The Latest Norwegian Experience

Since 2007, when we first launched The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela, our regular Sunday night radio show, on to an unsuspecting Livingstone public on Zambezi 107.7 fm the city’s leading local radio station, we have had many Guests from Norway on the show, but few as bubbly and lively as Mariell Konstanse Rydningen (and you try saying that on radio!) (left above) and Marita Isaksen!

Mariell and Marita are third year students at the University of Tromso in northern Norway studying for a bachelor’s degree in pre-school teaching. They told listeners they had been in Livingstone for the past two weeks, part of a proposed six week stay, to gain experience at Rainbow School as part of their course. They were staying at Chanters Lodge. Milli Jam wanted to know how they were coping with the extremely hot temperatures the city was experiencing but the girls gave the impression that they loved the hot sun! Marita had been to Africa before (Egypt on holiday) but for Mariell this was her first trip to the continent. Was it what they expected? They weren’t sure but they were loving it, especially the warm and friendly people, if not quite so much the traditional Zambian food, though they had enjoyed eating crocodile meat at Cafe Zambezi in town.

Milli Jam wanted to know how the girls’ families had felt when they had announced that they were ‘off to Africa for a couple of months’ and the girls replied ‘happy’, ‘scared’ and ‘worried about losing control’ in no particular order! George wanted to know if the girls were married or single (he would wouldn’t he?). Mariell announced forcefully ‘I have a boyfriend’ which made Marita laugh at her friend Konstanse, then revealed that she too had a boyfriend back in Norway.

The music on the show was latest with tracks from Martin Garrix, Lily Allen, Exile, B1, Rihanna, Avicii, James Blunt and Dido. Our oldie of the week was Ray Charles’ ‘Hit The Road Jack’ but listeners found it hard to tell us who was the artist on the track and the prize went unwon. My pick of the week was James Blunt’s tribute to Whitney Houston ‘Miss America’.

Milli Jam wanted to know if the girls had had the chance to do any of the many tourist activities available in Livingstone and they replied that they had taken the one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, spent a night on Bovu Island and that afternoon had been quad biking. Mariell replied that she’d been quite scared on the river and at night on Bovu Island. They had plans to do quite a few of the other activities available and would also be spending four nights in a village on a volunteer project. They also convinced George and Millii Jam to take them clubbing!

Marita revealed that she was a fan of Manchester United but Mariell had no interest in football. they both loved rock and pop music and Mariell told us that her brother was a successful musician with Tellus Requiem currently touring in Germany warming up for Kamelot.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Mariell said that she hoped that she had a good job and the chance to travel, Marita the same but added that she also hoped to have a husband, children and to be driving a station wagon!

Nice show!

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Butterfly Tree Volunteers Rock The Experience!

We were delighted once again to be able to host representatives of the Butterfly Tree Charity on the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience last Sunday night. The Butterfly Tree charity was founded by Jane Kaye-Bailey after a business incentive trip to Zambia with her late husband, Lawrence, in February 2006. During a visit to the Mukuni Village, Jane was determined to find a way to raise funds to help these vulnerable village children.The Experience is usually co-hosted by Milli Jam and George Kaufela but this week George was on his own as Milli Jam was attending his brother’s wedding in Lusaka. Our Guests Jess Varley (left above) and Emma Kennedy from England have been in Livingstone for a few weeks volunteering at the Butterfly Tree. Jess, a nursing graduate has been busy helping at the rural health centre in Mukuni Village whilst Emma, a final year International Development student at the University of Suffolk in Norwich has been more involved with the orphan sponsorship programme.

The girls told listeners that they were thoroughly enjoying their time in Zambia and on 11th November intended to undertake a sixty kilometre walk in the village of Chunga in Chief Mukuni to raise money for the Butterfly Tree. They had chosen this location and route to highlight awareness that some of the children and expectant mothers in that area were obliged to walk 30 kilometres from their homes to school and clinics respectively and then the same distance later in the day to return home. Butterfly Tree hoped to establish a boarding home to help alleviate this situation and funds were required for that.

The music on the show was great as usual. We opened with latest tracks from One Direction and The Wanted, before George dropped Zambian numbers from T-Sean and Exile. After another chat with the girls we moved on to music from South African star Danny K and then Drake. Our oldie of the week was Nelly’s ‘Ride With Me’ and the prize of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge was snapped up by a certain Chris! My pick of the week was Avril Lavigne featuring Marilyn Manson – Bad Girl. Shades of Suzie Quatro there. We closed with Lady Gaga’s ‘Venus’ which contains the classic line ‘Uranus – Don’t you know my ass is famous’!

