First look at Kafue

The IDE team spent the longest time together - 2 days of in-country sessions in Lilongwe, Malawi; 1 day of travel; 1 day of learning Lusaka; and 2 days of IDE sessions on markets and linkage facilitation at their head office. My field office staff attended the sessions which offered a nice introduction.

The head office is wicked! Wifi and a gazebo with power. Our backpacker's hostel place was also very comfortable, where we took a lodge for ourselves (EWB) and had a few beers there every so often.

I've been in Kafue for 6 days now. I have only lived with my counterpart, Jairos, and his family. He's got a few brothers and sisters, a wife, and 4 kids. The accomodations have been pretty comfortable - there's no sinks and the kitchen tap only has water for certain time periods during the day, but there's a toilet (no seat) and I have a nice bed/blanket in a big room I share with a brother, Henry.

In my search for permanent housing, as is standard with EWB volunteers, I tried to push the requirements on the field staff. It's a careful balance of personal health and safety versus their trust of other people and situations. The fist place my counterpart showed me was pretty slick. A retired, 1-legged railway worker (maybe a foreman) had a nice house possibly given to him as severance lived in the central district of the town with a wife and grandkids. Full bathroom, my own bed and room, ~20 minute walk to the office, a big yard and chicken coop (their source of income). I'm sure I would learn a lot from this family especially through helping with daily tasks. They're such a sweet and nice family that it'd be pretty hard to refus, but perhaps buying a bicycle will increase my options. I've heard there's a woman's group about 5km south of town. In any case, by the end of today, I will know where I'm staying!