By Winston Muleba II
IT HAS been said that retirement is time to do what you want, where you want, when you want and how you want to do it. Whether this is true is debatable.
IT HAS been said that retirement is time to do what you want, where you want, when you want and how you want to do it. Whether this is true is debatable.
Today, we feature Merdado Kapansa
Chalata, SFO, an established published
author.
Question: Who is Merdado Kapansa
Chalata?
Answer: I am a man with a background in
the Charismatic Life Renewal Movement
of the Roman Catholic Church, and have
had mystical experiences in life, which
have shaped my genre of writing.
Q: What does SFO, which you add to your
names, stand for?
A: I add SFO acronym to my names because I'm a professed member of
the Secular Franciscan Order, founded by St Francis of Assisi, for the laity
and like his patron saint, St Francis.
Q: What can you share about your background, from birth to date?
A: I was born into a family of two children, a boy and a girl. I am the elder
of the two children. My father, Mr Chalata Chiposa, hailed from Mulundu,
Luapula Province. Before passing on in 1980, he had his own village, just
opposite the Mambilima Water Rapids, on Luapula River. Like my father,
my mum is also deceased. She died on 18th November, 1989, at our
family village, called "Napala," named after the nickname of my late
grandmother, Marianne Chilomba.
My only sister was sired by my step father, named Wangelani, cousin of
my late mother, née Alfonsina Chilomba, after parting from my late
father. It was because of the named late step father, Wangelani that my
late mother and I went to Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the place where my sister, née Alexandrina Wangelani was born,
in 1956. Mum's second marriage, however, did not last long. We moved
on, after a serious marital difference, and came back to the present-day
Zambia. Mum, once more, got married, and we ended up in Chingola, a
place where I started Sub-A, at Chiwempala Primary School. A notable
personality I can still remember from that early age was the late Musa
Kasonka, who was our sports master. He was short and stout.
Our stay in Chingola, however, did not last long at all. Mum and I went
back to our home village. And once more, I was back at school, this time
around, at Chimanda Lower Primary School, where I did my Sub B in
chief Mwewa's chiefdom, Samfya district, Luapula Province. From
Chimanda Primary School, I was selected to go to Miponda Primary
School, where I did by then, Standard three to five, and, after gaining self-
independence, we progressed to grades six to seven.
From Miponda Primary School, I was selected to go to St Clements'
Secondary School in Mansa, where I continued my studies from 1968 to
1972.
From St Clements, I qualified to go to the University of Zambia where I
graduated with a BA degree in Public Administration, as my major, and
economics and managerial accounting, as my minors, in 1977.
During those good old days, employment was not a problem at all. Soon
after graduating, I joined the then Management Development and
Advisory Services, popularly known as MDAS, a joint-project between
UNDP/ILO, and the Zambian government, falling under the Department of
Management Development, under Cabinet Office. My fellow Zambians,
who were at this parastatal body, were understudying the ILO experts. My
field of specialisation was personnel and organisation development. We
were trainers of trainers, being groomed to take over from our expatriate
counterparts. We were drawing clients from the general public, private
and parastatal organisations that were in need of our consultancy and
training services.
Q: Is this the only job you have ever done in your life?
A: No, I am afraid not! Whilst at MDAS, I was poached by the company
secretary, who attended one of the courses that we mounted for parastatal
personnel. She intimated to me that her company, the then subsidiary of
the Zambian State Insurance Corporation Ltd, namely, the Zambia
National Insurance Brokers ZNIB Limited, was in need of a personnel and
training officer. And off I went. Indeed, who was I to resist the prospects
of a well-paying job, coming as I was, from a government-funded
institution, where belt tightening was the order of the day?
Whilst at ZNIB Ltd, apart from doing personnel and training job, I also
started manning an insurance broking section/department. Additionally, I
was privileged to have been one of the founding lecturers of the present-
day Zambian Insurance Business College, a joint-project for the ZSIC Ltd
and ZINB Ltd, formed out of the two training departments of the two
companies, to train in-service insurance staff and people from outside
Zambia. I worked for ZNIB Ltd from 1979 to 1987, when I left to go back
to UNZA, not as a lecturer, but as an insurance manager, to run an in-
house insurance agency for the UNZA council.
Q: Could you tell me about your worst moment in life?
A: My stay at the UNZA was, however, the worst that I have ever had, and
will ever want to experience again in my life! Briefly on this unpleasant
journey at UNZA, despite insurance broking and insurance in general
being a field job, I was not given an official car, unlike other managers
purchasing manager, medical doctor, bookshop manager, and resident
engineer, amongst others! I didn't even have a computer, just imagine!
The excuse I was given for not providing me with tools of work, as any
employer is obliged to do, was that they had no money at all! So to pre-
empt that excuse, I pleaded with insurance companies, namely the ZSIC
Ltd and ultimately, Professional Insurance Corporation Ltd, to give me
hard cash, instead of trade discounts. I was given K25 million - in 1994
that was a lot of money - which I gave to the then UNZA management to
buy me all that I wanted to enable me to run their own insurance agency
more efficiently!
I then realised for certain that I had no future at UNZA, the seat of the
light of a burning candle of knowledge! So I decided to keep a low profile,
bide my time, and at age 50, I decided to go on early retirement, as
provided for under the terms and conditions of service, after serving for
13 years, from 1987 to the year 2000. After that I had to wait for five
years for me to get my whittled down gratuity, due to advances for family
needs and the like. And as the UNZA management/council were in breach
of their own terms and conditions of service, and UNZA Act, I had to take
legal action. I have never been paid my money, from 2004 to date, despite
having won our court case. Whilst waiting for my money, I have also
worked as a managing director for the Caritas Insurance Brokers Ltd, a
project which I had suggested to mother Catholic Church way back in the
past.