The girls told listeners they had been enjoying life in Livingstone and had done loads of the tourist activities including Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island, the one day safari to Chobe, the microlight and white water rafting. They had not done the bungee jump (George has) but they were planning to do a tandem gorge swing very soon. The had enjoyed some of the Livingstone night life. George asked them about football, Emma supports Norwich where she is at university, Jess Chelsea where she works and George is a Liverpool fan. I, a Gooner, was happy to be able to report two nil, two nil and seven nil defeats for their teams the previous afternoon.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Jess hoped to be working for Medicines Sans Frontiers, and Emma to be a project manager with a small NGO – neither of the girls mentioned husbands or children……

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Like Daughter Like Parents!

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of hosting Frida Haavik with two of her friends, as Guests on the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George Soulchild, our weekly Sunday night radio show airing at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Frida is a Norwegian student living in Zambia for some three months as part of her university course in occupational therapy. It was great therefore to be able to welcome Frida’s parents, Janne and Trond Haavik as Guests on the most recent edition of the show. Janne and Trond told our listeners they had jumped at the chance to come to Zambia – visiting Frida making an ideal excuse!

Janne, a kitchen designer and fitter, as well as a part time tour guide in Norway, and Trond, a business consultant live in Nordfjordeid, a stunningly beautiful part of Norway north of Bergen, and have been married for twenty four years, though they have been together for thirty three. “It took her a long time to agree to marry me!” Laughed Trond. “Was it love at first sight?” Milli Jam wanted to know, “for me it was anyway” said Trond. They told listeners they had only arrived in Zambia two days before the show but that they had already been busy. Their first day they had spent in and around Livingstone’s markets shopping, then on the afternoon of the show they had taken a trip out to ‘The Secret Island’ upstream from Victoria Falls where they had a great time with Frida and some of her friends. Janne admitted to having been ‘rather worried’ about the proximity of hippos. They had a two day/ one night safari to Chobe NP in Botswana planned for the day after the show and then they would spend a night in the village with Frida, seeing where she was working and what she was doing.

The music on the show was great, we opened with tracks from Wilkinson and Lawson. George chose Zambian tracks from Crisis Mr Swagger featuring Paul Ngozi as well as Izreal. Milli Jam preferred numbers from Drake and Avicii. Our oldie of the week was ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ a compilation single from the 80’s in aid of HIV Aids support. The track is generally credited to Stevie Wonder and we gave the prize of a lunch for two with drinks and a swim to the listener who texted that answer! Well done Musa! My pick of the week was Katy Perry’s super ‘Legendary Lovers’ and we closed with Eminem’s ‘Rap God’ for George, who raps.

Trond told listeners that one of their favourite artists is Bruce Springsteen and they were lucky enough to have been able to attend two of his concerts in Norway. Sports wise Trond admitted to being a Liverpool supporter, which pleased George and which allowed Milli Jam and I the chance to discuss the relative league positions of that club and Arsenal! Janne explained that back in Norway they love the Biathlon, a combination of cross country skiing and shooting. In certain months of the year at home in Norway, due to the warm water in the fijords from the gulf stream, you could swim and then go skiing, they told listeners. They were happy they had chosen to stay at Chanters Lodge during their visit to Zambia.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now, Trond replied that it would be nice to be in Zambia helping Zambian businesses develop and grow, while Janne said she would be at home in Norway looking after their small farm and their horses.

What funny, loving and happy parents Frida is lucky to have!

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Kaufela Close Up!

Milli Jam and I decided to turn the tables on one of our co-presenters on the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild and put George (above) in the chair as the Guest! It was not the first time he’s featured but it had been a long time since we heard from him and we felt our newer listeners should get some insight into George, his past and his ambitions. It was fascinating stuff! ‘The Experience’ is our weekly Sunday night radio show airing on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, for an hour from 20.30 hrs CAT.

Milli Jam wanted to know how long George had been with Zambezi fm and how he came to be employed in the first place. George told listeners that he’d served for between four and five years. He had been on holiday in Livingstone and had been making some guest appearances at one of Livingstone’s other radio stations when he received a call from the then general manager of Zambezi fm, Chanda Mfula, who had asked him to come and audition with Zambezi fm. He had been successful, following which he was sent to SkyFM, another Southern Province radio station, for further training. George had worked for an organization called Africa Innovations before this lucky break. I offered the opinion on air that I was not surprised that he had been quickly snapped up by Zambezi FM as he had a natural radio voice – and he has!

