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This blog will be an account my life working in a Refugee camp in Northern Zambia called Mwange. For the next year, I will be working for Right to Play, a sport and development organization based out of Toronto. What follows will be a life altering experience. Stay tuned....
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Nov. 14th - Nov. 23rd
Nov 14th
I've been really bad at updating this thing lately, though there's been a
lot happening in the last month. Last weekend, we had a visit from the RTP
team in Lusaka. It was really special to be able to share with them what we
are doing up here. We organized a meeting for them to be able to meet some
of the important coaches in the camp. The girls were really interested in
how we run the program up here and I think learned valuable lessons about
empowerment and community ownership - two aspects of our program we've
worked hard to install. It was a bit weird because this was the first time
we've ever had visitors up here. I had to get used to preparing meals for
other people and occupying myself with making them feel comfortable. I'm not
used to having someone else in MY HOME, and it was a challenge to have them
around 24 hours a/day, even though I am the type who loves to have visitors.
The past week has been pretty busy. We finished the second of our two
workshops last week only yesterday. It's amazing what I've adjusted to over
here. The second workshop we ran was in a small Zambian village called
Mulungu. We conducted the training in a run down school house with no
floors, no windows, broken down benches and a roof that looked like it would
cave in. It goes to prove that one can learn in any environment.
Nov 15th
Tough going these days. I've been stuck in a little bit of a lazy routine -
no exercises, unmotivated my the work, not really enjoying the company im
keeping, finding myself having to push to go out and do things. I'm feeling
like I wanna just mope around the house. Think I need some coffee
Nevertheless, the work continues. In the camp today, I met with the
committee responsible for the intramural league. Some of the coaches were
more than a little concerned about cheating the had been going on amongst
the players. I guess students from one school had been playing on other
schools teams. I suggested coming up with rules that all the teams should
follow, so we developed a list of rules. We are trying to put the emphasis
on team work and fairplay, but unfortunately a lot of the players and
coaches are very competitive - im sure they don't get it from me.hah!
It's weird to think about how different and foreign things were to me when I
first arrived in the camp - everything seems normal now: the happy Congolese
children running unsupervised all over the camp - running away from you when
you step from the vehicle out of fear of white people; seeing woman lined up
a water holes at all hours of the day; kids as young as 4 or 5 working in
the fields (along with mothers with babies on their back); the only refugee
vehicle in the camp constantly cramped with jubuliant boys; school girls
having the time of their lives playing hop scotch and cats cradle. I get the
sense that the suffering and hardship of these people is overcome in the
everyday pleasures of life.
Nov. 16th
The RTP team from Kala came in for a visit today. Kevin has the funniest
stories ever, including teaching all the camp kids how to say "GO OILERS
GO!!" How can you be from Calgary and be an Edmonton fan? We decided we'd
shoot a video of the kids saying it when we go to visit their camp. I'm sure
We immediately started to plan our Christmas trip to Tanzania. We decided to
try to go to Rwanda for New Year's, but getting there is going to be a bit
painful. We'll have to start out from Dar Es Salaam on the 27th, and go
through Kenya, and Uganda before we can get to Rwanda. We were informed
there's no direct route through Tanzania to Rwanda, which means we'll have
to spend 3 whole days on the bus and go through 3 countries. The only good
thing about it is the stamps in our passports.
Nov. 17th
Long meetings with the Kala team today, going over their tasks for our camp
after we leave in January. We are expecting them to deliver equipment to our
camp every 3 months and to meet with our key coaches and volunteers. It
means that they really need to understand our whole program and meet
everybody involved. I think we've already overloaded them with work.
In the afternoon it was out to the falls. It was great to reminisce with
Kevin about home and even some common friends that we have in Calgary.
Kevin's partner Kim had been here for 3 months now and is starting to get
used to the lifestyle (although very slowly). She plans to start Med school
next year and is using this experience towards her application. A very
driven woman who will do well in this work and who will really learn a lot
from the experience. It's been great getting to know her.
Nov 18th
Off to Kawambwa today to visit the Kala camp. So much different in it's set
up to our camp but very much similar in a way to. The refugees here are more
of a rural population than at our camp and as a result the level of
education and French speaking is not as high. The PC"s here work through a
translator, though they have been working very hard to learn Swahili and
French. We were taken around for a tour in the camp and saw the bizarre two
story houses, the education department with 4 computers (very popular) and
all the schools and the health centre. We ended the day watching a
basketball game for a league that Kevin had been instrumental in setting up
and met a bunch of the community coaches.
