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Wednesday, 2 May 2012
An event that'll effect thousands of lives!
Friday, 20 April 2012
March.15th-Current
April.18th/2012
So much has happened since the last time I posted. My birthday, Zambian & Canadian style Easter feasts, project ideas, new tasks at work, helping my close friends put together a funding event in Chilliwack, the scare of having malaria, little illnesses, but overcoming it all and more lessons learned to mark down in my lifetime. I can’t believe today is the half-way point of this journey in Zambia. Time surely has flown by way too fast. It’s been 9 weeks already! I was just taking a moment to think of how we were on our first day in Zambia. So unsure of what to do, the smells in the air taking over me; everything felt so different then, the currency was so confusing, the transportation was different than anything I had ever imagined… So crammed, confusing, and sketchy it seemed. The very first meal we ate at the YWCA compound; not even an hour living in this country. We had T-bone steak, boiled cabbage and diced tomatoes, and nshima…. I chuckle thinking back on how I had felt… looking around for utensils, but saw none… only saw everyone around me using their hands, taking a piece of the nshima and rolling it in their palms, pressing a groove in it with their thumb as if it were a doughy spoon and using it to pick up pieces of food…. I observed for a minute or so, and curiosity took control of me- I jumped right in, grabbed a ball of the steamy hot nshima, almost burning my hands, rolled it and made my first attempt… unsure but determined none the less. I came in with an open mind, eager to learn more of this beautiful culture.
I think of how much we have adapted and it makes me smile. Zambia is my home now; the lifestyle has become almost second nature for me. Once taking me about 3 hours to hand wash a small load of laundry, now taking me under an hour of my time. Currency isn’t confused anymore, no more getting ripped off because of my lack of knowledge. The dirt roads are familiar and I could walk down them knowing I was safe. The smell that once so shocked me in the air I don’t notice anymore…. I’ve grown accustomed. I feel such an incredible and unexplainable type of peace within me. I’ve grown so much as a person in the past few months; this entire experience has been a blessing in my life. I know that whatever is in store in my future is bright…. I won’t let this learning experience go to waste. It will forever impact the choices I make and the outlook of my life.
March.15th, my 24th birthday half way across the world from the usual destination and not with the usual smiling faces I celebrate it with every year… but it was an unforgettable day none the less. Who gets to say they welcomed their 24th year in the capital of Zambia? I do! With my fellow interns who have become life-long friends… who have become family. I woke up before the usual 5:15am alarm went off to messages and phone calls from the people I love back at home…. Laughing, crying, and joking… as if we were together. Then I went to work for 8 hours so happy. After work the 5 of us interns & Rohan went out to eat at a Place called Mike’s. They had all gotten me a card full of sweet things written in it & Rohan had handed me a cutely wrapped gift held together with duct tape… all that she could find. It made it that much more special to me… I opened it up shocked that I had even gotten a gift still at the age of 24… but happy as can be. It was a booked called, “The Ladies no.1 Detective Agency”. I was so excited! It was a copy of a movie that all we interns had watched about Africa while we were training in Victoria. It was so thoughtful. I am so grateful for the ones in my life. After we had dinner, I had received a Video clip sent from my home that Ashley & Courtney had helped rearrange for me on this special day. It was almost 10 minutes long. I separated from the rest and sat outside breathing in the African air as I watched the video. My siblings, mom, aunt, niece, nephew, friends, Dylan… my family had all said something sweet… wishing me happy birthday. It was so chaotic watching all the kids dancing in the living room, laughing away, with writing on the TV that said, “Happy Birthday Shaina”… so loud with music, voices, screaming, running around babies everywhere… but I loved every single second of it. Tears of happiness poured from my eyes… I must have the craziest, wildest, most supportive, loving family in this world… I swear. To see their big eyes all saying they love me just made my entire day. That was by far the best birthday present I could’ve ever received. Family is by far the most important thing on this earth to me. After watching it Dylan called me as I cried such happy tears. Then after talking to him my entire birthday was complete. I went to sleep the happiest women on earth I swear. Before my eyes closed to rest I prayed, thanking God for the people in my life, for everything in my life… for blessing me, for giving me the most unforgettable birthday. I fell asleep smiling.
My dearest friend Amanda Burge and Jessica Hocking have organized a funding event in my home town. I am beyond proud of them for helping thousands of lives be impacted. Women for Change has positively impacted over 600,000 people’s lives and continue to increase that number; never in my life have I witnessed such dedication and determination to help others. The event is May.5th Saturday from 6pm-9pm in Chilliwack at Corky’s Irish Pub down town, 45844 Yale Rd W Chilliwack, BC V2P 2N8. Tickets will be $10 for a burger and a beer. Tickets will be sold at the door at the night of the event. No reservations for the tables can be made, as it is first come first serve. There will be a 50/50 draw, a draw for hard liquor and also a silent auction. Thank you in advance for all the support in this cause for every penny raised is going directly to Women for Change. The vision: a society where there is gender equality in social, political, and economic development. The mission statement: Women for Change is a Zambian gender focused non-governmental organisation (NGO) working with communities, especially women and children in rural areas to contribute towards sustainable human development using Popular Education Methodologies (PEM). Their background: WfC is very excited about recent developments in their role as a leading catalyst for social change and community empowerment in Zambia. For two decades WfC has been working in rural communities in Zambia to build their capacity to realize their full potential and providing training for traditional leaders and NGO’s nationally and internationally…. By attending this event you are impacting lives in such a positive and profound way. If you can’t make it could you please share this information with all that you know, from the bottom of my heart I appreciate every single thing… even taking the time to read this.
We had to part ways with the boss, Rohan, as she left back to Uganda for about 3 weeks… just the five of us now to branch off without our fearless leader once again. Well… we survived and she gets back Friday April.20th.
Easter Sunday we were invited to Women for Change’s Executive Director’s place for a feast and just to get to know each other more, Ms. Sikazwe. She said, “Consider me your family; since you won’t get to spend Easter with your loved ones…consider me your grandma or your aunt.”… She had a huge smile and welcomed us into her arms with a tight hug. She reminds me of my aunt, Kelowa so much so I snuggled right in that hug. I once was so extremely intimidated by this powerful activist woman... I still am, but she’s shown us such a loving side… but none the less, don’t underestimate her. She is the strongest and most powerful woman I have ever met. She had made a huge Zambian feast for us; we ate it outside in the yard. It detailed: Kidney beans in tomato sauce, rice, two different styles of chicken, roast lamb, potato salad, dried fish, sardines, nshima, roast potatoes, and relishes (vegetables cooked in many different sauces… one being peanut butter sauce). Ms. Sikazwe had her sister there visiting as well as a friend that had flown in from Kenya. We all shared our Zambian names and just shared different culture shocks we have all experienced anywhere in the world and “different” things we have eaten… One thing that Ms.Sikazwe mentioned is that even she was very shocked when she had gone into a rural village in Zambia, as a tradition it’s paying respect if you cut into a mammal of some sort, hold a bucket under the cut and drink the blood… we heard many interesting stories I tell you and I was eager to hear them- to expand my mind. Most importantly, we shared so many good laughs.
