So it's my last day in Kafue town. I'm heading to Lusaka on Sunday morning, and presenting with IDE field staff/management on Monday. A few last-minute details of things to work out - my time since my village stay has gone SUPER well and everything has worked out, until today. Bah. I'm waiting on a few things that are taking longer than I had hoped. Things were going way better than normal, but now... ahh!
I'm getting a chitenge (african cloth) hoodie made, as well as a couple shirt and a dress for Julia. I'm also bringing a UVic EWB chapter gift home! But all of those things are delayed.. and it's my last day.. ahh!
My host mom made a tie-n-die chitenge for me - her woman's cooperative was taught to make them by Jairos!! So that'll become another sweet traditional shirt.
And all three of my Kafue girl friends have presents to give me, hehe.
A few weeks back, when Mike H came to visit, the internet cafe guys said that that Saturday would be my "special day" for being such a good customer (I come a few times a week, maybe 1-2 hrs/week). I put it off because it was the National Agric Show, but today I've learned what "my special day" is -- free internet!!
And it's saturday and it's fast. Or maybe they're shaping the bandwidth specially for me.
Melissa, my EWB coach, brought up relationships as one of my strengths during retreat (5 weeks into my placement). I haven't really figured it all out, but relationship building with everyone is pretty crucial. The armed (AK-47) guard selling scones on the street, shop owners, strangers that I pass, and of course farmers. I'm definitely (un)consciously incompetent with so many social functions - books could be written just about verbal and non-verbal greetings. But a good things are happening from me being myself, smiling, being open to greetings from people I don't recognize, whatever. Is this a strength? Is it due just to the friendliness of people accepting all the rude things I do (without being aware they're rude in Zambian culture)?
What am I trying to say? My connection to my host mom, my counterparts, and some farmers is just awesome. There are lots of people in town now that say hello when they recognize me, since I'm the only muzungu biking around town!
Every time I talk with other JFs, we swap some stories about our placements (good and bad happenings) and often I think we feel pretty jealous. I think everyone wants to have done things other people accomplished, and it's ALL good. In the end, our own choices and circumstances way beyond our control created valuable experiences for everyone.
Time to go. I've said my goodbyes to just about everyone I've wanted to - my host brother Aubree gave me a frickin solilique last night (he likes to talk, and boy, he wanted to say all the good things about my presence in Kasengele/Kafue). I'm sad to leave, but just about peeing myself excited to continue this adventure. My time in Kafue is up, but the experience continues! Lusaka until Tuesday, Malawi until Saturday, Nairobi/Amsterdam for a few hours on Saturday/Sunday, then Toronto until Tuesday. Then I'll be HOME on the 25th. God that's a scary thought.
This post is turning into more of an email. Or something.
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15
Monday, July 6
Lizard
This little guy was hanging out in my latrine, watching me do my business. I pulled him out with my camera case (he clamped on with his teeth). He was stuck in a crack from the other side..
Saturday, July 4
Mechanical Engineering, Zambian Style
Required tools to repair anything mechanical in Zambia: a heavy blunt object (metal or rock), a sharp/pointed object (uusally metal), some stiff wire, maybe some soft wire, and occaisonally a screwdriver or pair of pliers or wrench. Bicycle maintenance/repair, doors, motorbike clutch cable, under-the-tree car repairs.. it's all covered.
Tuesday, June 30
Death
Death sucks. I see a lot of very young kids (under five), and tons of teenagers and older. It's hard to judge the age of older people, but I see a fair amount of people with white in their hair. My host mother is one example, and I think she's 59. I haven't seen many people with a full head of white hair.
In the ~1 month I've stayed Kafue, 3 or 4 people have died with some connection to me. One person was killed in a car collision, who lives near my coworkers, and my counterpart Jairos helped extract the body from the car (came back to the office with blood on his pants). The next day I saw a broken windshield in the ditch next to a broken sign from a seperate accident, as well as a lorry with a crushed front that apparently destroyed a small car. Every once in a while, you see a totalled wreck of a minibus.
My host brother Aubree is pretty well-connected in town. His friend's cousin died yesterday. He said that during the maize harvest, some boy came and helped him without asking any questions. At the end of the day, Aubree gave him some food as payment.. and then a few days after I moved into my permanent accomodations, Aubree said that boy had died.
