On 13th September 2007, Judith (my wife) and Shingisai (our baby daughter) find ourselves undertaking a trip to Durban in South Africa. The purpose of the trip is to attend Gabriel's (my) graduation. The trip starts from Lusaka International airport using a Zambian Airways flight. Departure is set for 07 30. however, the flight only leaves 70 minutes later at 08 40! The flight is smooth. We arrive at O R Tambo International airport (formerly Johannesburg International airport) two hours later. After completing the airport formalities we head for the domestic terminal in order to check in for our Durbanflight from Johannesburg. Due to the delay of the Lusaka flight, we miss our connecting flight at 11 30. We are however, put on a standby flight leaving at 14 30. this leaves us with 3 hours in which to do some window shopping, eat lunch and check in. at 14 30 sharp we are ready to take off using Khulula airlines.
Gabriel on Graduation Day
The staff on the plane are friendly and fun. Some of the funny things I remember said by the aircrew are "Smoking is not allowed on the plane, but if you want to try your luck, we will fine you R3000". "Welcome to Durban, if you would rather not be in Durban, then you must have a serious problem". Well, we do not have a serious problem that's why we are in Durban. The flight to Durban takes 1 hour. At Durban International airport, we wait for a shuttle bus to take us to our hotel. While waiting evidence of South Africa hosting the 2010 football World Cup stares in the face. we see an electronic poster reading "1001 days to go before 2010 World Cup". In fact during the weekend of 15th September the major South African cities hold celebrations for 1000 days remaining before the world's major soccer event. After a wait of 30 minutes, the shuttle bus arrives. On our way to the hotel we see beautiful natural scenes and impressive infrastructure. Just before getting into Durban we see the Indian Ocean. What a lovely sight! So many ships on the ocean! Just a few minutes earlier before landing we could feel the turbulence of the ocean waves.
Gabriel, Judith & Shingisai
Durban is one of the major cities in South Africa, 588 km from Johannesburg. It is the capital of Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is a port city which is a gateway into South Africa of goods from the Middle East and Far East. A number of Zambians have been to the city for the sole purpose of clearing vehicles ordered from Japan. However, this may no longer be the case as new laws in South Africa about driving second-hand vehicles have led Zambians and other landlocked nations moving to the Dar-es-Salaam port in Tanzania. Durban is a beautiful city with impressive modern buildings nicely blended with traditional ones. Some of the interesting places include the Durban City Hall, Lithuli Square and the Vasco da Gama Clock. Durban's beachfront abounds with luxury hotels. It is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the world. Its port is the busiest in South Africa and also one of the 10 largest in the world. It was to this interesting city that our home will be for the next five days. We are driving to the Formula 1 Hotel where we check in. later I look for supper. After supper it is time to retire for the night.
Durban beachfront
Friday 14th, finds us with a lot to do on our "to do list". The major things to do are buying my graduation gown, doing a bit of sight-seeing and some shopping. We start with a walk looking for Aliwal Street where the Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA) is situated. As we make our way to Mancosa, we pass through the Workshop Shopping Mall. The building housing this mall used to be a Railway workshop many years ago. After that we head to Mancosa where we meet some fellow Zambian students who have come to graduate and attend the graduation. Later, we go for some sight-seeing and shopping. In between we have lunch at Nandoo's where we read about the benefits of eating chillies. We later go to Mancosa to pay for the graduation gown and collect it. As we return to our hotel we pass through the Workshop Shopping Mall to buy some supper. After enjoying a well cooked supper we head to our hotel to call it a day. As we walk down to the hotel we see a lot of cars packed in the streets. This is due to the World Cup Cricket match taking place between India and Pakistan.
Saturday 15th has finally arrived! This is the graduation day. Final preparations are made in terms of what to wear and necessary documents to carry. By 12 00 hours we start making our way to the International Convention Centre which is 500m from our hotel. This Convention Centre is one of its kind and has hosted many International Conferences. We proceed to the registration desk and register for the graduation. We then get a few photos and meet fellow Zambian graduating students and staff from Mancosa. At 13 00 hours we are all seated. I'm sandwiched between two South African graduating students Phumelele and Justice Nkosinathi. Interestingly enough both students like I work in the public sector. The Academic Procession then enters the hall followed by a constitution of the congregation. A prayer is then offered followed by a welcome address to all guests and graduating students. The principal of Mancosa, Prof. Karodia them gives his address. This is followed by a speech by the guest speaker, the Honourable Minister of Labour, Mr Mdladlana. This is the second time for me to listen to the same minister, the first time having been in Midrand at Gallagher Estate during the Q-Africa Conference in 2004.
