Ndubaluba Outdoor Adventure Race

An edited report by Andrew Sukhacheva

This year’s race took place on the 21st of November, 2011. Two teams had the privilege to compete. Team A: Arthur Mukanga, Yone Kibombwe, Michele Valenza and Viktoria Sukhacheva. Team B: Chigomezyo Kawonga, Tim Ferguson, Andrew Sukhacheva and Jenny Boatman. In every team there had to be at least one female. Three schools competed, Lechwe, Chengelo and Amano, each with two teams. Lechwe participated for the first time and they did their best.

The race consisted of very basic orienteering and problem solving, kayaking, raft building, running, climbing and cycling for 35km. Each of the teams were given a map, compass, whistle and first aid kit. Teams had to design a flag based on their chosen team name and a war cry to go with it. The war cry is used to generate team spirit and is repeated at each check point.

The race began at 8am with all teams meeting at the office where we had to start with war cries and start the first challenge – a free standing structure made of old tent poles and rubber strips found around the campus. When the instructor inspected the integrity and height and passed it we were off to get our team kayak which we had to carry a kilometre as we ran to the dam.

At the dam two members had to kayak to a point in the lake and back whilst the others started building a raft. Materials available were two drums, two bamboos, an inner tube and 5 pieces of rope. Then with one in the kayak and the rest on the raft the team rowed to the dead tree and back. After disassembling the raft and doing our war cry it was time to carry the kayak back to base and climb on our bikes. At this stage Team A were last and Team B were third.

The first two kilometres were good road and then came the bush track. [At some point here Jenny’s bike got so seriously damaged it couldn’t move so then Tim chose to drop out so that the team could still qualify for a finishing place. A team can finish with three as long as one is a girl. Difficulties with slow punctures slowed down our progress.]

10 km later came the toughest part following a compulsory water stop. An 1.5km uphill stretch where some slopes to the cell phone tower were extremely steep with loose material requiring stages of walking. The team had to report the shape made of stones to an instructor lower down the slopes. By now team A had caught up having struggled at the dam stage. As they met the time constraints they were able to go onto the school primary climbing wall whereas we had to go straight back to campus suffering a 40 minute time penalty.

Team A had Arthur and Yone taking the challenge of assailing the climbing wall whilst Michele and Viktoria worked the safety ropes. Then it was a straight race to finish in the quickest time possible. The road to Ndubaluba was wide, straight and open to the sun. Back at camp the two that didn’t climb now had to go up the bigger climbing tower and raise their flags at the top, but they always had a rope harness so they had nothing to fear.

That is the end of the race. Next, when all the teams had met up, the certificates were given and the winner, Chengelo A, were proclaimed. Everything ended up with a prayer and then all schools left.

Our pictures show:

Team A - Arthur, Yone, Michele and Viktoria

Team B - Chigo, Tim, Andrew and Jenny

starting a 1km run with the kayak

Kayak and raft building challenge

Team on descent

Scenery on descent

Wall climb at Chengelo

Team B mid war cry

What a busy half-term we've just had . . . . !

Firstly Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Cole with the safe arrival of Emily their first daughter.

ISAZ Sport was very much at the front of the senior’s minds with qualifiers and finals of Basketball and Volleyball to play in. The girls qualified for both events at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, the boys managed to get through to the volleyball finals. Christina, Womba and Manasseh were talent spotted and hopefully will be called to take part in the Zambian National Youth Basketball Development squad later this year – well done!

Unfortunately the competition was stiff and none of the teams managed to get beyond the group stages so we journeyed back to Chingola a few hours earlier than we had hoped. However a night in a Lusaka guesthouse and pizza from a restaurant made the weekends exertions worth the while even if the sporting outcome wasn’t what we wanted. A BIG thank you to Steve Studd for stepping in at the last minute to drive us down there – Mission Support at work!!

Primary and Secondary have also been involved in Swimming. Amano competed against Mpelembe, Ndola Trust and Lechwe School in 3 age categories. Jenny was our only race winner but we managed many 2nds and 3rds so we ended up finishing 3rd overall and not too many points behind the others. The other schools all have their own pool to train in and we only use a small one so hats off to our guys and girls for competing so hard and achieving so much. Our own swimming pool fund is slowly building up but we are still a few thousand dollars short of being at a stage when we can start digging the hole! Donations are gladly received.

It is exam time for our senior students; AS levels and IGCSE’s are currently taking place. In the run up to their exams our fantastic PTA organised a Quiz Night along with the Grade 12’s. They were raising money for a night out at a local restaurant to say “well done” for all the hard work that they have been putting in. The PTA cooked the food and the Grade 12’s served on the tables of the guests and ‘entertained’ them with a quiz of general knowledge during the evening. Between 60-70 people came and lots of fun was had, a few minds boggled and everyone’s stomachs were filled with great food! Womba was an excellent quiz master with Henry’s charm not going unnoticed as he waited on tables. Thanks to Josh for providing some ‘lounge music’ in between courses.