I was doing something in town with my host cousin Chipuna, and a big truck passed with the back full of maybe 30 women singing. I thought it was kinda cool until Chipuna said it was for a funeral.
I was in church on Sunday with my host mom, Mrs. Maplanga (should it be Ms. because she's a widow? Mr. Maplanga died from an asthma attack), and they asked people to contribute to the funeral fund for a recently deceased pastor. Today she said she attended a funeral but I don't know who it was for. Maybe Aubree's friends cousin, or the pastor, or someone else.
High birth rate, large families, high mortality.
Death sucks.
My own risk of mortality has become part of my experience here -- I've adjusted, somehow. When I get on the back of the motorbike to visit farmers, I know that there's a high risk of injury or death. It used to scare me, but I've accepted that I'm pretty helpless as long as I continue to work here. It's still freaky when lorries loaded with cement blocks or copper roar past and force you closer to the non-existent/shitty shoulders.
Minibuses are another story. Officially, this major form of public transit seats 15 or 16, and that law is actually enforced in Malawi. In Zambia there's no such restriction, so it's common to get on with 20 people and luggage and chickens. There's little padding over the steel-framed benches, and no inner upholstery or seatbelts. In an accident, I think pretty much everyone dies. Maybe the driver and passenger seat are safest, due to seatbelts. I only need to ride them to get to Lusaka, or get around Lusaka - I ride my bicycle or walk around Kafue. I'll probably visit Livingstone in July and I've heard there are only taxis there.
Oh, and the nurses have been on strike for almost 5 weeks, and the government just promised to fire them all if they don't show up for work on Tuesday. I doubt they'll return. The government is trying to guilt them to work based on the morals of their profession. I'm sure they understand that already! So they must have a damn good reason to be on strike. I've heard that there are more people dying because of reduced healthcare. The issue is complicated by the union leaders not representing the nurses properly. And the knowledge that like 28 billion kwacha (5ish million CAD) had been stolen from the ministry of health via corruption - that must mean there's money now, so the nurses deserve better wages! That seems to be the nursing point of view.
In the ~1 month I've stayed Kafue, 3 or 4 people have died with some connection to me. One person was killed in a car collision, who lives near my coworkers, and my counterpart Jairos helped extract the body from the car (came back to the office with blood on his pants). The next day I saw a broken windshield in the ditch next to a broken sign from a seperate accident, as well as a lorry with a crushed front that apparently destroyed a small car. Every once in a while, you see a totalled wreck of a minibus.
My host brother Aubree is pretty well-connected in town. His friend's cousin died yesterday. He said that during the maize harvest, some boy came and helped him without asking any questions. At the end of the day, Aubree gave him some food as payment.. and then a few days after I moved into my permanent accomodations, Aubree said that boy had died.
I was doing something in town with my host cousin Chipuna, and a big truck passed with the back full of maybe 30 women singing. I thought it was kinda cool until Chipuna said it was for a funeral.
I was in church on Sunday with my host mom, Mrs. Maplanga (should it be Ms. because she's a widow? Mr. Maplanga died from an asthma attack), and they asked people to contribute to the funeral fund for a recently deceased pastor. Today she said she attended a funeral but I don't know who it was for. Maybe Aubree's friends cousin, or the pastor, or someone else.
High birth rate, large families, high mortality.
Death sucks.
My own risk of mortality has become part of my experience here -- I've adjusted, somehow. When I get on the back of the motorbike to visit farmers, I know that there's a high risk of injury or death. It used to scare me, but I've accepted that I'm pretty helpless as long as I continue to work here. It's still freaky when lorries loaded with cement blocks or copper roar past and force you closer to the non-existent/shitty shoulders.
Minibuses are another story. Officially, this major form of public transit seats 15 or 16, and that law is actually enforced in Malawi. In Zambia there's no such restriction, so it's common to get on with 20 people and luggage and chickens. There's little padding over the steel-framed benches, and no inner upholstery or seatbelts. In an accident, I think pretty much everyone dies. Maybe the driver and passenger seat are safest, due to seatbelts. I only need to ride them to get to Lusaka, or get around Lusaka - I ride my bicycle or walk around Kafue. I'll probably visit Livingstone in July and I've heard there are only taxis there.
