The
audience at the debating competition
Hello
to all readers; here is the second newsletter from the Zambia team, with stories
from all the Development Instructors.
We
start off with the Outreach DI’s
The
disappointing news is that Charley, our Italian friend, decided to leave the
team and return home. He felt unhappy and unable to make a difference when he
saw the enormity of the task ahead of him. Especially within the short time
frame we are here in Zambia. His African counterpart, Helen, has taken over
where he left off.
Hi,
it’s me, Jan, and it’s that time of the month again. You made need a
MAGNIFYING GLASS this time round. The argument is that the more letters to a
page, the fewer pages to a newsletter, and therefore less postage. However,
seeing this months contributions I think it will be a case of the more we can
cram in! So, are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.
The
quality of education here has been something that has been playing on our minds.
We recently organised a debating competition for the HOPE Clubs we run in the
primary and basic schools. The result was that the quality of the primary school
debates surprisingly outstripped the basic school ones. Unfortunately it became
all too apparent that the teachers had given the children arguments, for and
against the motions, to memorise. The open debates that were supposed to follow
therefore never really happened. The problem of memorizing has also made it
difficult for us in the classrooms. The children didn’t initially respond too
well to a more involving style of teaching. However, through perseverance we are
making headway - the children are reacting, and the teachers too.
With the introduction of sports in the clubs activities, and the prospect
of art and music (all made of rubbish – which is everywhere!) starting in the
new term, there is a renewed energy about. Competitions and other challenges
should keep teachers and children busy well into the next Zambia teams stay.
Working
with the churches is proving a little more difficult. Abstinence and being
faithful is what they teach. They will accept that reality is different and that
education is the key. However, to them reality is that if someone does not
follow God’s word then getting infected with HIV is God’s punishment.
It’s the words ‘condom demonstration’ that form the heart of the
problem. Demonstrations to married couples are fine, but to the youth it’s not
because we are promoting promiscuity. Explaining that this is only a small part
of our program - which includes relationship skills, communication, gender
issues, HIV awareness, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, etc. - seems to fall on
deaf ears. Very frustrating conversations when you know the reality in the
compounds. In spite of this attitude we are finding other ways to get the
message across – HOPE Clubs, Local Youth Groups, Womens Groups and other
inter-denominational support groups. The demonstrations are great fun, bringing
out the child in a lot of adults. It’s like dealing with a group of adolescent
teenagers – lots of nervous giggling. This is especially the case among the
men when we pull out a toilet roll and show them how to insert a femidom. The
resulting questions and discussions have given us an interesting insight into
the role of sex in Zambian society. It’s one of quickies (maximum 15 minutes
including foreplay) and ‘come over here and do your duty’. One discussion
has resulted in us opening a ‘School of Lovemaking’. Joking!
Within
the scope of the work we do it would be silly to deny that none of us have pet
projects. We do. This is usually where we are needed the most, or where the
level of response is the greatest. Not that this means we are neglecting the
others; it’s just that some projects hold a bigger place in our hearts and
minds. With a lot of these projects we will only be the instigators of the
groundwork. Realistically the real rewards will follow after we have left for
home. It’s a shame, but we have been well prepared to accept this as part of
the nature of the work.
On
a lighter note: we as ‘musungu’ (whites) have a special place in Zambian
minds. If you are seen walking, people will stop and ask whether or not you have
transport. As a musungu you are automatically assumed to have a means of
motorised transport. In some of the areas we work you have to be seen talking to
a musungu to improve your status in the local community. On numerous occasions
we have been asked to go and talk with one of the local community counsellors.