“How long have you been singing”? Milli Jam asked, and George told our listeners that he had first started rapping in secondary school, covering hits by the likes of Snoop Dogg and others. He had recorded his first single in 2003 with Leo Muntu and subsequently had recorded about 12 singles. He rated the best of these as his new one ‘Enter Enter’ as well as another called ‘Your Smile’. He rated his best live shows as ones that had happened on the Copperbelt, Sesheke and one he had played across in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The music on or show was good. We dropped tracks from Conor Maynard and Miley Cyrus (who else) at the top of the show. Before he knew he would be appearing as the guest George had chosen work from Exile as well as Mr Vezzy. Milli Jam played numbers from Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry. Our oldie of the week was Alicia Keys’ ‘Sleeping With A Broken Heart’ and the prize we give to the first listener to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up by Raphael amongst a flood of contestants. My pick of the week was James Blunt’s ‘Heroes’ and we closed with a track from The Saturdays.

Milli Jam referred to George’s recent bungee jumping exploits and asked if he had been scared. George replied that he had not, but that his Granny had been very frightened when he had shown her the video of the jump! Asked why he supported Liverpool football club, our guest did not give a satisfactory reply but told us that his favourite player was Steven Gerrard. We asked him how he managed to get up so early every morning to host the breakfast show and he said ‘you get used to it’!. He revealed that he would soon become an uncle as his sister was expecting a baby. He thanked Father Cletus from Radio Mosi-o-Tunya for the guidance he had given him in his early years of broadcasting.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in 10 years’ time, George told listeners that he would like to be highly successful in broadcasting and music, and would like to own his own radio station. We wished him the best of luck and thanked him for his service to our show!

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Eazy Tee Rocks!

Despite our proximity to Zimbabwe we have had few, if any, Guests on the ‘Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George Kaufela Soulchild’ from our neighbouring country, so it was a pleasure to welcome ‘Eazy Tee’ (above, filming) aka Taurai Matsokotere on to the most recent edition of the show. The programme, sponsored by Chanters Lodge, airs on Zambezi 107.7 fm from 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour each and every Sunday night. Taurai is a highly rated DJ in the area with a wealth of international experience – on the side he’s also a graduate of Cape Town University and an entrepreneur in the world of graphic design.

Taurai told listeners that his company, based in Victoria Falls, Marvelworx Media, is involved in web hosting, print design, website design and television advertising. The company had initially been started up in Cape Town, but due to circumstances beyond his control he had been forced to return home to Zimbabwe and re-establish his business in his homeland. Milli Jam wanted to know how Eazy Tee had first become involved in the world of music, clubs and DJ’s and Taurai explained that he has many sisters and he had first begun playing tracks for parties at home. Impressively he also told us that he had paid his own way through University by playing at clubs in Cape Town. He told us of ‘Long Street’ in that city which has more than 60 clubs! He would play four clubs in one night in order to raise funds!

The music on our show was good, we opened with tracks from The Vamps and Fuse OMG. George played numbers from Zambian artists Chisamo and B’Flow. Milli Jam dropped tracks from Chris Brown and Naughty Boy. Our oldie of the week was the Dixie Chicks with ‘Travellin’ Soldier’ but it was a tough one, and no-one picked up the prize we give each week to the first person to text us with the name of the performing artist on the track. My pick of the week was Cher’s ‘I Hope You Find It’. We closed with Rihanna’s ‘What Now’ – amidst some studio amusement.

Milli Jam wanted to know what advice Taurai would give to aspiring, upcoming DJ’s (also telling us that he rated Eazy Tee in his top three all time DJ’s in the region – Milli Jam should know he’s been around the circuit and is highly rated himself). Eazy Tee told them to be careful with ‘Virtual DJ’ and that they should first learn the art of mixing with vinyl and CD’s before travelling the virtual route. He also told listeners that he is still single although ‘spoken for’ and that he has a 10 year old daughter Natasha Precious back in his home town Bulawayo. He had played clubs in more than 7 countries in the region and rated Circles in Ndola very highly in terms of audience reaction.

Eazy Tee told us that his own favourite music is soul and r and b and that he loves Mary J Blige and Tony Braxton. He had done the bungee jump and he had walked with lions. He liked cricket more than football. Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Taurai told listeners that he had a newly established advertising company called Tradeazy and he hoped in ten years’ time the company would be hugely successful.