Oh, and the nurses have been on strike for almost 5 weeks, and the government just promised to fire them all if they don't show up for work on Tuesday. I doubt they'll return. The government is trying to guilt them to work based on the morals of their profession. I'm sure they understand that already! So they must have a damn good reason to be on strike. I've heard that there are more people dying because of reduced healthcare. The issue is complicated by the union leaders not representing the nurses properly. And the knowledge that like 28 billion kwacha (5ish million CAD) had been stolen from the ministry of health via corruption - that must mean there's money now, so the nurses deserve better wages! That seems to be the nursing point of view.
Wednesday, May 27
Packing list
Things I wish I brought:
Pictures - family, friends, Canadian things like farms/markets big and small, cities, the Gulf Islands, transit, homeless people, pollution, food, ...
Maple syrup - Zambians hella love sugar, and this would be so perfect. It was foolish not to take this. My counterpart's family wasn't too impressed that I didn't bring it, once I described it.
Jacket - riding a motorbike requires this, but the temperature is dropping every day...
Toque - Julia knitted such a nice toque :(
Dress socks - why the f can't I find a decent pair here?
Jeans - see jacket. What EWB says about handwashing sucking for jeans isn't a good enough reason to leave them in Canada.
USB, SD memory - you can never have enough. Or enough redundancy in case of failure/theft/African mysticism. Hopefully I'll survive with 512mb for pictures, and 4gb USB. The USB can hold more pictures than I'll take.
Things I shouldn't have brought:
Sleeping bag - wtf was I thinking? UPDATE: Actually, it's totally required for my current place. So it was good to bring after all (saves me the hassle of buying a blanket..)
Laptop - definitely not essential. All I use it for is typing blogs/emails when I'm not near the internet cafe, but the office has a nice computer I could use for that task. At least my laptop is not bulky.
Things I'm glad I didn't bring:
Outlet convertor - it's like they're a necessity in market stalls. In the words of an OVS, there must be a standard kit they give to all small market businesses including candy, groundnuts, talk time, and misc. tools and outlet/power convertors.
Cellphone - Buying one is a hilarious experience. "Hi! Where can I buy a phone?" "Here, I'll sell you mine!"
In the end, the adage "what you leave behind builds character" holds true. My point of this post wasn't to complain but to hopefully help future people going overseas.
Pictures - family, friends, Canadian things like farms/markets big and small, cities, the Gulf Islands, transit, homeless people, pollution, food, ...
Maple syrup - Zambians hella love sugar, and this would be so perfect. It was foolish not to take this. My counterpart's family wasn't too impressed that I didn't bring it, once I described it.
Jacket - riding a motorbike requires this, but the temperature is dropping every day...
Toque - Julia knitted such a nice toque :(
Dress socks - why the f can't I find a decent pair here?
Jeans - see jacket. What EWB says about handwashing sucking for jeans isn't a good enough reason to leave them in Canada.
USB, SD memory - you can never have enough. Or enough redundancy in case of failure/theft/African mysticism. Hopefully I'll survive with 512mb for pictures, and 4gb USB. The USB can hold more pictures than I'll take.
Things I shouldn't have brought:
Sleeping bag - wtf was I thinking? UPDATE: Actually, it's totally required for my current place. So it was good to bring after all (saves me the hassle of buying a blanket..)
Laptop - definitely not essential. All I use it for is typing blogs/emails when I'm not near the internet cafe, but the office has a nice computer I could use for that task. At least my laptop is not bulky.
Things I'm glad I didn't bring:
Outlet convertor - it's like they're a necessity in market stalls. In the words of an OVS, there must be a standard kit they give to all small market businesses including candy, groundnuts, talk time, and misc. tools and outlet/power convertors.
Cellphone - Buying one is a hilarious experience. "Hi! Where can I buy a phone?" "Here, I'll sell you mine!"
In the end, the adage "what you leave behind builds character" holds true. My point of this post wasn't to complain but to hopefully help future people going overseas.
Monday, May 25
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!
Thursday, May 14
Almost there..
