strengthened of family ties as a mitigation measure in addressing the problem of children roaming the streets.
He blamed the culture of redefining the family as mother, father and the children they bear, describing such attitude as a foreign vice worsening the suffering of orphaned and neglected children in modern society.
He said the calling of an uncle by the children of a younger brother or elder brother and that of aunt by children of a younger sister or an elder sister should also not be accepted according to African tradition, as it breaks family ties.
He appealed to Zambians to revive their African identify and help society in reducing the problems created by orphanage in Africa, mainly as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Speaking in Ndola today Mr. Bupe added that the many children and youth littering the streets and becoming a public nuisance through pick pocketing could be integrated into families if there was a serious government policy to address the issue.
He said the ministry of community development and social welfare were doing a good job by assisting some children with school requisites but needed to do more by identifying loitering children and linking them to their immediate extended families.
Mr. Bupe further said society stands the risk of becoming uncontrolled because the children on the streets could become a public menace once left uncared for and prepare them to make a meaningful contribution to the welfare of society in future.
He urged government to help intergrate vulnerable children into families that can nurture them into productive future citizens.
Mr. Bupe said he sees a lot of hope and potential in most street children who he said need to be given shelter and guardians to discipline and teach them survival skills.
Thats the only solution. This western type of culture of mother father children is not good for Africa
I suggest that RB also accommodates some kids from the streets in State House. Any volunteers?
Seriously there is nothing wrong with the above definition.I remember having relatives from Kasama come to our house every weekend and stayed for as long as they wanted. My father did not know them but instead of being impolite we invited them in. Some were thieves and some were ok, but the manners were a problem. Ukusamba two times a day and big slices of Bread.We survived and here I am saying it was a funny time. May God bless all my unknown relatives in Zambia. Culture is what defines us and most envy us for this fact.Thumbs up for the revival. NINE CHALE was one of the real family members :-j
If street kids was inverted in the 70s I would would been a victim.Thanks to uncle Cosmas brought me up like his own child. I actually though he was my father…Until I was old enough to understand relationships in that sense.
What I am saying here the economy of the country made it easy for family and cultural values to flourish then…
love that picture
It’s not about the economy people are just becoming too self centered if you’ve been out in the western world you would really appreciate our culture becoz here you get to see some negatives to nuclear families kuti walila.In my family we don’t have much money but anyone who can pitch in to take care of the rest does and we have more than one mother ,father,brother and sister and I know that if ever I was stranded their are many out there who can help me to me even friends are family.Until last year there has never been a time when we have lived as just my so called nuclear family and though we are no longer at home we still support our family where we can.
The pedigree of family genetics is at variance with Western philosophy…. and strangely in concordance with African reasoning…
I regret that my off springs know very little about the beauty, joy and strength of growing up together in an extended family. Worse still they struggle to communicate with their grandparent in our native language much as they love to see one another. My only salvation is that they can kneel, receive with both hands and to answer “Mukwai”. Is there any literature on ‘Extended family’ in any of our Zambian Languages that can help parents like me who need to reconnect. Hey! I just learnt that our friends from the Asia have opned a school where children can learn Hudu and their cultural…
I SURELY MISS THE TIMES WE WENT TO THE VILLAGE FOR HOLIDAYS AND THERE WOULD BE MANY OTHER KIDS ON HOLIDAY.WE DIDNT KNOW THE WORD EXTENDED FAMILY.WHAT MATTERED WAS THAT WE WERE FAMILY.I REMEMBER MY GRANNY HAVING EVEN HER SISTER`S GRAND KIDS VISIT HER
mwana, I miss those days also. The kids at the village would even take turns trying out your shoes and clothes when you were in the bush and then the whole bundle of you would sleep in one hut after a long evening of African tells…..those were days. But what we have adopted now! its not helping us.
PLEASE, YOU HAVE TAKEN BE BACK DOWN THE MEMORY LANE.share plates.sing under the moonlite.remember the scarery folk tales.i didnt like them as i was scared to sleep alone so i would wait for everyone else and being from the city ,i was scared when wind shook the trees in the night so i prefered sleeping in the middle of the whole bunch of cousins.
thats why I even chose this gravatar with a hut, just to emphasise that I miss my roots
Ba shikulu Bupe, Which intambi do you want to keep.The problem of street children is more an economical than a cultural problem. Kuno tuli. they believe in nuclear families I don’t see any children on the street.with the credit crunch we should just expect the problem to worsen.
however, I ve some suggestion to the problem of street kids.