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Krystle The Brave!

Sometimes tourists come to Livingstone just to experience the fantastic array of activities available in the area, with viewing the Victoria Falls somehow a secondary consideration on their itinerary. It seems this was the case for Krystle Cummings (above), young, pretty Canadian Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. ‘The Experience’ is the weekly Sunday night radio show we sponsor airing from 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is a popular mixture of music and chat with our invited guest, sometimes someone staying at Chanters Lodge, sometimes a local personality. Members of staff at the lodge have also appeared as Guests on the show.

Krystle told listeners that while she had been in Livingstone, she had ridden elephants, swum in Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island, flown over Victoria Falls for 15 minutes in/on a microlight, gone white water rafting and swung the gorge swing – this last activity ‘more than once’. The scariest? ‘White water rafting!’ She said. Milli Jam wanted to know if there were any activities she wished she’d done but hadn’t, and she mentioned the rhino walk, and the lion/cheetah encounter! She had also been to Chobe National Park in Botswana for the one day safari and had been thrilled to see so many elephants.

Before arriving in Livingstone, Krystle, a Justice graduate from the University of British Columbia, had spent time in Lusaka, staying with a Zambian family on a short internship with Advocacy for Juvenile Justice. This programme had involved visiting juveniles incarcerated in adult Zambian prisons, with a view to trying to bring about a change in this unsatisfactory situation, which, she said, simply leads to a continued cycle of crime. Juveniles locked up with adults had little chance of reform and much more likelihood of repeat offending, she explained. Zambia was one of the very few countries to offer a chance to non-Zambians to visit the prisons and she described her time in Lusaka as an ‘eye opener’.

The music on the show was good. We opened with tracks from Enrique and Avicii. George dropped numbers from Pilato and General Ozzy. Milli Jam chose music from Beyonce and Daft Punk. Our oldie of the week was Amayenge’s ‘Ten Wala’ and the prize we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up! My pick of the week was R Kelly’s ‘Genius’. We closed with tracks from Daughtry and John Legend.

Krystle told listeners that although she was still single she had a steady boyfriend back in Canada who was just finishing College, as indeed she herself had just finished. Brian (his name) was studying web design, she said, and revealed that he was an adrenaline junkie just dying to come to Zambia to do the bungee jump! Brian was a Manchester City fan though Krystle herself follow iced hockey more than English football. Milli Jam was very happy that Arsenal were top of the EPL as we went on air and took every opportunity to remind listeners of this fact! Our Canadian guest said she was a fan of Mumford and Sons and had recently been lucky enough to have front row seats at one of their concerts, which she had loved. She was also a fan of Kings of Leon.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Krystle hoped to have a great job, a nice house and to have travelled to every single continent. Coming from one who had just visited Zambia’s congested run down prisons and risked life and limb celebrating Livingstone’s great adrenaline activities, we had no doubt she would succeed!

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Young Love On The Experience!

Young love is a wonderful thing! Meet Milandu and Catherine Silwebbe (above), newly weds and very much in love! Milandu and Catherine were Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George Soulchild, that’s our weekly Sunday night radio show airing every Sunday night at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s superb local radio station! Milandu and Catherine told listeners they had married on 13th July 2013, exactly five years to the day from the day they’d met, and that thirteen was a lucky number for them. Catherine is an American hailing from near Boulder, Colorado while Milandu is a Zambian of the Tonga tribe! These guys had met in 2008 when Catherine was in Zambia as a volunteer with an NGO – ‘Student Partnership Worldwide’. They had been introduce by a mutual friend, Shyman Shaizo, upcoming Zambian musician and recent Guest on our show.

Our Guests told us that they had recently opened a new business in Livingstone known as Boza Ulye Food and Unwe Cold Beers! The joint was situated in a lovely garden area opposite the Falls Park Shopping Centre and had opened just a week before we went on air. They told listeners that the first week’s business had been tough. The restaurant/bar was specializing in affordable Zambian dishes and the couple were aiming at attracting the local market. Boze Ulye means ‘work to eat’. Milandu has previously run a local restaurant in another part of Livingstone. This engaging couple went on to tell us that they had also established ‘Rise N’ Rise Entertainment’ which they hoped would help to promote creative industry in Livingstone. Catherine also hoped to use her art degree to start giving painting lessons while Milandu is very interested in promoting local musicians.

