Journeying on to the first world in the third world

My last day in Zambia ended on a rather sour note. One of our friendlier security guards was playing football with one of the other volunteers, stopped to take a break and started coughing uncontrollably. He soon started coughing big clots of blood; we tried to get an ambulance or other transportation to get him to the hospital but they came some 30 minutes after his coughing started. It was torturous watching him cough so much blood and being powerless to do much to help; he wasn’t in pain either. He’d already started losing consciousness by the time the vehicle arrived and he passed away en route to the hospital. Apparently, it was an AIDS related event – he suffered organ failure. We were so shocked by the whole episode; just 3 hours prior to that, I was joking around with him and he was in his usual jovial mood, perfectly normal. A matter of hours later, he was no more. The volunteer who was playing football with him and who was by his side right to the end, suffered the hardest. Know I’m saying the obvious but it really makes you think how fickle life is and how we should all appreciate the people we love [and hopefully who love us back] cause unfortunately death does not usually offer forewarnings – it’s just lazy like that! May his soul rest in peace

Sadly, life goes on so I was up bright and early the next morning [not that I slept very much that night in any case] for my 8-hour bus-ride to Lusaka. I did catch up on sleep and read for the rest of my time on the bus. I caught a cab to my Lusaka friend’s house (my Lusaka friend, for those that recall is the friend of Miss L’s with whom I crashed on my first night in Zambia), where I was to be crashing for the night. She cooked me a very nice meal, we watched some TV and I was asleep soon thereafter, a much better night’s rest than the previous

Keen to avoid all encumbrances on my journey to SA, I made my way to the airport well in advance of my due check-in time. I whiled away the time with some reading and people watching – I love people watching, it’s one of my favourite sports : ); there was the odd chuckle during that time. I made it to Jo’burg safe and sound, picked up my luggage and caught my connecting flight to Durban. It was pretty late and rainy when we arrived in Durban. Thankfully, there was someone there to meet me. We were soon seated in a warm, comfortable vehicle, making our way to St Lucia, my new home for the next four weeks. Our journey there was about 3 hours; it rained the whole time and was pitch black so there wasn’t much to see on the way, just lots of very tall trees. I do acknowledge that given my veritable height of 5’2.5”, my perspective of very tall may well be skewed, but would ask you to take my word: they were damn tall, those trees! Apparently the Kwazulu Natal province, which has amongst other towns, Durban and St Lucia is made up of many game reserve parks and other nature conservation initiatives. So I will be seeing a lot more tall trees in the coming weeks, if I get around

I know I’ve said a few words previously on how well developed the parts of SA I’ve seen are. Well St Lucia is no different. It’s a very quaint, beautifully scenic tourist town. Driving round the whole town takes no more than 20 – 30 minutes – it’s that small! Imagine well tarred roads arranged like a tic-tac-toe board. Each road is lined with perfectly manicured lawns and tall palm trees, where appropriate. Each street has a mixture of holiday homes, guesthouses, holiday flats for rent and such. Very few people actually live in St Lucia. The town centre is furnished with a good mix of restaurants, a shopping arcade, coffee shops, a fruit and curio market and a couple of banks. The Indian ocean is a walking distance from all this and even has an estuary into which Lake St Lucia flows to join it [“it” being the Indian ocean]. This part of the Indian ocean is rather rough with huge waves that slap the sand dunes on its banks. It’s just gorgeous. As you may have deduced, there are not many people in St Lucia, even during the peak tourist season of Dec – Mar, so the beaches are nice and clear usually. I know I will be taking some long walks along those shores in the coming days

The volunteer house is a complexly well-designed house made of stone. I still don’t know how many rooms there really are, but there are many of them. I share one with a Brit girl and it’s nice and comfortable, complete with air conditioning. Our living/dining area is large, decorated with wooden structures and African paraphernalia in a way that matches it’s stone exterior. There is a lovely stone-built kitchen as well and a small chill-out room with a pool table. There is a swimming pool and braai (SA lingo for barbecue) area and a scenic view of our street. It’s not a bad pad at all!