Easter Monday the 5 of us wanted to make it a special day since we weren’t with our families so we went to the store and bought some food for a traditional Canadian feast. We all worked together, listened to music and cooked a huge candied pineapple ham, cream cheese mashed potatoes, steamed garlic beans & carrots, stuffing, gravy, Caesar salad and our traditional homemade banik fry bread. We laid it out on to the table and admired what our team effort had created. We all smiled then I said a prayer before we all indulged. Back at home my family always gets together for Easter. It is a big family day with over 30 people. Everyone laughs, chaos is everywhere, but that’s what I love. People call it a mad house, but I’ve never witnessed such a loving close family in my life. My grandpa then prays… his prayers always clench at all our hearts, a time to remember why “Easter” came about…. As amazingly fun it is to believe in the Easter bunny, egg hunts and basket of goodies we all need to be reminded of the true meaning. So I prayed, trying to imagine what my grandpa would say… I thanked Him for the hands that helped create the food, the food itself and the beautiful long process put into it to grow it, nurture it and process it, I asked him to give us strength and wisdom for all our next steps ahead of us, to protect us and our loved ones back home. Then thanked him for the sacrifice made to save us from our sins, thanked him for all that we have; “AMEN.” Echoed throughout the room and we then indulged with huge smiles on our faces.
I forgot to mention the results to my malaria tests… negative. Just so all of you don’t worry. I’m healthy as can be now but for a few days I struggled with a very high fever, ice cold sweats, nauseous, aching body, and barely enough energy to hold my arms up… I went to the clinic a day later and the doctor was pretty positive it was malaria so he gave me a test for it as well as a white blood cell count. I was calm the whole time; I know that malaria is like a common flu out here. It’s so common and most people have gained an immunity to it… I knew I’d be ok either way, they have very professional doctors out here and treatment at arms reach. I sat in the room waiting for the results, and in around 10 minutes they were already in. He said, “Well, you see here, healthy white blood cell count is supposed to be between 5-10… you have 9.99. You are healthy and fighting this off… and you are negative for malaria… the symptoms must be a flu or side effects to your anti malaria medication.” So, I went home later that day and drank plenty orange juice and over 2 litres of water. I refused to let the sickness get the best of me… I won!
Since my last post I have been working on a few tasks at WfC. I was given a website about UNWomen to familiarize myself with who they are, their focus areas, how they work and proposal information for this year. I also had met with Tendayi to discuss updates on the incredible Teen Vision Conference I was told about. I will post links on information about it. It just clenches at my heart, please read the links that I attach about it. & please read the letter I had posted in my last post. I also made an outline for the Communication Plan for WfC.
March 20th was the first time I tried fresh maize. Which is like corn but it’s flatter and bigger pieces that just pop off the cob. It is one of the main vegetables that are eaten out here in Zambia. They grind it up to make their traditional nshima. It was surely delicious. On our lunch break we walked down the familiar dirt roads under the trees, people everywhere… and the 3 of us discussed what we were going to do when we get back home. I just took a minute to think and in poured a million thoughts. Projects that I will make reality to help better our future, our children’s lives… It started off small, for when I get back home… such as recycling projects. As we look around in Zambia you’ll notice many crippled people that are struggling to get around, even crawling on the dirt roads for miles. I was told that Zambia is a country in severe poverty and they can’t afford proper necessities for the labelled “handicapped” people to function comfortably. It just hurts my heart so bad to wrap my mind around that concept. To think how much people have to struggle for something out of their control. I was trying to imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes… I thank God once again for all that He’s blessed me with. For how fortunate North America is… let us not take for granted all that we have. I also realized that Zambia doesn’t recycle… it just blows my mind that we throw out glass and plastic bottles out… every time I feel horrible! I can imagine this entire country shifting so much if they got a manufacturer and started recycling. Now… just how to start something like this?? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We had all discussed collecting the tin can openers that are attached to a canned drink… they could be recycled and manufactured into wheelchairs! Thoughts are just running through my mind…
I really want to take advantage of this internship experience to the ultimate fullest. I want this experience to be carried out in all the following steps ahead of me. I have big dreams for our community back home; I will make those dreams reality. I came across this inspirational quote once,
“It starts with a dream. Add faith, and it becomes a belief. Add action, and it becomes a part of life. Add perseverance, and it becomes a goal in sight. Add patience and time, and it ends with a dream come true.”
I want to be one of those leaders to step forward and have my voice heard. I know that children are our future and I want to be able to reach out to the youth in our communities. Share with them projects that I believe will help create a more equitable world. I’ve been brain storming who, how, when, why, what, what for, where… all angles. I plan on speaking with as many people as I can when I get back, taking full advantage of this. Some more ideas that I have for projects I would like to start are also: to get together with youth and have us all research good causes, NGO’s, etc. To really familiarize ourselves with the struggles that people face around the world and what exactly it is that people are doing to help these struggles. Some more are clothing/material recycle and sewing classes, book recycle and distribution, compost, gardening and tree planting projects. I would love to go into more detail with whoever is interested. I thought long and hard about it. We want to create sustainability and not baby feed and enable our youth… so I came up with a quote,
“We don’t want to create dependency, we want to empower and put in a system that’s sustainable to create independency… a ripple effect, help bring out the leaders, the teachers in youth who can then pass it down to everyone that crosses their path.”
I am very excited about all of this, the more I think about it the more ideas flow into my brain and get my heart racing. I dream of a brighter world and it is not a lost cause; anything is possible. I have faith, and I will not just sit back and do nothing. We were all given a purpose, a few breaths and a heartbeat… we must take advantage of every little moment. Life is far too fragile and short to just wait for something to happen in our lives… we must create it!
Tendayi asked me to take on a project. Yes! I am so excited about this! She asked me to create a child and youth Data Base for the past 4 years. There hasn’t been one created, each of the 8 WfC animators that go into the “field” (rural villages) to do work with the woman and youth keep copies of their own information. It is my job to make appointments with them and interview them to collect data and put it all together on an organized hard copy. I started off by jotting down all my questions and thoughts for Tendayi before I jumped into this (who, what, when, where, why, how, for). She gave me about a month to get the animators to find time to interview them and organize the past 4 year data. So I jumped in.
April.20th was the last day for another fellow intern from Egypt that was here for a total of 6 weeks, Marihame Michel Riad. She is such an inspirational young woman that just blew me away. We all admire her. All the members of WfC got together in the board room and said a short message to her, thanking her for being a part of this. We then had cake and tea and all just enjoyed each other’s company. The executive director, Ms. Sikazwe gave us an empowering speech on what leadership is that we can’t just focus our energies on leading one aspect, there are so many. That there are going to be those that praise you and those that bash you but always remember that when you fall, get back up with another lesson learned. She looked at the 4 of us interns particularly. She said that she can look at us and see leaders. Leaders in our community. It gave me goose bumps once again to hear her motivational speech. It hit me hard in the heart.
She also mentioned about WfC’s big dream of creating, “The People’s Learning Centre” (PLC). The vision: is a society where there is gender equality in social, political, and economic development. The mission statement: Women for Change is a Zambian gender focused non-governmental organisation (NGO) working with communities, especially women and children in rural areas to contribute towards sustainable human development using Popular Education Methodologies (PEM). Their background: WfC is very excited about recent developments in their role as a leading catalyst for social change and community empowerment in Zambia. For two decades WfC has been working in rural communities in Zambia to build their capacity to realize their full potential and providing training for traditional leaders and NGO’s nationally and internationally.
Now, WfC has begun dreaming of a new home, dubbed the People’s Learning Centre (PLC), in which to operate training for the betterment of societies in Zambia and Southern Africa. Located in Chongwe, 35 km from Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, the PLC will draw upon the organization’s depth of experience, skills and knowledge of grassroots development. Their aim: “To provide quality demand driven training, consultancy, research and documentation in the theory and practice around various aspects of women’s empowerment at community, national, regional and international levels.
