First is Beatus, a Catholic and one of the receptionists at the hospital.
The next photo is of Muriel with her reader from the Masai village. He had a baby daughter while we were there, and he named it Muriel after, as he said, "my teacher"!
Jan is with Winfrida, who works in the hospital supply room. Her husband is a doctor who is in another town doing some training. He will come to the Chimala Hospital to work sometime this year. Winfrida came every day and was always on time. It was sad to leave her when we left Chimala.
Next is Winfrida with her two little girls. The young lady (and she really is female!) on Winfrida's left is the children's nanny. Winfrida brought her children to say goodbye to me on our last day and to give me the gift of a skirt and blouse made by her tailor. She also brought a matching shirt for Ron.
The following man is a Chimala Executive Officer (district manager) named Ponsiano; he and his wife Agripina have names that sound as if they are from Italian descent.
Ponsiano is an intelligent man who is wanting to move up in politics; he needs expertise in English in order to qualify for that position. Several times he had to miss his appointments to read in order to settle a dispute. He acts as a civil judge or arbitrator in his district. Any public projects such as sewer, water, or road improvements require taxes, which few can afford to pay. It is Ponsiano's task to help them decide what they want to pay for and then to see that the taxes are collected.
Nazareth was Debbie D.'s reader and also Debbie E.'s. Nazareth is the secretary for the School of Preaching and for the Bible College. She was always dressed in beautiful clothes with matching shoes and hair ornaments. Her nephew, Dudley, who lives in the same house with her, also came to read with us.
The next reader, James Blackwell, has a long time connection with the Mission. His father was instrumental in the early work of the hospital and mission. His father died in auto accident while transporting a patient to a hospital in another city. James works on the Mission as a driver/mechanic. In his spare time, he works with relatives on other people's vehicles at his brother's home.
Renatus is a Catholic man who speaks English very well; he was one of Ron's readers. Renatus was building an addition to his house. Everyday before he came to read, he would make his bricks of mud. He plans on firing the bricks before he builds with them. Because water in Chimala does not flow from the public plumbing, he has to hand carry all the water needed to build his bricks. Every time he came to read, he was already cleaned up after making bricks. He is a smart man who pays attention to international politics and football (soccer). He was ready to assist in interpreting for us or making other readers feel welcome.
The next lady, Sophia, is a midwife at the hospital. When we could not fit her in our schedule at first, she would come every day anyway to see if there was space for her. Finally we were able to work her into the schedule.
Both of these young single men are named Jeremiah, and they are close friends. One is a tailor and one is a rice farmer. They both loved studying English and always prepared their lessons and had good questions. They would spend time together in the evenings discussing the lessons.
This young lady is a nurse in a very small hospital in another village.
The next photo is of Towera, a housekeeper at the hospital. She is married and has a young son. She is from Malawi. Her husband's family has been connected to the mission since the 1960's.
The next two girls are sisters. Both are students in secondary school. Their father is one of the two doctors at Chimala Hospital. Margaret is on the left and Sophia is on the right. Every day they worked hard at home carrying water, gathering firewood, cleaning the chicken yard, and cooking---and most of that was before their 10 a.m. lesson with me! Margaret wants to be a nurse, and Sophia said that she wants to be "a traffic", which I finally figured out to be a policeman who is a traffic cop! They are such sweet girls! They studied their lesson every night along with other people in their family, only one of which was reading with us.
Balaka is Margaret's and Sophia's brother. He read with both Debbies. He is studying to be a lawyer.
Each morning in the entry hall/reception area of our building there was hot tea (chai) and either bread (rolls) or a kind of "tortilla-looking bread" for our readers to enjoy. These refreshments were brought every morning from the hospital canteen.
During the first three weeks a lady named Tausi was our "greeter". She is the wife of Venace, the head of the Primary School. She was really friendly to our readers as they had their refreshments after their lesson.
Sometimes they had their tea outside on the porch.
At the end of the first three weeks, Tausi was needed as a cook for the group of medical students that had arrived from Ireland. So then Atupeli, one the of male teachers from the Primary School, was our greeter.
This was just one of the ways that the local church was able to interact with our new friends.
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