Rachel Maser
Rachel Maser Joined: February 9th 2006
Logged in: May 15th 2006
Logged in: May 15th 2006
I was initially partnered with International Development Enterprises in Zambia, but when crucial funding for a project fell through, I was re-partnered with ActionAid International Malawi (AAIM). AAIM has projects in over 40 countries and currently focuses on five thematic areas: gender and women’s rights, governance, food and nutrition security, basic education and HIV/AIDS. The organization strategy has shifted from service delivery (building bridges, schools, etc.) to a rights based approach to empower communities to achieve change themselves. At this year’s national conference, some may remember Robert Chambers referring to ActionAid as a very pro-poor and participatory NGO. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to be a part of this organization.
I’m currently based in Mwanza, in Southern Malawi, near the Mozambique border. Until my Chichewa (the unofficial national language of Malawi) improves, I will be focusing on working with on governance, gender and HIV/AIDS issues with local community based organizations.
On a more personal front, I’ve lived a nomadic life because of my parents’ sense of adventure. Somewhere along the way, I picked up the traveling bug for which there is no cure!
I was born in Ottawa and spent the first six years of her life in Manotick, Ont. My father was a journalist with Southam News at the time and in 1988, he became the Quebec political correspondent for the new agency and our family moved to Longueuil, Quebec (across the St.Laurence River from Montreal). I was lucky enough to attend grades 1 to 5 at a French elementary school, and am therefore fluent in French. In 1993, Dad became the Sub-Saharan Africa correspondent for the news chain and this time we moved to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. We had the opportunity to travel all around southern Africa and my sister and I attended the Harare International School. In 1996, our family returned Edmonton where I’ve lived for 9 years, which the exception of a 4 month engineering co-op work term in Germany.
While I’ve always had a passion for Africa, Romeo Dallaire’s movie “Shake Hands with the Devil” served as a catalyst for my volunteer involvement with Engineers Without Borders Canada. Since my father covered the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, Senator Dallaire’s story struck a very personal chord with me and I decided to make a serious commitment to the organization and international development.
My past work experience includes research in periodontal implants, scoliosis, composite materials, as well as, lifeguarding and swim coaching. My Canadian interests include hiking, rock and ice climbing, running, swimming, reading and theater. Much to my chagrin, there are few swimming pools in Africa, but there are lots of mountains and plenty of time to read!
Travel Blog Posts
Ben and Anna
First published in The Edmonton Journal, May 6, 2006 The thing the darkness hates most is the light, Zimbabwean commercial farmer Ben Freeth tells me. Ben is referring to the fear and destruction propagated by Robert Mugabe’s regime in a land that was once an African success story. In the past 10 years, Mugabe has destroyed what was once the bread basket of Africa. Zimbabwe had never experienced a food deficit before the former rebel leader began his unpopular land reforms in 2000. My cousin, Ben, and his family are trying to fight the corruption and greed in the Zimbabwean government openly and transparently, but this has proved to be both challenging and dangerous. They hope to hold the Zimbabwean government accountable for its actions and, ultimately, to hold onto their mango and citrus farm in ... read more
Learning how to do Aerobics!
Last week I attended a conference about Positive Living for people openly living with AIDS and those working in the sector. The conference focuses on four areas: the mind, the body, the spirit and the environment. The mind track explored depression and AIDS, as well as the role drugs, stress and comedy. The body focused on Anti-Retroviral Therapy, exercise, traditional remedies, and sexual and gender based violence. In the spirit track, positive spirituality, sexuality, relationships and the creative arts were discussed. Finally in the environment track, stigma, discrimination, leadership, partnership, the electoral process and advocacy in Zambia were tackled. It was an intense two days! It was fascinating to get a glimpse into the Zambian psyche and some of the reasons why AIDS has such a hold in this region. Although the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful ... read more
Where your used clothes wind up...
We’ve come to a stop because there is a river crossing the road. Will we have to turn back, I think to myself. I look inquiringly at Edson. He turns to me, who has only been in Mozambique for 4 days, with a worried look on his face. “The problem is that there is a small concrete bridge in the river,” he says. The rains have been generous this year so most rivers are at their highest levels in decades, and in this case, the river is higher than the bridge. So he puts the car in gear and we inch forward into the brown and mucky river. Visions of the truck tipping over into the river or water flooding in rush through my mind. My knuckles turn white as I grip my bag in fear ... read more
Walking through a Sorghum field
February 22nd, 2006 On Sunday, I went to visit another EWB volunteer named Mike Quinn in Livingstone, near the breathtaking (and drenching!) Victoria Falls. Mike is working on a pilot project to re-introduce sorghum to Zambian farmers. Sorghum was once the staple crop in Zambia, but in the 1970s, former President Kenneth Kaunda tried to unite Zambia's 73 tribes with a common dietary staple - maize (or corn, as we know it). However, maize requires more water for growth and quickly depletes the soil of nutrients. Typically, the maize is dried and ground to make mealie meal. Mealie meal is used to make what the locals call nshima (it has the consistency of mashed potatoes) which is eaten at literally every meal. The biggest challenge is that sorghum is seen as a poor man's crop and ... read more
The Gang at Niagara Falls
Tonight I’m leaving for Zambia to volunteer as a development worker with Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB)! After two red-eye flights through London and Johannesburg, I’ll land in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. I will be partnered with an international non-governmental organization (NGO) called International Development Enterprises (IDE). IDE focuses on simple irrigation technology for smallholder farmers like the human-powered treadle pump (which looks like a stairmaster and pumps about 1 liter of water per second) and drip irrigation. Unlike other organizations that give away technology and create donor dependency, IDE tries to set up a supply chain for the pumps which involves finding local manufacturers who sell directly to the farmers. They also ensure there is transportation to market for the farmer’s increased crop yields. I will be working on two projects; th... read more
