Monday

Today we headed off to Soweto Market (the one in Lusaka, not the South African one!) where we met Vasko, Kennie and Vinnnie from Fountain of Hope so they could take us around the market and bus station to meet boys who live on the street.

To get into the market area we drove through an area where bales of second-hand clothes were being sold to people who would then split the bale and either sell on to specialist traders (jeans for example, or belts, or bags, or...) or sell them on themselves. It was good to see what happens to the left-overs from the charity shops, or what goes into the bags that come through the letter box.

The walk to meet the boys was more eye opening than I thought it would be – the first by we came across was flat out and oblivious in the shell of a car, obviously knocked out by the effect of stikka (a by product of benzene) which numbs them to their hunger and to the cold and to the general desperation of their situation. Gradually we met more and more boys – it really made me wonder how often I've wandered around similar markets and simply not noticed these boys – they were invisible to me. But nott this time: The place was teeming with them – many (most?) were sniffing the stikka from rags, rolled up hats or empty soda bottles. The idea of us visiting the area in the morning was that they wouldn't be too high and out of it, but many of them were already out of reason. The team had an opportunity to chat with the boys and remind them of Fountain of Hope and the food, shelter and accommodation it has to offer. I spent most of my time keeping an eye on those in the team who wandered off away from the group that they'd been put into. Vasko accepted the offer of some sheema that a group of boys were cooking, but immediately regretted it because it was off, and the tomatoes in it were rancid, and it took him straight back to when he too was on the streets. No wonder he is so well respected by the boys and by the gangs there. I was privileged to be in Geoff's group, led by Abe, because both of them were able to provide a much deeper insight into the whole situation. Eventually we made our way into the bus station where Geoff was confident we'd probably find Jubilee who had lost a leg in an incident with a car a couple of years ago. His wooden crutches were falling to pieces and I was very glad to be able to give him the ones that I had used when I had my ankle operated on – they are a different design so hopefully he'll be able to get used to them. It was not possible to be sure I'd set them at the correct length because he was so high that he was shaking. The camaraderie of his companions really struck me – they were making sure he was being looked after.

Fountain of Hope felt like an absolute refuge when we arrived there – all the space and the calm of the place, and the contentedness of the children. After a debriefing and lunch we began work: Rewired on finishing setting up the PCs in the cabin/shipping container that has been declared the IT classroom

Some of the rest of the team to de-cockroaching the kitchen and scrubbing it clean before putting an initial coat of paint on it. Others went to investigate cookers, and yet more carried on decorating the Internet Cafe.

I revisited Fydes (pronounced Feedez) in the clinic to let her know about the donation from two ladies at Romsey Abbey – she was so delighted because this is a step close to her vision of a neonatal clinic as well as what she is able to provide the boys and the local community.

During the evening we were visited by Amos and Katie who introduced us to the work they have set up with Kumbyah – this is a school for around 350 children in a tiny building and a feeding programme that provides a basic meal to around 400 children every day, some from the school but others who are just around; we visit them on Wednesday to help them when they distribute the food.