We felt the most important need was food for the family. So we headed in the squashy taxi to Luanda, a 20 minute ride and went to the markets. Of course, once again in this remote rural village we were the only muzungu's!
We bought 90kg of maize that they grind everyday for a staple dish (bit like porsha), 50kg beans, 50kg rice, 20litres cooking oil, 5kg sugar, soap, washing bars, matches, a double mattress, g nuts. Not only did this food help the family, but the lady that sold us the maize and beans said normally it would take her 3 months to sell the amounts we purchased, so it was wonderful for us to see the benefits for her and her family also. All this food cost around NZ$450 and Stanley 's mum said she could make it last 3-4 months.
We loaded everything into the back of a pick-up and transported it up the road 15 minutes to the house where Anne and the family were waiting for us. In this photo is Stanley's family with his grandmother who owns the house they are staying in.
Interestingly enough it is not culturally right for a family to stay with the parents but in this case, because they are Christians they say it is acceptable.
