Drew's African Odyssey - Mwange Refugee Camp, Zambia

We were out at the camp again today. One of the coaches organized a dance spectacle to commemorate the last day of school exams. WOW, can the Congolese dance! There were about 6 performances: everything from Mumbo, to breakdancing to Rafiki (famous Congolese singer). It was unfortunate that the batteries ran out of the stereo halfway through and we had to scramble to get some more. Quite the experience…

The night was spent at a barbeque (called a Brie) at the Red Cross Club. The Red Cross has recently built a place for people from the NGO’s to hang out at, drink, socialize, watch TV and play pool. I met a bunch of people there and even got myself into a pool tournament. Tommorrow we’re having an Easter feast with a friend from the Red Cross, our driver Peter and a friend from the Ministry of Home Affairs. I’m really looking forward to it…

We had about 25 people at our workshop today, and it went really, really well. Im still learning a lot from Sophie, who organized and did most of the workshop. The refugees are all very keen to learn and were very appreciative of what we taught to them.

But the day wasn’t all good. We found out that one of our community equipment boxes had been broken into and a bunch of balls and nets had been stolen… unfortunately there’s not much we can do but replace them and hope it doesn’t happen again. I guess the lock had been picked… and security guards weren’t doing their jobs…

On a more humorous note, people in the camp are mixing me up with the UN security officer who has recently been posted here. He is also very tall and dark featured. It is not a good thing to be mistaken for this guy though, as currently the refugees are in protest against the UN because of their food rations. Normally they are given Maize, but as of late they have been receiving sorghum, which is a cheaper alternative that isn’t as easy to prepare as maize. Whenever we are driving around the camp we hear “Masaka” which means “sorghum” in Swahili – the word that they use to protest their food rations…

More meetings in the camp… I’ve met most of our coaches (people we’ve trained in the Right to Play curriculum) and I'm starting to learn names… Most people have a Swahili and a Christian name, the Swahili name being a lot harder for me to remember. And people have real trouble learning the name Drew.

My French is ok now, though most young kids will only speak Swahili, so it’s very hard to communicate with them.
It is a little tough being the only person around with white skin. People are constantly staring at you and it’s impossible to go around without people noticing you. One of the most interesting times is going to the market… impossible to just fade into the crowd. People want to shake your hand and say hello… I miss the huge North American malls where I could just blend in…

Day spent at home on the computer planning for future workshops and preparing our reports for head office. On Friday we are organizing a “Problem Solving” workshop for coaches.

I also went to tour the market – very interesting. I’ve gotten to know a couple of the shop keepers and I hang out down in the market for awhile during my shopping. Today I bought seeds for a garden and the guard and I planted tomatoes, onions and carrots. Hopefully, they’ll be ready before the project is over.

I wanted to let everybody know that due to our very lousy phone line here in Mporokoso, we’ve managed to get a satellite phone, anyone who would like to get a hold of me – follow these directions… Any calls would be greatly appreciated… Just remember the 10 hour time difference (ahead) from Zambia to Canada.

For people in Canada to call our satellite phone!!

• Our number is 01188216-52017610 (complete with country and area code!... I think…)

• The airtime provider is SatCom Distribution Ltd – www.satcomdistribution.com
• An airtime card must be purchased from SatCom in order to place a call to the satellite phone. Contact SatCom to purchase this.

• To place the call to our satellite phone:
-calling a Thuraya phone from USA/Canada using a 2-stage PIN
-dial 1-888-253-5065
-at the prompt asking for account number enter your PIN (from the purchased airtime card)
-at the prompt asking for the number you wish to call
-dial: 011+country code+area code+subscriber number
-Zambia’s Country Code: 88 Area Code: 216 (verify with operator)
-eg. To call a Thuraya whose number is 123 456 78, enter 011-88216-123-456-78

Another day in the camp. Today we held a workshop for the Section Leaders in the camp. These are refugees that serve as representatives for the different communities of the camp. We needed to meet with these people to give them an introduction to RTP, as they have recently held elections for section leaders and most of them are new to their posts and don’t have much experience with us.

My project partner, Sophie, was impressed with how much interest these people showed in our programming. We are hoping for their support in our training of coaches and our activities in the community. The workshop went along very slowly as most of the people did not speak very much French and translation into Swahili was needed. It was interesting for me to see how we communicate with the community. We are really trying to emphasize to people that Right to Play is THEIR program, as we are planning to leave the camp in the next few months and we would like leaders in the community to take over…

Today was another day of introducing me to people in the camp… We work closely with the Anti-AIDS group, so I was introduced to the head of the club and other members and we went over a workshop with them that they had just given for parents about HIV/AIDS. Right to Play developed the workshop and we provided them with all the materials to hold the workshop, though it was the club that gave the workshop – all in Swahili of course…

We then met with the principals of the schools, of which there are 5 primary schools, a secondary school and a primary school. Unfortunately, only one secondary school exists as the mandate of the UNHCR only provides for “basic” needs, and secondary schools are not seen as a basic need.

The day wrapped up with a meeting with teachers of the special needs centre – an important part of Right to Play programming.

First real day off, and it was off to church… seems everyone is into church here, so off I go with our cleaning lady. She’s invited me to go to the English version of the service at the United Church of Zambia. Little do I know that I would be such a star there. Everybody is shaking my hand or looking at me weird. The minister even makes me stand up in the service and say a few words, hahaha…

The service was all right. The choir singing in Bemba was especially beautiful. When I got out of the church, half the town was waiting for the Bemba service to start, so I had to walk the plank a little bit. I think next time ill go to the Bemba session as most people's English is not very good and there’s a lot more singing in the Bemba session – live and learn I guess. The rest of the day was spent going to the market, at which all I could find to eat were tomatoes, onions, bread and sausages… then I went to visit our neighbor, Muma and then over to the only other ex-patriot in town, who is the UNHCR security officer for the refugee camp, a Canadian from Toronto. Too bad he was on the phone with his wife… Now it’s a movie and off to bed. There’s another long day in the camp tomorrow.

Mwange Refugee Camp

My first few days in the camp were very interesting. I didn’t realize the extent of the situation there, but the refugees are very well set up and organized. Each family has their own home and most of the kids are attending school. The “village” is made up of sections, lettered a-z with three streets in each section. The houses are made of brick with thatched (grass) roofs. There is a food distribution centre, a medical clinic and a host of community service offices. Yesterday, I was introduced to the various principals of the 5 primary schools and the one secondary school. We set up meetings that took place today with the various coaches (most of them teachers) that have been trained by Right to Play.

French is spoken in the camp, so it will take me a little bit to get back into the different language, but I'm doing ok so far. My project partner Sophie is taking on most of the responsibility at this time as I get accustomed to the work.

Today we had meetings with the coach committees. We have trained 3 levels of coaches who run activities with the kids. We are hoping that the level 3 coaches will be the ones who take on the task of running the program after we are gone. In the next few months, we will be teaching them skills in leadership, project management, volunteerism and equipment management. This seems to be a daunting task, especially for only two of us, but we will do what we can.

Now, I'm headed outside to play some b-ball and v-ball with the kids in our front yard. Tonight, we’re going to the local restaurant and possibly out for some drinks with some of the other NGO workers….

Today we went around and Sophie introduced me to our colleagues in the other NGOs working at the camp. There is the Zambian Red Cross, UNHCR, HODI (a Zambian NGO), World Vision, and a couple others. I musta met about 30 people today, so I'm still trying to get my head around all the names. Tommorrow will be my first day in the camp where we will attend a meeting for camp community leaders and I will have a tour of the camp and will meet some of our coaches.

I’m pretty nervous about the day, but im sure it will be very interesting for me. I’ve read and researched so much about the camp, it will be quite the experience actually seeing and working in it.

The camp was set up in 1999 and hosts some 28 000 Congolese refugees. The refugees receive monthly food rations from the UN and have started to subsist off local farming and stock raising. The camp is very well run and there are a lot of community clubs and societies in place. There has been no word as of late as to when the conflict in the DRC is ending and therefore we’re not sure if the refugees will ever return home. A lot of them are starting to integrate into Zambian society.

Right to Play has been in the camp since 2002 and we are planning to finish our program later on this year. The idea is that we will train enough coaches in the camp for them to be able to run the program themselves, though we will continue to supply them with sports equipment. From what I’ve heard, we have been very successful in the camp and Right to Play is well respected. The coaches we have trained are active in organizing intramurals, tournaments and games with the kids and we have incorporated our curriculum into the PE programs in the school.

We’ll see how things go tomorrow!!

Kasama – Mporokoso

I’ve finally arrived at my home!!! I feel ready for the tasks at hand – we have a number of workshops planned for the camp in the following weeks, including a level 3 coach training workshop and possibly a leadership workshop. We’ll also be working closely with community groups and clubs to advocate about HIV/AIDS.

Our house is quite modest and the town of Mporokoso pretty mellow. We have built a b-ball and v-ball court in our front yard for the local kids and they supposedly always playing out there, though I haven’t seen them yet.

I'm kinda creeped out by the spiders and ants running around our house and the bats, lizards and spiders in our roof, but im sure ill get used to it (ahhh!! I think I just heard them again right above me!!!)

Mpika – Kasama

Finally got the engine troubles fixed and we made it to the capital of the northern province, Kasama. This is a pretty big city where we can have some more of our engine troubles fixed. Seems our driver knows quite a few people here so we took our truck to his brother in law's shop where we had our injector pump mounted properly and our brake cylinders fixed.

We’ve been having crazy hot weather as of late. In the day it gets up to at least +40. I don’t know which I will hate more, the hot weather of Lusaka or the constant rains of Mporokoso. It’s quite eerie because you can see lightning constantly striking the northern horizon, exactly the spot where I will spend the next year. Luckily, the rains are supposed to stop in Mid April, so Ill be dry soon enough.

We’ve been staying at a guest house in Kasama called Kings. It’s actually quite nice, though the mosquitoes are terrible. I have to really watch out for malaria. The disease plagues these parts of Zambia. Our driver has recently contracted malaria, though most Zambians function daily with the disease. Just gotta cross my fingers and keep taking my medication.

We stopped in for dinner at the house of the Peace Corps here in Kasama. There are about 130 American Peace Corps volunteers in Zambia, running fish, agriculture and life skill projects mostly in rural areas – a crazy bunch!! But it was great to learn about Zambia from them as most have been here for at least a year.

Mpika

Well, seems the engine trouble was worse than originally thought. I’ve spent the day helping our driver, Peter, repair the fuel pump. Could be worse though, at least we have a place to eat and wash ourselves and rest. I had my first go at Nshima today. This is the most common food in Zambia, it’s this corn paste that they eat with everything. It doesn’t taste like much but im gonna have to get used to it. I’m starting to get used to the way of life here, people are so care free and the pace of life is relaxed. There’s only one place to find what you’re looking for and most times they don’t have it. Meat pies, Nshima, scones and boiled egg are about all I can find to eat, and cutlery is pretty much unheard of…

Zambians are very grateful and friendly, but im yet to get used to the constant pressure of people trying to sell you something or get money off you. I’ve got some dirty looks and been cursed at… just how things go around here, I guess…

Lusaka – Mpika

Last night was my first experience of the Lusaka night life. Started out with a “Ladies night” of Lusaka ex-patriots, unknown to me, I was forced to come out when Niaomi, one of the Lusaka Project Co-ordinators guilted me into coming out. What I walked into was a sea of women, about 50 of them. I had expected at least a few men, but, sure enough, I was the only male in an overload of estrogen. They had a hat going around by the end of the supper with each female putting in 10000 kwacha for me to strip – no, I’m serious!!

From there we went to a night club called the Brown Frog, where more males showed up, of course. Zambian music is really good to dance to, and I even learned to shake my hips, Zambian style – I was quite impressed with myself…. Hah!

Today, we were off for Kasama, in the northern province. Unfortunately, we only made it half way before our truck broke down and now we are stuck in a city called Mpika, in the middle of nowhere. We are holed up in a guesthouse where all the locals hang out and drink and listen to music. I’m hoping to be able to get some sleep but we’ll have to see when they turn off the music… I'm just glad that it’s good music!

Drew asked me to post these pictures for him a few days ago. I wish I could tell you who these people are, but the only one I know for sure is my son Flynn in the second photo who is not in Africa. I think.

-Brian H

March 11th
Lusaka

This is our last day in Lusaka. We ran into some problems when we found out that our driver Peter possibly has Malaria, so we are crossing our fingers that he is ok and that we can leave tomorrow. It is a two day drive and we are supposed to be out at the camp on Monday for some meetings with other implementing partners and with UNHCR.
This morning I had an amazing experience as we decided to join the Lusaka team on an outing to distribute coaching certificates to trainees in a remote area in Lusaka. We left early this morning and headed to a compound (a compound is a very poor area where there is a very high level of poverty and almost no social services) called Chiwama. We spent the morning playing with the children in a field where to local schools had met up to participate in Right to Play games. There were literally hundreds of kids and they all want there chance to meet and touch the Mzungu (white person) see pics.
This is my first experience in the actual “field”, with the children that we are trying to empower. I immediately saw the effects of our work and the huge smiles on the kids faces… The morning was organized into a series of games, facilitated by Right to Play coaches, of netball, soccer and other games. I know this is just a taste of what I will be experiencing everyday upon my arrival in Mporokoso.
The afternoon was spent going over our plan for the next months and things that we wanted to accomplish in the camp. Seems we will be focusing on empowering coaches so that they will be able to train other local coaches in the camp. I am still learning and until I get to the camp and start meeting the people I will be working with, I really don’t have an idea of what will be necessary in our programming for the next months. I’m really lucky because Sophie has be really great in preparing us for the upcoming months and she has been a great project partner so far. We’ll have to see how sick of eachother we will get in being around eachother for 24 hours a day, but I know it will go ok…

Well, I probably won’t be posting anything for the next few weeks, but stayed tuned because I don’t know when I will next have internet access.

March 10th
Lusaka

Today was a day to stock up supplies for our project and home in Mporokoso. We headed to the Grocery store, where I dove for the beer straight off (about 50 cents a bottle). We also picked up some home maintenance supplies, office supplies (books, pens, markers for the workshops we are giving). I also had time to visit the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees where we met with an Jennifer Ashton who is in charge of the Mwange Camp where we will be working. She was extremely sweet and we instantly connected as she knows some of the people I was working with in Geneva. I hope to be in contact with her again.
We also went to the Canadian High Commissioner in Lusaka where I registered myself and went to immigration where I picked up my work permit. This was an interesting experience. Beauracracy works totally different here. It is a very slow process, and I had visited about 5 different offices before I had my permit (probably would have been a lot easier if I’d slipped the officials some $ j/j)!! But I eventually got it and can now officially work in Zambia, but what a process! Nobody has a computer and you never know who is doing what job and how things get done…. Guess I just need to get used to it…
The day ended with a nice supper back at the house and a movie (the girls here had never seen Napolean Dynamite!, they loved it……)

March 9

Lusaka
Slowly starting to recover from my jet lag zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……..
Today was errands day. Changed money, went to the post office, got introduced to our project and where I would be going for the next months. Seems we are unsure right now of how long we will be in Mporokoso. The project there has been very successful with high rates of trained coaches and high rates of participation of woman and children with disabilities. The project will either end this August of next January, which likely means I will be changing locations.
This was a day for learning how to do our project reports, finances and communications with head office. The interplay between us and head office is quite tricky because of how badly our communication lines are. I never realized the extent of our isolation in Mporokoso until now… We are in a small village and our phone line is not working, we often don’t have power and we have no running water. Good thing I’ve brought lots of books, DVD’s and music. Might even learn to play an instrument while im here (k, that might be pushin’ it!!)

March 8
Arrival to Lusaka
Calgary – Minneapolis – Amsterdam – Nairobi – Lusaka

Forty-eight hours later, I arrived in Lusaka, with relative ease I might add… I was even given the pleasure of seating emergency exits most of the way. Only problem came on the flight to Amsterdam where I had some old snobby European guy kicking my foot whenever I got to close to his “space”. The nostalgia began upon my touchdown in Nairobi, my first glimpse of sub-saharan Africa. Though I’ve seen countless images of Southern Africa and thought I would not be shocked upon arrival, my heart heaved when I saw the arid land, low brush and the colour of dirt everywhere I looked. There is nothing you can compare it to from what I’ve experienced – including the scenary, people, way of life and social fabric. More to come…
I met my project partner, Sophie at the airport who was joined by our driver/mechanic/all around genius, Peter. Peter is a native of Lusaka, while Sophie is from Calgary and has been working on the project in Mporokoso since July. My first taste of Lusaka was unimaginable. Everywhere you turn there is people… Not much for development, the buildings are all run down, the roads are unpaved, sidewalks are unheard of. Anything of value is behind a gate with barbed wire or electrical fences… The crime rate in Lusaka is quite high, carjacking are quite common and you are advised to never drive by yourself at night…
We proceeded to the Right to Play house in Lusaka where we are staying. I met Carmen and Naomi who are organizing the project here. I found out that we wouldn’t be heading to Mporokoso until Sat. as our truck was in the shop. Then it was bed time….
Woke up at 8 to go out for my first Zambian dinner (though we went to an Italian restaurant!!), and met a few more people… According to Sophie, we had a lot of work to do in the next couple days, so we weren’t out too late.

Being the first on many blog postings, allow me to give a little back ground on what you are reading. I will be making postings whenever possible to update you on my life and the work that i am doing in Zambia. I have a position as a Project Co-ordinator for Right to Play. Based in Toronto, they are a sport and health development organization that works in the developing world (mostly Africa and mostly in refugee camps) with a goal of helping to improve the livelihood of some of the worlds most disadvantaged children. I will be moving to Zambia on Sunday, March 6th, and will be meeting my project partner Sophie in Lusaka, where we will travel to our home in Mporokoso (2 days drive). The refugee camp is located in the northern copperbelt region, about 50 km from our home. Here is a little excerpt from the Right to Play (www.righttoplay.com) website about the camp:

"Mwange Refugee Camp, ZambiaSportWorks ProgramMwange Refugee Camp was established in 1999 as the first refugee camp in northern Zambia to shelter people fleeing the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mwange has approximately 23 000 refugees, making it by far the largest population in the local vicinity. On World Refugee Day in 2001, Mwange was declared the World’s Most Organized Refugee camp by Kofi Annan. Thanks to Olivia "Momma" Shannon, the camp’s initial UNHCR Field Officer who strongly encouraged women to hold positions of political and economic power in the camp. Mwange saw the arrival of the first team of Right To Play Coaches in September of 2002. Initial focus has been on recruiting and training local coach volunteers. There has been a concerted effort to train teachers in adaptive recreation, with a special workshop on inclusion of children with special needs."

Please feel free to go to the website and learn more about Right to Play.

This blog will allow you to keep track of me, who i'm meeting, what im doing and where im travelling. I hope you enjoy it!

This is our the crew of RTP volunteers that has left for their overseas placements. There are about 35 of us!!

I will have very limited phone, email and mail contact in Zambia.
I can receive emails at work at the address: zamkagu1@unhcr.ch. This is a public account, though I would get the message right away.
Otherwise, use my new email address: drew_gardiner@shaw.ca

My phone number in Zambia is very unreliable and expensive:
+260-4-680-003

And finally, my address (mail is slow and expensive...):
Drew Gardiner
Right to Play
C/O UNHCR Field Office Mporokoso
Box 470148
Mporokoso, Zambia