Nov. 19th
We've been learning a little bit more about repatriation and what the UN is
planning for the next few months. I guess there are a lot of refugees
voluntarily returning back to the Congo, though many are not making to the
across the border as they seem to be waiting there until the situation is
safe. These people are very vulnerable as many are getting sick, going
hungry or being treated unfairly by the host Zambians. A lot of Zambians
don't like to see the Congolese fighting for the scarce resources that are
out there. In this light, UNHCR has decided that even though they don't
think the situation in the Congo is safe enough to return, they are going to
start assisting with transportation back to Congo in hopes that the refugees
who are returning voluntarily will have an easier trip back. The
organization for Migration is also getting involved and will be providing
the buses for return.
As we came into Kala camp, we were told that a registration exercise has
started to provide each refugee with photo ID and to get an accurate picture
of how many people want to return. The same exercise will be taking place in
Mwange next month.
Nov. 20th
Caught a ride with a little pick up back to Mporokoso today as the guy who
was supposed to give us a lift mysteriously didn't show up. It was an
interesting trip up through a local tea estate that produces a lot of the
Zambian tea. A HUGE, HUGE compound that employs almost 2000 people from the
local population and is owed by a local Indian man who ships the tea all
over the world. Three hours later we were back home and getting ready for a
busy week. Our boss who was supposed to come from Toronto in early December
has cancelled her trip and is sending her supervisor in her place. Seems her
father in law (she was just married 2 weeks ago) has fallen very ill and
therefore she can't come. We felt bad for her as we know she is very excited
to see where our program is at and has been very involved with the succeses
here from Day 1. Nevertheless, we are excited about the Officer in charge of
all of Southern Africa will be coming to see us and we've already started
setting up meetings and preparing. He'll be coming on the 2nd Dec.
Nov. 21st
Just in the office today, finishing off some translating and reporting. Our
vehicle is acting up again and the problems with our driver are neverending.
Head office has recommended that we let him go and try to find a
replacement, but that seems impossible given the project is ending in
January.
People are getting very worried about the weather. Everyone's crops are in
but there hasn't been rains for over three weeks. The weather is scortching
hot and if there's no rain soon, we could have a major drought on our hands.
This time last year, it had already been raining for a month. Pray for rain.
Nov 22nd
Well, we've come to a stand still in the driver situation. We aren't going
to let him go, even after all the lies he has told us. He has now been in 4
accidents in the past two months and hasn't been straight with us on any of
them. Granted, they haven't at all been major accidents, but it was the
lying that is really bothering us. Not only that, but he seems to have lost
initiative to work hard and the vehicle is having major problems. We've had
to send for spare parts in Lusaka but we're unsure if they'll make it here
in time for our trip to Kasama this weekend. World Aids day is taking place
on Dec. 1st and we are supposed to be picking up a drama group from Kasama
on Sat. to perform for all the refugees on Dec. 1. AHHHH!!! The stress is
building.
Nov. 23rd
I need a vacation.
I've been really bad at updating this thing lately, though there's been a
lot happening in the last month. Last weekend, we had a visit from the RTP
team in Lusaka. It was really special to be able to share with them what we
are doing up here. We organized a meeting for them to be able to meet some
of the important coaches in the camp. The girls were really interested in
how we run the program up here and I think learned valuable lessons about
empowerment and community ownership - two aspects of our program we've
worked hard to install. It was a bit weird because this was the first time
we've ever had visitors up here. I had to get used to preparing meals for
other people and occupying myself with making them feel comfortable. I'm not
used to having someone else in MY HOME, and it was a challenge to have them
around 24 hours a/day, even though I am the type who loves to have visitors.
The past week has been pretty busy. We finished the second of our two
workshops last week only yesterday. It's amazing what I've adjusted to over
here. The second workshop we ran was in a small Zambian village called
Mulungu. We conducted the training in a run down school house with no
floors, no windows, broken down benches and a roof that looked like it would
cave in. It goes to prove that one can learn in any environment.
Nov 15th
Tough going these days. I've been stuck in a little bit of a lazy routine -
no exercises, unmotivated my the work, not really enjoying the company im
keeping, finding myself having to push to go out and do things. I'm feeling
like I wanna just mope around the house. Think I need some coffee
Nevertheless, the work continues. In the camp today, I met with the
committee responsible for the intramural league. Some of the coaches were
more than a little concerned about cheating the had been going on amongst
the players. I guess students from one school had been playing on other
schools teams. I suggested coming up with rules that all the teams should
follow, so we developed a list of rules. We are trying to put the emphasis
on team work and fairplay, but unfortunately a lot of the players and
coaches are very competitive - im sure they don't get it from me.hah!
