Posts from 2009

A hand-painted Nativity scene May our Lord GOD bless you and your loved ones always!! May our Saviour Jesus Christ’s Love be born(e) again in our hearts this Christmas! From the Nativity Scene at St Ignatius Parish, Chikuni, Zambia. Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010 full …

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I have completed my marking and whilst I don’t know how my classes fared overall – there was some marginal improvement from their mid-term tests to the final exams – which offers me some hope. I’ve found out that from next term my three Maths classes will be reduced to one …

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One of the things that most impresses me about the pupils at Canisius is their work ethic. Take a look at a typical day: 05h45 Rise 06h00 Cleaning dormitory areas 06h30 Breakfast 07h00 Cleaning classroom areas 07h15 Classes commence 09h55 Break 10h20 Classes continue 13h00 …

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I recently wrote an article in the Summer 2010 edition of Jesuits & Friends and I thought it might be worth posting here too… since I have been so bad at updating this blog. Matthew Charlesworth SJ is serving his Regency in Canisius Secondary School in Chikuni, Zambia. …

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Greetings from Zambia! I arrived safely and have been here for almost 4 weeks now. After leaving London I spent a week in Johannesburg with my family and with the Jesuits there before flying to Lusaka. I spent two days in Lusaka before travelling to Chikuni on Monday …

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The school celebrated Zambia’s Independence Day with great festivities. I tried to take some videos of the day but I think I chose the wrong setting on my camera and the quality has come out rather poorly – though i think the sound is ok – it should give you some idea. I …

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I have been settling into the routine of teaching and marking and becoming accustomed to the school and getting a firmer grip on some of my duties in the boarding house. One of the highlights of the month though was the visit of an old friend from Wits University who I knew …

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Today I learnt that I had passed my Philosophy studies. These are the first part of the academic training required for me to be ordained. Happy Days. The thesis was entitled “Is Pleasure a genuine element of the Human Good? A New Natural Law Perspective comparing the authors …

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We celebrated Awards Day for the school today. Natural decorations adorned the hall. It was a sort of public prize-giving with some speeches by the local Political supremo and the Alumni, but the day began with a football match between the prefects and the staff and then …

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We visited Lochinvar National Game Park today with the boys. This involved us boarding the school “bus”. The School Bus We loaded benches into the back of the truck and were able to fit even more than who you see alongside in. I sat in the back with the boys for the 3 hour …

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Evening Catechism class Monday Morning Assembly - where we sing the National Anthem Washing up after dinner… Dinner time in the hostel - this is the standard meal

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Marking by candlelight Africa is known for her problems with electricity supply. I had known that in South Africa there was load-shedding and that there were more pronounced problems in the rest of Africa. In Zambia, since arriving I have experienced 17 power-cuts. It makes …

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So two years have flown by and I’ve had such a good time. Whilst the Philosophy at Heythrop was a very different experience to Rhodes, being in London was great and I am sorry to leave, but at the same time excited about the future. I never seem to be able to plan well …

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I voted, and was interviewed… See Timothy Schultz’s piece ‘In London, voting for identity’. Source: Brand South Africa. At 4am, London is dark and raining. While my taxi snakes me through the deserted streets, a trainee Jesuit priest is camped outside South Africa House. In …

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