!. We have 150 MPs which MP should adopt a child from the street that will take 300 children from the street.
2. The president should adopt 10 children, while the veep should adopt 5. and see how your intambi will work.
I am personally lookin after two half orphan kids in Zeed.
what you are bro is exactly what is being suggested…..keep it up and my God add to your resources
I will also reconsider my gravatar. Too much of promoting western life imwe. I am humbled by your comments.
Thats the way to go bro….what are what we because of our roots!!!! At any given oppotunity, I wear a Zambian scuff! I wish the govt knew how proud we are to be Zedians, they would have been doing better!
This gravator ni makali Ba Engine fimo fimo and I urge you to keep it.
If you look closely, none of these folks are wearing shoes, their out fit speaks volume but generally they seem to be a united bunch, though one cant say they appear happy.
Mostly its hunger that makes them miserable, but they know how to support one another and they really do teach their young folk some survival skills. I bet you, some of these folks have no bed to sleep on.
Ba Engine fimo fimo, if you want a good LOL,
I can give you the names of these folks on this picture. really good ones, some in vernacular mixed with some funny western ones….
Ba Cutey/Wifey….thanks I will keep the gravatar, I had another similar one with Obama at the Village….lets hear the names.
OK, The first young fella in red jersey, is Jekeseni, the next one, Pangulani,the small girl seated in front is Malita,behind her there is Tefilina,the one in yellow is Kwangu, the mbuyas—one in purple is A Tilelenji,one with a green Duku is A Khupiwe,next to her is A Mbonyiwe,the one with a red top is A Magireti,the first to the right is A Maliselo. The msungwana girl with green attire ni A Zebediya.The two little ones between the Mbuyas (definately orphans) are Chuma and Tangu. The ones far back out in the pic. Sipuni, Foloko and Bwezani.(All these names are fictitious) .. just feeling nostalgic, big time I suppose.
Oh, I forgot Bechani and Mdya-Makoko in the background of the pic.
Today i was in lecture ,the only Zambian. My finish colleagues talked, My polish colleagues did the same was for the Hungarian colleagues like wise what was left of me . I had to speak the English language… I really would have loved any Zambian dialects …….
Iwe wiseman, kusankanyafye fyose. You have plenty resources…73 dialects in Zambia. Kulabilafye fyonse ni A+!
You sound super my girl. Try it this time may be i can escort you. We are from the same province i think.
Western type of lifestyle has just brought debt, loneliness, BP , heart disease and diabetes.I miss my mbuyas, cousins etc. These days aunts and uncles want your kids to call them by their first names! Bushe kwaliba!
Please do not make me cry. I have stopped reading.
I can hear , the vibration of give me that old time religion , it was good enough me . It was good enough for Paul and sailors and it will be enough for me and indeed it will take me to heaven
my brother sing that again…..oooooh give that….old time religion…..what a wonderful song that is
Intambi shesu…
Its saddening to note how depleted our culture is becoming.
I was really embarassed once when I went to a function in ‘Zambian’ attire
only to be corrected that it was west african dress. What is Zambian in terms
of dress and food?
vitenge…
Misisi for women, siziba for men (lozis), The rest chitenge general. Someone say something about the bark of tree cloths we used to wear before the Muzungu came. For men it used to cover the you know what. Women, used to wear short skirts bu ama breasts used to be bare. At least one muzungu said so (On Kenneth Maduma’s talk show called “They have come to stay” if I remember correctly. Say something, somebody!!
Surely i miss those days in chitulika village with much nostalgia.Being around batata,batata mukalamba,batata mwaiche,bamayo,bamayo mukalamba na bamayo mwaiche are days i shall live to remember.
where every male cousin was your brother and evry female cousin was your sister…
am going to visit all the villages when I go back to zed for sure!
if a child was a fussy eater,the best was to send the kid to the village for a holiday. the kid comes back straight, and eating every thing you serve from umulembwe to game meat ,
he he he he….Supergal! now you are really super craking my ribs. You know what? behind the plastics that we have covered ourselves because of what we have grown to become, there is our real selves. Our real nature that craves for our roots. I still enjoy the scenes when I visit the village and watch my gran making her face as she tastes a pear or an apple lol!