Their core programmes at the centre: Rural Women’s Empowerment Programme, Young Women Entrepreneurs’ Programme, Women’s Political Participation and Leadership Programme, Intellectual Leadership and Formation Programme, Conflict and Peace, Women’s Solitude and Reflection. Their physical facilities will contain: Conference halls that are also working as lecture rooms, kitchenettes housed here, having the following rooms; an open hall, two break-away rooms and furniture storage. Also a library and knowledge resource centre. There will be ramp accessibility for disabled, a computer lab; the library will have three departments- Social, Political and Economic Publications, Local Publications, Indigenous Knowledge Research and Publications. There will also be dining facilities. Also, Hostels will be a part of the PLC. There will be 5 double story structures that have 30 persons capacity in each. All rooms will be self-contained. There will be the following rooms: 8 shared rooms, 14 single rooms, common room and 2 laundry rooms.
Women for Change would like to appeal for your support in the bringing to life of the People’s Learning Centre, which will be the hub of knowledge, where organizations and people from within Zambia and abroad will come to learn and share with us. I have gotten the amazing privilege of meeting the staff of WfC and see the work that they are determined to do; never in my life have I met so many selfless people that are striving to make this a more equitable and just world. I am so inspired by them and believe that our future isn’t lost… we do have hope; we can all work together and step forward as one. When it comes down to it we are all one people. I believe that if we turn our backs on our people, on bettering our future, who then will lend us a helping hand in our time of need? What will the lives of our children and their children look like? To know more about supporting this dream that will be put into motion you can email me at (snsedel@gmail.com). From being here witnessing things first hand, I know that absolutely any gesture can impact lives. I thank you once again for even just taking the time to read my blog, I understand it’s hard times for almost everyone so even just sharing my blog to others is a way of contributing to a brighter future. Thank-you & all the best. A little quote to end this off with, which I stand by every day,
“Life is what you make of it!”
So when you’re feeling down, please remember that there is always someone that has it far worse. Life is short and so fragile so cherish the little moments, treat others the way you want to be treated, forgive, laugh, love and remember you are in control- so make it great- chase after your dreams while you can & cherish every breath your lucky to be given…. I have to remind myself this often.
Friday, 13 April 2012
To whom it may concern:
To whom it may concern, April.13th, 2012
My name is Shaina Edel; I am a twenty-four year old community member of Chilliwack, British Columbia. Currently I am living in Lusaka, Zambia for four months and have been here for eight weeks already. I was accepted in to a six month International Aboriginal Youth Internship (IAYI) program with a non-governmental organization (NGO), VIDEA (Victoria International Development Education Association) (www.videa.ca). It has been a real life changing opportunity for me; my eyes have been opened to a reality I didn't even think existed in this day and age. VIDEA partners with many NGO's overseas, one being Women for Change (WfC) (www.wfc.org.zm) which is based in Lusaka, Zambia. WfC is a Zambian gender focused NGO working with communities, especially women and children, in rural areas to contribute towards sustainable human development using popular education methodologies. WfC is the organization I have been chosen to partner and work with. I am truly blown away by the selflessness of this organization. There are many different programs in it but they all fight for one thing- Justice and equality of all people.
In the Human Development Index Zambia is rated 165th out of 177; it is a developing country that organizations like VIDEA and WfC are fighting to help with sustainability. I am very blessed to have witnessed what this organization does to help the country of Zambia; but I have also witnessed many hardships they face not just in the pause of reaching out to these rural areas because of lack of funding but also the suffering in their own homes. It has been a battle to carry out the vision that WfC has but even in the financial lows they face they still have hope. As we all know it is a struggle and a fight to maintain NGO's.
I am writing this letter to ask for your support. We are all one people and I believe that if we turn our backs to our people who will then lend us a helping hand in our time of need? Being here in the field has shown me that even the slightest gesture makes a huge impact. Below are important links for more information. To support WfC you can email me for more info. (snsedel@gmail.com). Also, there is a fundraising event going on in my home town Chilliwack, B.C. It will be on May. 5th at Corky’s Irish Pub 6-9pm. I hope you can make it.
· www.wfc.org.zm (Women for Change's official website)
· www.videa.ca (Victoria International Development Education Association official website)
· www.shaina-in-zambia.blogspot.com (My blog)
· Shaina In Zambia, Women For Change <3 (My Facebook group)
· FUNDRAISING FOR SHAINA IN AFRICA (A Facebook group created for upcoming fundraising events & details for WfC)
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Shaina Edel
snsedel@gmail.com
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Feb.20th-March.14th: The Journey Continues
Feb.21st
Today I got up at 5:15 am, the exact time the rooster that lives at behind the YWCA starting going off. I started to laugh… it’s such a different life style I am living but I am loving it. I have created a bit of a routine. I get up, put two pots of water on to boil; I brush my teeth with my bottle of water, and wash my face. When the one pot if boiled I put three cups of oatmeal in to feed the 5 of us and make some coffee with the other. As the oatmeal cooks I get ready for the day. I sit down and enjoy my food, take my malaria pill, and spray myself with bug spray from head to toe. Even one single bite from a mosquito or other insect can transfer many diseases… so I am using all precautions. Something I should add is that the malaria pills are having some side effects with my body. I have been struggling with nightmares… torturous nightmares last few days, and have been feeling very dizzy about 20 minutes after I take the pill (which is every single day) and slightly nauseous… these are all written side effects on the bottle… but thankfully that is all I am experiencing… some of the serious effects are suicidal thoughts and depression… ah, but I guess it is worth it to avoid the life risking disease. Back to my routine… Nathan, Ashley and I head out the door at 7 am; we walk to the UTH bus area which is about an 8 minute walk, than we walk around till we hear someone yell, “Town”. We hop on, and now we have gotten use to the price so no one can fool us anymore. It is 3,500K (about 4,800K is $1CDN). Then we get off at a place called “town” we walk about 2 minutes till we get to a huge crowd of people. A couple hundred people and mini buses everywhere… the random proposals by men, but I’ve just gotten use to flashing my ring, saying thank you but no thank you and squeezing past them. We then listen for someone to say “Chelston”; we go up and say, “Northmead?”Than we pile on. This one is about 3,500K as well. It’s about a half hour bus ride… mean time we make many friends… there’s many people that are willing to teach us a few new words in Nanja, which is the main language besides English. We jump out at Northmead and walk thru some busy areas that are full of people. This area is where we’ve been approached many times by starving children and youth. They come up and ask for our drinks and food we are carrying in our hands… it’s so hard. I want to give them what I have but we’ve been warned that in such a busy area it’s dangerous to act on it… many others will notice it and it could cause so many problems. It breaks my heart. I wish I had more money than what I have to feed as many of these children as possible. I am only making a very small stipend that is covering my food, transportation and communication. It hurts, because children are my weakness… I would do anything to protect and make sure that none of them are suffering… and then I get put into this position… I never thought of the problems that would come out of helping a child… ugh, it’s so hard.
We then get to the office, where the caretaker, Simon opens the gate and greets us with a smile. He is such a sweet man. Him and his family live in the compound right inside WFC. In a very small house that is built out of brick… if I could explain the size of his home with 4 people living under the roof… it is about the size of my bedroom and small bathroom back at home. But that doesn’t stop him from always smiling… he teaches us a new word every few days and we give him a good ol’ Canadian high five. I always am in such happy spirits after chatting with him. We go to our offices, (Ashley, Lumba and I share one). I waited until we were called into our next orientation- The Child and Youth Development Unit. This is one of the units I will be working with, as well as the University Support Group. Tendayi Sharpe is the lady that runs the unit. She is now my boss =) She is such a beautiful woman, with gorgeous curls and always beautifully dressed. She is the one that shared the orientation with us. I just sat in awe with ears open and note book out as she spoke. She is such a powerful and compassionate woman. Immediately I could see her passion and desire to help better the world… I just felt so blessed to be able to work with her. She explained that WFC has realized that the most vulnerable people are the women and children. They focus primarily on after grade.7 sponsorship because that is when school begins to not be free. This was such a huge realization for me, that’s why so many people lack education and limit themselves. Countless amounts of children are yearning to learn more in Zambia but can’t afford it, yet in North America countless amounts of children are being bribed to stay in school… they don’t see the value. I wish I could share a glimpse of what these children in Zambia live with me and everyone back at home… all the children that hate to go to school. Some of us take it so for granted.