Whilst walking around the village we would exchange some idle chitchat without
any serious business being discussed. In the meantime you can guess what the
locals are saying ‘did you see so and so talking with the musungu, he must be
quite important’. Time wasting? Not really! That’s what we thought in the
beginning but it’s a question of going with the flow. If it gets people
mobilised then we’re all for it. It’s a lot easier than talking to all the
people individually, and it works. Respect for local custom is what it all boils
down to. Respect can also be a funny thing. Women are by tradition supposed to
wear a sort of sarong over their dresses/skirts. This is a sign of respect for
the lower part of the body. So, what do the men wear as a sign of respect for
their lower body? A pair of trousers! When you confront them with the fact that
until the white man came they never wore trousers, the reply is that the
tradition for men has changed and that was life. No equality for the women just
yet! The one remaining question is whether we are being disrespectful when we
wear shorts. No of course not, because we’re musungu!
The
month of March passed more quickly than I expected. While I spent most of
February acquainting myself with the area I work in, this month I put together a
somewhat stable program for myself teaching Hope Clubs, youth groups, widows and
orphans, and trying to pull together a Task Force. So far most of my time was
spent trying to pull these groups together for meetings, as I often meet some
resistance. I find people accustomed to the slow pace of Zambia and often
unresponsive to my attempts to motivate them. The number of attendants at my
youth clubs steadily decreases each week, Task Force members miss meetings due
to funerals, which commonly occur, and primary school teachers can make the
chances of a Hope Club seem hopeless.
Still,
I persevere, as one must in this case, and what I accomplish makes it worth all
my efforts. My most encouraging work happens with those who receive it best. For
example, I meet with a Positive Living Club for HIV positive people (mostly
women) once a week, teaching them about HIV/AIDS and how to care for their
bodies. As they are infected with the disease, the club members always welcome
any information I bring to them with special interest. After we finish a lesson
the group thanks me with Zambian style. Two women bring out drums and as they
play others sing or get up to dance what they call the "shaky-shaky"
(the name speaks for itself). Of course they invite me to dance and I try
hopelessly to imitate their hip movements. One woman lends me her
‘chitenge’, an African cloth women wrap around their waists like a skirt,
which looks quite ridiculous over my blue jeans. But I always have fun. I have
started practicing the dance in my spare so that I can impress them by the time
I leave.
The
spirit of the Positive Living Club encourages me. They face obstacles sharper
than any I have ever known with courage I wish we all could possess. But AIDS
affects every one; not only the infected and it can get pretty discouraging. The
average life expectancy here is something like 35 and in a few more years is
expected to come down to just 28. Many who die leave behind children and the
burden of caring for them falls upon the older generations, mostly grandmothers
but also other extended family members. Can you imagine what it means to a
woman, already struggling with four or five children, to take on the
responsibility of another two? I can't.
One
of the compounds I work in has 3 schools for orphans, serving between 400-500
kids. Some of them are single orphans, meaning they've lost one parent, others
double orphans-you know what that means. I recently started a program with one
of the orphan schools; once every two weeks my Zambian co-worker and I will
teach them basic health education.
So
far I have met them once for an introduction session that centred around a game
called The Boat is Sinking. First the kids (~40) stood in a big circle outside
and I explained to them that we were actually standing on a big boat surrounded
by water. But we had a problem. The boat was sinking. Following my lead we ran
in a circle and when I shouted "the boat is sinking!" they had to
repeat "the boat is sinking!", which they did as loud as their little
voices allowed. Then I'd shout "get in a group of..." and say a
number. If I said three, they'd have to form groups of three and those who
didn't would sink. The kids' enthusiasm was great and as we ran around I'd wave
my arms wildly in the air and shout in hysteria. My co-worker and I agreed
afterwards that being around those children, all your problems fade away and
everything inside you warms.
Before
August arrives I want to develop my program with the orphans to include
activities outside of HIV/AIDS but for now I will focus on health education.
Like with many of my programs, I am just laying out the foundations and will
have to see how people respond to my ideas.
Of
course the purpose of my being here is to work with people but many important
experiences occur outside of work, I work with the Zambian people every day, and
though I am adjusting to their way of life, I never forget that I am an
outsider. Walking down the street, whether in town or in the compounds, people
see me coming a hundred meters away and strangers never fail to greet me. Some
carry a derogatory tone, like a macho guy who calls "hey, mami!" from
across the road, while others speak with such respect it's ridiculous. When a
man in his sixties greets me, a young woman, in formal language and calls me
madam I feel like the daughter of a British Colonialist! All I can do is reply
with as much respect I know how to relay in the local language, clapping my
hands together and lowering my head a bit.
Of
course that only represents a small number of Zambians. I'd say overall that the
people here radiate warmth and hospitality. The majority welcome my efforts to
help though I feel that they wish I could do more, sometimes for them rather
than with them. I can only do my best in the next four months and leave a good
starting ground for the volunteer who follows me, enjoying myself along the way.
Kantolomba
is special in three ways. It is the poorest compound in my zone; has the biggest
cemetery in Ndola; and the largest activity by far is beer brewing. You get
there by passing through Lubuto – a nice compound – and walking over a small
hill. The contrast couldn’t be stronger. In front of you there are hundreds of
little mud houses, some of them half fallen down, with pigs and small goats
running freely between them searching for food. The clay roads with ditches on
either side are full of stagnant, smelly, water and rubbish. The picture in the
local market is much the same. You can imagine what it looks like after its
rained! There are also hundreds of malnourished children. I have not seen one
well fed child in Kantolomba. The only school there is is a school for orphans
run by an Italian NGO, Rainbow. However, there are dozens of little bars and
pubs which open at seven in the morning and are busy all day.
Everyone is drinking – men, women, teenagers, pregnant girls. The beer
is mostly brewed by women. I found to my surprise that many of them are single!
It is not the nicest way of earning money, I suppose, but it is far better than
prostitution. Another advantage is that those who are married are independent of
their husbands and that is very good news in society where women are usually
subservient and depend on the husbands for almost everything. One kind of beer
they make is called katchisu, it is made of sugar cane (the waste from making
sugar). Its illegal. The process of fermentation and distillation is repeated
twice. As far as I know, Kantolomba is the only place around here where they
make it.
Gecko and
millipede, a few of our house-pets.
Funerals
are a big occasion and the main reason why the pubs are so busy -there are so
many of them every day. People simply go for a drink or two before and after the
event. The family of the deceased meets in the house where they all stay (or at
least sleep for a few nights) for several days before the funeral itself. People
attending a particular funeral usually wait at the cemetery and simply sit on
the fresh graves. When the coffin and the close relatives arrive they gather at
a pretty much run down building which used to be a mortuary. Putting the coffin
on the ground they start singing religious songs. After a while the coffin is
opened for body viewing. There’s usually a long queue with some people still
singing while others – especially the women – scream and wale very loudly.
The coffin is then carried – sometimes by women who belong to the same church
as the deceased – to the grave. There, while sitting on other graves, a priest
makes a speech. Some of the people don’t even bother to listen, they just talk
to each other. When that’s done some men get some soil on a shovel and walk
amongst the family who touch the soil before they start burying. Women keep on
singing and some go around doing a collection – contributions for the family.
The ceremony done with, they all disappear. Many go to the pubs, with some
returning to the cemetery for the next funeral of someone they knew. The
cemetery is huge but you can’t really tell how huge because the tall grasses
disguise the majority of the graves. Older graves have tombstones but the newer
ones are just piles of earth, one next to the other, marked with a short stick
and sign with the name of the deceased and the date. They look like huge
molehills.
With
the number of people dying, visiting funeral homes and attending funerals is a
part of everyday life. There are 25 to 35 funerals a day. The coffins being
brought in one by one – the next one not arriving until the previous one is in
the ground (it doesn’t have to be buried but it must be in the ground). It is
impossible not to notice how young these people die. The number of smaller
graves for babies and young children is shocking.
That’s
it from the Outreach team for now.
Two
months into the program and we are well settled into our new home. March has
been a very busy month for us. We have succeeded in starting the Child Aid
program (Basic Hygiene – waste disposal and latrine building, Nutrition,
Family Planning, to name but a few) in three new zones. This brings the total
number of zones to nine. In our area we now have a total of 750 families. There
are also eight pre-schools and seven women’s clubs up and running. On a more
academic level we have held two Family Co-ordinator seminars which has included
a wide range of topics – HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, Preserving and Storing Food. We
have also given talks on HIV/AIDS to the children at Lilanda School. The
children had great fun blowing up the condoms after the demonstration.
Sunset
ov
Accessing
these areas is quite a challenge. This involves carrying our bikes across rough
terrain, crossing rickety wooden bridges and wading through rivers – Indiana
Jones eat your heart out! In this busy schedule we have also built our VIP
toilet. In the bush this means a pit latrine with vent pipe built on an anthill
– nippy! in more than one sense of the word. We are also the proud proprietors
of a hand washing system. This is a 5-litre container with a nail stuck in the
bottom. To wash our hands we simply pull out the nail, wash our hands and push
it back. An oven has also been added to our inventory – although untested at
this point in time. As you can see, nothing but the best modcons for the ‘bush
babies’!
Twenty-four
hours in a Zambian day are not sufficient to do all that I want to do. Although
I get up at 6 a.m. and go to bed (too?) late, it’s never enough. The
activities at work in the last month have given me a good basis for more
practical Partnership in Development work. I have developed a better
understanding of the work of DAPP in Zambia; know a little more about certain
projects and I feel up to bigger challenges.
In
March Jane, the Country-Director and I have visited a donor organisation about
funding for a new project (still secret now, but next month you’ll surely hear
more about it). On the administrative level I have been very busy.
I
developed a computer application to do the financial administration for a number
of Hope Stations in the country, which also generates the invoice for the
donor-organisation.
For
the Child Aid Project and the From Subsistence to Commercial Farmer Project,
both in Solwezi, I have written proposals to donors for the funding of a
coffee-project, for a truck which can transport the farmers’ produce to the
markets and for motorbikes for the Child Aid area managers, who now have to
serve a large area (radius up to 80 km) with only bicycles for transport. Now
most of you now that I favour bicycles over motorbikes, but in these
conditions….
The
Coffee project is a demonstration project to teach farmers alternative farming
methods. The Project in Solwezi (in the North-western Province) is very active
in alternative farming, to train farmers in methods that can provide them and
their families with a better quality of life. Over Easter I am going to see the
project with my own eyes.
For
a private donor in Germany I have written a report on the progress of the
Positive Living Advocacy Course, a course here at the Hope Centre that trains
HIV-positive people about methods to improve and prolong their lives, and
enables them to teach other positive people in the communities how to live
‘positively’.
Peter
at work
Furthermore
I have done some more research on donor-organisations that we might want to
approach for the funding of projects. The more I come to know about the
Partnership work, the more I begin to see the opportunities for DAPP and its
projects. DAPP has good skills in implementing Development Projects and extra
funding will mean that more work can be done.
I
hope to incorporate more practical work in the job as time progresses. I have
only been 2 months in Zambia and my personal development is also up to me, of
course!
I
have also been talking to Jane Jensen, the Project Leader and Country Director
here in Zambia about setting up a permanent Partnership in Development
Office…. Which is also a very attractive idea.
Who
knows where Peter will end up?
Anyway,
I hope to be able to remain a contributor to Development in some way!
Regards,
pboonman@ibmail.nl (please don’t use
my hotmail address anymore, it takes ages to download, and writing online……)
Peter
Wolf:
The
work in the sorting-center is never boring. Beside the work in the sorting
center as – production, market research - there are more important tasks. I
want to present two of these important tasks in this report:
Work
on the markets
Accounting
Work
on the markets
It
is very important to establish and keep up the contact with customers. So you
can very quick react to wishes from the customers and also of activities from
the competitors. Very good customers we inform straight away about new
deliveries, new prices, changing in the production etc.
Accounting
It
is necessary to be exact informed about the extent from
production,
delivery,
and
returns
from
clothes. This called for a daily accounting as well as
with
the computer and
with
the books.
Every
individual step we record and book. Mistakes we search for and correct them.
Every end of an month, a quarter we must prepare a report.