Chinkubala with Steven and Norman

We write you today from Bob's desk. We are not sure where he is, but he left his computer on. Me Steven, I am 30 (Bob's elder) and have lived in Lusaka my entire life. Some of the things that I like about Lusaka life are: the facilities are good...better than other towns further away, prices are stable, food is cheap, medical facilities are affordable...and working with people at ZEHRP. I like working with white people, like the the big man - Bob himself. I live in Chunga compound, about 20 kilometers from here, a long walk. I have 2 boys (Bright is 6 and Newton is just turning 2). Newton is named after Isaac Newton and Bright is a name that just came to me in my excitement of having my first baby boy. My wife is Veronica. My young brothers, Alfred and Emmanuelle and my young sister, Fostina also live with us. I work the night shift with my colleague and friend Norman Macha. Bob has promised to give us a copy of Norman's theme song...Macha, Macha Man, but we have not seen or heard it yet. From the way that he sings it, I'm not sure it is a good song.

Me Norman, I am 29 years old. I completed school in Ndola at Chiwala Secondary School in 1997. I studied very much with my friends until I got a full certificate at grade 12 level. I have failed to notify Bob yet, but I am a married man. I was married some two weeks ago. My wife's name is Betty and we were in courtship for one year and six months. I got married in a traditional way. My uncle and my grandmother negotiated for my marriage. They met with a group from the female side and agreed how much I should be charged. My grandmother and my uncle paid the dowry in full...which shows that I was serious. I speak Bemba, Kaude, and Nyanja (the primary language in Lusaka). Madam Michelle has given me a very nice book, one that is very educational and entertaining, I will have a full report on the book later. I have not yet finished. My colleague, Steven and I, are employed by Armcor, the BEST security company in Central Africa if not world-wide. We keep things very safe, but cannot keep our own water from being stolen by the workers at ZEHRP. It is a problem. We will start filling bottles with salt water, based on Madam Michelle's suggestion.

We are very grateful for Bob to have started tasting some of our traditional food, called Chinkubala. It is a very delicious food which is caught in the trees and in the thick bush. First you soak the Chinkubala for 5 minutes in salt water. So that as you fry, it will maintain the taste of salt. When it is dried, you prepare some soup or salad (using tomatoes, onion, any other spices available). If fact, in most cases it is used as a relish for nshima. Sometimes we ration, I will eat one chinkubala with 3 balls of nshima. It is very rationable. Here is a picture of the traditiaonal food we are talking about, Chinkubala. I think Bob's family and friends might call them catepillars.






Here is our picture (Steven first...then Norman), notice our uniforms - Armcor, the best security company in Africa. Notice that we can break into Bob's office and computer, but we will not steal a thing...not even the water from those ZEHRP employees.

Yours Sincerely,

Steven Zimba & Norman Macha