It's weird to think about how different and foreign things were to me when I
first arrived in the camp - everything seems normal now: the happy Congolese
children running unsupervised all over the camp - running away from you when
you step from the vehicle out of fear of white people; seeing woman lined up
a water holes at all hours of the day; kids as young as 4 or 5 working in
the fields (along with mothers with babies on their back); the only refugee
vehicle in the camp constantly cramped with jubuliant boys; school girls
having the time of their lives playing hop scotch and cats cradle. I get the
sense that the suffering and hardship of these people is overcome in the
everyday pleasures of life.
Nov. 16th
The RTP team from Kala came in for a visit today. Kevin has the funniest
stories ever, including teaching all the camp kids how to say "GO OILERS
GO!!" How can you be from Calgary and be an Edmonton fan? We decided we'd
shoot a video of the kids saying it when we go to visit their camp. I'm sure
We immediately started to plan our Christmas trip to Tanzania. We decided to
try to go to Rwanda for New Year's, but getting there is going to be a bit
painful. We'll have to start out from Dar Es Salaam on the 27th, and go
through Kenya, and Uganda before we can get to Rwanda. We were informed
there's no direct route through Tanzania to Rwanda, which means we'll have
to spend 3 whole days on the bus and go through 3 countries. The only good
thing about it is the stamps in our passports.
Nov. 17th
Long meetings with the Kala team today, going over their tasks for our camp
after we leave in January. We are expecting them to deliver equipment to our
camp every 3 months and to meet with our key coaches and volunteers. It
means that they really need to understand our whole program and meet
everybody involved. I think we've already overloaded them with work.
In the afternoon it was out to the falls. It was great to reminisce with
Kevin about home and even some common friends that we have in Calgary.
Kevin's partner Kim had been here for 3 months now and is starting to get
used to the lifestyle (although very slowly). She plans to start Med school
next year and is using this experience towards her application. A very
driven woman who will do well in this work and who will really learn a lot
from the experience. It's been great getting to know her.
Nov 18th
Off to Kawambwa today to visit the Kala camp. So much different in it's set
up to our camp but very much similar in a way to. The refugees here are more
of a rural population than at our camp and as a result the level of
education and French speaking is not as high. The PC"s here work through a
translator, though they have been working very hard to learn Swahili and
French. We were taken around for a tour in the camp and saw the bizarre two
story houses, the education department with 4 computers (very popular) and
all the schools and the health centre. We ended the day watching a
basketball game for a league that Kevin had been instrumental in setting up
and met a bunch of the community coaches.
Nov. 19th
We've been learning a little bit more about repatriation and what the UN is
planning for the next few months. I guess there are a lot of refugees
voluntarily returning back to the Congo, though many are not making to the
across the border as they seem to be waiting there until the situation is
safe. These people are very vulnerable as many are getting sick, going
hungry or being treated unfairly by the host Zambians. A lot of Zambians
don't like to see the Congolese fighting for the scarce resources that are
out there. In this light, UNHCR has decided that even though they don't
think the situation in the Congo is safe enough to return, they are going to
start assisting with transportation back to Congo in hopes that the refugees
who are returning voluntarily will have an easier trip back. The
organization for Migration is also getting involved and will be providing
the buses for return.
As we came into Kala camp, we were told that a registration exercise has
started to provide each refugee with photo ID and to get an accurate picture
of how many people want to return. The same exercise will be taking place in
Mwange next month.
Nov. 20th
Caught a ride with a little pick up back to Mporokoso today as the guy who
was supposed to give us a lift mysteriously didn't show up. It was an
interesting trip up through a local tea estate that produces a lot of the
Zambian tea. A HUGE, HUGE compound that employs almost 2000 people from the
local population and is owed by a local Indian man who ships the tea all
over the world. Three hours later we were back home and getting ready for a
busy week. Our boss who was supposed to come from Toronto in early December
has cancelled her trip and is sending her supervisor in her place. Seems her
father in law (she was just married 2 weeks ago) has fallen very ill and
therefore she can't come. We felt bad for her as we know she is very excited
to see where our program is at and has been very involved with the succeses
here from Day 1. Nevertheless, we are excited about the Officer in charge of
all of Southern Africa will be coming to see us and we've already started
setting up meetings and preparing. He'll be coming on the 2nd Dec.