Meanwhile, to maintain my sanity, I have been busy writing manuscript
after manuscript, the genre being religious and poetry books.
Q: How did you become a published author? You are, from your own
explanation, an insurance expert with a chartered insurance practitioner
status.
A: I will try to put you through the crucible of writing books, as I have
experienced it, spicing it all up with graces that I have had from none
other than the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Here in lies the difference between
me and other writers across the board.
Initially, my interest in writing books started whilst I was with the MDAS.
My fellow UNZA graduates and I were exposed to a lot of books, and in
the course of work, we had to prepare handouts on various subjects for
presentation during workshops. And because of that background, I wrote
my own manuscript entitled, "Neglected Aspects of Teaching and
Training: A Guide." However, Messrs Heinemann, UK, would not publish
it because of the poor reading culture here in Zambia. That first
disappointment notwithstanding, I have been a member of a gender-
sensitive Zambia Women Writers Association, where I served as a
treasurer. From time to time, we were running writer's works throughout
Zambia. My specialisation was how to write religious books. Additionally,
I was privileged to be sent out to Nairobi and Harare, to represent
ZAWWA, at the International Book Fairs, and Indaba, respectively in
2004 and 2005.
But my ability as an author became fully fledged after receiving a gift of
writing from the Lord Jesus Christ in 1990.
Put briefly, I went into a solo retreat at the Marian Shrine situated on the
Great East Road, to do the spiritual exercises See 1 Tim. 4: 6-16 of St
Ignatius of Loyola, a founder of the present day Society of Jesus. My
intention was to prepare myself spiritually, for consecration of myself and
the entire family, to the Holy Trinity and to the immaculate heart of Mary,
as a mark of gratitude for the Sacrament of Baptism which turns us into
God's adopted children John 1: 10-18, 3: 1-8, and through which we
become the living temple of God Jn. 14: 15-18, 21. I came out from retreat
the day the late Madiba Nelson Mandela came to Zambia, after being re-
leased from prison in South Africa.
To cut a long story short, when one fateful Sunday a known priest changed
his mind about lending me his Sunday Missal for my reflections on
prefaces, I was deeply upset, so much so that when I reached a spot
midway between the Our Heavenly Father Parish and Gardenia Avenue, I
looked up to Heaven, my face awash with tears. I said to God, voice
shaken pent up with emotions: "Why Lord, why?" That very moment, I
received the gift of writing, and I have been writing title after title of
religious and poetry books!
Q: What are some of your book titles?
A: Here is a partial shortlist:
Confessions of a Roman Catholic Born-again! This is my first to be
written the very Sunday I received the gift of writing. It is a conversion
story, in poetry not studied in school.
Ten Secrets of Conversion and Eternal Salvation! Messages of the Eternal
Gospel, received from Our Lord Jesus, in locution; i.e., inner conversation
which takes place in the soul, under spiritual influence.
Scripture-meditated Holy Office for the Secular Francis-can Order for
meditations.
Scripture-Meditated Holy Rosary Written to encourage Practicing
Catholics to recite this time-tested devotion, of the New Testament
Psalter, to merit promises attached to this spiritual exercise, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, and taught by Our Lady, Mary, the Most Holy Mother of
Jesus, and ours, too -Jn. 19: 25-27; Rev. 12: 1-2, 5-6, 17.
The Way of the Cross my own version, given in locution by Our Lord
Jesus Christ
Faith Healing: A Step By Step Guide Originating from my vision in which
the Lord Jesus gave me the Gift of Healing, and as practiced by me ever
since 1986.
The Efficacy of Personal Consecration: A personal testimony meant to
promote the devotion of personal consecration to the Holy Trinity and to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, taking a cue from the late Pope, now, St.
John Paul II, who did so in 1982, after recovering.
Matildah Busiku Lesa: A woman of great faith in which I have given a
testimony of her solid faith in the living God, demonstrated in the face of
mortal dangpers to herself and her son, Adrian.
Attending Holy Mass: A Guide meant to promote active participation and
adequate preparation, to merit graces by so doing.
The Mystery Girl! A Collection of Allegories, Old and New. provoked by
and is a critique of the an unnecessary war against Iraq, now a shattered-
heritage, with no evidence of benefits for introducing 'democracy',
through the barrel of the gun, by the USA, UK, Austria and supporters.
Sponsored by the National Arts Council, and is available at the Bookworld
stores, and the Zambia Educational Publishing House.
My Treasure Trove, My All! A collection of stories and romantic poems
targeted at the youth, married couples and those with a divine call to serve
God as brothers, nuns and priests, to be wary and focused in their life
decisions.
A Sound Of Wailing: A collection of elegies, allegories and prayers
written to immortalize fond memories of heroes and heroines, locally and
internationally, inspired by the late Dr F.T J. Chiluba, an orator in his own
right.
Zambia and Beyond, Through the Eyes of a Poet meant to promote
Zambia as a priority destination in the southern region
Q.: Any challenges in your writing career?
A: Plenty! Amongst others, lack of sponsorship to publish my
manuscripts, and tricksters who have defrauded me of my money.
Q: Any advice to upcoming writers?
A: The time to write is now, not tomorrow; for that would be too late to
recall things, or retain illusive inspirations! Also, do read widely.
Q.: How can people reach, in case they want your books?
A: They can reach me on via email - medardochalata@yahoo.com
For comments; mwenyamuleba@gmail.com / 0966 461 943/0950 594
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