the parish priest! After few minutes I was taken to my house with another car behind with Father Richard on the driver’s seat, the Executive Director of Caritas! After unloading my things and showing the rest of the house, we went to eat!!! It was dinner in a local restaurant that was owned by Indians. Father Richard was very helpful and kind, he helped me fix my mosquito net before leaving me at the house. Reality sunk in again, I am home alone. I prayed that I would manage to sleep in a big house.
My House. Located in the middle of a big plot of land in an area which is just starting development, which appears like a subdivision in my jargon. Houses are big and construction is on-going. My house is newly-constructed, in fact I am the first occupant, four-bedroom two of which are self-contained rooms, a seating room, separate rooms for dining and kitchen. My room in particular is spacious and it has a bathtub. Curtains were already hung when I found it and the basic furnishings necessary during my stay. Literally spacious because the furnishings are very minimal and I don’t think I would be able to fill it during my stay. The lawn still needs landscaping and gardening, this one I promise to myself I would help improve.
The Place. Chipata is a quiet, small town referring to its residents but big when it comes to geographic area. It is complete with basic facilities for communications, shopping, sports, dining, transport and recreation. Located in the Northern part of Zambia, Chipata is the capital of the Eastern province, 15-minute drive to the border by car and 2-hour drive to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. My host in this part of Zambia is the Catholic Diocese of Chipata through Caritas- Chipata. I would be interacting with people from the church aside from the beneficiaries of the various programs and services of Caritas.
The Fathers. I was adopted by the parish for 4 days because I have to eat at the Father’s House during those days when I didn’t have my fridge and cooker yet in my place. I learned to eat Zambian’s staple food called nshima, which is made of maize flour. It’s heavy on stomach, very good for carbo-loading. In fact, during the succeeding meals, I only have to take half of its serving. It’s good to pair with any type of dish like fish, vegetables and meat. My short interaction with the fathers in Zambia made me realize a lot of things about this vocation. Lifestyle-wise, fathers here are different from the priests in my country. Fathers in Zambia live with the community, share rooms with absence of all the perks I have seen in the living quarters of the priests back home. Everything here is communal yet it couldn’t be presumed that the parish/diocese and the fathers are poor because it is definitely enjoying the privilege a church would have in any part of the world. Moreover, the development work it is providing to the people is admirable. The spirit of helping each other among the parishes is obviously practiced, and the commitment of the fathers is worth emulating. These are my first impressions, I could be wrong as the time passes by and as I stay longer in this place but I hope I wouldn’t be. I hope first impressions last.
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