Nov. 21st
Just in the office today, finishing off some translating and reporting. Our
vehicle is acting up again and the problems with our driver are neverending.
Head office has recommended that we let him go and try to find a
replacement, but that seems impossible given the project is ending in
January.
People are getting very worried about the weather. Everyone's crops are in
but there hasn't been rains for over three weeks. The weather is scortching
hot and if there's no rain soon, we could have a major drought on our hands.
This time last year, it had already been raining for a month. Pray for rain.
Nov 22nd
Well, we've come to a stand still in the driver situation. We aren't going
to let him go, even after all the lies he has told us. He has now been in 4
accidents in the past two months and hasn't been straight with us on any of
them. Granted, they haven't at all been major accidents, but it was the
lying that is really bothering us. Not only that, but he seems to have lost
initiative to work hard and the vehicle is having major problems. We've had
to send for spare parts in Lusaka but we're unsure if they'll make it here
in time for our trip to Kasama this weekend. World Aids day is taking place
on Dec. 1st and we are supposed to be picking up a drama group from Kasama
on Sat. to perform for all the refugees on Dec. 1. AHHHH!!! The stress is
building.
Nov. 23rd
I need a vacation.
Sept. 24 - Oct. 20
Sept 24th
We’re getting ready for our trip to Lusaka next week. Looks like it’s going to be an insanely busy time in the capital. I hope to be able to spend some time with the RTP team there. I’ve become quite close to one of the girls named Doreen from Germany. They’re having a really tough time adjusting to their new team member that just came a month ago. It seems none of them are getting along. They’ve been put intot a tough situation where the two of them have been working together for the past 7 months and then have to change everything when a new person comes in. I hope they can work it out.
A couple funny stories have happened in the past couple days. At lunch yesterday, Sophie had the unfortunate circumstance of finding worms in her beans… The thing was that it wasn’t until she was almost finished eating that she found them. Getting “worms” in your stomach is a quite common thing here – she’s hoping she doesn’t get anything… These new cats have also become a huge nuisance. We’ve let them inside the house now, to see if we can train them, but it’s not going to be easy. They are pertrified of human contact and only come out of hiding when there’s food. We came back very late last night and as Sophie crawled into bed, she let out a scream!! Seems that when we were out, one of the cats “shat” in Sophie’s bed and she didn’t notice it until she was under the covers. Making it even worse was the fact that she had just washed her sheets… We gotta get rid of those cats…
Sept 25th
A relaxing Sunday today. I sat around for the morning practicing guitar, baking , watching movies and writing letters. I have a lot of letters to finish before we go to Lusaka including my grandma, mom and dad, sisters, Claire and Colleen.
I’m starting to think about what will lie ahead after I am finished this placement. So far, no decisions have been made. The first thing I’d like to do is get back to Calgary to visit with Sasha and Flynn, then I’d love to go to the coast to see Paige and friends, from there it would be over to Winnipeg to see the parents new job, house and my grandma and relatives. Though, something keeps tugging at the back of my mind to stay over there and get some more experience while I still can. I’d love to do another placement somewhere in Africa and mayber get another 6 months work experience in the field before going back to school in September. I was thinking about trying to do a masters in Public Administration or possible NGO administration, maybe even law if I can get my undergrad marks a little higher.
I would also really like to visit Europe on my way home. Possibly visiting friends in France, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy. I’ve promised my friend Claire a visit to Geneva on my way home. Just hope everything works out.
Sept 26th
Riding to the camp today I’ve realized how truly lucky I am to be here; to be working with people from who I am learning so much and to who, I am hopefully giving back to. The people we are working with in the camp have thanked us on many occasions for giving to them a sense of identity within the camp of working with children and being able to teach others. Today, I sat down with one of the coaches, a man named Justin who has been with RTP since the beginning. He was explaining to me all the things he has learned from RTP, most of all giving him the courage to speak out and teach people in respectful way that others will listen. For my part, the biggest thing I have learned from the people here is how to be caring; how to communicate with people in a respectful way and honour commitments. Responsibility has always been something I’ve lacked in life. Gaining respect through interacting with people. It’s not that one has to be smart, or innovative or driven or tactful, it’s more important to be honest, dedicated, respectful and trusted; to care for others in a way that people will know that you realize aspects their life that make the biggest difference: family, friends, survival and respect.