i honestly enjoyed it. i remember my father driving us to the village,he had bought the sugars , bread,cooking oils and just the essential commodities to take to ambuya.but because it was a hilux little did dad realise we had drunk the mazoe and eat the bread, kamulaile God, he was so upset, he told us he would never come back for us. hey it was fun.thats was real..
yaba, now that was really crazy! I wounder if the Mazoe was even diluted! I can imagine you giggling as you attacked the loaf with bare hands….These surely are the things we ought to bring back and there will be no street kids in zed. Unless am mistaken, I first saw street kids when the liberal MMD govt took over with their western English!
yes ENGINE all this orphan nonsense came in the 90s,about the mazoe we had a 20lit of water and 2 cups so we took turns with my brothers. kids who are growing up now miss alot .hey i was a tomboy.we also have to take responsibility.but pa zed,is their anything like life asurance?umwana apokako ka 200milion nga wafwa
Its there mwana….am insured and the bucks my family can get if I slipped is away is collosal, I wish I could get it while alive lol!
What can be said , that can not be said .Unity is the corner stone of all the functionalists in Africa. What we need is , redefine what is African.What explains Us as Zambians ? What is culturally accepted? It begs a million questions.And yet this is what we are ….
Ba president, wanjibukisha ifyakale. In my family we had alot of bamayo around
It was even difficult to tell your real parents.coz even close family friends were introduced as abani ‘banoko’ elo niba ‘nakolume’ elo ‘basokulu’ e.t.c
I remember things stated to change around late 80s and during the big bang in 1991.
the best was ba mayo waume or batata mwanakashi
let us call a spade a spade and a spoon a spoon!your uncle is your uncle and not your father and so on and so forth.however i agree with the fact that we should not neglect members of our extended families,instead we should help each.
Ba peter, i just went to zed and my girl was confused when i called everyone as mother or father using my local tongue. i taught her a bit of my language and it was good to get to explain that to her and she appreciated it and how we related
That BS! you are only responsible for your off springs. the tendency for people to sire children for other people to look after is retrogressive.we have to move on wit time that’s why we are lagging in development because of that village mentality.
hhhhhhmmmm my bro please, dont kill the Ubuntu spirit that is comming up on hear! you are right that we should not encourage laziness but this nuclear family thing has wrought negative issues in western countries and you know that!
Input , there is sense in our African thinking .I am a very young educated lozi Zambian i support the concept…I feel the chief has made some very cardinal points….
Good nite people…really enjoyed this stream with all the unison of Ubuntu on hear….If we were this cordial and united even when discussing politics, Zambezi Land would have been a much better country….PEACE!!!! bed is calling!
If you look very carefully at this picture, we all might ourslves in it. Engine, kwati niwebo mu skipper ya red, far left. Mebo ndi musikipa ya blue, third from you. If you look carefully Jamaco is next to mbuya, super girl mu purple dress, wiseman….. go on. Good night people of Zambeziland. God bless us all.
nice one onkaz. ha ha ha
Big up Onkanz….you can see all of us in the pic he he he he
That system helped keep out those infamous “street kids”off the sreet.The Govt has a duty to play in this by puttiing up some deliberate policy.-Most of those that grew up in the ’70’s will agree that most us, to reach up to where we are successfully, past through or was helped by some extended family.You might remember how families would quickly grab the kids after the death of a bread winner parent.But we are so disslocated today,that we don’t even ask about the surviving children-However this is a very complicated issue.As soon as surviving spouses fought their rights to property grabbing,noone was interested in looking after ba Lazaro “there is nothing in it for me…
if there are two words or phrases we should scrap out in the ‘zambian volcabulary,’ i would choose Extended family and Expatriate!
The extended family is and was safeguarded by strong beliefs, customs, traditions, taboos etc. In the absence of these pillars, the government is singing without a voice. Strange as they may asound those of us who take the western family system as the inn thing, aggravates the situation. Development could be an incentives to our people in rural areas. they are more interdependent and more conscious caring for abana, no matter which womb they came from. though te bonse. I had my ups and downs but all the same I salute my extended family in Lubingu, because of them, I am here blogging with you people of Zambeziland. They are nuclear to me.
It can not be said any better than this .I was born the last , what I was told were about the mightiness about the pedigree of my family. What I am today intact emanating from that Support of the the pedigree is what I cherish all my life . Like the old song says , I will cherish the old Calvary cross .
