Proud People Proud Nation

I can’t believe it’s already 10:45 on Monday night! I’m really not even sure where to begin, there’s so much already on my mind.

All my flights ran late, due to the ash cloud, and other unforeseen things, but all arrived in time for me to continue on the next leg of my journey. I met up with most of the group at Heathrow, which was so easy after having so much interaction together on Facebook, I recognized everyone. I finally managed to get about 3 hours sleep on that flight. Total time getting here was about 32 hours. It was actually raining when the flight touched down in Jo’burg., but then was brilliant sunshine when we first set foot in Zambia. As we were coming in to land in Livingstone, the pilot made a sharp turn so we could get we an amazing view of Victoria Falls.

ariel shot Victoria Falls

I’m not sure what the temperatures have been during the day, but let’s just say it’s amazingly hot and quite chilly at night. My worst fear came true and one bag was missing when I arrived, of course it was the one with the bulk of my stuff, but I have just heard they have located it and I should have it back by Wed. Luckily I had split most things up between bags and I have sufficient clean clothes to last till then. One of Patrica’s bags was also misplaced and that should arrive, along with mine.


So, enough about the travel to get here, let’s get started on what’s been happening already.

Maria met us at the airport along with Godwin, the Kalomo ADP manager, Eustance and Utant, two of the gentlemen that work at the office (Kathy waited at the Lodge). We learned right away that Mwayusa means good afternoon, Myvanpona is how are you? Kabotu is good/fine. The staff were warm and welcoming to this large group of Canadians that were arriving on their doorstep. I understand we are the largest group to ever visit the ADP and the only group to ever actually stay in Kalomo. We were driven to our accommodations for our first night on African soil (this year anyway, for some of us), the Wasawange Lodge in Livingstone. I could tell right away, on the drive from the airport, that this was not going to be the same kind of visit as I had last year in South Africa. Livingstone is a very small city, the roads in disrepair, most things looked run down, dirty and you could sense the air of poverty around you. The Wasawange Lodge was comfortable and clean, but even there you knew you weren’t in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. I had the sense of everything having a coat of dust on it. We unloaded our bags into our rooms (2 per, I was with Brooke) quickly cleaned ourselves up, then headed back into town to exchange our money into Kwacha. For a short time between then and today I was a millionaire! Approximately 1million Kwacha equals $225.00 US. What a huge wad of cash that is. They don’t use coins here, straight dollars and it’s very confusing for someone as mathematically challenged as me, to try and figure out the what things equal out to when paying or making a purchase. Good thing we have some math whiz’s along with us. We had a few street vendors come up to us and try and sell items (were told to ignore them.) and am happy to say I didn’t notice anyone with their hand out. From the bank we went to a supermarket, where we picked up some different dried goods for our own consumption, as Maria had warned us that we would find no “supermarkets” in Kalomo and if we wanted to stock up on some things, now was the time. It was a fine store, full of everything we have at home from dry goods to bakery and I was as overwhelmed again, as last year, at finding the same kinds of foods as at home, along with their traditional items. No souvenir/handicrafts were anywhere to be seen on any of the stops, and when I asked about the possibility, I was told that Victoria Falls will probably be the only chance. Another difference from SA. After filling our baskets we head to a very nice outdoor restaurant for dinner, where I managed to get myself a grilled cheese. Not very adventurous am I? Comfort food, that’s what I call it. The food, for me, was shall we say different, most thought it was quite good, I’m just so picky, I know. We went back to the Lodge and turned in for the night. I managed to sleep from about 9:30 till 2 am, then was up outside conversing with the bats again (another re-run from last year) and other critters. Nothing too strange as yet, but there are the constant mosquitoes, night AND day, with the malaria worry. (Day 3 and Helen tells us they get malaria at least once a year) I didn’t use the bed net, as I was afraid of waking up and getting wrap up in it, doing a scene from a Looney Tunes cartoon. Luckily I only heard 1 in the room during the night and he was quickly dispatched. Here in Kalomo it’s very dry, so I wouldn’t have expected many, as I always thought they needed water to lay their eggs, but there does seem to be an over abundance of them and I suppose, as I‘ve noticed many small pools of standing, stagnant water, that must be the breading grounds. I was up at 6:30 to have breakfast, which was scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, toast and juice. They don’t seem big on coffee here, most seem to have instant, but they’re big on tea. BUT, I did manage a latté with dinner which will have to hold me till the weekend, it looks like.

