Blogs from Zambia, Africa - page 87

May 7, 2006 - Day 22 - Had to be ready to go by 8am and we took off shortly after that - seven of us out of the original crew, saying good-bye to Anke, who would be leaving later that morning. We crossed the border just after the falls into Zambia, where we were treated to a visa fee-free entry because our guides got our names to the border the day before and got us an exemption. We drove a whole 11 km and then pulled up to camp. Set up our tents and had the rest of the day to kill. It rained in the morning before we left and cooled things off a bit. After lunch I got Richard’s laptop and headed to the lodge to sit with Jules in front of the ... read more

With just one week to go before I leave for Toronto for a some training with Engineers Without Borders I am really getting down to the crunch! I think I am mostly ready to go, I have just a couple things to track down and wrap up. I am currently supposed to be going to western provincein Zambia to work on a private-sector development project called PROFIT, but my location could change pretty easily. I hope to spend much of my time in the villages working with local communities. I feel that it is there that I will encounter the most culture, the most insight. I know that writing reports and finding funding is critical to development work, but I'm pretending those things don't exist for now ;-) I've been spending a lot of my time ... read more

Mzungu Beloved of screaming children desperate to get your attention means, in its current translation, white man. (me! white!?!) Its origins are thought to be from the Swahili words for wondering around lost, and behaving like a drunkard, about 300 years ago. White tourists wondering around lost and nusring hang overs. Mmm we've come along way in last 300 years... Lusaka I arrived in Lusaka later than planned, surprise surprise, and grabbed the nearest taxi driver to help me with my bags and to get me to Cha Cha Cha Backpackers, hoping that my reservation (for once I had booked ahead) still stood. They had actually managed to screw up my booking, so instead of having a single room to myself I ended up in a dorm room and saving more money! Then it was time ... read more

I left you in Eshowe and I'm soo Glad I left, my god it has to be the worst hostel in the world. I was one of three people staying there and because the Baz bus only runs certain days i was stuck there, i nearly slit my wrists. Rain, cold and outdoor showers = happy days! The reason for my eshowe catastrophe was to do Zululand so went around this Zulu village with a thousand little kids in tow wanting a picture taken. As for the Zulu beer rocking, hardly, looked bad white and foamy and tasted even worse. Was pretty cool though and felt very African so much so they even did the whole clicking when they talked, wicked. Next stop and a new country Swaziland. I stayed on the Milwane Nature Reserve and ... read more

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