At the moment they are helping over 60 children that are out of school and can’t afford it. They are teaching them practical life skills. For in and out of school children they hold social capacity building activities, HIV/AIDS sensitization, gender analysis, sexual reproductive health, awareness rising, and leadership and human rights. WfC tries to bring the youth together at least once a week to keep them updated on info, and play games that increase development such as soccer. Tendayi also explained something that I thought was very creative and what I should take back at home… I want to take all this valuable information home. They do something called theatre development (drama) so the children can express their lives… because sometimes literacy is lacked and the lack of understand English. Also, it’s just hard for children to express themselves sometimes. So this project gives them a chance to be creative and as open as they want. I thought it was so beautiful. Also, something sponsored thru VIDEA, crafts making which is exposed to economic environment. A challenge that Tendayi said they face is engaging the younger children to walk 5-10km to meet so we are always open to donations. Which is where I come in, I really hope that this blog gets out to as many people as possible and I hope it can be shared with all your friends and family. We can all help in some way. If anyone is reading this and is willing to donate anything at all email me (snsedel@gmail.com), anything at all can help this NGO and youth in these rural communities. A key note I would like to add is after speaking with any member of WfC I am left with goose bumps… Tendayi’s presentation brought tears to my eyes, once again, a woman that is currently working for free, but so passionate about fighting to the death if it comes down to it for justice and equality for women and children. It just touches my heart… Children to me are pure spirits, they are the most important in this world- we are meant to protect and guide them because they are our future. This brings memories to me of my nephew and niece, Odin and Kiyo… such beautiful little souls… I love those two more than anything and would die a million times so they could live. After hearing Tendayi’s speech I felt even more at home- God put me here for a reason… He surely was thinking =)
We then met with the Training Unit that Stella and Salomae shared with us. It is one of the newest units in WfC. They act to provide and share experiences with the public, other NGO’s and with funding services. They provide research services- ex: gender audit for other NGO’s. They also design capacity building programs. They go right into the field (rural communities) to see the challenges and figure out how to fill the gap. They mentioned that women empowerment, leadership, peace and conflict all have gender in them- so they create programmes on these, but their main focus is gender analysis. They showed us an incredible slide show of their long term dream – a public learning centre that will hold all this information and a place to train all these programmes. It was so inspiring to see how well thought out it was. They are focussing on getting the word out so there are enough people that want to access the building to get training. They are on the right track, and I know with their persistence it will be a reality. Once again, I am blown away by their dedication… just to remind everyone… every one of the workers for WfC are working for free because of the pull out of funds. I am blown away.
They mentioned that when funds start coming in (around end of March usually) we get to go into the “field” (rural communities) with them. It would be for up to 3 weeks, with no electricity, must walk at least 2 km with a basin to collect water, sleep in a clay grass hut like the majority of the rural community people do, and make our own fire and food. This really hit me; I know it will be hard with no communication, and living in those conditions. I’m aware that it will be a bit of a struggle… but then I remind myself that God never gives us anything He knows we can’t handle. This will make my experience that much richer. I will survive, millions don’t have the privilege to say that this is only temporary… they go days without food and millions are dying of hunger, they settle for water to drink that is full of diseases because they can’t go on anymore, they search for shelter when those flooding rains come, and for someone to cry and fall back on to but over a million children are orphans in Zambia- poverty has robbed millions of their families! This hurts my heart so much to try and wrap my head around. I’m trying so hard to imagine my life in those shoes… to be starving and thirsty close to death, roam around energy less to find shelter and have no family to fall back on to… O God, imagining life without my family kills me inside… I will never be able to understand what a child of the rural community’s lives. God, I pray that we can all work together as one in this world to help situations like this.
Before I came to Zambia I found an article saying that it’ll cost about 80 billion dollars a year to eradicate hunger in the entire world… that is a huge sum of money, about the same amount the military spends every two days! Let that thought sink in a bit… how twisted has our society become? Where have the right priorities gone? This brings me back to my elementary school days; I remember my Bible teacher telling me that, “The love of money is the root of all evil… that greed will be the death of this world.” I didn’t understand what he meant… At that time, I thought how could money be evil? As the years went by I witnessed it happening… my eyes were opening to the truth… and it frightened me. I remember crying so much over that fact; but what is crying going to do? I decided even though I was one, I could make a difference.
Feb.22nd
Today, Lumba, whom I share an office with, gave us orientation on information & advocacy for WfC. She said that they work closely with other units. The role of the unit is like a window so other units and everyone can see into WfC (also policy makers, public, and donors). It details not just information on WfC but also what is going on in the rural communities. They use many different tools such as: website (www.wfc.org.zm), newsletter, DVD, radio, documents, TV, WfC child and youth update, and conferences (such as HIV conference). They mentioned another technique that I thought was very interesting. They get some women from rural communities to write a simple script on their life and say a few short sentences on the radio. They then listen to themselves; it builds capacity of women and empowers them. WfC also translates posters etc. in local languages for rural communities.
WfC has been advocating for rights since 1991. The government refuses to open the bill of rights; WfC have been doing advocacy for women and children’s rights but government keeps resisting. WfC has been advocating for land rights for women (the policies are not friendly, for example it’s hard for a woman to keep her land if her husband passes. There has been so much injustice). The advocate for gender based violence act (it was believed that women should stay in an abusive marriage but now WfC is training women that there is life before and after marriage, and that they shouldn’t stay unhappy). In 2006, there were only 19 women members of parliament. WfC wants women to be at least 30% of parties. WfC strives to change attitudes, break and rebuild structure- so women see themselves as leaders. Also, a poverty eradication advocacy. In 1995, there was a social watch created that monitors what government is doing for the basic rights- WfC is part of the board and every year write’s a report. At a local and international level WfC voice is heard. Their quote:
“Advocacy by the people, for the people, with the people- leading by example”.
A key note I would like to add from all this
We then had orientation on Traditional Leaders, by Lamik. He had mentioned the first day we ever had at Women for Chang that he hopes we can learn as much as we can of Zambia. He asked us to be ambassadors for this country and correct the image of Zambia that North American’s have created in their minds. It is a beautiful country. He re-mentioned that in orientation, so I pulled out my pen and listened to him intently. He said that WfC deals with the rural cultures and their rooted problems. There are 72-73 different cultures and traditions in Zambia. The people of these communities look up to their traditional leaders. The traditional leaders are pretty out dated and people say not to involve them but WfC chooses to because they are highly respected and hold power. There are 208 traditional leaders in Zambia and WfC targets all provinces. A step down from the chief will be the head men. 1 chief has about 100 head men that advice to the chief. WfC was told by the chief to train the head men to get word out to all the people of the communities. WfC went through a period of about 10 years to get to all the head men of the 73 tribes. WfC asked the traditional leaders to be included as active participants in the development of their people. WfC uses the “trainer’s approach”, they created a workshop called Training Trainers, so that there is participatory development- people can train others. He mentioned that he goes into the “field” (rural communities) for 7 days at the longest, and he said once funds start coming in he would like to take either all 3 of us or just 1 of us with him. Ah, so exciting! That’ll give me such a richer experience… even though I’m living in Africa, it still doesn’t feel like it. I think it’s because I’m living in the capital of Zambia, Lusaka. I never imagined Africa to look like this. I’m looking forward to going into the field.
Feb.23rd
Today is our final day of orientation. Norman, the project coordinator of WfC is sharing the Community Unit a little more in depth with us. He is such a sweet man. He’s the one that mentioned to us that basically everyone at WfC is currently working for free because of lack of funding, even though worker’s families are going hungry, they pull together their little bit of money to come to work. It just amazes me. Many have left WfC for that reason, but those that have stayed show that they would fight to the death for justice and equality of women and children. They are examples that even in poverty; you can make a positive difference. I am just blown away by every single person I’m meeting that is a part of WfC. I feel so blessed. Norman is also the one that took us last week to the “lodge”, safari ride with his two sons.
He started off by saying that WfC is active in 4 provinces and the 5th one, Chongo district is just starting up. They try to eradicate all forms of poverty. They primarily use popular education methodologies which contain many different tools. WfC implements 6 different programs. They go into rural communities as facilitators for the people to think for themselves, analyze and come up with their own solutions. We go in there only as a guide. They use 5 year strategy plans and annual plans based on the 5 year plans. Communities look at error of reflections, failures and success and incorporate plans. They use monitoring and evaluation to record info on activity. Norman explained something that I thought was very interesting, the “6 level tree model”. It’s a diagram of a tree, the 1st level is on the ground, 2nd is just inching up the bark, third is half way, 4th is just about reaching the fruit on the tree, 5th is at the top amongst all the fruit and 6th level is falling from the top to the bottom again. WfC asks communities what level they believe they are in, they have to justify why (using indicators) if they aren’t moving and now ask questions like what they can do about it. WfC always goes back to the model and asks frequent questions- the graph is used to show progression.
Right then WfC enters a community they give every single man and woman a blank piece of paper as an activity and ask them to right down their daily tasks (gender analysis). Then they discuss why there are differences. (Women’s work load is usually a lot higher. Men won’t usually take care of children, won’t wash clothes or dishes, wont’s cook, won’t fetch water, and won’t light up fire or collect wood. Men usually just participate in the field but as well as the women. Men focus on cash while women focus on food crops.) The men are usually shocked at how much heavier a work load the women have. WfC then guides them into asking questions- what are we going to do to create equality? Why is equality important? Women for Change then follows up every year with them- monitoring thru an annual log that indicates activity, output, outcomes, indicators, means of verification and timing. Also, WfC brought in climate justice (advocacy issue); all those responsible for deforestation should plant trees in place of the ones they took. WfC trains the head men to train others and so on.
Norman coordinates the activities, writes proposals to donors, gives feedback to them and writes overall reports. He mentioned that there is such a tight budget, everyone is working for next to nothing and many employees are leaving for families are starving. There is a huge shortage of vehicles and laptops. So many of the workers for WfC don’t have a lap top to do their work… it causes such a struggle- It hurt my heart to know that- I’m very happy my family donated 2 lap tops. If there’s anyone that is willing to donate anything that would mean the world to not just me but millions of others. If so, you can email me at (snsedel@gmail.com). It’s crazy what just one lap top can do- one lap top can educate millions of people! It can impact the world so profoundly!
Norman also mentioned that WfC works with two youth groups (NRCD & UNSA). These groups are for those that are in school and those that are out of school. The in school ones are taught programs to stay in school. The out of school ones are youth that are out of school for many reason, one being lack of money or transportation. WfC empowers them with skills such as carpentry. WfC then tries and send as many youth as possible to college where they can then train others of their trade. WfC takes one placed in university youth to many rural communities as a role model to educate peers to pick up values so they can aspire towards them. If they can see someone just like them go into school and see the outcome- they can see themselves and they can dream- it opens their eyes to something the majority of people weren’t even aware of. It just blows me away! Once again, I have goose bumps and I feel empowered, blessed to be a part of this organization. This NGO is such a selfless, compassionate org. I just can’t get over it=)
Feb.24th
Lumba finally gave us some work to do since Tendayi is sick. She asked Ashley and me to work on creating a “communication plan” for each unit, donors and other NGO’s. WfC’s last communication plan was deleted on a computer that broke down; so it’s research time =) Monday I am supposed to be meeting with the Lusaka University Support Group and chairperson to discuss the tasks they need done by me. I’m very much looking forward to that=)
On our way back home on the mini bus we notice 4 more, “mazungos” (white people) on there as well (I don’t mean to offend when I say that, it’s just what we are referred to usually. I’m trying to paint a picture; I understand we are all one people). I walked to the end of the bus and kept hearing them cursing, pointing and laughing at buildings- like the Northmead police station. I was so ashamed… at that moment I started to feel like Zambia was my home. I felt like a woman of Zambia- I wanted to stand up for it. I understood how it could be hard for the people of Zambia to see the good in North Americans. So many people come into their culture with closed minds and insensitivity to differences… I am just very grateful for the intercultural training we had before Zambia. It really humbled me and helped me to come into a new culture respectfully… I play what I learned in my head daily- especially the “ice burg” analogy (there’s only 1/3 of what we can see, but we can’t see what people feel and believe) - so we must respect what we see and listen more than we speak- take in as much as we can to help build bridges in between the ice burgs. I thank God that VIDEA chose me out of so many, and prepared as the best that they could… I feel so blessed for this gift.
Feb.26th
Yesterday was Saturday. Ashley and I spend about 3 hours in the sun washing our clothes. We got a good tan on, maybe a little too much. We also got a very good work out down just by washing our clothes, if you’re curios give it a try (get a huge basin fill with cold water and soap and get on your knees and scrub away, then twist it as much as you can to dry). I suggest try and do it early in the morning because you want as much sun light as possible to dry your clothes, also pull your pockets out when drying and rotate it about half way thru… we learned the hard way having musky smelling clothes. O my, as I type this out I’m laughing away. I made a game out of it, Ashley and I would take either side of clothing and twist it in opposite directions encouraging each other that we’re almost done- tough it out. We would squeeze it so much and try and count the last few drops that came out after we complained. We had many good laughs… after it all, hung it up on strings we hung up outside. Our hands were red and almost blistered, but it was worth it to me. I felt empowered that’s for sure! After we lay in the sun on the grass just admiring our work- proud that we finished it. Then we started a work out there in a sun, especially after all that nshima we’ve been eating- carb city! We did lunges in the yard, push ups and intense crunches… we were laughing so hard wondering what the people were thinking when they looked out of their windows, it was probably something along the lines, “What are those crazy mazungos (white people) doing… what in the world?” It was such a great day off.
Today we bleached down our house singing and laughing- once again, another great day off=) We then all went out to Arcades Mall where the crew went to an internet café called, The Mint. But I wanted to see the beautiful Sunday special market that was out in the parking lot. So I strapped my bag close to me with my money zipper against my body and ventured out on my lonesome. There were a few hundred people, little stands but the most of it was on the ground. So many people saying, “Hey my sister, momma, support me, I’ll give you good deal, please come here- give me just a minute of your time- please sister I have to support my family.” It was so hard at first to politely walk away. If I had more money I would have bought from whoever I could… there were so many hungry looking people and babies wearing next to nothing crawling around in the dirt, it hurt my heart so bad. The market was full of beautiful Zambian art, jewellery, paintings, etc. I noticed this particular lady that looked around my age, she was holding on to her son, Friday (named after being born on Good Friday). They both looked so hungry, especially Friday, his belly was blotted from malnutrition. It pulled at my heart. I sparked up a conversation with her- asked her how they were doing; she said good and smiled, even in their situation they were smiling! I kept smiling at Friday and he kept smiling back at me- such beautiful innocent eyes. So I looked her little collection of art… I wasn’t going to leave without helping. I ended up finding things for my family- 3 beautiful handmade necklaces (from cow bone, cow horn and wood), a beautiful black carved bracelet with African trees and animals on it, two sets of cow bone pained earrings, and a shetangey (which is a 2m, beautifully coloured scarf like material that you tie around your waist, you’re supposed to always wear it when you go into rural communities). She couldn’t believe all that I was buying, smiling from ear to ear… I left feeling so happy- feeling like I helped provide that much more food for her and her family… it felt so good… I walked away smiling ear to ear. I love Zambia.