Sept 27th
Life can be cruel. I was able to sit down today with one refugee lady in the camp, a very close friend of Sophie, who began telling me about her life. A single mother who lost not only her mother and father in the war, but also her husband. She traveled alone to the camp all the way from the DRC, as she couldn’t feel safe anymore in her home. It’s amazing to see how she is now. She is a young lady (maybe 28 years) who has become an important part of this camp. Not only is she a very active coach, she also is an employee at the community services where she carries out home visits to look up on sick people. Also, whenever there is an event in the camp, she is there to lend a hand in cooking, cleaning and serving. She also instructs dancing at the camp, to which Sophie attends the lessons whenever she can (it’s Congolese Rhumba dancing). It’s uplifting to see a person who can overcome such huge obstacles to live a normal, happy life.
Sept 28th
Down at the market today, I ran into the Mporokoso’s crazy lady. About 3 weeks ago, after begging for money at each time seeing me, I finally gave her some a 500 kwacha bill. At first I didn’t know what the hell she was saying. It sounded as if she was crying to me to save her life or something like that, it wasn’t until someone explained to me that she only wanted a bit of money. One day, as the market was at it’s fullest, she again started begging for money, actually yelling. It seemed the whole market turned around to witness the scene, so, after asking her to keep it down, I gave her the money. It seemed some huge weight was lifted of her head – im not sure what it was, but ever since that time, the woman has never bothered me, only nodding her head slightly whenever I go by…
Sept 29th
Our monthly meeting with HODI (NGO responsible for community services and education in the camp). It went ok, although the Project Manager was mysteriously absent, so we held the meeting with the Education Supervisor and the newly appointed HIV/Aids program coordinator. The Aids lady is so fresh to the experience that she really didn’t have a clue what was going on. Every suggestion that we made she just nodded her head and agreed with us. The other lady, the education supervisor, named Chiluba, is a good friend of Sophie’s and is a very smart lady. She’s a Zambian who speaks fluent French and English and has graduated from the University of Zambia. During this meeting, she didn’t really say much, except to ask us when it would be finished… It remains a struggle to work with HODI.
Sept 30th
Today was the September interagency meeting. It was great to see Kevin, who works for RTP in the Kala refugee camp again. He came with his new work partner Kim, who hails from Toronto and has been in the country about 2 months now. He caught me up on all the hockey news, including all the trades and the Flames being rated number one in the league by Sports Illustrated!!!
We talked shop for awhile and it was decided that we would like to organize an intercamp refugee Olympics, where a group of student athletes from each of our camps would come and participate in games in the others camp. We set a date for beginning December and have already began planning. I thought it would be a great idea as not only would it serve as a great time for the kids but some of them would also have the chance to meet friends and family that they wouldn’t have seen in years. It’s going to be a lot of work but when we see the look on some of the kids faces after arriving in the other camp, it will all be worth it…
Oct. 1st
Off to Lusaka today. Ill report when our trip is finished…
Oct. 2nd to15th
What a whirlwind trip it was. Two of the busiest weeks I’ve ever had in my life and I’m completely tired out. The first job was to have the vehicle repaired. This, of course, was a more difficult procedure then first planned. We also prepared Physical Education Manuals to be handed out to teachers as well as an Anti-Aids manual that we will give to the club.
I also wanted to look at job opportunities while I was there for February, but I couldn’t find much.
Also while we were there, our driver got in an accident when he ran into another vehicle, when the police showed up he tried to argue his way out of a ticket and was thrown in jail. We had to go there later on in the day to pay the ticket and get the vehicle out of impound. When you get a ticket here they make you pay it on the spot and if you can’t then they will impound your vehicle until they do. Most of the cops will also try to get something on the side and will there for tell you the ticket is worth a lot more than it actually is. IN this case, the officer said the ticket was 500,000 kw, when it was only actually 300,000 kw. It wasn’t until we asked for an official receipt that he resisicended the quote.
The trips there and back were surprisingly smooth. Only one break down!!!