Work has already begun in earnest. Most of our work is done in a nearby village called Kuhla. It’s quite the contrast to St Lucia: untarred roads, a mixture of mud huts and brick houses, all haphazardly scattered across its uneven landscape. There are hardly any trees lining its streets, rather a mix of street vendors and tall grass and of course no street lights! Without the providence of the moon, it’s cast into pitch black dark at night. It’s just what you’d expect a third world setting to look like…and just round the way, is our beautiful St Lucia – amazing. I will be sure to relay my observations of how this dynamic affects life on either side of the divide. I am working with a lot of babies on this project, which I’m totally loving, they are just too adorable and I’m in love with a couple of them already!

The weather hasn’t been great thus far so hopefully that improves and I get to do some outdoor activities too!

Another Farewell

After nearly a month of hard work, fun and basking in Zambian hospitality, I find another farewell upon me. I will miss many things in Zambia; my time here has been very memorable. I often get asked what I will miss the most when I’m leaving a place and since it’s something I don’t habitually give a lot of thought to, I usually fumble. I’ve only recently begun to get into the habit of reflecting on my experiences and deciding on the best answer to this question. For Zambia, it will be working with my students. They are great and have enriched my experience here in ways that words cannot express. As a tribute to them, I wanted to say a few words about each of them. I know I will come back to this post many months [or years] from now to remind myself of what beautiful people they are. Hopefully you can also share my appreciation of them

My memory is very much photographic so the order of the kids below is per the seating arrangement in class; here goes:

Memory: the youngest in the class and also one of the smartest. Math is her weakness though a lot of it has to do with a lack of confidence. Her strength is in English. She has a beautiful smile that she generously greets everyone with and a shy laugh

Abel: gorgeously dimpled smile. He often wears a serious expression like he’s deep in thought; I often wonder what he thinks about. Very keen student, most likely to raise his hand and take a shot at answering a question even if he doesn’t have the right answer and it makes him look stupid – I admire that. Evidently, he is very humble

Dunken: yes, I got the spelling right. He is the class clown. Just the sight of him cracks me up sometimes – tall and lanky; goofy smile and always saying something funny [often silly] or taking shots at someone. His playfulness is his folly; I think he is a smart person, just too unserious to spend time learning anything. His ability to make people laugh and touch them will take him places. Beneath all the tomfoolery lies a thoughtful, caring person

Natasha: pretty face and smile. She always has something funky going on with her hair. She is quite shy and unsure of herself but also studious and very good at English. She is one of the quieter ones hence our interaction has been limited

Namuchana: incredibly shy and hardworking. She struggles with English, which I think makes understanding me sometimes quite the challenge. She did get better in my time here as I tried to take the time to explain myself when I noted this. I found that as with a few others, her limited confidence made her reticent to attempt speaking this foreign tongue. She is emotional and very sweet; she cried on my last day

Victor: one of the best students in the class. He is very quiet, which can make him unnoticeable. He usually watches me intently with his intelligent eyes, a bit daunting

Pamela: also quite bright. Good at reading and speaking English. Very good at Math, when she can figure out her multiplication tables, that is. She has a mature and confident demeanor, like she always knows exactly what she is doing

Memory: sweet, dimpled smile. She likes singing and dancing and is very good at it actually. Not bad academically either, though she does not take her mistakes too well. She will try something over and over again till she gets it right – commendable! I like her outgoing nature. One afternoon, I had them all talk about their hobbies – just to take a turn away from our usual routine of figures of speech, multiplication tables and such. She was the first to ask what my hobbies were, after they were done…it soon turned into a singing and dancing session. Fun!

Ruth: cheerful disposition and quite unserious. One gets the sense that she views school as something of a burden. Not surprising then that she is often absent. She enjoys dancing and is good at it

Brian: very proud/confident – it’s even evident in his gait and posture. He is smart and likes to think that he always has the right answers but of course, doesn’t. It’s quite amusing sometimes, watching his facial expression when he’s told his answer isn’t quite right – it reads: “are you sure? Cause I’m pretty sure I’m right”. His confidence might be able to get him out of many a tricky situation

Maxwell: don’t see much of him - get the sense that school is not really a priority. When he’s there, he’s playful and easily distracted. It was impossible to track his progress or give him any sort of individual help consequently – a bit of a shame. He’s very good at art though, as evidenced by the funky drawings sprawled over his notebooks

Rosta: quite bright and a bit of a diva. She doesn’t like to be wrong, makes a conscious effort to avoid it and hates being laughed at (the kids often laugh at each other over silly things; it’s not mean-spirited, just the sort of thing one does at that age – not to be taken seriously). Hence, you won’t catch her saying something stupid on a regular basis. She rocks a funky perm very well! :P

Nicholas: quiet and partially deaf (I found out about a week into my time at the school) – think the latter results in the former. I tried my best to account for this when speaking – he sat at in the front row, which helped. He’s very good at Math, especially mental arithmetic. He’s also shy, which I find endearing

Carol: masculine features – she loves football! Very good at English – spoken, read and written. I made them write essays about what they want to be when they grow up – punishment for a misdemeanor of sorts. She produced a very well written piece; I was impressed! She is conscientious and diligent. She has a lovely smile and quiet disposition. Don’t be fooled though, she CAN shake her tail feather!

Richard: very playful (I know it’s a common trait in boys that age but he kind of takes it to another level). He consequently suffers academically but with stern guidance, picks up things here and there. He usually wears a cheeky grin and avoids eye contact

Treavour: also reasonably playful and unserious. He waffles his way through tasks, even when given some attention. He was one of my challenges, figuring how to break through all that, I mean. Can’t say I was successful but I did try. He has a cheerful disposition, to his credit

Andrew: very good at Math maybe cause his brain appears to be methodical and logical. Doesn’t say much but has a cheeky smile. If he’s bored, he’ll be caught doodling or doing some kind of art. I recently found out that he’s Brian’s cousin

Josphat (Joe): the alpha male of the class, I daresay. He’s good-looking, trendy and smart and though aware of it, not at all conceited or arrogant. He speaks very good English and is ambitious. Takes school very seriously and actually gets annoyed when his friends fool around in the lessons. He also has a brilliant smile and is a good dancer – I concluded after seeing his moonwalk

Mistry: slightly shy though another funky hair queen. She takes herself quite seriously so humour is often lost to her. She loves school and is usually enthusiastic about it. She also likes to cook, apparently

Veronica: great voice (in singing terms I mean). She’s strong-willed and no-nonsense in her ways. I do admire her boldness; it’s a rare trait, especially at that age. Quite good academically

Mushiba: one of the more silent ones but don’t be fooled by that. She is very good at her schoolwork and I think the silence is a reflection of shyness rather than not having anything sensible or interesting to say

Hopeday: in Dunken’s absence, he is the class clown. He’s also my self-appointed teaching assistant; if I need to sort out class control, he’s usually on the case before I can even think it! We all had a Hopeday in our classrooms growing up; he’s what some would consider “the class snitch”. I find his antics highly amusing; he always puts a smile on my face. He’s also very eager to learn new things and would, like Abel, be more willing to take chances in the learning process

Brona: always silent with an air of melancholy. One might be tempted to think that she wears a scowl very well, but I came to the conclusion that she is somewhat withdrawn and may not have much reason to smile. It doesn’t help that her classmates sometimes pick on her cause I guess they don’t understand why she is a little bit “weird”. My heart goes out to her and I made the effort to include her in everything. Academically, she is not very strong…think there is a language barrier issue as well; her English is not very good and I think she just blanks out a lot of what goes on in the class as a result. Mr. L and I talked about it once and the way he gets around it is to speak in Chitonga and Nyanja (the local languages in Livingstone). I obviously could not replicate that, but I did try to get around the problem best I could. I found her intense and rather austere facial expressions a little disturbing

Chanda: cheerful and playful. Pretty good academically though he struggles with Math. He has this way of staring into space for ages…I wonder what he thinks about!

Nephias: doesn’t say much in my presence but quite talkative when amongst his friends. He is also quite unserious about schoolwork though I started to sense that his seeming lack of interest was due to the fact that he may not be getting much out of classes. Perhaps his small stature and the fact that he sits at the back of the class did not help in noticing him. I made an effort to include him in the lessons, seek his thoughts, etc…his attitude did change some


I poured my heart and soul into working with these kids. While I can’t say that my month with them made great changes in their lives and/or learning experience, I think they did learn a thing or two. The head teacher made the effort to thank me personally for my efforts in my time there so I may have done a few things right. I will miss them sorely and I know the feeling was reciprocated

On my last day, we had a little jamming session: drumming, music, dancing, soft drinks and some cake. Of course, they did far more singing and dancing than I did cause they are way more talented! After all the mayhem, there was fervent hugging all around and a few tears, though not from me. I saved it till I was in the privacy of my room – usually the best way for me. As the bus drove me away, with the evening sun making its descent, long faces and frantic hands waved goodbye. I really, really wish I could stay…then I remind myself that I have to pull it together and face my next challenge/adventure

Livingstone Shinanegans

As per usual, it’s now time for an update on the fun stuff. I think my time in Livingstone has been relatively tame but will leave you to judge that for yourselves

My first weekend was spent at one of the many islands on the Zambezi river, which is appropriately named Jungle Junction. The Zambezi is Zambia’s biggest river, running from the north of the country, working its way Westwards then joining the Chobe river down south [somewhere near Livingstone] at the joint border with Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. Jungle Junction is essentially a jungle island that serves as a get-away destination for tourists and locals in Livingstone. There are several huts scattered around the island, which can house up to 25 people, maybe more. Each hut has the basics – bed, mosquito net and bamboo shelves. Some didn’t have doors so naughty monkeys on the island could barge in and rummage through one’s belongings at any point. Most huts had a clear [and stunning] view of the river. I shared a hut with 2 girls, a Brit and a Cypriot. There is no electricity on the island so candles and torches helped us get around at night. The showers were communal and outdoors, pretty cool actually. Privacy was not always guaranteed; there was the risk of a Peeping Tom having a peek through the cracks of the bamboo walls…err, showers were very speedy! We made the journey out there on a Friday afternoon; the evening was spent at the candlelit bar trying on [and fooling around in] fancy hats, drinking all sorts of beverages and having some intense conversations. The jungle was alive with nature’s music that night. Surprisingly we all slept very well, in spite of the “noise” and real threat of being attacked by wild animals. We woke up to the song of birds and the bright rays of the early morning sun. After breakfast, we all got into canoes and paddled across to a smaller island nearby for a beach-like experience. These islands (in some cases, more like large sandbanks) all have beach sand, so with some beach towels, sun and a bit of imagination, it WAS like being on the beach. We spent the morning there, reading, chatting and frolicking in the river despite the risk of crocs (as in the animal, not the brand of shoes) or hippos popping out at any point. After lunch, we made our way back to Jungle Junction. Some people went off to explore the island, while some extended the lazing around. A few others ventured off on the river in canoes and did a trip round the island. Closer to dusk, a few of us went for a sunset canoe ride. The sunset wasn’t as amazing as anticipated but we did appreciate the serene atmosphere on the river. That night was our final one on the island; we decided to go wild with good music and some dancing. I believe some even opted for singing, which was very entertaining. Less apprehensive about sleeping in the jungle, we retired that night and went straight to sleep. We were quite sad to leave the next day. The island had a unique peacefulness about it that we knew we would miss in the hustle and bustle of Livingstone life

The following weekend, 15 other volunteers and I ventured out to Botswana for a couple of days. The border is located about an hour away from Livingstone; we set off on a Friday afternoon and were in Chobe, Botswana 2 hours or so later; immigration and such took up the rest of the time. The plan was to set up tents and camp for the night at a campsite and go on a game drive early the next morning. We ventured out to the township that afternoon. Chobe [and Kasani, the nearby town] seemed well developed: good roads, shopping malls, etc. We had a little wander around [strangely saw a warthog resting in the parking lot at the mall!] and went back to our campsite around early evening. The tents had been set up; it would be my first experience of sleeping in a proper outdoor tent [not the semi permanent ones i'd encountered thus far] so I was excited. Dinner was a barbecue feast around a warm fire; it was delicious! We retired early that night, as we had to be up at 5.30am the next morning for the game drive. I slept very well that night, certainly better than I expected; no mosquitoes, no attacks from stray lions or hippos! I could get used to this outdoor life! After a light breakfast, we made our way to the Chobe National Park. The game drive was cool; we saw kudus, waterbucks, (both members of the antelope family), elephants [a lot of elephants!], hippos, crocs, eagles, many strange birds, impala [lots of them] and guinea fowls! The park had the Chobe river running through it and other great scenes of nearby hills. We could also see Namibia from one section of it. We went back to camp for a proper breakfast – toast, cereal, fruit and the tastiest omelette I’ve ever had. The dude who prepared it used leftovers from the previous night and it was just one of those that had everything thrown in: potatoes, onions, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and God-knows-what-else. It was too scrumptious! We packed our stuffed bodies into the truck shortly after breakfast – the extended version and made our way home. There was a lot of sleeping on that bus!

That Sunday, we decided to spend part of the day at one of the posh hotels located near the Victoria Falls. It’s one of those places you go to if you are retired and have some money to get rid of or if you are rich; US$300 a night is NOT how I roll. It had everything on the premises – real AND fake wildlife, curio shops, an ATM, swimming pool, live music, an entertainment centre…even Victoria Falls! AI has some sort of arrangement with them so we get to go and hang out there whenever we feel like it. Anyway, the pool was very nice so we got some swimming done, played Frisbee [in the pool], ordered some lunch and for a few hours, pretended we belonged in that place. We joked about it constantly. After a few hours of seeing life on the other side, we sauntered over to Vic Falls. It is the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen – how a crack in the earth’s crust can make your heart skip is just testament to what a wonderfully well-created world we live in. Vic Falls is right on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe so we saw it from the Zambian side. I would love to see it from the Zimbabwean side but there are many other things I want to see in Zimbabwe, not enough time, so I will have to book a trip out there at some stage, with one or two of my favourite people. The Falls are so deep that looking down them makes one dizzy. We ventured as close to the edge as we could, taking photos and just enjoying the scenery - a lovely way to end the weekend

The last weekend gone was a quieter one. I spent the Saturday at the museum in the Livingstone, which was very interesting. I love museums and learning about the history of countries. The artefacts displayed dated as far back as the stone ages and ran right through to independence and modern life in Zambia. Very insightful! I also got some curio shopping done [as if I haven’t done enough of that…I really need to stop buying stuff!]. The evening was relaxed – movies, dinner, some conversation. Some of the guys had gone white-water rafting on the Zambezi so we listened to the stories they had to tell; it sounded like a lot of fun. As I’d done rafting on the Nile, I’d opted out of this one

Sunday was spent lazing around for most of the day. We’d had some rain the last couple of days and that morning we had the final downpour for the weekend. It made sleeping in a very attractive prospect, one I thoroughly relished. After a late lunch, we made our way to the Zambezi Sun – the posh hotel described above. We quickly nipped to Vic Falls to catch the sunset – amazing. The water had dried up, okay not really. The water from the Zambezi is used to generate electricity in Livingstone and surrounding towns. With the dry season coming up, the water is rationed between electricity generation and running the falls. Sunday was one day that the water was scheduled to be used for electricity. There was still some water at the falls but not nearly as much as is usually there. We had drinks at the hotel to mark the end of a couple of fellow volunteers’ stay in Livingstone. We then went home for few rounds of dominoes and UNO

I’ve scouted round a few restaurants and bars as well. Limpo’s is the local pub and a few of the other volunteers hang out there often; I’ve tagged along on occasion. The restaurants around town usually cater to Western Cuisines, which is fine as I have a good deal of Nshima at the house and its nice to mix it up every now and again. I’ve also been to Rhapsody’s, a South African chain of bars; more upscale [and pretentious] and caters to tourists and expatriates in the area; they serve very good desserts though. Most of my evenings have been spent at the house hanging out with the other volunteers, which was never a waste of time and usually filled with a lot of laughter

I plan to go to Vic Falls next Saturday – I really can’t get enough of it. The plan is to venture over to Devil’s Pool, an experience, which is meant to be terrifying but after bungeeing and white-water rafting, BRING IT ON! [said tongue-in-cheek]
Can’t believe I have only one week left in Zambia [12 left in my trip; 18 weeks in the bag!]. Time is zapping by with a quickness! Next stop, St. Lucia – the African version!

Working in Livingstone

Prior to my arrival in Zambia, I’d acquainted with a few people, at other AI projects, who had worked on the Livingstone project in the past. Their view of the experience was very positive, setting a reasonably high expectation on my part. Have to say that it has been all they said it would be and more. Allow me to shed some light on what the work out here entails

Our days (Mondays – Fridays) are split into morning and afternoon activities. The morning session is broadly split into 3 areas: teaching, medical and sports (I signed up for teaching). At 7.45am each morning, we are driven to our various projects and picked up between 11.15 and 11.45am. After some lunch and rest, we head to our afternoon activities, which is mostly community support-type work. We are usually out from about 1.45pm to 4.30pm. Our evenings are free and we’ll usually be sat on the porch/courtyard of the house playing games (UNO, dominoes, Orijinz, Poker, etc), chatting or sat in the living area watching DVDs. The atmosphere at the house is very chilled and yet again, I find myself with a lovely bunch of people and for the most part, we all get along just fine

The AI teaching project involves working with primary schools in the local area. The primary school system in Zambia consists of private schools (for those who can afford it), basic schools (which are predominantly government-funded) and community schools (usually set up by people or organisations in the local community, who receive next to no help from the government). AI works with the community schools mostly, offering some assistance to basic schools on an ad hoc basis. I’m told that at some of the community schools, the teachers work as volunteers and, in some cases, don’t even get paid. In other cases, they turn up when they feel like it and AI volunteers have to single-handedly run classes. I was assigned to a school where the teachers do get paid, if even a meagre salary. On the first day of work, I met the head teacher, a lovely lady with a motherly disposition. She asked that I join grade 7 as a teaching assistant. At grade 7, kids are usually about 11 – 12 years old. Due to a plethora of problems however, the children in my class are aged 12 – 18 years (I’m told that some of them suffer erratic school attendance spurred by problems at home; sometimes they move homes and schools and have to move a step back; just to name a few reasons for the wide range in age). The teacher of the class, Mr. L, had other plans for me, work wise. 2 hours on the job, he had me in front of the class teaching Math. That was a trial of some sort because when I was done, he decided I was good enough to take over teaching Math and English for the duration of my time at the school. He furnished me with the timetable, syllabus and textbooks (hats of to the ministry of education in Zambia [or whoever is in charge]; the syllabus is very comprehensive and the text books are well written by Zambians) - talk about hitting the ground running. It’s been quite the experience and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I try to keep the classes fun, interactive and engaging (something I gather they are not used to and in some cases, I can tell that I am perceived as the teacher from hell – which is okay, as long as they are learning). The kids are great; well-behaved, lively senses of humour and, for the most part, keen to learn. My main challenge is that sometimes I teach, go through a few examples, they insist that the lesson has been fully understood [and quick quizzes confirm this], then they get homework and come back with the most atrocious grades – immensely frustrating. Part of the problem, I think, is that due to a combination of erratic attendance and education through the years, a lack of decent teaching facilities, bad teaching (lets face it, if the teachers are not being paid well or unqualified, they will not be giving their best. Plus for the community schools, since there aren’t enough teachers, they each have to take on so many subjects that there is not enough time to delve into the problems that any one subject may pose AND complete the syllabus each year) these kids have lost out on some of the basics. It’s near impossible to teach new concepts when the foundation for said concepts have not been fully grasped. We’ve had to go back to basics on quite a few things – which again is okay, as long as they are learning. The saddest part of all this is that their final exams are in a month or so and I don’t think that most of them are adequately prepared for it. We are going through mock exams at the moment and it’s only highlighting this fact very painfully. If they fail these exams next month, they will not be admitted to secondary school and will have to wait another year to re-sit them (essentially repeat Grade 7). Of course, what can to be done to help them prepare for it will be done in the little time left

