No real news from Zambia, just a few misc items that may be of interest….

1.  The rains have begun… sort of.  The last two days it rained a little.  I am told that this is normally how they come, just a little at first and then pretty good rain.  I am looking forward to it as it is very dry and dusty, but I am not looking forward to effect the rain will have on the road we live on.  It was once a good road but they didn’t maintain it so it is now a dirt road with big chunks of remaining concrete everywhere.  I am afraid the rains will wash away more of the dirt and just leave large rocks and concrete.  Even with the truck, we have to drive very carefully until we reach the tarmac (that is what they call the paved roads). 

2.  Fuel problems continue.  There has been a problem for about 3 to 4 weeks now.  First it was petrol that was in short supply and then it moved to diesel.  Now, it just seems to switch randomly.  Some days there are long lines, others you can pull right up and fill up.  There is only one refinery in Zambia and it hasn’t been working so all of the fuel has been imported.  The government has been feeling the heat and has been trying to make it easy for fuel to be imported and it has gotten better.  However I just read that the refinery was a joint venture between the government and Total (a French oil company) and that Total has pulled out because the government hasn’t been keep up their end of the deal.  That isn’t a surprise and I don’t have high hopes for the government to run it well.

3.   Work continues.  We have been really busy with our partners these last couple of weeks.  Cynthia is now working as much as possible which is good, but also requires us to plan our days a bit better as we only have one vehicle and we need to take and pick-up the boys from school each day.  The girls shelter continues to make progress.  We had an event this past week in which a local bank donated a bunch of much needed items.  There is a still a lot more to be done, but it is nice to see some progress and not to worry that they don’t have enough money to feed the girls.  I have been working more with the financial records of one of the schools and I am seeing some progress there.  They want me to stop by each week and check their books to ensure they are correct.  I am glad because I feel that I am forcing my ideals on them so it is nice to hear that they want this also.  Once they are able to keep good records on paper, I will train them on how to do it on the computer which is much, much easier and allows them to generate financial reports with very little effort. 

4.  The boys…  I am very happy that the family has adjusted so easily.  There have been lots of changes for the boys, but they seem to adapt very quickly.  Jason has a good friend name Stephen who he met on the first day of school and they have been good friends ever since.  It doesn’t hurt that Stephen is into Lego’s also.  Stephen has a younger brother who is in Jared’s class and another younger brother who is Justin’s age.  We brought them all to our house after school on Friday and they all had a good time.  Our house is rather small so we force them to play most of the time outside.  I don’t know exactly what they do, but they seem to have fun.

5.   Holiday’s approaching – There are turkey’s in Zambia but you don’t find them in the stores.  I am debating whether we find one for our Thanksgiving dinner or try something new (Guinea foul?).  We are also trying to think ahead for Christmas for the boys.  We have a friend who is willing to bring several items over for us, so we will have some gifts for the kids.  You can actually buy Lego’s here but they are really, really expensive and I am too cheap.  There are few reasonable toys here, for example, a deck of Uno cards is over $30!  We are setting expectations low and the kids really don’t seem to mind.

If you have any suggestions for things I can cover, please let me know.

  Wondering what a typical day is like for me?  While today wasn’t quite typical, it does provide a bit of insight.  I should learn to lower my expectations for productivity…

Objective 1 – Fix Computer

  At 8:30am, I met the partner who lives very near to us (Issa) to give him a ride into his office to look at his computer (he received one of the newer ones from the recent shipment).  We stopped by our managers’ house so I could pick up a spare monitor as it sounded like Issa’s was bad and arrived at the office around 9:45.  I got to work on his computer but not too long after starting, the power was cut (not unusual but poorly timed).  Sometimes it is only out for a short time, so I waited.  By 11am, I decided I should try to check other items off the list and promised to return.

Objective 2 – Pick up Cynthia’s Drivers License

  I drove to the Zambian equivalent of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to pick up Cynthia’s driver’s license.  As you recall, we have gone through quite a lot to get our licenses, but when we stopped to pick up the actual card they discovered that Cynthia’s was damaged and asked us to return two weeks later.  Today was three weeks later and after waiting for a bit (but really not long on Zambian standards) I was told that her card was still not ready and they asked me to return in three weeks. 

  Mission FAILED!

Objective 3 – Pick up Study Permits for Jason and Jared

  Next was immigration to pick up the study permits.  I arrived and found the boys names written in the book.  (This is the way in which you determine if your documents are ready.  There are several books in a lobby and each day they hand write the names of the people whose documents were processed so you have to find the right book and flip through it backwards to find your names.)  I was directed to desk 12 which had a very short line.  However upon arriving I was told that I can’t pick up the boys study permits, they must come in person.  I tried my best to be polite and ask if that was really necessary.  The boys are in the country on my work permit, the fact that a 7 and 10 year old need study permits is a bit outrageous if you ask me.  On the way out, I double checked with the lady who had been so helpful last time and she confirmed that they do in fact need to come with me. 

  Mission FAILED!

Objective 4 – Purchase some computer parts

  Since I was in the right part of the city and with the ongoing fuel shortage, I decided to head to my good (and cheap) computer store to get some parts.  I found the store closed which wasn’t a big surprise as I had been told by others that Fridays are hit and miss as they are Muslim and attend the mosque.

   Mission FAILED!

