This is it! I made to the top!

This is Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa (SA)'s oldest town Stellenbosch that lies in the picturesque Jonkershoek Valley in the heart of the Western Cape Winelands. Today, as an internationally recognised institution of excellence with more than 24 000 students, 800 lecturers and some 50 research and service bodies, eleven faculties the campuses of SU make up a vibrant melting pot of different cultures. The University takes pride in the fact that it has one of SA’s highest proportions of postgraduate students of which ten percent are international students.

To be a 'Matie' (as a student of Stellenbosch is affectionately known) is, in fact, a privilege for other reasons: according to the University of Leiden’s ranking, SU ranked 454th out of the top 500 universities worldwide in terms of international publication output and 415th in terms of the impact of citations from SU scientific publications. In 2009 Webometrics ranked SU third in African continent behind the University of Cape Town and University of Pretoria.

Maties 2010 Graduation:

On 9th March 2010 came ‘Maties 2010 Graduation Day’, which officially brought me the good news that I passed the Postgraduate Diploma in HIV/AIDS Management in the DISTINCTION division, and being the only student who passed in this division I stood TOP in the class

As extensive as the AIDS epidemic itself is, this course attracts 360 plus students from all around the world, from China to Canada and from Afghanistan to South Africa. I was, and still is, exhilarated for this unexpected but ‘deserved’ achievement of mine. This success paves way for me to register for the subsequent MPhil (HIV/AIDS) programme, and for which I indeed already registered.

A class of Postgraduate Diploma in HIV/AIDS Management 2009, photo taken during Summer School January 2009

Thank You:

A huge portion of my gratitude goes to the extraordinary Chikankata team. This is indeed possible because of your enduring and unfailing support. I promise, together we will do better still in our encounter with the worst epidemic the world has ever known. There are individuals to whom I’d like to extend my grateful acknowledgements. But some obscure reasons prevent me from mentioning your names, and I’m sure you know yourself. Thank you so much.

To my lovely wife, thank you for not only being patient with me, but also for being a good teacher to me editing and proofreading my work assignments. My beautiful kids, your understanding and sacrifices means a lot to daddy. Thank you for giving daddy a reason to be proud of once again.

Oh! How I feel like one of the brightest colours in this part of Nelson Mandela’s beautiful Rainbow Nation!! Thank you God Almighty! You never fail me. I pledge my allegiance to You once again.

See me: On page 6 of list of graduande in the faculty of Economic and Management Sciences where our course belongs.

My Children's Recent Preoccupations

Of late, I have been noticing that our daughter Melissa, 5+, grade 2 student at Baama Academy and our son Marcus, 3+, who is still in pre-school, have totally different obsessions. The following pictures tell it all!

Melissa has a newfound interest in Biology, of course botany to be specific. After learning about 'GERMINATION OF SEED' at school, she insisted that she carry out the experiment about the subject on her own. During the weekend, she sowed three bean seeds in our backyard garden all of which successfully germinated after a week-long anticipated waiting and watching. That Monday morning, she took her three young plants with her to school and proudly displayed them to her science teacher and her friends. Here you can see our daughter tending her young plants, with the ground behind her covered with mosses (bryophytes). An ideal ecology, climate and season for a budding biologist!

The three young beans. If you ask her what external factors are important for germination, our daughter can very well tell you that they are temperature, water, oxygen and sunlight.

The bean plants after 2 weeks. They will soon be planted apart to enable each one of them to grow with more freedom.

Our boy Marcus is obsessed with automobiles. You can see how happy he is when he managed to get one of the latest models like this one which is quite popular here among his local African friends. The other night, he woke me up at 04:00 hours to get such one for him!

Fortunately this weekend, Mboozi Jr. age 8, a son of my friend made this truck for him from recycled container of Maheu (a local drink made from sweetened fermented maize flour). The good thing about this engineering marvel is that all the components are made of recycled materials. The capacity is another plus point because beside its actual payload, it can carry two additional toy vehicles - a bus and a car. It is environment-friendly automobile with zero carbon emission.


The wheels are made of the lids of plastic bottles. The left front wheel is even more unique, it is made of a maize cob after the kernels have been removed/eaten!

Our son is different from his sister to the extent that he would even turn flowers into a push-on vehicle!!

Chikankata College of Biomedical Sciences (CCBS)

Chikankata College of Biomedical Sciences (CCBS) was officially established on 5th October 2007. However, the college has been operating since February 2007 and the foundation stone for the new campus was laid on 22nd February 2008. In the short-term the college benefits our own hospital because as the students learn they support our own laboratory services. However, it also helps a number of institutions across the country, especially the Mission Hospitals which are responsible for over 50% of formal health services in the rural areas of Zambia and about 30% of health care in the country as a whole.

The College is now fully affiliated to the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine and the Department of Medical Education Development (DMED). Recently it also has its official registration from the Ministry of Health, Government of Zambia from whom it received heavy fundings even prior to official registration.

This year on 8th February 2010, University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine Examination Council of Health Sciences and the Department of Medical Education Development (DMED) published the final examination results of the first batch of our students. Out of 27 we have 25 successful candidates (93% passed) and among them 8 students with distinction. Being one of the part time lecturers who spend 4 hours per week with these students, I feel very much a part of this grand success. I teach Cell Biology & Human Genetics.

The college is in the process of developing its own library. Books are a scarcity here in Zambia and those available are relatively expensive. But the college management is much aware of the necessity of having a good library to produce good results. This photo shows a section of the newly built library. It is well ventilated, spacious with adequate amount of natural light.

Miss Nancy Cheepa who is the Administrative Secretary of the college is busy on her desk. She deals with all administrative matters including those related to students' admissions, academics, and other vocational activities.

Here is Mr Bosswell Mboozi, one of the lecturers of the college. He is such an important personality in that he has been the main link between Chikankata Mission and charity organisations, universities abroad, and influential individuals outside Zambia. He founded The Christian Resource Centre at Chikankata (see http://mboozibosswell.blogspot.com/) and up to now he is the Director of the centre. Beside its other areas of services to the community, the centre has one of the most well stocked libraries in Zambia. His contribution in terms of provision of knowledge to students and faculties of our various institutions has been commendable. He is a trusted friend of mine too!

The college Landcruiser received from the Government of Zambia Ministry of Health. The new college campus is some hundreds metres away from the main residential area of Chikankata. Hence, the vehicle is very useful for easy conveyance of the college staff.