Oct. 16th
Mporokoso… This place is really starting to feel like home. Can’t believe I’ve already been here almost 8 months (although time hasn’t passed too quickly)… As I walk down to the market for the hundredth time, everything is familiar. The kids yelling “HOW ARE YOU?” at me; the rusted out time roofing, the knee deep potholes, huge poplar trees, the heat, the run down guest house on the corner of market, the shopkeepers with their hellos, big smiles and hand shakes. I can sit on my front porch and name just about every neighbor within sight. Mr Muma lives to the left of us and works as an mechanic, he is always working on vehicles with family members standing around watching; down the street to the left and right is my friend Billy and my other friend Barry. Kitty corner to us is Mr Phiri, the Health supervisor at Red Cross, here since 1999, leaving his wife and kids to attend private school in Kasama… Ill miss the place…
Oct 17th
Learned today that UNHCR is going to start repatriation for the refugees back to Congo next year. This is huge news. It means that the UN has determined that the situation is stable enough for people to start returning home. They will begin the exercise of making sure people have homes to go back to, that there will be sufficient food, water and education back home and that they will be transported back to the regional capital of Lubumbashi. They are scheduled to start in the summer of next year with 5000 refugees, then more will follow. Most people here say that they will not go back until elections are held and there will be schools for their children to go back to. IN my opinion it may be a little premature for repatriation to start, being that there is still fighting in the northwestern Kivu region and based on the bureaucratic system that is in place and a lack of government in rural areas,
Oct 18th
In the camp today for some meetings. It seems the intramural league that we’ve worked so hard in setting up is going as planned. All the players and coaches are really excited to compete in the matches. The only problem I have with it is that it seems to be way to competitive. The losing team always looks really depressed and the winning team will mock the losing team. I feel bad for the lsing players and coaches. The other day, I saw something quite disheartening. In the aftermath of a basketball victory by Mwange D school (the court is usually surrounded by 100’s of hyper kids) one of the children started thowing sand in other players eyes. There was about 3 kids of the ground screaming in pain. All of the sudden one of the coaches came by and started knocking kids in the back of the head for throwing the sand. Corporal punishment is quite common here and children are quite often punished through violence. I felt like we were partly responsible for the violence on this day as it was a result of the excitement caused by the match.
Oct 19th
Taking my regular stroll over to a bakers house who sells me buns today, I again passed by the catholic church where there is always beautiful Zambian music coming from. I decided to take a peak inside the door to listen and stood at the back of the church for a good hour. I was enchanted by the sounds. It seems impossible that so many woman can all have such glorious voices and though I didn’t understand a word of the music, it sounded great all the same. When I finally arrived at the bakers house, I greeted his kids as usual and went through the usual formalities – asking how his day is going, then telling him how many buns I want, to which he always replies “Only 2 buns”, to which I reply “Yes only 2, but ill come for more tomorrow”, he wishes me a pleasant evening, I do the same and I walk back home. The buns are ready at 4 pm everyday, and the fresher you can get them the better. He always picks out the best buns for me. Haha…
Oct 20th
The handover of the project to the community is almost complete. We now have refugees facilitating every workshop and meeting with us only being present for support. So why is it we are still so busy? Today I was swamped with work and when I finally got home it was straight to bed. It seems hard to believe that I can’t sleep in here at all!! I’m up at 6 am every morning, when usually at home I can sleep all day. I think it must be the heat. Already by that time in the day it can be 30 degrees and ill never get used to that. I wonder if ill ever have the ability to sleep in again?
We’re getting ready for our trip to Lusaka next week. Looks like it’s going to be an insanely busy time in the capital. I hope to be able to spend some time with the RTP team there. I’ve become quite close to one of the girls named Doreen from Germany. They’re having a really tough time adjusting to their new team member that just came a month ago. It seems none of them are getting along. They’ve been put intot a tough situation where the two of them have been working together for the past 7 months and then have to change everything when a new person comes in. I hope they can work it out.
A couple funny stories have happened in the past couple days. At lunch yesterday, Sophie had the unfortunate circumstance of finding worms in her beans… The thing was that it wasn’t until she was almost finished eating that she found them. Getting “worms” in your stomach is a quite common thing here – she’s hoping she doesn’t get anything… These new cats have also become a huge nuisance. We’ve let them inside the house now, to see if we can train them, but it’s not going to be easy. They are pertrified of human contact and only come out of hiding when there’s food. We came back very late last night and as Sophie crawled into bed, she let out a scream!! Seems that when we were out, one of the cats “shat” in Sophie’s bed and she didn’t notice it until she was under the covers. Making it even worse was the fact that she had just washed her sheets… We gotta get rid of those cats…
Sept 25th
A relaxing Sunday today. I sat around for the morning practicing guitar, baking , watching movies and writing letters. I have a lot of letters to finish before we go to Lusaka including my grandma, mom and dad, sisters, Claire and Colleen.