Objective 5 – Fill up the car with petrol

  There has been a fuel shortage for a couple of weeks now.  I waited 3 hours to get $20 worth of fuel earlier in the week.  (BTW – unleaded here is 5800 kwacha per liter which comes to $5 per gallon so I only got 4 gallons).  After leaving the computer store I noticed a car parked at a pump and pulled in to check if they had petrol.  (Many times people would simply park their cars at a station and wait for petrol to arrive and there wasn’t a line so I didn’t expect it).  When I asked they said they did indeed have petrol!  My previous failures would be forgotten if I could fill the tank.  There was an SUV at the pump and a car behind that and then me.  I was happy, no waiting in line and I was going to check an item off of my “To Do” list.  However the SUV must have had a huge container in the back of the truck and they were pumping for a long time.  (Many people try to purchase petrol in various containers and then resell to people unwilling to wait in line). When they did move on the next guy pulled up.  He didn’t get a liter in before it quit.  No more petrol. 

Mission FAILED!  But wait… the attendant told me to hurry to the station across the main road as they still had petrol.  (Apparently today petrol wasn’t terribly short and diesel was lacking).  I followed their guidance and was able to fill my tank AND the large container I had.  When I paid for the fuel the attendant asked me to buy him something to drink.  I was so happy I was willing but I only had 1100 kwacha (and some large bills that he wasn’t getting) so I gave him what I had which amounted to a quarter.  They typically don’t ask for anything and I typically wouldn’t have given him anything but I was able to check something off my list so there was reason for celebration. 

   Mission ACCOMPLISHED!

Return to Objective 1 and starting Objective 6

   I returned to Issa’s office to find that power had still not returned and shortly thereafter received a text from Cheryl (an MCC coworker who had travelled to Lusaka and was staying at our house for the weekend).  She was letting me know she was in the city and I was planning to pick her up.  I excused myself and met her at a grocery and picked up a few items for Cynthia.

  Mission 1 – FAILED, MISSION 6 ACCOMPLISHED!!

SUMMARY

  If you were counting, I was 2 for 6 or 1 out of 3.  In most everything but baseball and Zambia, that would be considered a poor performance but it is pretty typical here.  It wasn’t a bad day and we are happy to have Cheryl staying with us. 

  As you probably know, I work with a girls shelter and a drop-in center for street children.  Both of them provide a greatly needed service and I believe very much in what they are doing.  The girls shelter has been the biggest challenge primarily due to the fact that it is a relatively new organization and it has had financial challenges (read: no money).  I am happy to report that things are looking better.  There is a small organization from Australia that has committed to the shelter that they would pay the rent for the next 12 months (as well as the several months they were in arrears).  This is a real answer to prayer as they had been threatened with eviction several times.  In addition a local bank had provided them with a great deal of food and a group stepped up to help one of the girls go to school.  My organization provided the shelter with a computer and printer which has helped us get more accomplished.  It feels like things are starting to look brighter.  Lots of challenges, but we are seeing progress.

  Now for the one step back…. I got word that the drop-in center has been told that they must leave their new location by the end of the year.  We knew the place was for sale but the owner of the house had assured them that their rental agreement would be honored.  It doesn’t look like that will happen (let’s just say that there seems to be something shady going on).  Unfortunately the centre has been through this before as 3 previous landlords have evicted them due to other renters complaining about the presence of street children.  I fear it will be tough to find a new place and then lots of work to get the word out again to the children where they can come for help.  It would be ideal for them to have a place that they own for the sake of continuity.  Aaron has been through a lot with this organization and he keeps pressing on.

  Another family that lives here in Zambia with MCC is the Sanfillipo’s.  They made a video for the MCC SALT program (Serving And Learning Together) which highlighted Ashley who was here in Zambia with us.  I thought I would share the link as it provides some insight into her work here.

http://www.connectingpeoples.org/?p=498

   Recently MCC received a shipment from Canada that included 8 computers.  Four of them went to some of my local partners and the remaining were going to Sikalongo Basic School in the southern province.  (A basic school is a primary or elementary school).  It is about a 4.5 hour drive from Lusaka and is located between Choma and Lake Kariba, in other words, it is in the middle of no where.  There is a basic and secondary school at this location which are run by the Brethren in Christ church. 

  The roads were actually quite good, even when you got onto the dirt roads as a grater recently went through.  I understand that only happens once every few years and with rainy season coming, it won’t last.  When we arrived at the school the power was out so they welcomed us in the headmasters office and provided pop and scones.  The headmasters wife made the scones and they were really, really good.  After we visited for a while, the power came on and I started setting up the computers.  They said that no one there knew anything about computers but they could get help from the secondary school, however, it was clear that one man knew what he was doing much more than he let on.  I didn’t really have time to train them on how to use the computers and we are concerned about how much use they will get.  Apparently having a computer on your desk adds credibility and it isn’t uncommon for someone to have a non-working computer on their desk, just for show.  While this is my first trip to the southern province most of our work with the BIC churches is down there so I expect I will get back there and have the opportunity to check in on them.

  Since the road grater had been through, they recommended we take the “short-cut” to Choma where we spent the night.  Below are two photos I took on the road to give you an idea of what the road in the bush is like.  I then spent the night at the BIC Guest House in Choma and the next morning, I jumped on a bus to Lusaka while Kathy and Eric Fast (our managers and country directors) continued on to meet with other projects.  This was my first time on the bus and it wasn’t crowded or too hot, so it was pretty good.  The only exception is the horrible movie playing loudly.  It was from the US but had rudimentary “Simple English” subtitles, which was interesting.