Maize patch update

Having planted our maize patch along with everyone else back in December, I’d been getting worried about why our maize looked different to everyone else’s. Admittedly we used ‘village maize’ seeds that our landlady in Lusaka had given us, rather than using the more common imported hybrid variety, but that didn’t seem to explain the difference. All the other maize around us had flowers, or tassels, growing out of them with cobs starting to show… ours was tassel-less.

But then at the weekend tassels suddenly appeared! On closer inspection we found a Chameleon climbing up the maize – so perhaps you need a Chameleon to visit your maize to bring tassels?

Later on, whilst inspecting our healthy looking pumpkins, I noticed our new friend heading down his hole in our veg patch – presumably off to deliver some tassels to other worried maize farmers.

You can see all the photo’s on our Zambian life flickr set.

BTW: Zambians are terrified of Chameleons – not sure why but everyone shrieks and runs a mile if they see one of the little fella’s. Apparently cats are feared too – which would explain why there are no cats anywhere and the rats thrive!

Micah Challenge Zambia website

We launched a website for Micah Challenge in Zambia yesterday – you can see it at: www.micahchallenge.org/zambia

It is a simple site that we’ve set up using WordPress.com, the same system that this website uses, and it hasn’t cost a penny so far – another example of what you can do for free on the web! There is not much content on it on at the moment but that will change as things develop.

Lent resources

I stumbled across some Lent resources last week by Christine Sine. We’ve mentioned Tom & Christine Sine in the past – their books have been really insightful in our journey over recent years, particularly Living on Purpose and Sacred Rhythms. They run Mustard Seed Associates – which has a great website with lots of resources – and have just started the Mustard Seed Journey blog. They have also just formed an intentional community in Seattle US (something that Polly and I have been dreaming of for many years, and will be watching with interest) which is called Mustard Seed House.

Anyway the Lent resources…Christine Sine has produced a guide for Lent called A Journey Into Wholeness – which you can freely download here. It is designed to take us “each week on a journey into a different aspect of the brokenness of god’s world”, using the time of Lent as preparation for, “being instruments of God’s healing and restoration.” We will be using the guide over the coming weeks – there will be additional resources added at the Mustard Seed Journey blog and also at Christine Sine’s blog GodSpace.

Lent invites us to re-enter the school of life and be disciplined in the endless possibilities of growth Christine Sine – A Journey Into Wholeness

Another great resource for Lent is 40 by Revive. Forty illustrations depicting Jesus in the Wilderness (as described in Matthew 4: 1-11) making one image for each day of Lent. The images have been made into PowerPoint and movie presentations with a soundtrack – which you can order from CMS or Proost.

 

GodSpace by Christine Sine

I was pleased to see that Sacred Rhythms (which we’ve mentioned before) has been updated and revised, now reprinted as GodSpace: Time for Peace in the Rhythms of Life – and Christine Sine has started a blog called GodSpace.

GodSpace… looks at the natural rhythms God built into our world and how paying attention to them can strengthen every part of your life. God’s rhythm makes time for all the good things life offers… as well as the creative activity of work, the joy of relationships, and the soothing relaxation of rest. Follow the sacred rhythms and… discover a peaceful, Christlike pace that liberates you from the frenzy of a culture enslaved by time.

vulture funds: action trick 2

Last week a high court judge in London ruled whether a so-called ‘vulture fund’, Donegal International, could extract more than $40m from Zambia for a debt which it bought for less than $4m.

In 1979 the Romanian government lent Zambia money to buy Romanian tractors. Zambia was unable to keep up the payments and in 1999 Romania and Zambia negotiated to liquidate the debt for $3m. But before the deal could be finalised a ‘vulture fund’ stepped in and bought the debt from Romania for less than $4m. They are now suing the Zambian government for the original debt plus interest which they calculate at over $40m.

Last week the judge did not accept all the ‘vulture funds’ arguments – and said that their witnesses had at times been “dishonest” – but ruled that legally they are entitled to something from Zambia. The exact total of what Donegal is ‘entitled’ is to be determined, but may be around $20 million. This would be half of the amount that Zambia is due to save from debt relief this year.

BBC Newsnight last week ran the story and attempted to interview the ‘vulture fund’ owner – there is a good report of the story on their website.

Whilst legally the ‘vulture fund’ may be entitled to money from Zambia morally surely the case is clear. The company brought the debt at a highly reduced price in 1999, at a time when it would have known that Zambia was considered poor and indebted enough to qualify for debt relief. One month before Zambia was finally granted debt cancellation in April 2005 – debt relief intended to improve its economy and provide the necessary resources to meet its peoples’ needs – Donegal launched its lawsuit to cash in on Zambia.