To the UVic EWB chapter,
Kawamba! Or rather, wawa from Lilongwe! I hope that finals (or coop reports..) went well, and you're succeeding in whatever venture (or adventure!) your summer brings you.
My Junior Fellowship placement with EWB Canada has been a whirlwind of preparation. The last 6 months have definitely changed me and I have learned more about myself and this globe than 3 years of UVic.
I'm writing this email on a flight from Nairobi to Lilongwe (our last leg!). Most of the rest of our 13 Southern Africa JFs are passed out and pretty messed up with the timezones and such. It's radical being part of a group of people that share similar interests in development and EWB's approach, yet can continually challenge themselves and each other to keep improving. Everybody brings different strengths and weaknesses and it's a truly special component of EWB.
I ended up bringing my XO-1 OLPC laptop, but having a laptop is not a big priority or necessity. My town, Kafue, has internet somewhere that I will probably visit once per week. Power isn't a requirement for my living situation. I've got some big plans as far as chapter communication through blogs, email, twitter, and phone calls go, so stay tuned!
The National Office staff are pretty impressed by how much EWB-UVic has grown in just 8 months, but they're also very excited for the future! Having both Pam Schmitt and Mark Brown at the helm will be terrific for summer. At least I think that's what is happening.
My impression is that the NO is currently coalescing ideas for the redesign of chapter-chapter and chapter-NO relations. I feel that they're pretty right to be doing this - how connected are we regionally to UBC, SFU, and Vancouver Pro? How connected are we to other chapters with similar resources and membership and activity? How much do we collaborate, and how much do we compete? How much do we innovate versus go through the motions with supplied documents and activities?
On the overseas side, a similar process was undertaken to refocus into sector groups - agricultural value chains (agric or AVC), and water and sanitation (watsan). Then there are regional groups too for the various countries. I'm entering the agric team and it feels like a suitable and appropriate system.
For now, please be patient while I undergo some sleep recovery and establish a few baseline blog posts and tweets.
Looking out the window as we're approaching Lusaka just confirms what is mentioned periodically - Africa is definitely the dark continent. A few smattering of lights here and there, but it is dark. Next stop, Lilongwe!
Kawamba! Or rather, wawa from Lilongwe! I hope that finals (or coop reports..) went well, and you're succeeding in whatever venture (or adventure!) your summer brings you.
My Junior Fellowship placement with EWB Canada has been a whirlwind of preparation. The last 6 months have definitely changed me and I have learned more about myself and this globe than 3 years of UVic.
I'm writing this email on a flight from Nairobi to Lilongwe (our last leg!). Most of the rest of our 13 Southern Africa JFs are passed out and pretty messed up with the timezones and such. It's radical being part of a group of people that share similar interests in development and EWB's approach, yet can continually challenge themselves and each other to keep improving. Everybody brings different strengths and weaknesses and it's a truly special component of EWB.
I ended up bringing my XO-1 OLPC laptop, but having a laptop is not a big priority or necessity. My town, Kafue, has internet somewhere that I will probably visit once per week. Power isn't a requirement for my living situation. I've got some big plans as far as chapter communication through blogs, email, twitter, and phone calls go, so stay tuned!
The National Office staff are pretty impressed by how much EWB-UVic has grown in just 8 months, but they're also very excited for the future! Having both Pam Schmitt and Mark Brown at the helm will be terrific for summer. At least I think that's what is happening.
My impression is that the NO is currently coalescing ideas for the redesign of chapter-chapter and chapter-NO relations. I feel that they're pretty right to be doing this - how connected are we regionally to UBC, SFU, and Vancouver Pro? How connected are we to other chapters with similar resources and membership and activity? How much do we collaborate, and how much do we compete? How much do we innovate versus go through the motions with supplied documents and activities?
On the overseas side, a similar process was undertaken to refocus into sector groups - agricultural value chains (agric or AVC), and water and sanitation (watsan). Then there are regional groups too for the various countries. I'm entering the agric team and it feels like a suitable and appropriate system.
For now, please be patient while I undergo some sleep recovery and establish a few baseline blog posts and tweets.
Looking out the window as we're approaching Lusaka just confirms what is mentioned periodically - Africa is definitely the dark continent. A few smattering of lights here and there, but it is dark. Next stop, Lilongwe!
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