Clinics, cases and KK

The main function of today was to start setting up the dental clinic at Makeni, but we had to pause for lunch with a very important man. Kenneth Kaunda was the first president of the newly formed Zambia 50 years ago, and as the country developed and the people called for democracy he changed the law which caused his own election so that a truly democratic election could take place. His party was defeated and a new party came into power. Thus was democracy brought into Zambia in a creditably sensible way. Now KK is 90, and he still attends democratic functions, although usually these days he is being honoured rather than honouring. Today he honoured us with an invitation to lunch with him. There are people we meet through our lives who will stay with us, and Dr Kaunda is just such a person. We arrived to find a jam session in progress with KK singing what was something of a campaign song for his term in office.

 

The lyrics roughly translate to "let us walk together, let us strive towards freedom, let us bring freedom to our land" and that is exactly what he did. KK is still a strong man, commanding the attention of a room when he speaks, and is still so full of life and joy that his gleeful laugh is quite infectious. My father was delighted to finally meet a man he has memory of from when he was a young boy. He was just four years old when KK came to stay with his parents, my grandparents. At that time KK was building power and momentum and surely doesn't remember a small boy hiding in the skirts of his nanny, but my father remembered him, and today they finally met over 50 years later. Both KK and my father have strong connections to Scotland, KK's father having been a missionary for the Church of Scotland, so Dad presented KK with a vase he had made in the colours of the saltire.

KK laughs at something David S has said, and between them is Dad's saltire vase and a stack of KK's books which are no longer in print, but David managed to search them out for him.

Here we are with KK. Dad may have left his anti-malarial pills in the luggage which went missing, but at least he had a tartan tie to wear. Phew.

I was told before we left that if I brought Dad back with malaria my grandmother would haunt me all my days. I'm pretty sure she'd understand that packing his malerone in the wrong place is all his fault! Fortunately all the missing cases were returned today, to much rejoicing.