Swiss Volunteers on The Experience!

Milena Kettsch & Flurina Borer

Meet Milena Kettsch (above left) and Flurina Borer (right), young, pretty and guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. ‘The Experience’ is our weekly radio show airing every Tuesday evening from 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour live on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The girls hail from Switzerland, though Milena has a German passport despite never having lived in that country! Daughter of pastors in the Reformed Church some of her early years were spent in Cameroon. Flurina told us she had spent time in Namibia in the past. The girls had met briefly before coming to Zambia some 3 months ago, since when they had become firm friends!

You might be surprised to learn that the girls, both on gap years between high school and university, told listeners that they’d spent the past two months in Kabwe, Central Zambia (Milli Jam’s home town), as volunteers with Comundo, helping out in a hospice for terminally ill patients run by that NGO. I’m not sure at that age I could have done something like that, and the girls agreed that sometimes it had been quite a traumatic experience. The NGO has a childrens’ centre on the same site which they said helped them with perspective in regard to the hospice.

The girls told listeners that after a few more days in Zambia they would set off to travel to Malawi and Tanzania (including Zanzibar). At the end of their travels Milena would be heading for Basel for a degree course in History and Social Anthropology while Flurina would be going to university in Freiburg to study speech therapy.

The girls explained that they had spent the past week at Chanters Lodge for some R&R – they had been recommended to the lodge by a colleague and were happy with their choice. While in Livingstone they had seen Victoria Falls very early in the morning, which they had loved, getting soaking wet in the process! The day of the show they had spent the day in Chobe NP in Botswana which they had also enjoyed, though they were sad not to have seen ‘big cats’.

The music on the show featured tracks from late Prince, Drake, Callum Scott, Skepta, as well as Wezi, OS Detroi, Kantu and Benny Benassi ft Chris Brown. The girls said they had a very wide taste in music including electro and reggae, but particularly liked Coldplay. No interest in football! One of the girls loves to play volleyball the other enjoys hiking in the Swiss mountains. Both girls are still single, Melina’s boy friend will join her in Tanzania, Flurina had ‘no such complications’!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Melina wanted to have graduated, have a good job and be travelling, Flurina wanted to be a qualified speech therapist with a good hospital job practicing her speech therapy.

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Dr Mulenga’s Experience!

Dr Teddy Mulenga

We were delighted to welcome Dr Teddy Mulenga (above) to our local radio show as the guest on a recent edition. Dr Mulenga is no stranger to radio – he features weekly on a show on Zambezi 94.1 fm – the same station which broadcasts our show – on which listeners phone in to tell him their health issues and he gives them advice on what to do. Very popular and very professional, hosted by his son Mambo, himself a previous guest on our programme. Our show, The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, airs every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT and is a great mix of latest international and Zambian hit records, as well as chat with our Guest.

Dr Mulenga told us that he had ‘been in Livingstone since 1974’ when he was a schoolboy at Hillcrest Technical Secondary School, just up the road from Chanters Lodge. After passing then ‘Form 5’, now Grade 12, the doctor had proceeded to do his national service, a must in Zambia at that time for all Form 5 graduates. After national service he had attended University of Zambia, where he had read psychology and philosophy.

Upon graduation Dr Mulenga had been selected for the award of a scholarship to study medicine in the then Soviet Union and had spent the next seven years or so in Kiev, now part of Ukraine, where he obtained his medical qualifications. He had also spent time in Sochi on the Black Sea. He still speaks fluent Russian. On return from USSR he had served his internship at Ndola Central Hospital after which he had gone ‘searching for greener pastures’ and had established his own successful clinic in Botswana where he had lived for some 20 years bringing up Mambo and his sister Juliet.

The doctor told us he loves Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and Dolly Parton as well as other musicians who ‘sing proper songs’! On this show we featured tracks from Little Mix ft Sean Paul, Sia, Pink and Charlie XCX. Added to the mix was work from Yemi Alade, Afunika, Avicii ft the Zac Brown Band (the doctor liked that one). Slap D was also included.

Doctor Mulenga is a keen chess player but revealed he usually loses to son Mambo who is himself an excellent player. He has written four books on various topics and is involved in publishing, criticism, as well as sometimes consultancy at Livingstone General Hospital ‘helping the young doctors’. He is ‘The Sceptic’ on Facebook and pretty controversial too! He has never bungee jumped and expressed his medical opinion that people doing that to their bodies might not be wise! He told listeners that he is a long term client of Chanters Lodge and a regular listener to our show.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now he answered with the one word ‘Parliament’! And then roared with laughter! So did we!

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Volunteers on The Experience!

Lucy Brown & Hannah Kuhn

Meet Lucy Brown (above left) and Hannah Kuhn, Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, our weekly radio show airing every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station.

The girls told listeners they were volunteers at Amano Christian School in Chingola, Lucy teaching primary school students aged 8/9, and Hannah a teaching assistant taking care of one student with learning difficulties. They had been in Chingola since September 2015 and would be there until June 2016. This was their first visit to Livingstone and their first time to see Victoria Falls and they were excited about their trip. Chanters Lodge had been recommended to them by friends in Chingola and they were happy with their stay, particularly our extended hours for breakfast – we have no limit on the time Guests can eat their free English breakfast, included in our room rates!

Lucy hails from Milton Keynes, UK and is a graduate in history from Sheffield University. Hannah is from Stuttgart, Germany and has just completed Grade 12, she’s now on a gap year before heading for University. “Where and to study what?” We wondered but she said she was not yet sure about these things!

The girls enjoyed the music on the show with tracks from Years and Years, Alan Walker, Sia, Ellie Goulding, and Karen Harding. Others were from ZoneFam, Roberto ft Kaufela, Lukas Graham and David Guetta. Music wise Hannah likes The 1975, Lucy – Florence and The Machine.

Both girls are single and not engaged, but admitted that there were “people waiting for them at home” in UK and Germany respectively!

Lucy and Hannah had very much enjoyed their few days in Livingstone, they had a super game drive in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park and had seen all the game there was to see apart from giraffe. They had also loved the sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone. They had dined out at Cafe Zambezi and Olga’s Corner and had enjoyed both restaurants.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing 10 years from now, Hannah said she would like to be through University and working, Lucy said she would like to be doing something she loves and to be close with family and friends. We thanked them for choosing Chanters Lodge for their visit to Livingstone and for appearing on our show!

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