The music on the show was good. We opened with hits from Ben Pearce and Jason Derulo. George ‘Kaufela’, who had already stunned our audience with the breaking news that that very afternoon he had done the bungee jump and had the pictures to prove it, played his latest track ‘Enter’ for the first time on air on the show. He also played a track by Slap Dee ft Tommy Dee. Milli Jam (who had not been bungee jumping that afternoon) played tracks from Sara Bareilles and Nyanda. Our oldie of the week was Jay Z’s ‘Forever Young’ and the prize we give to the first person to text us the name of the artist was quickly snapped up. Milandu also gave a prize of a meal for two at Boza Ulye to the runner up, and that rocked too!

Catherine and Milandu said they differed over English football as Milandu supports Manchester United while Catherine supports Chelsea. Milandu felt that Catherine should change teams now that they were married and he was the head of the house….Catherine did not feel that way! They said they both loved music especially Kalindula and Hip-Hop. At weekends at their place they would be holding bries and providing musical entertainment for their Guests. Amongst their favourite local artists were Macky 2 and Chefy.
Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Catherine wanted to own a house with a swimming pool, Milandu wanted to have children and hoped to have changed things in the art and music industries in Zambia.

We wished them all the best.

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American Girls Rock The Experience!

Meet Kristen Sawyer and Amber Lind (above left to right) – American girls and our Guests on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George ‘Kaufela’. The Experience is our weekly radio show going out live every Sunday night for an hour at 20.30 hrs CAT, on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Both girls are from Pennsylvania though Kristen now lives in Boston, Mass. – they met at school ‘way back’ they told listeners, and although they now live in different places they meet up most years for vacations. Kristen is a physiotherapist and Amber an IT specialist.

The girls had been staying at Chanters Lodge at the end of a two week safari that started in Johannesburg and ended in Livingstone, camping all they way. They were mighty relieved to find big comfortable beds and an en suite bathroom waiting for them at Chanters at the end of their trip! They told of roaring lions outside their tents at night in Botswana, together with honey badgers and other animals running around the camp. ‘Scary?’ We wondered. “Only slightly!” Replied Kirsten! Altogether we gathered they had had a wonderful trip, being their first to Africa. It had included a one hour flight over the Okavango Delta, cheaper we noted than a fifteen minute flight over Victoria Falls. After arriving in Livingstone they had swum in Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island just a meter away from the edge of the Falls and had even dangled over the edge. They loved it! They had also enjoyed a visit to Zimbabwe to see the Falls from that side and had dined on salad with crocodile meat while they were there!

The music on the show was great. We opened with tracks from Example and Coldplay – both latest, while George dropped new releases from Zone-Fam and T-Boy in his Zambian spot. Milli Jam chose tracks from French Montana featuring Nicki Minaj, as well as Bruno Mars’ beautiful ‘Locked Out Of Heaven’. Our oldie of the week was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ‘Running Down A Dream’ but the prize we give on each show to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist went unwon! My pick of the week was Ellie Goulding’s gorgeous ‘How Long Will I Love You’.

To George’s excitement the girls told listeners that they were both single, although Kristen had a boyfriend waiting for her back in Boston. They both loved snow skiing and in their anxiety to leave for Africa had recently been on a skiing weekend to try to curb their excitement. The girls are American Football fans and Kristen a keen supporter of the Red Socks. Amber said she loved country music and ‘like Richard’ was a fan of Darius Rucker. They had chosen to stay at Chanters as they had wanted a downtown location, the price suited them and the lodge had great reviews on TripAdvisor. They had not been disappointed.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Amber wanted to be still living in Pennsylvania near her family, hoped to have children and still to be travelling. Kristen wanted to be living in north east USA, working as a physiotherapist and married with children.

Great girls! Great show!

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The German Experience!

 
We (especially George) were delighted to welcome four German girls as Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient ft Kaufela (George). The girls are pictured above – Filiz Mestanli and Rike Schulltheiss (left to right sitting), Susanne Thielen and Maria Pelzer (left to right standing), or Filiz, Rike, Sanni and Mary, to use the names they use! It was a big welcome back too to George who had missed three weeks’ shows on local leave – the programme always goes better with two presenters though of course Milli Jam had done a great job while George was away!