Jubilee Debt Campaign, together with Oxfam, is calling on Donegal International not to claim this money. Add your voice to the campaign – email Donegal not to claim money from Zambia

Five years ago Gordon Brown told the United Nations that the vulture funds were perverse and immoral. Jubilee Debt Campaign are also campaigning to outlaw the vulture fund practice. Add your voice to the campaign – email Gordon Brown to outlaw the vulture fund practice.

Congratulations Lucy and Jonathan

On Saturday night we were able to hear about some fantastic news through the power of text messages! Congratulations to Lucy (aka Polly’s sister) and Jonathan on their engagement at the weekend…. wonderful news! The gender balance in the Whittles’ family will now be perfectly balanced!

Action Trick no 1: Freedom Day – 25th March

The 25th of March 2007 is Freedom Day, which this year will mark the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Today twenty-seven million men, women, and children are still enslaved around the globe, so I am kicking off the Action Tricks series with a look at the things planned to commemorate the tireless work of William Wilberforce and Olaudah Equiano, amongst others, who were central to the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.

Perhaps the biggest is the release of Amazing Grace the film – based on the life of William Wilberforce, whose mentor was John Newton, the slave-trader -turned-song-writer, who wrote the hymn, Amazing Grace – the film website – has lots of resources, including film clips, discussion guides and church study guides on the issues raised in the film and modern day slavery.

In conjunction with the film there are plans for Amazing Grace Sunday – when churches around the world are invited to sing Amazing Grace and in praying for the end of slavery once and for all on Freedom day – 25th March. Again the website has lots of resources.

‘After all, what makes any event important, unless by its observation we become better and wiser, and learn ‘to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly before God’? Olaudah Equiano

Stop the Traffik, a global coalition, has lots of resourse on organising an event for the day, including an organiser’s pack, to help raise awareness of the problems of people trafficking today, with practical ways in which you can mark Freedom Day.

The bicentenary has a special connection for CMS, as William Wilberforce was one of the founders of CMS. They have lots of resources to help mark the event and focus on fighting slavery today: the current CMS Yes magazine is devoted to slavery; the CMS Lent Guide focuses on it; Free For All – unique events in schools across the UK run by CMS; African Snow play – a play sponsored by CMS to mark the anniversary and inspire new acts of abolition today. The play is based on the meeting of John Newton, the converted slave-trader who wrote Amazing Grace, and Olaudah Equiano, the former slave turned abolitionist whose extraordinary story has often been confined to a footnote or totally ignored.

Other websites with resources: Tearfund Freedom day resources, Amazing Change campaign; Set All Free – Act to End Slavery website; The Truth Isn’t Sexy campaign – exposing the truth between human trafficking and prostitution.

*Update* Also see the related slave tree video post

Action Tricks

Inspired by Jonny Bakers Worship Tricks I’ve decided to start a series of blog posts about all things campaigning and action, which I’ll be calling action tricks, consisting of thoughts, tips, resources and actions around campaigning and speaking out.

Having been involved for sometime in campaigning and finding a voice in the world of politics for those people and issues that usually go un-heard, I hope I’ve got something worthwhile to share. All the posts will be part of a series archived under an action tricks category tag so if nothing else, it will be a good personal archive of things I once came across and thoughts I once had!

When talking to people about poverty and injustice the conversation usually turns to what we can do, which then includes words like “but if I knew what to do I’d do it” or “if there was something that would really make a difference I would do it.” And we’d often be right – finding out possible solutions is usually not straight forward, but that doesn’t mean we can just do nothing. So I hope this series of posts may share things we can all do. These will rarely just be my ideas and thoughts, but will rather use the internet and blogging for what it is good at – sharing ideas and resources. The posts will point to other people’s ideas and organisations actions, as well as sharing different tools for action. Poverty and the environment will probably be the main themes…but we’ll see what comes up.

To see the latest action tricks click here.

 

Moments after the storm

When it rains it really rains – there is no chance to stepping outside with a brolly or even being able to drive a car. But I love the moments after the storm when everyone is out in the street trying to get to where ever they were meant to be. There is definitely some sense of purpose as we all find paths around the lakes that have formed, dodge cars that splash us and find solid ground and shelter before the next storm. It’s at those moments I almost blend in as we move as a group and no one has the time or the inclination to point out the colour of my skin.

An electric buzz

Last Friday I spent the afternoon being inspired by my collagues. We were doing an anti AIDS school programme based around a video, but the school neglected to tell us there was no power. In an instant, we had to completely rearrange the programme in front of 100 pupils.

We are a young and inexperienced team (this being our first school) but two team members jumped up and started telling stories, getting the students excited about all that we were going to do. After we got over the amazement of what our colleagues were doing, we had enough time to rearrange the programme into something that could work with out electricity.

By the end of the afternoon I was looking around at groups of students working together whilst young Zambian facilitators inspired them. It was one of those wonderful moments and it wasn’t interrupted by the buzz of electricity.