Temperatures and Dedication

I was up at 5:30 this morning to drive to Lusaka to pick up the luggage which had not arrived with the Heroes team.

As I left the farm the temperature was 8C and fluctuated for the next couple of hours between 4C and 12C until settling at around 15C by the time I reached Lusaka three hours later. By 2:00 p.m. the city was a sweltering 35C and very tough to move around and get things done.

As I started my journey in the early hours there were already many people on the move along the side of the road, where they walk, cycle or catch rides to get places. What struck me, as always, was the resilience and determination of people to get to school or work. Along several sections there were children - some as young as 7 - walking in the half-light and cold - many barefoot and with only a thin sweater at best - to get to school. I measured some of the distances from where I passed them to where their school was further along the road and some would have been walking up to 6 km - each way - to get there and back. At another point I passed two well-dressed women - one in high heeled shoes - walking along the side of the road from a small settlement. They were likely teachers at a school which was 3km further along the road.