LT, I HAVEN’T EVEN READ THIS STORY. BUT, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THIS IS A VERY GOOD STORY AND ONE ANY ZAMBIAN ABROAD WOULD WANT TO READ. THE TITLE AND THE IMAGE TELLS IT WHOLE. ZAMBIA’S LIFE IS SO HUGE ITS NOT ONLY SURROUNDED AROUND RB AND HIS FELLOW CONMEN. BRING MORE OF RURAL LIFE, PLEASE.
Mr BUPE, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW BEST STORIES I HAVE READ ON THIS BLOG AND I SUPPORT YOUR SENTIMENTS. HOWEVER, YOU ARE SHORT OF SAYING grz must take a more practical approach to the situation by financially suporting those who take up extended relatives-that includes all vulnerable people such as the aged, dissabled, and kids without guardians.
As a student of Literature ,I shall and will always love Literature from my secondary school years back mission to kaala , the river between , the wreath for the dead, imprisonment of the obatala , Every man , the old man and the medal . Woman of my uncle . Mukandenke, kwama, The hermit, I will marry when i want … We were subjected to so many books , yet was it really that important??/
Hmmm, doesnt it feel nice to have all the nostalgic feelings. Its good some of us passed through such life and can appreciate what we have and are.
Its true Mr. Peter Bupe,culture values need not depart ones lifestyle wherever we are.All the vulnerable kids are our kids too. Family/culture values means remembering the extended family and visiting them frequently.
hello, Bo cutey, I am being naughty….
hello ,great thought
Funny enough Wiseman,,, non of these books you read for your literature is Zambian. This to me goes show why Zambia can not reorganize its lost culture because there is no existing literature about the Zambian culture.
Please says. woman of my uncle , at least it is by some Zambian writer
Woman of my uncle was written by F . mulikita former VC copper belt University( late )
didnt you read zed books like; Accusing finger, Behind the closed door, Ticklish sensation, Black eye….
deleted
This to me shows how cosmopolitan , we are as Zambian people , A very unique and diverse people with cultural diversity. What a peculiar nationality we are… the envy of all
deleted poster risks being banned
were you
I thought I was already banned
Only dead fish swim with the stream
Good nite all
Ba wiseman fimo fimo, nigh nigh…
Bamambala ubufi. Asked to go back you all will cling to your hamburgers.
you made me laugh.
There are many factors leading to street kids today. We are aware that this problem started with MMD when they came into office and since then the situation has worsened and is really getting worse everyday. Relatives are unable to look after extended families anymore as things are really bad economically. People are losing jobs and cannot afford to feed and send the children to school. So the best solution is to create employment for the people, otherwise no one can stay home waiting for nobody to bring food. Time has changed greatly and we have to face reality to tackle the problem of street kids. Telling tells will surely not help this problem ladies and gentlemen! Start adopting them 😉
I meant tales 😛
That sound really good but if we compare life akale and nomba we would end up crying and knashing our teeth.Bread,umukaka,amasamba,sugar,ubunga,kapenta,soti,saladi, nesabi,maheu,tute,tomato,amalasha,sopo,vaselini,lepu,chibwabwa,impwa et al.Here i mean all the above mentioned and other basic stuff were far much cheaper and affordable in those days.So even a grade 7 UBZ bus conductor,a malonda ku underson securities, and those just keeping/breeding impanya ne nkoko were able to host 8 and above extended family members.Now just look at prices of daily commodities even ka pamela is unaffordable.Really do people even manage a reasonable meal a week.It just seems as thought all basic thing are
Sorry….It just seems as though all basic commodities are imported from JUPITAR or SATURN.When the so called freedom of pricing or so came into use,,,then Zambia lost it all.The question is”WHO IS SENDING THE KIDS TO THE STREETS?
The Governing system which has even lead to,,,,,,,,,,? HIV?AIDS,,,,,,,,,?.In my mother’s village in Chief Mpezeni’s area we used to see Mazembe every summer grading our feeder roads.When we harvest,grandparents uncles et al could get pa ngolo (oxcart) selling nthochi,kandolo,mbatata,
Mwebanandi. Mwansekesha lelo. its true we have to keep our culture baking kandolo mu oven ovuni na chiwaya so. we used to have fun but not any more. babies out of clay. ba Mayo now mum ba tata now dad. a kid of today wont leave his/her bed for the visitors. twalelala pansi nga nachipampa. Umusalu was normal. i miss those days. Extended family where our blulus not cousins uncles, aunties…. mayo, tata, sister na brother. the word street kid is so crude i hate it. so is this what we call democracy
ati umusalu wa normal…….meaning oiless.thats fun n real bro
nzimbe,nshowo,nyemba,munkhwani even using ka njinga but now all those roads are impassible,kids don’t even know geleda iwoneka bwanji?Feteleza is too much madulidwe .villages have been disconnected from each other.Economy as a villager i dont know it ngati ni kanyama kanji.MBABALA?MPHUNZI?KALULU<?kaya?
