DavidDamberger
David Damberger Joined: January 28th 2005
Logged in: January 12th 2012
Logged in: January 12th 2012
Thank you so much to everyone who supported me and Engineers Without Borders throughout my time here. I can't say enough about how much it means to me to have so many great people around the world who love and care about me so much.
Muchale Kabutu - Stay Well
David
Travel Blog Posts
Have I changed?
"You must have changed" Changed? Me? Really? You think? Just a few minutes ago I was bumping along, riding in the back of what was my last trip in the back of a maize filled pickup truck, going from a Zambian village into town, overstuffed with people and goats, one of which had a lazy eye and was nicely nuzzling into my lap and chewing on a maize sack trying to score himself an early lunch. One of the farmers beside me had started asking me the basic questions that typify most common Zambian conversations: How are you? Where you were going? Where were you coming from? What church do you belong to? But after hearing that I was going to be leaving Africa after being here for 3.5 years, he hit me with a reflective ... read more
DROUGHT!
Three days ago, the President of Zambia, Levy Mwanawasa declared that the country is officially in the midst of a national disaster due to the severe hunger problem. Reports are stating that almost 2 million Zambians (out of a total of 11.5 million) are going to be short of food this year and the main culprit behind the hunger situation was drought. Being the good little global citizens that you are, many of you have been sending me emails asking me questions about what it is like on the ground during this “disaster” situation so I thought I would share a few things as seen though my eyes. Choma The most easily seen evidence of the disaster situation in my town of Choma is that I have now been without proper water systems for over 4 ... read more
What we call a flyswatter, they call a spirit chasser awayer
In Southern Province of Zambia, the majority of the people here are of a certain tribe called the Tongans (there are 72 other tribes in Zambia). Tongan is a culture that I have immersed myself in, a language I have learnt to speak and a people of whom I have become so attached. Culture is a very deep concept and it would take hundreds of pages to just scratch the surface of it, but I’ve written a few things that I’ve observed about that culture that I thought would be of some interest. Of course, these are only my perceptions of the culture and only being here for less then a year, I have definitely haven’t understood things entirely the way they probably actually are. People Tongan people, comparative to many of the other tribes here ... read more
We were sure to show our Zambian guests proper Canadian eating manners
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope that you all were able to celebrate a wonderful thanksgiving this past weekend with many loved friends and family. Now, when all of you were sitting down about to stuff your faces with as much Turkey / Tofu-rkey that would fit in your bellies, you probably asked yourself, “mmm, I wonder what people in Zambia do for thanksgiving?” Well, the obvious answer is that they do what they are used to doing every other day because they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Zambia silly. However, if you were to be a little more insightful and instead ask yourself the question “mmmm, I wonder what three Canadians who are working for Engineers Without Borders in Zambia do for thanksgiving?” then all you would have to do is read the story below to find ... read more
NZOKA!
So I think I mentioned it in an earlier message, but I’ve had quite a few interesting roommates living with me here in Choma. The most consistent of which has been Lizzy, the red nosed lizard who frequents my sink on quite a regular basis. I actually really enjoy having Lizzy around because not only is he someone to talk to on lonely nights, but he also is great at catching and eating those useless waste of a species, mosquitoes. Anyways, this story begins one late night with me having just returned, exhausted, from a long day in the village where I had spent way too long repairing a farmers treadle pump. It was a really dark night and when I entered my home and tried to switch on the light I discovered that the power ... read more
Like Stealing Candy from a Baby
I SCORED MY FIRST GOAL PLAYING FOOTBALL IN ZAMBIA TODAY!!! (Ironically enough, it was the first time I decided to culturally integrate a step further by taking off my shoes and play barefoot on the jaggedy rock covered field just like all the other guys) =^) ... read more
Cutest Baby in the World!
Well, I have finally returned back home to Choma and been here for almost a month. It feels like I sort of had to redo the process of settling back into the life here and reintegrating with the culture because the roots I grew in my first month weren’t strong enough to keep me grounded during my time away. However the process has been moving forward and things are starting to settle down. I am really loving the challenge and reward of my work. I come home many days saying to myself that I have the best job in the world. I get to learn an incredible amount everyday and meet with a huge variety of people and learn about their lives. I then get to work with these people in a very sincere and straightforward ... read more
A newly found football team
So, the first day when I have arrived here in Zimbabwe, I made a call back to Zambia to check on the status on of my work permit. The answer that was given to me was that it was almost ready and that I should check back tomorrow. So I spent the day doing a blitz tour of Harare, quickly getting a small feel for Zimbabwe and then the next day, with my bag packed, I gave a call to Zambia. But when I asked them which bus I should take back, they said it wasn’t quite ready and that I should call back again tomorrow. No problem I thought, I get another day to explore the city in a bit more depth. So that’s what I did and the next day, again with a full ... read more
Africa?
So, I'm still here in Zim, drinking a hot cup of tea because the African winter is just settling in and believe it or not, it’s cold enough that I can see my breath in the mornings. I remain in exile from under the information that my Zambian work permit "should be ready tomorrow". However this is the exact same information that I was told when I was deported so I am now defining the term "tomorrow" as being sometime between now and when I have to return to Canada around Christmas time. But, being given the chance to experience life here in Harare during what could be seen as a "crisis" time. Crisis being a very relative term because the situation has moved from horrible to unbearable as seen through the lens’s of many local ... read more
A warm welcome
Although I’ve refrained from mentioning anything since I’ve arrived here over 3 months ago, I’ve been having a few problems getting the necessary full-time work permit that allows me to legally live and volunteer here in Zambia. See, in Zambia you are allowed to stay in the country as a volunteer for a total of 3 months for free. After that, you either need to get a work permit or leave the country. I applied for my work permit the first week I arrived here, however, due to various “administrative and technical problems” it “hasn’t been processed to date”. Over the past 3 months, I’ve had quite a crazy experience trying to get this work permit approved. Whether it was them not receiving the application form (which was sent to them the first week I was ... read more
