Birds of Zambia and Botswana

Lilac-breasted Roller

We saw some amazing birds while in Zambia and on our safari into the Chobe National Park in Botswana. I will just let you enjoy the beauty of these incredible birds.

African Fish Eagle

African Jacana

African Openbill

African Paradise Flycatcher

African Sacred Ibis

African Skimmer

Black-headed Oriole

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Grey-headed Gulls

Lilian's Lovebirds

Little Bee-eater

Livingstone's Turaco

Pied Kingfisher

Southern Red-billed Hornbill

Trumpeter Hornbill

Giant Kingfisher

White-backed Vulture

White-fronted Bee-Eater

Wire-tailed Swallow

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

Yellow-billed Stork

Up Close in Zambia

Isn't this a wonderful face! Baboons were everywhere we went. Between them and the monkeys, we were provided with great entertainment. 

To see zebras and  lions in their natural habitat was breathtaking!

A large herd of Cape Buffalo came down to a small body of water to drink while we sat in our safari truck. At first there was nothing, then they came - a few at first and then they just kept coming and coming. It was an amazing sight.

I never dreamed we would see so many elephants. Everyday they walked through the camps where we were staying.

Hippos come out of the river at night and walk inland to eat the grasses. The first night at Marula Lodge I woke up around 2 in the morning and heard this odd, fairly loud "munch, munching" sound outside my screen window. I looked out and there was a hippopotamus about 10 feet away eating the grass and another one a little further away. Usually they are back in the river before we wake up, but this was a straggler.

Beautiful!

Traditional Food

Doesn't this look good! Midmorning we would have homemade bread and coffee. We also enjoyed eating a little fruit that the children picked up off the ground from a tree nearby. It must be a favorite because every time a vehicle dropped someone off at the nearby corner they would go over and pick up a handful of the fruit.

Each day the women brought in different vegetables they would prepare for our lunch. They even taught us how to strip the outer layer off the pumpkin stems before it was cooked. It took me awhile and patience on their part before I got the hang of it.

We tried not to make friends with the 3 chickens that wandered around our work area, under our feet or even perched on our feet. This one loved to cuddle up to our scraps of material. They soon became part of our lunch!

Preparing the maize flour, called mealie meal, for nshima

I'm learning to pluck a chicken. I wonder if this was the one that stood on my feet?

The chicken is cooking. A sauce was made for the chicken that was so delicious.

A table was set up for us in our work area. They always placed a beautiful tablecloth on the table. We were treated with such care. 

Nshima, made from the mealie meal and water, is a staple for most meals. You pull a piece off and roll it into a ball. flatten it, and use it and your thumb to scoop up a bite of food. Everything they made was full of wonderful flavors. We always looked forward to lunch to see what new and interesting things we would eat.

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The Women of Mfuwe, Zambia

          

My husband, Keith, my sister, Mary, her husband, Gill, and our friend, Pam, had the opportunity to work with these amazing women when we traveled to Zambia in July. They are the members of the Mfuwe Aids Support Awareness Tailoring Project. This project was started by a wonderful man named Evans Graff. The project is made up of 9 women, who are all HIV positive, and a professional tailor named James. The purpose is to teach the women to sew and sell a variety of products. Their products, which include bags, bibs, pillow cases, shirts, skirts, headbands, etc are made from their local fabric called Chitenje. The profit from the sales of these items is shared among the women to help support themselves and their children. 

Meeting with Evans

We all started out making flowers that could be used on everything from headbands to bags or to pin on a top as pictured on Margarita.

We had so much fun working together.

The irons and some of the electric sewing machines were purchased with money raised in a raffle and by donations made  here in Tucson and from other places as friends and even strangers heard about the project.

Mary is showing James, the tailor, how to use one of the new machines.

Pam is looking at Chitenje material for a sewing project. 

Even baby was a wonderful member of  the group.

Colorful bibs made from Chitenje material

We were so impressed with the dedication of everyone involved in this project. All the people were so welcoming and took good care of us as you will see in my next blog post.