Grace Academy at CVA

CVA, Christian Vision Academy, housed within the site of the previous Christian Vocation Training College, now Chreso University, is a small primary school for local children, with mixed grade classes up to Grade 8 (UK Y9). 

The current Principal is Mr Timothy Dhiwa, here with his wife, also a teacher at the school:

One of the highlights of the Grace Academy Zambia trip is always the cultural concert. This year was the best ever, with CVA presenting a wide ranging programme, which included items from every grade in the school.

Their dramatic piece about village roles was really good:

1)The village Chief,

2) An old man,

3) An old woman,

4) The traditional healer,

...as was their fashion show:

Lower grades presented poems and songs...

                                   

...higher grades more songs and traditional dances

 With three younger girls challenging them!

Then it was time for Grace Academy to present their songs...

...and learn Zambian traditional dances - complete with grass skirts!

Also in the hall was a cultural corner with a beautifully laid out table of local foods:

 This is Kapenta - dried fish:

 Also sweet potatoes and ground nuts:

Papaya, oranges, tomatoes and dried corn (which is then ground into mealie meal to make the staple food of Zambia, nshima)

A grinding pot, brushes, gourds (squashes) and a game similar to draughts, using bottle tops for counters:

Also nearby were grass pictures which younger children had completed:

Later that day we climbed Sanjay Hill with some of the Grade 8 CVA students.

                                           


 Room at the top is limited so we gathered in smaller groups on the enormous iron pyrite outcrop, which we are told will soon be mined. The view from the top of all the surrounding land is spectacular and well worth the climb:

The next day the group split into two groups, with half travelling over to Kings' School Mukobela , while the other half remained on site for various activities.

They visited the farm, getting close to cattle...

 ...and seeing some of the new born calves.

                                   

Then they visited local homes on the compound. 

I was especially pleased to meet this man, called Bodwin, who had been one of our guards, when we lived on site in 2008.  Just before we left Zambia, his wife had a baby and I visited them at their home in the compound.  Praise, their young daughter is now almost three years old and the family is doing well: 

When we had completed our home visits I took my group to see the view from Bravo, our previous home, which is now occupied by the current farm manager and his family:

Being back on the farm is always a special time, when I remember the history of Christian Vision in Zambia since 1994, and the many lives that have been impacted by the work in that nation.