Feb.27th
Today is Monday, and every Monday WfC gets together at the board table and asks how everyone is feeling. Once again I said, good & happy =) We then went over last week’s duties and what’s to come in the following week. We discussed what’s to be done on March.8th, International Women’s Day. It’s a march with many signs and speeches. It’s a day off for everyone. This is one of the most important days of the year for Women for Change.
I then met with Lumba and the University Support group chairperson and vice chairperson. Elizabeth and Chinyemba whom are both 3rd year students. It’s my duty to connect the support group with the events/ annual plans with WfC. The support group’s purpose is to provide mentorship for people in rural areas and come up with workshops and activities. We exchanged numbers and I was told they would inform me when we should meet next. It was quick and brief but I’m glad I finally got to meet them- hopefully things start getting into motion.
Today is also Dylan’s birthday & I’m wishing him the very best year and sending him love all the way from the other side of the world. I’m thanking God for bringing such an incredible man into this world and thanking the ones that raised and influenced him into the man he is today. I smile at the work God’s done… crossing our paths & placing him in my life at the time He did. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of him, my family and close friends. I play back many memories in my mind- when I can’t sleep I think of the nights my mom would run her hands through my hair till I fell asleep as a little girl and it calms me… and through-out the day I can hear all their positive words- saying they’re proud of me- they believe in me & it gives me strength to accomplish anything. I truly feel like the luckiest woman on this planet. I have the strongest and most supportive friends and family… and a man that encourages me every step of the way; a man that amazes me every day. Life is random and unexpected… crazy… but that’s why I love it- I just trust that whatever happens in my life happens for a reason- that God has something great planned for me. Life is amazing… because I have learned to see a positive in a negative and realized that life is what you make of it! It’s too short to dwell on the negative and let it eat you up inside… we all have stuff that can bring us down in life… but it’s a choice on how you want to let it affect you. I choose happiness.
Feb.28th
Today Ashley and I started to work on our Communication Plan assignment. I started with an outline. Who the groups involved are: Donors, other NGO’s, the public, units in WfC, stakeholders (each of them having a sub-group). We tried to cover the 5 W’s (what, why, when, who, where). We then tried to develop a mission statement for the plan so everything flows from that. Once the internet starts working again at the office (it has its days) we are to look up sample copies of other’s communication plans. We decided to dedicate at least one day a week just on this assignment.
Feb.29th
Today I worked on the communication plan a bit more then met with Tendayi (the youth and child unit). I asked if there was anything she needed me to do or needed help with because I was feeling like I had too much down time- I want to help anyway that I can. She smiled all excited that I was open and started talking about a Teen Vision Conference. It goes on once a year for a few days. Its purpose is to educate and empower youth from the rural communities. It’s meant to create leaders that can be mentors for their communities. She put 4 different documents of it on my hard drive and mentioned that it is lacking funds so she asked if there was anything I could do about that. I’m so excited about this! I can do this- I’m passionate about helping children and I’m not afraid to reach out to the world to help open their eyes. I looked through the documents and familiarized myself with them. I did a few editing and analyzed the budgets. I tried to brain storm ideas to cut down the budgets (like addressing food and accommodation for cheaper rates if we can continue to give them service). I brain stormed ideas on how to approach people/organizations for funding and who to approach. I then had Norman look over my editing and soon I am reaching out on this. I will try and attach the documents to this blog and I’m open to any ideas or help of any kind. Thank-you, any support can help greatly. I’m so happy to be able to help with something.
March.1st
I worked a little more on the communication plan and the edits for Teen Vision Documents… as I was typing away I heard someone say hi to me thru the window. I turned around and saw my friend Annabel that I had met about a week before on the bus home. We sparked up a good conversation and I mentioned how my birthday was coming up- she said she’ll show me how Zambians party. I told her to add me on Facebook and we parted ways. She showed up at WfC and asked Nathan, Ashley and I to come over to her place that was a block over. I didn’t know what to expect but we all walked over. Wow, such a beautiful home. It reminded me of a Columbia Mansion. There was a servant sitting outside in the sun with a little stove and coal- she was making nshima with a big wooden spoon just stirring away- such a welcoming lady with a beautiful smile. Annabel showed us around her house then asked us to stay for lunch… we had nshima and 3 vegetable sides with it. Mmm it was so delicious- she treated us so well- Zambians are such caring people I tell ya! Her uncle is a member of parliament and her aunt worked for the government. She came home half way through our meal- such a beautiful lady. We had to rush back to work but she said she hopes to see us again; Annabel walked us back. I’m so happy to have made a friend from Zambia =)
March.2nd
Today we had to move from the YWCA. Rohan and WfC did what they could to negotiate a lower price with them but they still didn’t budge… even when VIDEA is a huge sponsor of their Child and Youth Care building. The price was outrages… we found out that they use separate rates depending on the people. The local people paid a much cheaper and affordable rate; meanwhile the ones coming in overseas had to pay an insane figure. I was very grateful for our accommodation- it was far more developed then I imagined… but for VIDEA to pay for such a thing at an insane rate was crazy- 4 dorm like small rooms, a tiny kitchen that we all huddled in and a tiny bathroom with cockroaches, spiders & aunts everywhere, and mould on cracked walls (it was about the price of a huge mansion in North Vancouver). I understand that Zambia is rated the second poorest country in the human development index but I don’t understand who could ever pay that amount. On a lighter note, we found a home in Kalingalinga which is about a 25 minute drive from WfC. It’s a protected townhouse type building. 3 bedrooms,2 full bathrooms, all re done, fresh paint smell, a dining room, living room and a kitchen that is the size of where 4 of were living before. There’s a yard about 15X10 ft. Beautiful… I never imagined something like this… we are so lucky. Its 1/3 the price of the YWCA… I feel guilty that we are living in something like this even, but it’s the way it turned out. I am so thankful. Ashley and I still share a room, a bed even, but this is by far better than I ever envisioned. We had discussed before we left the YWCA, in a house meeting, that we should all fend for ourselves for breakfast & lunch… and we all would rotate who makes dinner and that person would pay for the ingredients and on Friday night we would go out to eat… because hostility was forming because there wasn’t equality. I like this idea so much better.
My new routine for our new place is: I get up at 5:15 am to beat the traffic in the washroom, wash up & get ready, get dressed, make a pot of coffee for everyone and breakfast for myself (I am eating so well- it’s crazy. I imagined eating a lot less. I make a pot of oatmeal with bananas cut up in it, two basted eggs or omelette, toast & yogurt) (I eat well over twice as much as everyone else, it’s embarrassing sometimes). As quite as I can be because I’m always up about an hour at least before everyone else. I make myself a lunch and then have about 50 minutes before we have to head out the door still, so I usually pop in some music & sit outside- watch the sun come up in the sky. At 7:30am a man named Nathan comes and picks us up and he drives us to work. Then we either walk home (which took us 2 hours) or walk about 8 minutes to the bus area, catch a bus to Arcades Mall, then walk the rest of the way (about 45 minutes). This is when we are all dying of exhaustion and over sun exposure. I’m just kidding- we’re not dying, but are pretty tired. We wind down in our own worlds then around 6:30pm we all have dinner together- joke around and laugh. There are those days though where I just need my time so I go to my room, clean up in ice cold water but it’s better than nothing that’s for sure, listen to music, and write or look at pictures. We all need our own time sometimes just to clear our head. You can tell sometimes, someone woke up grumpy… that’s when we just give them their space… we’re like a family its funny. We’ve really grown and can communicate with each other when something is bothering us- once again, I’m grateful VIDEA provided us with communication training.
