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Background: The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. The new president launched a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in 2002, which resulted in the prosecution of former President Frederick CHILUBA and many of his supporters in late 2003. Opposition parties currently hold a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

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By Rosemary Tomlinson
May 8th 2008

Work Experiences

Africa » Zambia » Chipata

Before!

Work- well, it's certainly not particularly onerous at this precise moment. This week's very quiet as most people are off on field trips, doing 'activities'. I'm sat here in a spacious office which have just moved into, playing music on my laptop and awaiting the return of an electricity supply. My job is to help the organisation sort out their documentation (mainly paper). There have been considerable changes of staff over the last year or so and the new recruits are finding it difficult to locate information prior to when they started. In addition, the overall numbers of staff have in [View Full Entry]

By Brinylon79
May 2nd 2008

R.I.P. Fly

Africa » Zambia » Eastern Province

The Zambian bank holiday was yesterday (yes, I know, odd to have a Thursday off & then have to go back to work), so after a very leisurely lie in (even with the power off so no coffee!) I went out to lunch in Katete with some of the med students & one of the doctors. Sadly, Fly, one of the cutest dogs in the hospital, decided to follow us as we walked up the main road to town- only to run under the wheels of a passing truck. It was pretty horrific, especially as her owners were devastated when we [View Full Entry]

By BethanyM
April 30th 2008

A quick stop at Victoria Falls, Zambia...

Africa » Zambia » Livingstone

ZAMBIA-VICTORIA FALLS (2)
One of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World

Off to Zambia - Vic Falls… A 3-day stop in Zambia to see Victoria Falls one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. And that it was, beautiful, absolutely beautiful! I stayed at the Zambezi Sun that was right next to the park. The greatest reason for staying here is the wildlife that wanders the grounds and the fact that you can walk right into the park as often as you'd like. Right outside my window there were zebra and velvet monkeys EVERYWHERE. You wanted to reach out and touch them but of course you couldn’t. Also crossed over to [View Full Entry]

By Brinylon79
April 30th 2008

Make the most of your electricity!

Africa » Zambia » Eastern Province

Yes, please note the above...you do not know how lucky you are to have uninterrupted power 24 hours a day, let alone hot water when you want it! Still, it could be classed as fun to have a cold shower in the dark at 6am- if you're insane! But at least it is sunny every day, I'm getting a tan, & new things are happening every day. Yesterday I wore scrubs for the first time ever. That was fun, I really liked wearing the green cap, but I'm glad I don't have to do every day I go into work. The [View Full Entry]

By Rosemary Tomlinson
April 29th 2008

Life in a Zambian convent

Africa » Zambia » Chipata

Kitchen Garden

There are two Catholic Sisters' houses in Chipata, mine and another, bigger one, where 12 live. However, I understand that what with all the other Christian denominations there may be as many as 5 or 6 convents, so Chipata is alive with prayers and good thoughts. As Chipata is a bit of a hub, there are frequently Sisters crashing over en route from somewhere to somewhere else, and it is not uncommon for me to come home and greet two or three people, feeling very guilty that I can't remember their names (especially in the dark), only to find that I've [View Full Entry]

By Brinylon79
April 24th 2008

Adventures with insects & reptiles

Africa » Zambia » Eastern Province

I seem to be getting more & more acquainted with the creepy crawly variety of African species; beside the adventure with the cockroach in the last entry, I have now managed to accidently kill the lizard that lived on my windowsill (by trapping it under the door), trying to get rid of various spiders, and found a praying mantis on the wall. Weirdest of all, yesterday I found a frog on my kitchen floor-when I'm in a land locked country, miles from any water! NB, don't ever try to get a frog out of the house with a dustpan & brush; [View Full Entry]

By Kerry100
April 23rd 2008

30 Today

Africa » Zambia » Livingstone

Scotsmen
Ross & David Livingstone

So we are now in Livingstone, so-called after David the Scottish guy. There's a statue of him and everything. We went to Victoria Falls yesterday which was amazing - it's one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, apparently (I'm so going to win pub quizzes and trivial pursuit when I get back). You get soaked when walking across a bridge so Ross and I donned our "emergency ponchos" which made us look like demented American tourists. We didn't get wet though, so it didn't matter. I don't think I can really describe the Falls here - when I finally [View Full Entry]

By Ross da Boss
April 23rd 2008

Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders) aka Victoria Walls

Africa » Zambia » Livingstone

Fawlty Towers, Livingstone, Zambia

The Zambezi and the glorious Victoria Falls are just breath-taking. The Falls themselves are the largest curtain of water in the world and words don't describe just how beautiful they are. The whole area is magical. Everything is so green and lush. Butterflies are in an abundance and it feels altogether other-wordly. Think Rivendell! Getting here was easy enough. We took the bus from Lusaka to Livingstone. I was very pleased we had organised bus tickets the day before. The bus station was heaving and we certainly would not have got a seat without our advance booking. Journey time was around [View Full Entry]

By Brinylon79
April 21st 2008

Two weeks in

Africa » Zambia » Eastern Province

Well, it's the start of my second full week here; and I really enjoy it. The work is hard, but busy, which is good & I have my own little house and garden, which I love as it's my own space to do what I please with. I think that the other volunteers have been easy to get to know & are all really friendly. We are relying on each other for entertainment as there are no other sources really; no tv, no cinema, etc. Plus, you need to make friends quickly when so many people are passing through. Whether they'll [View Full Entry]

By Kerry100
April 20th 2008

Finally here

Africa » Zambia » Lusaka

Chachacha Hostel
Me under a mosquito net

So we finally arrived in Lusaka after delayed flights and me almost being detained by security at Glasgow airport (managed to have a pair of scissors in my hand luggage). We passed through absurdly laid back security in Lusaka airport (people actually running towards planes to meet family members) into beautiful sunshine with a gospel choir singing. All very stereotypical but nice nonetheless. Yesterday passed in a haze of tiredness - we looked round some shops after checking into our hostel. Our room comprises a corrugated iron roof and what appears to be walls made of some form of stra [View Full Entry]

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Travel Blog » Africa » Zambia