So how can one even get to the village or how can a villager sale his farm products?To be frank Zambia is sinking too?On the paper its doing good but practically ang ang yayi baba pepani.Please do things don’t just talk.
Just the picture in the story suggest that this idea is just one of those fancy dreams from the lame ducks. Transfering the responbility of looking after the street children to their spent grand parents is crap idea from disgrantled politicians who can’t think between lines. Most people in Zambia live on one dollar per day and you expect a house of 10 members to survive on that. Please get your thinking straight. This proplem is more coplicated than you may realise. For how long are you going to keep sweeping dirt under the carpet. Crap politician who can’t think beyond their big nose.
Too many kids, there atr ten of them in this picture alone. No wonder, we invite poverty on ourselves and unnecessarily so. This Chiluba mentality of procastrating and stealing all the day and night will destroy Zambia!
I was just reading about the Magande saga, Banda is truly a vengeful fella! Well, we know what Chiluba did to his opponents and the price he is paying for it!
Ok but aka nika squad pa picture awe mwandi so ninsi bonse ni salaula. or dapp. ka mpoto kopikila ndelele nkuku naka dish oops lelo at basin kudala we used to call it dish. i has a visitor when and i said sorry i dont have a dish he was like ,mmmm whatever you have cooked will be eaten i meant basin ha ha ha ha
wow for the first time I’ve really enjoyed reading most of the comments,brings back old memories.those were the days! I think we need to hear more from Senior Citizens like Mr.Peter Bupe I’m sick and tired of RB and his MMD circus day in day out.Viva extended family, viva the village.(perhaps we were too quick to diss Miyanda maybe this is the village concept he was talking about!)
A picture can tell a thousand words. An empty dishes in the backgroud sugget the poverty that haunts many thousand Zed families. The children crowded around the old women symbolises the premature death of many young parent who live their childen in the hands of their old hopeless parents. The old women sitted with their hands clenched together signifies the vulnerability of the many Zed women who have no idea were the next meal to feed the family will come from..God Knows. No smoke is coming out of the Kitchen it either the only meal of the day has been consumed already or there is nothing at all. No elderly man is in the picture they are out for Kachasu. Lord have mercy!
I like your analysis…such an imaginative mind…
How come your flag has chnaged?
Striper, pa Europe tuma Countries are small so you stay in another and work in another….that Leg, is it yours???
SO interesting and know what? kachasu takwaba ati aka bunga kaya sana. God bless our women.
Very good analysis. Heart captivating as well.. well done…
(and why no name?)
Cutey/wife Iam one of the vetetaran blogers and since the inception of LT I have mutated in many different forms depending on the political and social climate prevailing on LT. For this particular climate I chose to be identify as ……..However do not be mistaken that I suffer from multiple personality disoder. Have a good one and stay cute.
Sorry, I did not mean to offend you. I was praising you all the way and wished with all my heart and soul that a name was printed on that posting. No more multiple personalities (I presume)now since gravators are in force. Stay well.
Well Cutey/Wife I thought you will pick some humour in posting I did not mean to offend you too. So no need for apologies. By the way when are you coming to Zambia ?we miss you so much
Ok ,fine and well understood. I was in Zambia 4 months ago and it will take a while before I think about another 21hrs one way flight. Its pure agony sometimes.- the trip itself. Zambia will always be next to my heart as family is in Zedi.
let as be realistic here.you dont expect family ties tobe streanthened when chiluba sold houses to old people who this time do not want to go to the village.some of as dont even know our home place we know that we are from livingstone because we grew up from there.let as just concentrate on our children and no one else.
This is totally bringing fond memories. I just have one point yes we have embraced western culture but we cannot discard everything about us. Look at the jews, indians all love extended families why should we as Africans especially we people of Zambezi discard it. Let us all see what we can do to help back home. Cheers
Mr. Bupe has put across very vital points and i totally agree with him. But we should also note that these days we are living in are different from the olden days! Everything has changed!Some people are willing to keep other relatives but the their kind of living cant allow. They are so overwelmed such that they are failing to send their very own children to school….
baby c that is very funny,how can som1 fell to send his own to school becase of relatives who wont even be able to look after them when thy are old.please help as God.