We left Wasawange Lodge about 9am, all 12 of us packed into 1 van, 5 per side bench and 2 up front, with all the luggage jammed into the other. The Zambian government is trying to improve the highways, consequently there was approx. 45 km of rough, dirt road to start (we got very close, very fast as we bounced and bobbed into each other). Lots of dust as trucks passed by the other side (they do drive on the ‘wrong’ side here as well). Sore butts and cramped legs were the norm by the time we arrived in Kalomo. It took about 1 ½ hours to get from Livingstone to here, and the temperature stared to soar soon after we were mobile. The landscape it quite flat, with a fair number of different species of trees and brush, not quite as barren as I was thinking it would be after my reading up about Zambia. We spotted numerous little gatherings of thatch huts along the way, quite literally in the middle of no where. We followed alongside the workings of the new highway in different areas and we saw how the workers had built little stick shelters to keep out of the sun, when the chance would arrive. We passed a make shift encampment for the workers and families at one point, which looked to be nothing more than rows of tin roofs and walls. The temperatures must have been excruciating inside them during the days. There seemed to be perhaps 50 men at one point working on the road, all manual labour. At the time we spotted them, they were emptying bags of what looked like dried cement out of sacks and into piles to then be raked out.
We later came across some parked heavy equipment for rolling the pavement, but the hard labour was all by hand. During the drive we spotted Elephant and Zebra crossing signs (went by to fast to get pictures) but unfortunately we weren’t blessed with seeing any wildlife. We passed through a small village of shops about mid point, maybe a dozen small buildings. After about an hour and a half we could tell we were arriving in Kalomo, there was an old tractor trundling down the highway loaded with sacks of corn, heading for the market.

I’m not sure what I was expecting Kalomo to look like, a small town I suppose, which by Zambian terms it is; but what I saw was more of what I would call a village. Perhaps the size of downtown Duncan, (on the Island) and most roads leading off the main highway were a sandy soil. The buildings we could see looked run down, depilated and coated in dust, exactly as you see on documentaries of rural African towns. We turned off the highway not far into the town, down another dirt road, around several bends and there was the First Choice Guest House. It’s laid out motel style, our rooms are small, but we have showers and they’re clean, if run down, and please, don’t take me wrong, the accommodations we have are more than adequate for our needs, I just want everyone to get the feel of the poverty surrounding us. Certainly not somewhere people back home would clamber to stay, but folks here are very proud of it. The people here may not have much, but each and everyone is proud of what they have and see around them. There is an amazing sense of community within the people of Zambia. We had a short time to unload our bags (each in our own separate rooms) then it was time to congregate in the reception hall of the Guest House to met the rest of the staff from the ADP main office here in Kalomo (there are 12 zones to the ADP area). Eighteen of the 23 staff were able to be in attendance, introductions were made all around, and just as Godwin was getting ready to do his power-point presentation about the work that the ADP has been doing, as last year, when something important was about to begin the power went out. After much rushing about trying to get a generator to work it was decided we would head over to the Office, it’s only a 5 minute walk, after lunch to finish up. Just then the power came back on and we were able to proceed. I hate to admit that I couldn’t comprehend a lot of what Godwin and the rest of the staff were explaining, due to the strong accents, where I was sitting and still being (only slightly) brain dead. I tried to use the recorder on the Mp3 player I brought, but somehow in turning it on, I must have hit a button and everything reverted to Japanese, so I couldn’t decipher which program I was needing; that was frustrating! I’m sure most of you have already read the details about Kalomo on the www.mychildsponsorship.ca website and don’t need a refresher on those facts, so I’ll just make note of few of the interesting things I remember.