Saturday and Sunday we all walked to the shopping centre’s to get talk time, internet time, and groceries. We all parted ways for a few hours. It was nice to just roam around by myself for once and have no one rush me or tell me where to go. Once again, I’m grateful we have those alone times because we all need it or we’d all go mad. Laundry time, and this time we had no basin, so we compromised. We filled both baths with water, boiled some pots as well, and filled it with our clothes and some laundry soap. We scrubbed away… lesson learned, don’t wait so long to do laundry and don’t do all 6 people’s laundry at once. It took us hours! But once again, a good work out =) We strung up 4 long drying contraptions… and that still wasn’t enough for everyone’s clothes so we had to do it in rotation. I’m definitely learning a lot through this experience: patience, communication, life skills… those are just a few of them. I’m getting it down pat though, my mom would be proud. Pockets out, rotate to dry equally, collect, & iron out the insects that could be on them. If washer and dryers didn’t exist I could survive =) – that makes me laugh.
We then all had a house meeting again Sunday afternoon. Rohan just discussed any concerns and asked if we had any concerns- it was open to share any thoughts. We filled out our first Intern Report from an email today. It asked 6 questions just basically how Zambia is so far, our work place, and our living situation, how we’re doing… how outreach is going and if we have anything else to share.
My family also surprised me and called me this weekend for the first time in Zambia (besides talking to my mom once when I called right after I first got a cellphone). I got to speak to my aunt and my little sister Savanna. O man, it was so great to hear their voices. We talked for about an hour. I couldn’t stop smiling the entire conversation- I am so blessed for every single person in my life- They help create who I am today- stronger!
March.5th
Monday, we went around the board table again and ask how everyone was. We discussed last week’s tasks and if they were accomplished and the tasks to come the following week. I was asked to contact Elizabeth, the chairperson of the support group since they hadn’t contacted me yet. I had to find out how many of them will be participating in the March.8th International Women’s Day march. Then I met with Tendayi. She informed me that she is updating documents on the Teen Vision Conference for this year’s theme. That is when I can start sending out detailed information for funding. She said we will be meeting the Executive Director of the Teen Vision Conference soon, and will be meeting local corporations for sponsorship. Yay, this is so exciting. I look forward to being able to do more around the office… most of all I look forward for when I go into the field, rural communities. That is when I’ll be really experiencing Africa. I am so excited!
March.7th
Today we just prepared for tomorrow’s march. International Women’s day is one of the most important days of the year in Zambia- especially for Women for Change. It was a time to celebrate being a woman, to empower women to stand up for their right and to mourn those that have passed- those that have been beaten and murdered. Ashley and I put together posters to carry and we bought shetangays (2m long, bright coloured usually wraps to wear). The ones we bought were from the NGOCC (non-governmental organizations’ coordinating council) - such beautiful colours. It said, “Women and men moving together”. Today at the office I was also finally given my Zambian nickname. Yay, it is “Thabo” (pronounced- “Taabo”) which means “happiness”. Patricia from the office said they all discussed it and that suits me the most. I felt so honoured and happy to finally have a nickname. I’ll forever remember it and carry it with me.
March.8th
Today is the day to celebrate women! I got up nice and early and we met other members of Justice for Widows and Orphans and Women for change at the Munali high school. There were thousands of people all dressed so beautifully. Many represented different organizations by their different coloured outfits. We were shown how to properly wear our shetangay. I was so excited, and felt proud to support this march. Thousands of people singing and dancing and cheering! It was so empowering! So many men were there to support as well. I was given a black scarf to wear around my head that represents mourning. We all marched for over 2 hours. 6 members of the support group met up with us half way through. It was such a beautiful experience. There were times when we were running… I must add it is a bit difficult running in a tightly wrapped material around your waist to your ankles but I did it =) There were over 200 different organizations that were there. We then met at the finish line, where there were quite a few covered areas- the president was there. I walked right in front of him it was so exciting! Then we all piled in our own areas, where there were many empowering speeches given. Around 1 we finished and walked over to Mandahill Mall; where we ate at our usual place, “The Hungry Lion”. If I ate there every day I would be huge, no lie. It is such a good price for fried chicken and fries...mmmm. Today was such a great day- I feel so blessed to have experienced such a thing. I am a happy lady =)
March.9th
Today we got our taxi driver Nathan to pick us up but we had just drove about 30 feet and his car stopped- it had ran out of fuel =O The poor guy was so apologetic, we told him not to worry about it- then some of his friends came and pushed the car out of the way. We caught another taxi but he definitely was not as nice as Nathan. We only had a half day at the office, than we went to Arcades mall, the coffee shop – The Mint. Then we came home… everyone left to the movies but me. I took the opportunity to just have my time at the house. It was exactly what I needed- peace and a time to wind down- no chaos. I had the house to myself for a whole 4 hours- I woke up super happy Saturday morning.
March.10th
I woke up today with a smile- and got a text from my love saying Morning and how much I mean to him. I lay in bed and said my prayers- I thanked God for every little thing in my life. This amazing feeling took over me… happiness I suppose it was- I don’t know how else to explain it. I thanked God for helping me thru every step of my life- carrying me through those times when I could barely carry myself. It brings me back to the all-time famous poem, “Footprints in the Sand”. All those obstacles, ups and downs I faced created who I am- because I chose to not let them define who I am, but strengthen me. I’m thankful for waking up and realizing a few years ago that life, life is what you make of it. =)
I had a cup of coffee, boiled eggs, toast and oat meal and got dressed in my long dress. Today was our first day to experience a Zambian Church. Maggie, from WfC invited us to the Kamwala Seventh Day Adventist Main Church. I was definitely not going to miss out on this experience. We walked about 10 minutes to where Courtenay and Tashayna usually take their bus to work every day at JWOP. Every bus that passed was full though. We were already going to be late =O Maggie called us and said the latest we should show up is 11am. So we decided to just call Nathan our taxi driver- he was there in a flash with a smile- such a sweet man. We met Maggie and her 6 year old adorable twins in Kamwala. She was smiling away and hugged us. We walked through an old looking town, over scrap metal that was thrown over a ditch- looked very unsafe- but actually none of us collapsed so I guess it was safe as can be. We walked through some back alleys where there were little huts with signs that said something like, “Barber Shop”. It was all so intriguing to me. Then finally we walked through some long beautiful grass and in the middle was the church. My first thought was that it reminded me of an old barn back at home in Chilliwack. It was shaped basically the same. It was huge, with cement walls, square then triangular top shaped barred windows all along the sides, and metal sheet all on the top for the roof. On either side of it was wide open at the top half, roughly splattered cement ground inside but looked more like dirt ground. They said it wasn’t finished yet… in a few years it should be. Inside was wooden benches brought in from schools. The entire church was packed- there wasn’t one free space- it was full of life. Right when I walked in the building I instantly saw smiles everywhere and countless amounts of people coming up to me and saying, “Hello, how are you? You are welcome here.” It was beautiful. Instantly I felt warmth in my heart being there. Some men found an extra bench in the back and brought it out for the 5 of us to sit on. The whole system reminded me of my grandpa’s church back home. Recognizing the ill, songs, prayers, offering, ministry, choir, more songs and more prayers. It was a beautiful message; near the end, he mentioned that we should always give credit to God for the blessings that we have in our life- because we are blessed! Every sentence after that gave me goose bumps- it felt like I was being hit with this inspiring chill. It was amazing… we then was asked as visitors to stay behind so they could get to know our names and chat a bit. They took us out back where everyone was smiling again and thanking us for coming. They asked us to take seat and said they had prepared a real Zambian lunch for us. We had to kindly say that Maggie had already prepared lunch for us and thanked them though. We told them we would definitely be coming back next Saturday.
