Z is for Zambia.

I was invited to Zambia by Clayford MC, the Communications Secretary for The Salvation Army in Zambia, during the inaugural Africa Communications Network that I had organised in May 2018. It fitted rather well with my plans, and coincided with Mother’s Day, for which I still needed some social media collateral.

I’d experienced Danish Jul, Mexican Day of the Dead and Brazilian Children’s Day, but Zambian Mother’s Day was a new cultural experience for me. After the japery in Zimbabwe that led to the consumption of crickets and worms, to the hilarity of the women who’d engineered the ‘hoodwink the foreigners’ wheeze, I was slightly on guard.

But first, as with all things African, tea and a chat. Firstly with Pam Sims Shiri, who I worked with previously in London. It was good to say hello and reconnect in her home, with husband Henry and children. And the tea, as ever, was fabulous.

Then, Clayford unveiled The Plan. Why do Mother’s Day once, when you can do it three times? We’d be going to three different Salvation Army churches, as they were all doing something a bit different. And so our church crawl began.

Unsurprisingly, food was fundamental to the first place of worship’s endeavours. On arrival, I encountered a group of slightly uneasy-looking men gathered around some cooking apparatus outside the church hall. They were going to create a repast for the womenfolk if it killed them!

Flowers and artwork were the hallmarks of the next corps’ efforts, and very beautiful it all looked too. The music was also floating tunefully in the air, and if I’d shut my eyes I could have been in a Welsh chapel, were it not for the circada drone – an ever-present chirrup.

To our third church, a little further out, and in full flow by the time we got there. This was a huge gathering, and it was striking just how inclusive they were being in honouring all women – not just the mothers. Small gifts were bestowed, women who had made particular achievements within the church were recognised, and all ages were represented enthusiastically and authentically. There was superb African drumming and dancing, all creating a worshipful atmosphere that unforgettable and deeply moving.

What was most touching, however, was the enrolment of a good number of ‘junior soldiers’ – a very Salvation Army way of empowering younger members of the church who wanted to publicly acknowledge accepting Jesus into their lives. Smartly turned out, these children and young people were treated as heroes in their ten minutes of fame, and it was very clear that they would be supported in their fledgling Christian faith not just by their own families, but by the wider church community. Their mothers would be proud!

It’s a fitting way to close this retrospective series, the future seeming bright. Apologies to all those who have supported me along the way but whom I’ve not mentioned in these missives. Your contribution is no less valued. And thanks for sticking with me through to Z – I hope it’s been an interesting glimpse of some of the mischief I’ve been up to, cathartic as it has been for me. 

And if, as a result, you’d like to give me some work… let’s talk! (Or at least endorse one or more of my attributes at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpgiles)