Drew's African Odyssey - Mwange Refugee Camp, Zambia

Had to cancel the workshop that was supposed to happen today as most of the participants were busy doing other trainings with FORGE (the American students). I’ve been learning more and more about what they’re doing in the camp. As I mentioned, the biggest thing they’re doing is building a library. The refugees have been thrilled that this is being done and the work is almost complete. The Americans invited children from the primary schools to come and paint murals on the wall and decorate the inside. They’ve also been holding interviews to hire a librarian and guards to look after the place. Also, the piano that they ordered has finally arrived (US $6000 later and 3 weeks late) and they’ve ordered furniture for a sitting room in the library. I’ve never seen the people in the camp so happy with what’s being done. It’s just too bad that the Americans know almost nothing about development and most of their projects are not at all sustainable, a lot of the refugees are only working with them because they’re getting a free notebook, but I think all in all, it’s good for the camp.