Ba Muse i think what Baby C is saying is that people cannot manage to send their own kids to school how much more now supporting relatives. Strange enough Baby C those days parents did not distinguish between their own children to those of others, if you went without it meant all of you went without. If there was somthing to share you all shared.
Ba Muze, read my comment again, there is nothing funny! Kasman has actually broken it down for you. Thanks man!
I can see you Zambians have the heart to help you are nice people but here are a few factors that make family TIES very LOOSE.1High levels of poverty, 2 Accommodation problems, 3 Unemoloyment and if any very low wages. 4 Food staffs pa Zed very trick. In the Rural areas its very possible and this should be encouraged. In urban you can try but your GUNDI will have plain tea in the morning and nsima in the evening. The following day they will BIT YOUR WIFE UP ati baletutana food. LETS LIMIT FAMILIES TO MANAGEBLE SIZES not a situation where even a kitchen becomes a bedroom at nite. WE CAN SEND HELP after all. The heart is willing!
Mwalasa ba dee! Noyu globe crisis waisa…cineke!
Very impractical advice. It’s time to stop being nostalgic and start being practical. If you could save 2 kids one your own and another Someone else’s you would save your own. With the zambian economy the way it is these are choices the ordinary zambian has to make on a daily basis. There are only so many dependants one can feed and the result of HIV is too many orphans.
The extended family is dead. A system of orphanages run by NGOs and govt is more practical. The europeans have no extended family yet their orphans are looked after.
Our experiences in the villages are long gone. Never to be back. If yo children drink chlorinated or mineral water daily & do a Nandos meal or Debonairs Pizza every Saturday like my kids, then they may as well be dead 1 week after landing in the village! We have surely lost it. But its a question of changing times. Thats why Kamuzu Banda did not want his people to have TV in Malawi. You guys thot you were clever since you had TV, your wives, sisters, etc could put on pairs of trousers. You went ‘western’ and thot that was the way to go. So why cry now. Wait until everything goes WESTERN… Homosexuality will haunt you, brothels will be legal in Zambia and yo sons will be sleeping with and…
There IS NO SUCH THING AS BAROTSE BULL my friend except the ONLY AND RENOWNED MIGHTY, AND HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE TONGA BULLS from Southern Province. What is your butata? You and wise-man reborn are juts oxen for pulling sledges and plough on Tongas’ farms.
Good day.
you have just remembered the chimbuya days.i really didnt like it as i was often offended by lozis who did chimbuya with my parents.
This one’s for observer. You must have said those words in that lovely Tonga accent, I know. Go badala, go, you are being yourself. That’s what sets you apart from other bulls like the one above (Barotse bull)! Peace!
bambile Mucheende!!!!
You have hit the nail on the head brotha. The battle is not all lost. The onus is on parents to instill moral values in their children and most importantly to lead by example. Some kids will pick up something from what they see, observe, what they are taught. You win some, you lose some. And for all TV, BARS,DRUGS ASIDE. One can come out unscathed
Africa is a classic case of inheritance of Western patterns of consumption without adapting the production means to support them. Look at Chiluba, all the shoes, “nu kacaz”, suits, wives etc all supported by stolen wealth. I would rather live under a mud hut than a stolen house of glass.
I would rather live in a mud hut like this one than in a stolen house of glass. These Western patterns of consumption you’ve adopted without the production support means, ha!
Tongas also, all that’s in their heads is copulation, no wonder there is too much runyoka and AIDS in Tongaland.
Iwe Shaka we Zulu, ngomane! how dare you raise a finger against the Bulls he he he he he on the adopting western consumption without the means, you have a point! You have to go deep into the Bulls land and see how productive they are…..dont go to Namwala with a Hilux, you will be embarassed when the villagers meet you with Prados!!!
I’ve vowed never to eat a chicken south of kafue.Don’t ask me why.Tonga bulls have strayed from the kraal.
You sound like a Lozi slave lol!
stop this tribal nosense.
leave them alone they know what they are doing.the only chimbuya which is prominent is that of as bembas and easterners.
ok
The untouchables
Gdef dear, how are you?
dont start greetings am jealious.
whats up ma girl,am cool,hope you doing great.I was just checking if you are around baby,how is you?