We walked to Maggie’s house which was close by where we hung out with her family and talked about the differences in our home countries. She made such incredible Zambian food for us that fed over 10 mouths- I was blown away! We’re always treated so well and even though they said they were hungry they made sure the guests were fed first… I’m just so in awe- so blessed to be living in Zambia for 4 months of my life- it has changed me for the better. On our way to Maggie’s we walked through an old dusty town- it reminded me of a ghost town from old cowboy movies… but it had a few people alongside the roads. We walked past this young boy that was about 6 years old- he was all by himself wearing no shoes or shirt, just muddy pants that were far too small on him. His eyes were blood shot, scars all over him and belly was severely inflamed from malnutrition. His eyes just followed mine… everyone walked by him like he didn’t exist… but all I wanted to do was hug him, hold him, clothe, feed him and tell him I was there for him. It hurt my heart so bad to see he was alone & ill =(. This is reality- there are millions of orphans in this world and every 4 seconds another child dies of starvation… every 4 seconds! Once again I’m going to mention that it’s been estimated, to eliminate world hunger a year it costs equivalent to what the world spends on the military every two days. What has become of this world- we are literally destroying ourselves for the love of money- greed- power. Tears are pouring from my eyes as I type this… We can do something about this… for example even something small: before we think of throwing out our left overs think of this- give back to this world. Get your food packed up instead and either leave it on the side of the road for someone to find or give it to someone on the streets- either way another person isn’t going to sleep hungry.
Every single one of us can make some sort of difference in this world- it’s just a choice. We can make a brighter future… let’s never forget that children are our future- so protect them- watch the words you say around them, nurture them, guide them thru with lessons and consequences, teach them of the poverty going on in this world- open their eyes to reality for we are beyond lucky- remind them of that.. Don’t give them everything- let them work for it… let’s not create spoiled monsters. Let’s create leaders who aren’t afraid to speak up for those that can’t speak. Leaders that are changing that every 4 seconds a child dies of starvation stat… Leaders that aren’t focussed on war, money, power, or greed but are focussed on helping people. I know who am I to say all this? I have no children… no parenting back ground… but freedom of speech… and I believe that this is a serious factor for our future.
March.12th
Another day off; another holiday, it was Youth Day. Yesterday I had already dedicated close to 4 hours to doing laundry; I cleaned the house a bit, worked out, made food and tried to stay active… but today is another whole day off. I got a surprise call from Dylan right when I woke up… o my, it was so great to hear his voice, to hear his laugh, and his encouraging words. I smile when I think of him, and thank God for placing such a great man in my life; he gives me strength. I started reading a book called, “Love Story” by Erich Segal, and re-read my blogs to fill up my day off. The biography part on my family made me smile. Especially the part about my mom, “She’d dance, sing and just laugh freely.” I remember it so clearly. I can even smell the food that was cooking; I must have been about 7 years old. All these memories flashed back in my head of my mother, and I started to cry and smile at the same time. That may make me sound weak… but it has been two months since I have seen her… I try and visit my mom and family every other day. At the same time of missing her and crying, the thought of her also gave me strength. I could imagine her telling me she was proud of me. I love my family more than I could ever explain. God has surely blessed me. =)
March.13th
Today at the office we had our weekly board meeting. It lasted for close to 2 hours today because the Executive Director, Ms. Sikazwe was here back from her business trip in New York. She is an incredibly powerful and intimidating woman. When she first walked into the board room on one of my first days- the entire energy changed in the room, everyone seemed to tighten up. Today in the meeting though she showed a less intimidating side to me. She asked how our experience was so far and smiled at me. I saw someone familiar in her… my aunt Kelowa… and a bit of her mom, my grandma.
I was asked today to take on the communication plan for my own project since Ashley’s work load is quite heavy & was also given websites (www.unwomen.org) (www.fundsforngos.org) from Tendayi to familiarize myself with for an upcoming meeting. I memorized all the details and got plenty of ideas on how to get funding for the Teen Vision Conference and how to write proposals. Quite the experiences ahead of me… but I’m up for it.
We then had to rush out of the office at 2:30 to make it on time for 3:30 to meet some people at the Canadian Embassy. It was quite the secure building. We had to leave our phones, cameras, and lap tops at the front and go through security scans and quite a few code locked doors. We met an African man named, Mandani. He is a counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation. We sat around a table and he offered us some tea and cookies… cookies were delicious! He was very friendly, asked us our names, where we are from and why we are here. He gave us some good pointers on where to visit in Lusaka. He also gave us his card and said if ever we are stuck in a situation or have any questions we can text him and he’ll get back to us immediately which was very nice to hear. I’m so thankful for all the support we are having here in Zambia. I feel so safe! I am very ready to head into the rural communities. I want to experience it so bad. Lusaka is the capital of Zambia… it just doesn’t feel like Africa to me. I want this journey to be as rich as possible. I’m ready! =)
After our meeting at the embassy we were invited to Ms. Sikazwe’s for tea, the Executive Director of Women for Change. She is such a powerful activist for women’s rights… her life has been at risk for standing up but that never stopped her. I admire her so much. She is one of the strongest women I have ever met. Her house was beautiful, very secure once again. We were welcomed in, where tea, biscuits and cake were awaiting. She smiled and told us to help ourselves. I sat in front of her and asked her many questions such as how did she become an activist and how her trip in New York was. I listened to every word she said so intently… she painted stories for us with her words- and I was so empowered and inspired by what she had to say. I saw my aunt in her, so I think it was easier for me to communicate with her then the rest… she is a very intimidating woman. But beyond that, she was truly grateful to have us come in and volunteer for WfC. She mentioned that usually the staff is jumping with joy and singing at the office, they are masking it well… but she can tell that every one of them are struggling for school fees, food, and other stresses because of lack of funding for WfC. She told us that’s the reason why they may not be that supportive to us. This shocked me because I think they are all unbelievably supportive. She then linked a lot of similarities with First Nations people and rural Zambian people, which intrigued me. She said when we get back to Canada we are going to be champions, much stronger people. She wishes for us to stand up for rights in our community and challenge others. She said that here in Zambian lives are taken for standing up for rights, but not in Canada; which is probably why we don’t do much for fighting rights… we are just “ok” with it… but we must stand up- for our children, our future. I was just blown away by her. She said we should visit again and have a real Zambian meal with her. We went to her beautiful back yard and took a few pictures. I left there so inspired.
March.14th
Today, I came to work smiling. It is such a beautiful blue sky day like every other day. I read a few amazing posts on line, one from my love, my mom, and one from my grandpa. They were so sweet; it was the perfect kick start to my day. I can’t believe tomorrow is my 24th birthday… 24 already =O That just shocks me when I say that number. Sometimes I forget how old I am and respond “17” when someone asks me. O man, I’m only 7 years off, but sometimes I feel like I’m 90 from my experiences. It makes me laugh. It kind of makes me a bit sad when I think I’ll be celebrating my birthday without the ones I love. The first birthday a part from them- a part from my twin… but then I also feel blessed to celebrate my 24th in AFRICA! This is something I will never forget, and I carry the ones I love in my heart. Another note to add: tomorrow is not only my birthday but also one month in ZAMBIA. I can't believe where the time has gone... all I can say is, enjoy every second <3
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