The medical project involves working with the major hospitals in the area and providing home-based care to patients who have been referred by the hospitals AI affiliates with. As one may expect, most of the medical project volunteers are medical students, have a medical background or an interest in medicine. At the hospitals, they are involved in menial tasks – weighing babies, taking patients’ temperatures, noting vital statistics and assisting the nurses and doctors. If they are brave or wish to, they are welcome to sit in on overnight deliveries of babies – quite a few of them opt to. I’m told that the local medical expertise at these hospitals is usually sub-standard. Doctors prescribe panadol for just about any ailment and usually approach their work with a generous amount of blasé. I think that the reality, as with all other professions in Zambia [and indeed across the continent], is that there has been/is a massive brain-drain and the best doctors leave in pursuit of greener pastures elsewhere as they will never be paid well for what their skills are worth [think anyone in their position would make similar choices, so this is by no means a criticism]. Apparently, it’s so bad that the Zambian government, for a while, was offering ridiculous packages to expatriate doctors to incentivise them to come over, which only incensed the already disgruntled local medical community. The nonchalant attitude mentioned above may well reflect this discontent

The home-based care is a lot more challenging and requires more expertise, as I understand it. AI works with facilitators in each community (mostly well regarded folks who act as translators) to streamline the process. The idea is, when patients get discharged from hospitals (sometimes a little earlier than is required, due to a lack of enough facilities for the volume of patients that have to be hospitalized), the AI volunteers provide a door-to-door service where they check on these patients, receive status updates and administer medication if required. Of course, if they lack the expertise to deal with complications, which do arise on a regular basis, then this help becomes somewhat counter-productive. For now, there isn’t a qualified medic on the AI team and they have to rely on volunteers with experience to deal with said complications. One thing that could work longer term is providing the local home-carers (called facilitators above) with some training so that they are able to give decent medical assistance AND provide longevity in dealing with the patients – something AI volunteers will never be able to do. There are currently a couple of experienced medical volunteers who have spearheaded the process for getting these folks trained. It seems to be working well and hopefully should produce the desired result. The home-based care is a brilliant idea and once fully functional, will prove invaluable to the local community

The sports project entails working with the AI-affiliated community schools to teach PE. The AI volunteers assigned to these projects usually run the PE classes in all the schools, with some assistance from the class teachers. The children love PE and as I’ve witnessed with my own class, participate in the lessons with gusto! It’s a fun project and given the kids’ attitude, tends to feel immensely rewarding for the volunteers involved

The array of community work that AI does via the afternoon sessions is vast. This is great but also comes with its woes. Part of the idea behind some of these projects is that AI jumpstarts initiatives in the community to create jobs and cover the startup costs that limit people from getting involved in some of these business ideas, then AI eventually hands over completely to the local community. It seems that it is not completely working, with some communities seemingly 100% reliant on AI’s efforts without lifting a finger – very frustrating [and infuriating, to be perfectly honest]. So, until some sort of compromise is reached with these communities, AI has to run these projects alongside the longer term ones. Somewhat inevitably, this has knock-on effects on how well these projects are managed. By virtue of the fact that there are so many activities, it’s not surprising that sometimes there are management blunders (it probably doesn’t help that there are only 3 people in charge of running the whole thing). Anyway, allow me to shed more light on each project

Old Peoples’ Home
This is home to about 40 elderly people, who apparently, have no one to look after them, so get placed in the home upon request or referral from hospitals. The home was set up and run by the Zambian Ministry of Health, with a limited number of paid staff. The living conditions are adequate but most definitely not marvelous. Volunteer organisations like AI assist with various daily tasks pertaining to the old folks, mostly cleaning and keeping them entertained. Personally, I find it an enjoyable experience, though understandably, some people find it dull. To entertain them, we usually sit and chat with them or play games; BINGO and the memory game are all-time favourites – they play these games day-in, day-out, for hours at a time and don’t tire. I like being around them, it has something of a calming effect, I find. It’s also interesting to see evidence of how life takes us all full circle – some of the older folks giggle and clap their hands as they go through storybooks [with pictures], much like a 4-year old would. A few of them are incapacitated so need help moving around and they seem to enjoy the company we provide. My favourite, is a lady called Joyce, who is blind but likes to spend her time drawing [read scribbling] with different colours. It just so happened that today is International Day for the Aged so a small ceremony was held to celebrate the day. Our afternoon with the old folks turned into a jamming session. We had a barrel of laughs watching these “youngins” shaking their “tail feathers”! Too funny! We even joined in! There were some traditional drummers and dancers, who entertained, food, drinks, everything a good party should have!