I’m starting to think about what will lie ahead after I am finished this placement. So far, no decisions have been made. The first thing I’d like to do is get back to Calgary to visit with Sasha and Flynn, then I’d love to go to the coast to see Paige and friends, from there it would be over to Winnipeg to see the parents new job, house and my grandma and relatives. Though, something keeps tugging at the back of my mind to stay over there and get some more experience while I still can. I’d love to do another placement somewhere in Africa and mayber get another 6 months work experience in the field before going back to school in September. I was thinking about trying to do a masters in Public Administration or possible NGO administration, maybe even law if I can get my undergrad marks a little higher.
I would also really like to visit Europe on my way home. Possibly visiting friends in France, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy. I’ve promised my friend Claire a visit to Geneva on my way home. Just hope everything works out.
Sept 26th
Riding to the camp today I’ve realized how truly lucky I am to be here; to be working with people from who I am learning so much and to who, I am hopefully giving back to. The people we are working with in the camp have thanked us on many occasions for giving to them a sense of identity within the camp of working with children and being able to teach others. Today, I sat down with one of the coaches, a man named Justin who has been with RTP since the beginning. He was explaining to me all the things he has learned from RTP, most of all giving him the courage to speak out and teach people in respectful way that others will listen. For my part, the biggest thing I have learned from the people here is how to be caring; how to communicate with people in a respectful way and honour commitments. Responsibility has always been something I’ve lacked in life. Gaining respect through interacting with people. It’s not that one has to be smart, or innovative or driven or tactful, it’s more important to be honest, dedicated, respectful and trusted; to care for others in a way that people will know that you realize aspects their life that make the biggest difference: family, friends, survival and respect.
Sept 27th
Life can be cruel. I was able to sit down today with one refugee lady in the camp, a very close friend of Sophie, who began telling me about her life. A single mother who lost not only her mother and father in the war, but also her husband. She traveled alone to the camp all the way from the DRC, as she couldn’t feel safe anymore in her home. It’s amazing to see how she is now. She is a young lady (maybe 28 years) who has become an important part of this camp. Not only is she a very active coach, she also is an employee at the community services where she carries out home visits to look up on sick people. Also, whenever there is an event in the camp, she is there to lend a hand in cooking, cleaning and serving. She also instructs dancing at the camp, to which Sophie attends the lessons whenever she can (it’s Congolese Rhumba dancing). It’s uplifting to see a person who can overcome such huge obstacles to live a normal, happy life.
Sept 28th
Down at the market today, I ran into the Mporokoso’s crazy lady. About 3 weeks ago, after begging for money at each time seeing me, I finally gave her some a 500 kwacha bill. At first I didn’t know what the hell she was saying. It sounded as if she was crying to me to save her life or something like that, it wasn’t until someone explained to me that she only wanted a bit of money. One day, as the market was at it’s fullest, she again started begging for money, actually yelling. It seemed the whole market turned around to witness the scene, so, after asking her to keep it down, I gave her the money. It seemed some huge weight was lifted of her head – im not sure what it was, but ever since that time, the woman has never bothered me, only nodding her head slightly whenever I go by…
Sept 29th
Our monthly meeting with HODI (NGO responsible for community services and education in the camp). It went ok, although the Project Manager was mysteriously absent, so we held the meeting with the Education Supervisor and the newly appointed HIV/Aids program coordinator. The Aids lady is so fresh to the experience that she really didn’t have a clue what was going on. Every suggestion that we made she just nodded her head and agreed with us. The other lady, the education supervisor, named Chiluba, is a good friend of Sophie’s and is a very smart lady. She’s a Zambian who speaks fluent French and English and has graduated from the University of Zambia. During this meeting, she didn’t really say much, except to ask us when it would be finished… It remains a struggle to work with HODI.
Sept 30th
Today was the September interagency meeting. It was great to see Kevin, who works for RTP in the Kala refugee camp again. He came with his new work partner Kim, who hails from Toronto and has been in the country about 2 months now. He caught me up on all the hockey news, including all the trades and the Flames being rated number one in the league by Sports Illustrated!!!
We talked shop for awhile and it was decided that we would like to organize an intercamp refugee Olympics, where a group of student athletes from each of our camps would come and participate in games in the others camp. We set a date for beginning December and have already began planning. I thought it would be a great idea as not only would it serve as a great time for the kids but some of them would also have the chance to meet friends and family that they wouldn’t have seen in years. It’s going to be a lot of work but when we see the look on some of the kids faces after arriving in the other camp, it will all be worth it…
Oct. 1st
Off to Lusaka today. Ill report when our trip is finished…
Oct. 2nd to15th
What a whirlwind trip it was. Two of the busiest weeks I’ve ever had in my life and I’m completely tired out. The first job was to have the vehicle repaired. This, of course, was a more difficult procedure then first planned. We also prepared Physical Education Manuals to be handed out to teachers as well as an Anti-Aids manual that we will give to the club.