We’ve had our usual Family Services during the term too. It has to be noted that the number of visitors is increasing so much that next time we will be going into our new multi-function hall. The students take a real active part too, planning the services and then being involved in various ways on the day as well. They put their musical (Womba, Womba, Hope, Nkumbu, Mannaseh, Dennis, Chigo, Jenny, Charrisse & Chipe) dramatic (Chipe, Chileshe, Christina, Henry & Chigo) and practical (Alex, Andy & Edwin) skills to very effective use as they minister to the congregation each time. We praise our God for the way these young people use their talents to serve Him in this way.

Finally some new people have arrived at Amano.

A new set of volunteers have come from Germany; we now have Tanya, Miriam, Jonathan and Mark in the dorms and Jonas on the building site. These people are a great help to us especially as they commit themselves to us for the whole year.

Jonathan & Kerry Raas are here from the UK – Jonathan to teach in the science department and Kerry to work in the girls dorm. Jarrett Furnish comes to us from the USA and he will be involved with the pastoral side of the school as well as helping out in class every now and again.

With Mrs Cole absent on maternity leave we have Sarah Walls with us for a short time covering Grade 6 & 7 and along with her we have Rachel Deering teaching maths throughout the secondary school. Both of these new friends come from Northern Ireland. Mrs Ilona Lumpa also joined us this term. She is teaching in primary school along with another new teacher Simon Thorogood. We hope that both these two will become long term assets for the school.

With these extra people in place we seem well staffed but some are only here for a few months so please consider coming and helping out, ideally for a year or more. We’d dearly love to expand each primary class to 16 students if only we could find enough long term primary teachers to do that. With the school expanding and becoming more popular we desperately need to do this soon if we are not to disappoint too many parents who are seeking a very strong Christian education for the children. Our waiting list is well over 60!

Primary 10 step athletics

For the second year, Amano hosted the ISAZ Copperbelt 10 step Primary Athletic Event.
Six schools competed this year meaning we had over 100 visitors to the school! Ten events covering a variety of athletic skills ran concurrently. We just about manage to staff all the events calling on those serving in the dorms, visiting volunteers, teachers and secondary students. It really is one of those opportunities where we all need to work together for a successful event. Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard!
The Amano girls’ team was victorious but the overall event was won by Ndola Trust School. A high jump mat, generously purchased by a local company, was a real hit while the scores were being added up with secondary students and parents discovering untapped talents!

Agricultural Show
Art displays, snakes, candy floss, ice-cream and the President!

On 3rd June, Primary students and teachers went on their annual trip to the Kitwe Agricultural Show.
One of the highlights is the visit to the Art exhibition shed and scanning the exhibits to find if Amano had any prize winners … 16 in total this year 10 individual and 6 group entry winners. Students have been working on art projects during the term.
Several of our students shook hands with Mr Rupiah Banda (Zambia’s President) who also visited the show and they proudly told him the name of their school!
Another highlight is the visit to the reptile shed – none of our students were brave enough this year to have the python draped over their shoulders – we all watched at a distance.
And the trip wouldn’t be complete without visiting the numerous candy floss and ice cream sellers.

Experiments, explanations, excitement and excellence!

During the past half term, Primary students in Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 have been working on science projects of their own choosing, and producing informative displays and explanations. One morning, parents, students and teachers from other classes were invited to view the projects on display in the school hall. Two of our Secondary Science teachers Mr Andresen and Mr Kirk diligently graded and assessed the projects. The winning students took their work to the ISAZ Primary Science Fair held at Lechwe School in Kitwe.
Amano came out with several winners this year. Mwansa Mwansa was awarded a gold award for his project ‘Salty eggs’; Daniel Breuninger and Kurt Fernandes achieved silver awards for their projects Hot air rising and Tyres and wheels; and Francesca Valenza and Janki Desai achieved a bronze award for Flame Survival. Amano students Kurt Fernandes, Samuel Kirk and Thokozani Lungu also received awards in the Science Quiz. All good experiences, challenges and prospects for the future!