The girls told listeners that three of them had been in Zambia for about a week but Rike had already been in the country for some two and half months volunteering at the Christian Outdoor Centre of Chengelo School in Mukushi. Rike’s an old girl of the school having lived in Zambia until the age of 13 or so when her parents had been based in the country. She was brought up mostly in Mongu, Western Province, and was very happy to have come back to spend time in the country. Her friends, Sanni, Filiz and Mary were visiting Zambia for the first time and all the girls would be travelling on to Mongu when they left Livingstone the day after the show.

The girls told listeners that they were all students at Freiberg University in the South of Germany. All the girls were student teachers apart from Filiz who is a student social worker. For the most part they seemed to be at the end of, or approaching the end of their degree courses. They had been busy while they were in Livingstone, having spent a half day white water rafting the Zambezi, as well as doing the rhino walk, getting close to these beautiful beasts. They had also enjoyed a sunset cruise on the Zambezi on Lady Livingstone. Had they been clubbing while they’d been in Livingstone? They had not.

The music on the show was hot and latest, as usual. We opened with Ellie Goulding’s number one hit ‘Burn’ back to back with Lady Gaga’s ‘Applause’. George featured new tracks from Zambian star Danny, while Milli Jam chose a new track from Shaggy featuring Ne-Yo, as well as Justin and Jay Z’s smash ‘Suit and Tie’. Our oldie of the week was ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits but no-one won the prize we give each week to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist. We closed with Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’.

The girls told listeners that they were single and had no boyfriends waiting for them in Germany. Take another look at the picture – do you believe them? I didn’t! Music wise they said they liked Mumford and Sons and in terms of sport they liked rock climbing, canoeing and sports of that nature. Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now, all the girls said they would like to be married with a family. Mary hoped to be teaching in a good school and that Filiz would be working in the same place. Rike wanted to have a doctorate and a good job teaching in a university, Sanni to be healthy and to own a dog – they all hoped to have families and to be well settled.

It was great to have such apparently happy and bright but serious minded, ambitious young people on the show!

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From Luanshya, Zambia to Okemos, Michigan, USA!

Meet Joyce Kaoma from Luanshya, Zambia, and Richard Craft from Okemos, Michigan, USA, (above) both Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient, our regular Sunday night radio show, airing for an hour at 20.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Joyce is the Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship in Luanshya, and Richard leader of a group of 15 people from Michigan visiting Zambia to give assistance to Joyce in the construction of a building for meetings as well as sleeping facilities in Luanshya for up to 100 people. “Why?” We wondered. Joyce explained that their centre trains Sunday School teachers in Zambia across all church denominations explaining that the philosophy behind the Fellowship was that the training of individuals multiplies their ministry and enables them to reach many more children with the Gospel than they otherwise could. For the past eight years worldwide the organization had trained over 250,000 teachers annually.

“Why are you in Livingstone?” Milli Jam asked, and Richard Craft explained that Livingstone was the start and finish point of their trip. They had flown into Livingstone some 10 days before the show, had spent a couple of nights at Chanters Lodge in order to recover from their very long journey, and to see Victoria Falls. The group had then taken a 13 hour journey by bus to Luanshya, spending their time there tiling, painting and helping Joyce and her colleagues, before the bus journey back to Livingstone. The Americans would be heading back home the following day, whilst the Luanshya contingent would spend another day or two in Livingstone. Asked why they had chosen Chanters Lodge, Richard explained that this was on the recommendation of Steven and Beth Kabamba from the Fellowship – Beth, previously a missionary in Zambia had also provided the link between Michigan and Luanshya.

Both our Guests said that their favourite musical genre was Gospel but we had nothing to offer of that ilk on the show! Instead we opened with latest smash hits from Tinie Tempah ft 2 Chainz then Miley Cyrus – long gone from her Hannah Montana character these days. Milli Jam dropped great Zambian tracks from Pentagon and T-Sean. He also chose Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Cruise’ and Passenger’s latest ‘Holes’. The prize we give each week to the first person to text us the name of the artist on our oldie of the week was quickly snapped up. The track ‘Lonely’ – the artist Akon. We also played Drake’s latest and a new track from Beyonce.

Richard said that he and his group had loved Victoria Falls and one of their number had even braved the bungee jump. Joyce and her team had had no time for such issues! Richard told listeners that he’s an accountant by profession and has his own business staffed by five members of his family as well as himself. The group’s trip had been financed by fund raising and donations in the States and we told him we really admired the contribution they were making to the development of Zambia’s youngsters.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Richard said that he hoped to be retired and travelling, Joyce that she hoped she would have continued to contribute to every child in Zambia having heard the Gospel.

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