Gabriel with Guest of Honour Mr Mdladlana
After the great speech, the presentation of graduands is made. Graduands are in the following programmes: Certificate and Diploma programmes, Certificate in Management Studies, Diploma in Management Studies, Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (MBA): Tourism and MBA General. Out of 217 MBA graduating students, 17 are from Zambia, making it the third highest after South Africa and Mauritius. The presentation of special awards follows next in the programme. I'm privileged to be one of those receiving a special award in the Dissertation I did on "Challenges and Opportunities of Zambian Women Entrepreneurs". Glory be to God in the highest! After the presentation of special awards a vote of thanks is then given by one of the students. The dissolution of the Congregation then follows. After the National Anthem the Academic Procession then leaves the hall. Later we go for official photos and our own private photos. In the evening, we are invited for some dinner where the guest of honour is present. We are served with tantalising Indian dishes. We have time to interact with fellow graduates and Mancosa staff. After dinner, Mubeen, one of the staff members at Mancosa takes us to our hotel. Before reaching the hotel, he drives us around Durban city showing us and explaining about some places. On our way we see a lot of cars packed outside a football stadium. There is a match set for 20 00 between two soccer giants. Upon arrival at the hotel, we get ready for bed.
Gabriel with fellow graduands
Sunday is here! This is the day the Lord has made. A day for Him to be worshipped! Having made arrangements the day before for attending church we get ready to be picked up. At about 09 00 Heather Upton with her son Warren and daughter Jennifer come to pick us up. On the way we get to get to know each other. Finally we arrive at Hillcrest Baptist Church (website: www.baptistchurchhillcrest.com). We're attending the second morning service. We sing a number of familiar hymns and songs on an overhead projector. Those of us visiting are given a visitor's pack containing some church information and a sermon CD by the pastor. The pastor, Clint Archer, preaches a sermon on the Christian and Work. It is an instructive sermon that causes one to re-think their attitude to work. I'm impressed by the babies cry room (mother's shelter). The room has a bed and some sofa's for mother's to sit and listen to the sermon. The room has a tinted window allowing mother's to see inside the main church while those in the church can't see the mother's. Only mother's with babies up to 18 months are allowed there.
Clint Archer, Pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church
After the service, we go the Upton's home for lunch. We get to know more about each other. Things like how we got saved. How Judy and I met and so on. The food is good and so is the fellowship. We are grateful for the joy of Christian fellowship. How one can travel to a new place in a different nation and yet share sweet fellowship with those who know the Lord Jesus Christ and love him. Of the friends we have made in Durban, Heather, Warren and Jennifer are among those we will remember in a long time and pray that we maintain close contact. Later in the afternoon, the Upton's take us to the beach on the Indian Ocean. We view the ocean with delight and wonder. Wonder at the marvel of God's creation. This is my second time to view the ocean that day. The first having been with a fellow Zambian graduate Alfred earlier in the morning. We take a number of photo's and take a walk around. We later have some supper from Steer's at the beachfront. Later we head to our hotel.
Monday is the last day of our stay in Durban. We pack our belongings and leave for the airport at 09 00. As we check in at the airport, we are informed that our flight is delayed by 2 hours. We're booked onto a British Airways flight to Johannesburg. Later at 18 00 we leave for Lusaka aboard a Zambian Airways plane. It has been a busy 5 days in Durban. But we have left with fond memories of the place. The interesting and lovely people, a multi-racial society. The lovely fellowship at Hillcrest Baptist Church and excellent preaching along with a good bookshop and library. The impressive infrastructure of Durban. Durban has a lot to offer to the tourist. Five days is certainly far too short to sample most of the tourist attractions this city has to offer. A return trip to this city would be a welcome idea. Would it be to return as a visiting tourist or as an employee? Only the Lord knows!
Gabriel S Konayuma
07/10/07
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