The Senoir citizen is right but I thinks the issue of street kids is much more the issue of family financial stability standing and moral uprightness rather than misplacement of cultural values. Most street kids do have homes that are heavily striken by poverty which make a normal average kid run in search for a basic right – access to decent meals anywhere possible. For them, the so called street provide to some shelter in addition to food. If food was readily accesible at home a child will surely stick around. I all points back to GOVERNMENT with its misplaced priorities, hefty taxes on a struggling worker. Secure families first before cultural enrichment can start. We go back to basics
I think most african traditions are primitive ,useless and not beneficial. Even the term ‘african traditions bother because really most are just silly rules made up by someone who is long gone that we are not obliged to keep. If i create a tradition today it should be called an african tradition because it was created by an african, but thats not the case an african tradition always seems to come from some long gone person.. A person should be free to create or follow whatever tradition they see beneficial to themselves . I personally will not keep something i see is archaic and pointless
While this is certainly a great message by Mr Bupe, it must be acknowledged that some of the street kids ran away from homes of relatives deliberately thinking that they will be better off on the streets. The only way for us Zambians to solve this impending puzzle is to stop giving alms to the street kids and encourage them to go to places where thay GRZ has provided a fave haven for them to learn life skills. Even the Holy Scriptures indicate that those who do not use their hands to work must not eat. And so, let us help the street kids to realise how important it is for them to work hard instead of loitering around hoping to get easy assistance.
By the way, there are street kids here, in a very developed country, too and some of them begged for money from me one Saturday afternoon. So extended family re-integration or integration may not be the only solution as clearly reasons for characters to be street kids transcend what we may be thinking at present only.
Morning bloggers, you are still at it on this thread……
The point is that no one can take in an opharn if he’s unable to look after his own children.The problem’s that people have no jobs and those that have still get peanuts and are unable to provide for their families…….so there’s no way they can take in opharns if their own kids are unfed and naked.The bottomline is fix the economy first and trust me,along the way other things will be fixed too)))
I wish it were as easy as people are making it sound. With this economy? People are barely able to feed their own biological kids.
Ba Moze, do you kow who wll bury you?
The problem is economical, not social. At least in urban areas. In rural areas it is easy to maintain family ties as people live in close proximity. Kids easily play togother so they grow up knowing their relations. Not so in urban areas. It costs more to integrate family in urban areas – travel costs, upkeep etc.
As for street kids.
Just think, what will make YOUR child a street kid? There lies your answer to the problems!!
good for families in the village where there is enough land to farm in order to feed and educate all those, in town unless your salary is fat enough or a good business. i love extended family ,apart from that am its beneficiary. so i urge those in town at least to adopt and on a humble salary to adopt 1 or 2. in the village as many as the fields can feed and finance for school.
I support the urge full time. As for me who lost both my parents at a tender age and brought up by one uncle but supported by a lot of other uncles and unties I had no chance of thinking that I was an ophan. I felt loved and its hard for me not love back and indeed to everyone.I think its not only Afrcan but but biblical
Your story is so touching. Keep strong my dear.
If we copy everything from Europe like dress, food, language, what will make us accept extended families? We are mentally enslaved or colonised. Sezangakakona you are right, ka Chiluba thought wearing western styled suits would impress George Bush and Tony Blair. Most Zambian men think they look civilised only if they wear jacket and tie. I met some drunken Zambian in London who said he doesnt eat Nshima because it is uncivilised food!
Heartened by the sentiments expressed by bloggers. The reality is we can probably and should bring back some traditions but others we are well rid of. The problem facing us with the street kids reeks of a combination of greed/ignorance and wanting to help but not having the means. We can all pump money into the government but will the government then use it wisely to resolve the problems. We need a leader who will represent the interests of every man, woman and child. Period!
Strictly speaking, there is nothing like Zambian culture. We have individual ethnic-group cultures–Luvale Culture, Lozi Culture, Chewa Culture, Bemba Culture, etc. If there is anything that can be called Zambian culture, it is just evolving now in the de-tribalised metropolitan areas of Lusaka and the Copperbelt. Mr Bupe and others, when it suits them, invoke the communalist nature of Africans, but with poverty and unemployment hitting the roof, people, particularly those in urban areas, cannot afford to take in extra mouths. We all know how up to three or four generations live under one roof in four roomed houses–father, sons and daughters, their children and their children. WAFWA.