Building project
A couple of the schools are still run out of mud-hut classrooms. AI has started an initiative to build classrooms at these schools and volunteers get involved with that. We are currently working on a building, which is at the plastering stage. Thanks to the compulsory brick and mortar class I took when I was about 12 – 13, this work is not completely alien to me. It’s tasking on the physicals but immensely rewarding to see it all coming together. Thanks to AI’s efforts, quite a few of the schools now have only brick buildings and are pretty well maintained

Farming Project
AI has started a couple of farming initiatives in the township, which are mainly aimed at providing sustainable jobs and a source of food to folks in the community. As referenced earlier, these have not all worked according to plan in terms of AI’s involvement vs. that of the community. So, volunteers usually go along each afternoon to water the plants, weed and tidy up. Ideally, these tasks should be taken over by the local communities but it seems they are perfectly content to reap the benefits of the initiative while reticent to get involved in the hard work. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, they will start to take responsibility and AI can wean itself off the project and focus on more pressing things

Reading and Art Clubs
For the AI-affiliated schools, informal workshops are run on a daily basis to give the kids a chance to read more and do some artwork, something they are not likely to get at home. It’s a great idea though some of the kids are boisterous [and damn near uncontrollable] so it can be quite the challenge getting them to focus. The slightly serious ones are usually keen and can sit for substantial amounts of time attempting to read or create something on their own. I commend their efforts. For the more recalcitrant ones, a good game of Hangman sometimes keeps them in check

Adult Literacy Course
This is an informal English tutorial for adults in the local community who choose to partake. The attendees are usually young mothers (who may not have completed formal education), farmers, market women, etc. They are taught at four levels: introduction, beginners, intermediate and advanced. The course runs for 3 months at a time for each level. Participants then graduate to the next level, save the advanced, who get a certificate and should be at a level where they can apply for jobs that require English. As with similar programmes encountered in other countries, the students are very keen and take the class very seriously

Family Support
This is an informal playtime session with local kids. We go along with toys and games and a whole bunch of them turn up and we play and have fun. The children are usually energetic and can be quite a handful. That said, a good game of football or jumping rope never killed anyone

HIV Education
An informal HIV course has been put together to help spread the word about the disease. Even though it’s quite common to see billboards with varying tidbits on the subject all around Livingstone, there are still some myths [read misconceptions] about HIV and AIDS. The attendees take the classes very seriously and from what I’m told, usually don’t miss any lessons. Certificates of education are handed out at the end of each course. One problem is that single parties vs. couples; tend to attend these classes, meaning that sometimes the benefits are not fully realized. A story I was told a day or two ago fully highlights this: a lady had been receiving HIV education for a few days and the latest lesson was on the use of condoms. At the end of the lesson, the students were each given a condom. Suspecting her husband of infidelity and fearing the risk of contracting HIV, she asked that he use a condom during sex that night. He did not only refuse, but also beat her to a pulp [and possibly raped her]. She is still recovering and may never come back to the class. Apparently, most cultures in Zambia forbid a woman to say no to her husband if he asks for sex. Refusal is tantamount to a punishable offense. The AI HIV course tries to factor in some of these cultural elements, I think. However, the limitations of any kind of education in the midst of said cultural elements is obvious

Clearly, the project is comprehensive. I’m enjoying all the parts that I’m involved in and commend AI for its efforts in Livingstone. While some of the projects will need to be streamlined and prioritized to make the most of them, I believe that the work being done currently will no doubt yield good results. The local community will, in some cases, have to be more proactive and recognize the help they are receiving and take responsibility, for these initiatives to be successful. I would love to come back in a few years to see how some of these projects turn out