Tuesday 22nd December, 2009
My Dear Jeremy,
The Headmasters in the village schools were educated to Standard VI. They had eight years at school and some training in teaching and simple administration. The Education Department considered it was time to raise the standard of the Headmasters by bringing a selected number of promising teachers back to the Teacher Training Colleges for further training. Special housing had been built to accommodate them and their families on the campus.
If the men were to make progress it was important for their wives and children to benefit too. A programme called the Badge Scheme had been introduced in other areas so it was decided to adopt this scheme at the College. David Barker, the principal, asked me to run it, which I did voluntarily.
The training was very basic, for example, a badge was awarded for A Clean House amongst other things. I ran the classes in the men's dining hall where we were sometimes assailed by flies. We learnt to read and write and count and draw. Sewing was another activity and they learnt to mend clothes and make small garments. It was a very happy time. I arranged for the earned badges to be handed out at morning Assembly so the whole college could applaud the achievement of the women.
David had said I was to teach them how to entertain visiting Education officers and make them a cup of tea for instance. Mrs Munifumpa was older than most of the women so I invited her and Mr Munifumpa, a most jovial person, to my house for afternoon tea. I then made arrangements for them to invite David and Nancy to take tea with them in their house. David was not a tea party man but he played his part and I believe it was a great success.
An amusing incident I often recall was the day I did inspection of the lavatories. One enterprising wife, or perhaps she got her husband to do it, made a holder for the toilet paper. This I admired with much enthusiasm then called them all in to see this magnificent creation and we all laughed and clapped and the wife in question was so very pleased. Later a young teacher was appointed to help me.
Of course there were lots of children who had to be looked after while Mums went to class. The mothers took it in turns to look after them. What I needed of course was a creche. Near the houses were some huge mango trees so I organised with David for some loads of clean river sand to be dumped there so the children had a place to play. And did they have fun? Friends gave me old toys so they had things with which to play. After we went to the Northern Province a proper creche was built for the children.
Her Majesty's Overseas Civil servants did a three year tour of duty after which they were due for furlough which meant, for the majority, a return to Britain and home for six months. Imagine how excited we were when we learnt that we too would be due for long leave with passages paid to England. So of course we started to plan.
We thought it would be an adventure to go up the lakes to Kenya and visit Iverna and Frank in Nairobi, then up the Red Sea, cross the Mediterranean to Italy. Buy a car and travel across Europe to England. The car we would bring home with us. Such fancies dreams are made of so we had to come down to earth with a bang when we discovered Celia was on the way. However we were undaunted and arranged to reorganise and go the conventional way down to South Africa and take the boat from East London spending time with Granny and Grandpa Sadler and with Pop on the way.
I continued working with the wives to nearly the end of the year. David said I must continue even if Michael had to push me round in a wheelbarrow but that was never necessary. Celia was born at midnight on 7th November in Nkana mine hospital. She arrived at midnight on the dot. Jill wanted to call her Gold, Silver, Silk and all the nice things she could think of. She was a round, cuddly, bouncy baby, very beautiful even though she had no hair. Each wife made a card for me I kept them all these years and have given them to Celia.
It was Christmas and I organised a party for the children. People were generous with gifts some were second hand and we had cool drink and cakes. Elsie made a large jolly lecturer a red Father Christmas outfit. Was he the first black Father Christmas in Africa we wondered?
Our leave was to start later in the New Year.
Love you lots, Mum