End of term

Another term is done. For some of us, this meant a goodbye. For others, a needed break to rest and refresh for the coming term. For all, a time of meaning.
During the final week of the term, we enjoyed a number of significant events: there were
One event that will be a fitting one to highlight for you all, in that it was an appropriate finale of sorts to the term, was the Music Recital. This event was also held on April 1st [ once again, we are not kidding!] and it brought together the musical talents of a great number of our gifted students--and staff! Thanks go, as they have so often lately, to our dedicated Parent Teacher Organization members, who coordinated this event and provided a lavish reception afterwards.
During the recital, we enjoyed the MC'ing talents of our Form 6 class: David, Patience, and Dennis provided well-rounded and humorous introductions and transitions. The recital itself showcased a broad range of performances, illustrating how varied our students are in their talents:
Grades 1-3, for instance, sang and danced their way into the audience hearts with their rendition of "Sunshine in my heart." Grades 4-7 followed with "From Heaven you came Helpless Babe," complete with a harmonic descant. Individuals sang fine solos and duets, such as Samuel's "You are my Strength when I am weak" and Womba's "Great is the Lord." Others provided instrumental pieces, with Eunice, Kathleen, Arushi, and Thoko demonstrating skill on the recorder, while Mwansa and Illunga treated us to an African drumming duet. And how could we neglect the delight of the Boatman family with their accordion ensemble?
Yes, it was a fine performance by all--and one that we hope to continue as a bit of an Amano tradition!

Metal work on a grand scale!

On April 1st [no fooling!] our grade 10, 11, and 12 students had the privilege of spending the morning at Chambishi Metals. I was pleased to see how well-prepared they were for the outing, coming with lists of questions they intended to ask if they were not addressed. But there needn't have been a fear: the metallurgists who guided us along the way truly provided a wealth of information, reinforcing and adding to all the chemistry, geography, and other subject lessons they've been involved in. From outlining the process, step by step, from raw material to refined copper and cobalt, to guiding us through the maze of factory equipment and pools of the metals in various stages of their refining, we truly got a full, and fascinating, picture of it all! Judging from the attentive reaction our Amano attendees displayed, we wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if some of these smart students carried on to become metallurgists themselves!

And cooking as well!

Thinking back a bit, across recent posts here, I realized that we may be giving the impression that life here at Amano is all about sporting and outdoor adventures. So I thought perhaps I should give you a brief update about our studies. This past Friday, the 26th of March, saw our Grade 2 and 3 students hard at work with a practical lesson based upon their recent science lessons. As they are learning about the different forms that matter takes [solids, liquids, and gas], and about the transitions between those forms [condensation and vaporization], they put their new knowledge to good use in the kitchen. Miss Bosch opened her home to the students for a morning of cooking, each pitching in on the creation of some melted and mixed chocolate treats. And while some helped with the cooking, others has some volunteers help with their school assignments. As you might expect, the after-the-lesson consumption of these goodies was pretty high on the priority list of most in the group! Here are some shots of the class as they mix, melt, and more . . . hmm, now that we think about it, maybe this isn't such a great example of classroom studies after all?

Survival and more at Ndubaluba!

So we survived. Four nights out in the wilderness of Ndubaluba. thirty young Amano scholars--all our Grade 10, 11, and 12 students, plus three Amano teachers. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the adults survived???
Anyhow, we were so privileged to get to share this experience for the past week and I think we all can agree that it was truly a great time of adventure, teamwork, and bonding through the difficulties.
This camp is a Christian Center focused on teaching group cooperation skills plus practical life skills to teens. So we spent the days doing fun activities like a climbing wall, canoeing, challenge courses, and races. We also got to have a "survival day," learning how to build fires, cook out in the bush, eat "unusual" foods [live worms, anyone?], dig a working well for our water, and set up camp for a night out under the stars.
One thing I was particularly happy about was being able to help introduce these experiences to so many youth who had never known of, never mind been able to participate in, such experiences. At the closing campfire we asked each one to make something that represented the meaning of the week to them. They whittled branches, wove leaves, and tied vines to make their objects. One young man came to me once he was done, asking for help. He had made a stunning sculpture—a replica of the climbing wall, but he was stuck when if came to putting words to his work. I spoke with him for a few moments and he seemed happier. Later that night, as we went round to share, I think he did just fine. “This is what I made,” he said, holding it up for us all to see. “And I think it gives me confidence. When I know I can try something new and can do it, that helps me in my life . . .”
It was also a real privilege to get to see sides of the students that did not come out so much in daily school and dorm life. One came in the midst of a miserable afternoon. The rains had come as soon as we started to set up camp, so our belongings, and selves, were getting drenched as we tried to put up our shelters. I noticed one girl wearing a very large, dress of a raincoat, after initially being unprepared, as some of the students were. Then I saw a very tall young man who had been showing impressive selflessness [the word I wrote on his final completion certificate], and I realized what had happened. He was dripping, sopping wet, and was engrossed in his work of hammering a homemade stake into the ground to hold up a tarp. He had given away his raincoat when he saw that she did not have one of her own. That was just one of a great many examples of the ways our students displayed their growth and character building over the week.
Yes, we survived; I think, in fact, we thrived!