JCK-at-large SITE

The day before Chirstmas!  Time for an early morning bike loop around our town of Kitwe, Zambia! 

Half an hour out, we stopped for some of Mabel’s ground-nuts and delicious freshly fried kasava.  One kwacha, or about five cents, gets you a slice of kasava, or a small bag of groundnuts — and a “God bless you.”  Mabel supports five children from her little stall.

Further along, there was Mwangala’s corner shop, where we stopped in for some sweets.“Thank you very much, Bwana,” he said.  “May God bless you.”  At Mwangala’s, on the day before Christmas, every dime counts.

One of our town’s handicapped street citizens was nearby with his mismatched shoes.  Poor man, he looked at a five kwacha note as though wondering what to do with it.  Unfortunately, it was not edible.  People with developmental issues tend to get dropped off in our town, in the hopes that the leftovers of the city itself will sustain them. “Thank you very much,” they sometimes say, with a smile to remind us that they are essentially okay.  They just need something like a social safety net.  

Back on our Twalishuka street, we receive an update from Osward, groundskeeper and youth leader, man of many talents. Two weeks ago, his  mother faced eviction!  The owner of her little house needed cash for school fees — so he put the house up for sale!  We found some kwacha and helped Osward and his Mom do the unthinkable: buy the property!  Cost of the house was k2,800 kwacha, which must be the best real estate deal on the planet — at about $200 dollars!  Madam Phiri has a small business repackaging charcoal and selling smaller bags at the Chipata Compound market.

Ah, the day before Christmas.  It all served to remind us that Christmas celebrations are pretty minimal for many of our fellow earthlings.  And also, that we need to celebrate the birth of our Saviour in the spirit of good king Wenceslas, 10thC Duke of Bohemia, of whom it is said: “Rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty.”

Of course we remember “good king Wenceslas” with a Christmas Carol in his name. And it brings us a timely reminder every year: “He who now will bless the poor, shall himself find blessing.”

And may God bless us, everyone!