Every now and then, I start to think back to my time living & working at Pakati Secondary school. I think about how different it was, especially when I first arrived in Zimbabwe, back in January 1989. Today is one of those times. Let me try & tell some of the story that I may not have mentioned in previous posts, though there will undoubtedly be some repetition of things I have remembered before.
This will be a blog in 2 parts
Part 1 starts by talking about my experiences in the days leading up to my arrival at the school.
Firstly, although it is now more than 37 years ago, I can still recall talking to my parents about what I was about to do. I am fairly sure it was over the Christmas period in 1988. In reality, most of the discussion was with my Mum, I think because my Dad would have been at work still, at the Steelworks in Scunthorpe. I was still living in Bradford at the time where I had completed my Teacher Training course, plus I had been preparing for my departure. I asked my Mum what she thought about me going to teach in Zimbabwe, and she had said that it was not a complete surprise to her, as she thought I had subconsciously been looking for an opportunity to expand my horizons somewhat.
Over the New Year December 1988 to January 1989 I had taken the chance to say my goodbyes to many of my friends in Bradford, and some in Sheffield where I had lived for over 6 years. I had a lot of them telling me they would write, and gave promises to reply to any who did so. It is hard to imagine how different things were back then in terms of communication with home.
At Heathrow Airport, London, on Friday 6th January 1989 I, along with several other new VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) volunteers, was busy checking documents & luggage, and saying goodbyes to my parents and friends. It was both emotional and exciting as all of us finally went through passport control into the departure lounge, looking for our gate to board with Air Ethiopia for our overnight flight to Addis Ababa, then onto our destination – Harare.
However, our departure was delayed, & after about 3 hours, we were ushered back out and taken to a nearby hotel. Our families & friends had long since headed home, & we ended up leaving Heathrow 24 hours late. Below are some images from Addis Ababa.
This lead to us missing our original connecting flight from Addis Ababa to Harare, & having to stay 3 nights in an hotel in Addis, before finally arriving in Harare on a Tuesday afternoon, 10th January
We were then accommadated at a training centre just North of Harare, where our induction course had to be shortened. Below are some images from the training centre as myself & my fellow volunteers started our adventure before going to our various placements:
The induction ended on the Friday, & several of us went out into Harare in search of entertainment. We settled on going to a place called Jobs Nightspot, where local band the Four Brothers were playing.
We were now staying at the home of the VSO Field Director for Zimbabwe, where there was room in dormitories for us all.
So finally, over the next couple of days, all of us new volunteers were taken to their placements, which for me meant my first time to see Pakati Secondary school, & meet my new colleagues in a very different environment to what I had been used to…
Coming up in Part 2:
My first days at Pakati, and early memories of what I experienced there. It is really an explanation of why Friends of Pakati continues to exist.
