by
Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.
Professor of Sociology
Introduction
Since the Curriculum Development Center (CDC) of the Ministry of Education approved my novel “The Bridge” to be used for teaching English Literature in Secondary Schools from Grade 10 to 12, there was one thing I was very anxious to do: I wanted to go to a few Secondary Schools do deliver a copy of the novel. I wanted to meet some teachers and students. I had already made the 746
Students at Solwezi Urban Secondary School
Kms journey to Lundazi in the Eastern Province. But this time I wanted to go to Solwezi. I had never been to North-Western Province. If all went well, I wanted to drive all the way to Mwinilunga and beyond. I wanted if possible to go to the source of the mighty Zambezi River at Kalene Hills north of Mwinilunga.
Journey to Solwezi
The evening before my departure for Solwezi, I made all the preparations. I found my Google Map and printed the directions from the Internet cafe. I was going to travel South of Ndola and Kitwe which was the shortest cut to Solwezi. I filled up my tank at Manda Hill gas or filling station in Lusaka near my lodge. The filling or gas station attendant checked and topped all my fluids including my clutch or brake fluid for my F15 Ford Ranger which was going to growl itself to Solwezi this time. Something strange happened. As I
The Headmaster Mr. Mbimbi first left and Teachers at Solwezi Urban Secondary School
was driving back to my lodge, the clutch problem reared its ugly head again. I could not change gears. I limped the vehicle back to the lodge. The Avis Manager immediately calmly said they would bring another vehicle with a full tank of petrol for me to be ready to go to Solwezi the following morning as planned. There was no need for me to change my plans or to drive the vehicle to the airport. The agents promptly brought another vehicle which was a smaller Hyndai SUV.
Lusaka to Chingola
The distance from Lusaka to Chingola is 410 Kms or 254 miles which was supposed to take me 6 hours to drive. But it must have taken me close to 8 hours because I broke my own rule: never follow Google Map directions without having first some ground human intelligence. People have
The Deputy Headmaster at Kyawama secondary School in Solwezi where I left my novel “The Bridge”.
driven into oceans at night and drowned in their vehicles. Others have driven into the deadly Death valley Desert in the Western part of the United States and have driven in circles and have gotten lost and died. Google maps are not perfect. The Google map showed that I could drive south of the town of Ndola toward Luanshya to Solwezi. When I reached the Luanshya junction I should have stopped and asked people about the road. I did not. The paved road had some of the worst pot holes I have seen since the mid-1990s. The drive that should have taken me about 45 minutes may have taken about 2 hours. The Google maps short cut took me to Kalulushi which I should not have done before I found my way to the road to Chingola.
Chingola to Solwezi
I arrived at the Chingola Solwezi junction at about 6:00pm or 18:00 hours and turned left. The road was gravel or unpaved. The Hyndai suddeny began to shake, vibrate, and rattle as I drove from side to side to find a smoother part of the road. Two massive trucks drove the other way and left me in such blinding dust that I stopped, turned on my head lights and flashing hazard lights. My heart began to pump really fast. What did I get into? I began to ask myself. Did the road turn into a paved road somewhere ahead? After about 20 minutes of just the worst dust and rattling of the vehicle I stopped to ask a young man. How is the road like to Solwezi? His answer was that some parts were paved and some were not.
The road to Luanshya had the worst pot holes. Never trust Google Maps completely.
As I resumed my tough journey, it crossed my mind that I should probably turn around, sleep in a comfortable lodge in Chingola, and head back to Lusaka. The resolve to finish what I had started overwhelmed me.
I experienced some of the most difficult driving conditions. There was very thin but thick dust swirling ahead from trucks. I was driving mostly on detours as most of the road was being paved. The Hyndai vehicle minute after minute, hour after hour, rattled and shook. It was tossed in the air on some of the huge speed bumps that I could not see ahead of time. It was dark. Occasionally we got a short paved part of the road but the paved part was so small and in many cases had rough sharp edges dangerous to tires, and huge pot holes. You did not want to get a flat tire in this total darkness. After 4 punishing and grueling hours of 176 Kms or 109 miles, I triumphantly arrived in Solwezi and stopped at a gas or filling station to ask for the nearest lodge.
The trucks caused so much dust on the Chingola Solwezi Road.
I drove around for a while as I could not find a room at several lodges. When I finally found a room at Florianna Lodge, I was ready to just take a shower and sleep. It was after 24 hours.
Solwezi Town
When I woke up in the morning, I had very good breakfast at the lodge with very friendly and courteous staff. People here mostly spoke Bemba as lingua franca. Mr. Sonny Mugwagwa gave me a brief lesson in the Kaonde language. Muji byepi is “How are you?” Buulong Mwaane is “I am fine”. Mr. Sonny Mugwagwa at Floriana Lodge gave me 4 names of Secondary schools in the town of Solwezi. I decided I would go to Solwezi Urban Secondary School and Kyawama Secondary School. When I drove down the main street, I had not noticed this during the night. The whole town was covered with dust; buildings, cars, structures all had this red dust. Many town people acknowledged the dust as a problem.
Secondary Schools
The Solwezi town will have no dust once the road has been paved.
I went to Solwezi Urban Secondary School and met with the Headmaster Mr. Mbimbi and some of his staff in his office. We had very good conversations. I gave them a copy of my novel “The Bridge”. Later I was able to meet a few of the students. I ate nshima for lunch at a restaurant which had dingi or buffalo as relish. I really enjoyed my lunch. In the afternoon, I went to Kyawama Secondary School where I met the Deputy Headmaster whom I gave a copy of my novel.
Return to Lusaka
If the trip from Chingola to Solwezi was that punishing and grueling, I had not prepared the resources and time to drive to Mwinilunga and beyond to the source of the Zambezi at Kelene Hills. I decided to return to Lusaka the following day. The most encouraging thing I learned from my trip to Solwezi is that the massive construction camps and dusty road detours mean that the entire road from Chingola to Solwezi will all be paved in the next few years. At that time the beautiful town of Solwezi which was buried in dust will be clean.