I also wanted to look at job opportunities while I was there for February, but I couldn’t find much.
Also while we were there, our driver got in an accident when he ran into another vehicle, when the police showed up he tried to argue his way out of a ticket and was thrown in jail. We had to go there later on in the day to pay the ticket and get the vehicle out of impound. When you get a ticket here they make you pay it on the spot and if you can’t then they will impound your vehicle until they do. Most of the cops will also try to get something on the side and will there for tell you the ticket is worth a lot more than it actually is. IN this case, the officer said the ticket was 500,000 kw, when it was only actually 300,000 kw. It wasn’t until we asked for an official receipt that he resisicended the quote.
The trips there and back were surprisingly smooth. Only one break down!!!
Oct. 16th
Mporokoso… This place is really starting to feel like home. Can’t believe I’ve already been here almost 8 months (although time hasn’t passed too quickly)… As I walk down to the market for the hundredth time, everything is familiar. The kids yelling “HOW ARE YOU?” at me; the rusted out time roofing, the knee deep potholes, huge poplar trees, the heat, the run down guest house on the corner of market, the shopkeepers with their hellos, big smiles and hand shakes. I can sit on my front porch and name just about every neighbor within sight. Mr Muma lives to the left of us and works as an mechanic, he is always working on vehicles with family members standing around watching; down the street to the left and right is my friend Billy and my other friend Barry. Kitty corner to us is Mr Phiri, the Health supervisor at Red Cross, here since 1999, leaving his wife and kids to attend private school in Kasama… Ill miss the place…
Oct 17th
Learned today that UNHCR is going to start repatriation for the refugees back to Congo next year. This is huge news. It means that the UN has determined that the situation is stable enough for people to start returning home. They will begin the exercise of making sure people have homes to go back to, that there will be sufficient food, water and education back home and that they will be transported back to the regional capital of Lubumbashi. They are scheduled to start in the summer of next year with 5000 refugees, then more will follow. Most people here say that they will not go back until elections are held and there will be schools for their children to go back to. IN my opinion it may be a little premature for repatriation to start, being that there is still fighting in the northwestern Kivu region and based on the bureaucratic system that is in place and a lack of government in rural areas,
Oct 18th
In the camp today for some meetings. It seems the intramural league that we’ve worked so hard in setting up is going as planned. All the players and coaches are really excited to compete in the matches. The only problem I have with it is that it seems to be way to competitive. The losing team always looks really depressed and the winning team will mock the losing team. I feel bad for the lsing players and coaches. The other day, I saw something quite disheartening. In the aftermath of a basketball victory by Mwange D school (the court is usually surrounded by 100’s of hyper kids) one of the children started thowing sand in other players eyes. There was about 3 kids of the ground screaming in pain. All of the sudden one of the coaches came by and started knocking kids in the back of the head for throwing the sand. Corporal punishment is quite common here and children are quite often punished through violence. I felt like we were partly responsible for the violence on this day as it was a result of the excitement caused by the match.
Oct 19th
Taking my regular stroll over to a bakers house who sells me buns today, I again passed by the catholic church where there is always beautiful Zambian music coming from. I decided to take a peak inside the door to listen and stood at the back of the church for a good hour. I was enchanted by the sounds. It seems impossible that so many woman can all have such glorious voices and though I didn’t understand a word of the music, it sounded great all the same. When I finally arrived at the bakers house, I greeted his kids as usual and went through the usual formalities – asking how his day is going, then telling him how many buns I want, to which he always replies “Only 2 buns”, to which I reply “Yes only 2, but ill come for more tomorrow”, he wishes me a pleasant evening, I do the same and I walk back home. The buns are ready at 4 pm everyday, and the fresher you can get them the better. He always picks out the best buns for me. Haha…
Oct 20th
The handover of the project to the community is almost complete. We now have refugees facilitating every workshop and meeting with us only being present for support. So why is it we are still so busy? Today I was swamped with work and when I finally got home it was straight to bed. It seems hard to believe that I can’t sleep in here at all!! I’m up at 6 am every morning, when usually at home I can sleep all day. I think it must be the heat. Already by that time in the day it can be 30 degrees and ill never get used to that. I wonder if ill ever have the ability to sleep in again?