There is a predominant amount of orphaned school children, due to HIV/AIDS and it is a constant challenge to be able to get them to school. We learned that the government has mandated that children do not have to wear uniforms to attend, which was so good to hear, but the distance they have to travel makes it very hard for most of them. Paying school fees is a hardship and more so all the time. Primary school goes from grades 1 through 7 and costs an average of $50.00 US a year. Basic school is grades 8 to 9 and costs $150 US for a year, which consist of 3 terms of 4 months each. High School is grades 10 to 12 and the cost rises to $150US per term (3 terms per year). These costs do not include books, pencils, paper, not to mention shoes, clothes etc. Most children will stop attending by grade 7, due to the costs. We asked what they would do then and were told as there is no work available, they sit at home and do nothing, just staring at the walls. Work is a challenge to find even if they do finish school, a college education is of utmost importance to acquiring work. College requires moving to one of the cities to attend and that is the only place jobs may be available as well. As money is scarce, few manage to get that far. As we witnessed last year in South Africa, the need for industry of some sort seems to be one of the most important things needed to take these countries out of the poverty. Things like micro enterprise being offered by World Vision, through donations to the Gift Catalogue, make a HUGE impact on the lives of the people in these countries; offering a chance to start small businesses, which in turn allow the people to hire others to help run their enterprises as they grow, giving all a chance towards more sustainable lives.

HIV/AIDS is still devastating the country, but it is becoming easier for people to access preventative education and receive treatment as more clinics are being built in the rural areas. There has not been a significant reduction in the numbers infected, they are still struggling with mother to child infections and few have access to the ARV’s due to the poverty. World Vision has many projects on the go, to try and ease some of the suffering and get more information out to people, such as the Project Hope program.

We stopped for our lunch, then headed over to the ADP office which is located within 3 buildings holding very small, cramped and exceedingly hot offices. No air conditioning for these poor folks and they have tried to make room in each office for 2 or more people which makes for what must be hard working conditions, not something we at home can even begin to imagine working in. I was so excited to see the bags of mail waiting to go out to the sponsor children in one of the offices. I met Helen there and she told me how excited the children get when they receive messages from their sponsors, even a postcard is treasured, carried with them and shown to all. I’ve always thought since I started sponsoring, how important it is to correspond with your child, and now even more so, knowing that their sponsor, on the other side of the world has taken the time to say Hi is such a thrill for them, they feel King or Queen for the day (or week or month). It’s so easy to bring that much joy to these children.

After our visit we were given the opportunity to go to the ‘Market’ so we could purchase food for our home visits, if we so desired. That was an unbelievable experience. I’m not sure I can even put it into words, I may have to let the pictures do the talking here.

I was truly dumbfound by what we experienced! I have never encountered such a maze of stalls and what they were selling, but we managed to pick up beans, fish and oil for the families along with the earlier purchase of maize, which they use for so many meals. It’s the main staple of life here. I was also able to purchase the much sought after electric kettle, as mine is still missing in action. Joy found everywhere! With that under our belts we came back ‘home’ for dinner where we discussed the days activities and the 3 most memorable experience of each person, all with lively discussions. It was a late night to bed for most of us, midnight or so and as I was awoken at 4 by the rooster next door who decided it was time for me to get up, I am going to end now. I do want to say though as I work here tonight again at midnight and the fellow is already crowing, we will be having chicken dinner tomorrow!

SORRY FOLKS, NO MORE PICTURES, IT'S TAKING OVER 10 MINS TO UPLOAD EACH PIC.

Remember we're running on African Time. Hakuna Matata

The suspence will just have to build ;0)