The Mighty Zambezi

Sunset
Monkey at Zambezi Sun
Zimbabwe dancers
Victor and his cousin at art club
Human pyramid during sports day

August 25, 2009

Last week a man came into the clinic with a 6-inch machete wound to the skull. He had been attacked by a group of men at his night security job. I’m not sure when the attack happened but the wound had stopped bleeding by the time he came in. Apparently when you are attacked and the wound is not immediately life threatening, you must first go to the police station and pay to file a report. Then you must go to the clinic to confirm that the wounds match up with the report. Only after that can you go to the hospital to get the wound sutured. Seems a little backwards but that’s how they do it.

Last Wednesday night a group of Zimbabwe dancers came to the house to perform. I liked that they were authentic and came straight from one of the villages just over the border. A big part of their performance is getting the audience involved, so me and the other volunteers danced with them for the final three songs.

On Friday the whole group went out to Nakatindi for a sports day designed to promote the work of African Impact and other organizations. The morning included the singing of the Zambian national anthem, speeches, drummers and local dancers. African Impact had a station set up in one of the huts so people could ask questions and find out more about what we do. The rest of the day was spent playing sports. There was soccer, netball (sort of like basketball with no dribbling or backboards) and volleyball. I helped out with volleyball and got to play quite a bit. That night we went out for dinner and a movie. We watched The Hangover and then went out to eat at Olga’s in celebration of Marjolien’s birthday.

On Saturday ten other volunteers and I went white water rafting. I was on Team Girl and our guide was named Steve. The Zambezi is a grade 6 river although it only has one grade 6 rapid that we weren’t allowed to go through (rapid 9 known as Commercial Suicide). On rapid 5 (grade 5), known as the Stairway to Heaven, two people in our boat fell out. On rapid 7 (grade 5), known as Gulliver’s Travels, we flipped the boat. Two people were injured and three of them decided to stop after a half day of rafting. For the afternoon we joined the boy’s boat. We flipped the raft again on rapid 13 (grade 4), known as The Mother. We made it through the rest of the 25 rapids without incident.

Rafting was a lot of fun but I have to admit I have never been so scared in my life. The beach where the rafting finished was our campsite for the night. The rest of the group had driven out and met us there. We had popcorn, crocodile and steak for dinner before calling it a night and sleeping under the stars. The next morning we climbed back up the hill and headed back to the house.

The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing at Zambezi Sun. That night my stomach started to hurt so I went to bed early. Unfortunately I was up for the rest of the night with stomach cramps and diarrhea. The next morning I found out two others were also sick. I think it was from either some water we drank after camping or swallowing water when we went rafting. We stayed home from projects and spent the morning and afternoon watching movies and The Office (British version). I went to take a nap at 4:30 and woke up 6 hours later.

We are Africans not African'ts

Given and I at home-based care.
Richard and I swimming with the children.
Rainbow at Victoria Falls.
HIV education at the football tournament.
Eating African crackers.

August 17, 2009

Mwa uka bwungi! Good morning! My morning projects last week included more clinics and home-based care. On Thursday we visited the house of a grandmother, father and son that all had HIV. The boy, named Given, was only 3 years old and taking anti-retroviral medications. He sat in my lap the whole time. I think I might look into sponsoring him after I get home.

On Wednesday I found myself back on a farm, although I must say it was quite different than home. Instead of massive fields they have a relatively small plot of land. Instead of giant tractors and combines they have handheld tools. The watering system is also very interesting. The water is pumped from the river and up the hill via a machine that works like a mix between an elliptical and a stair stepper. So as a person is working out on this contraption, the workers at the top of the hill can water the crops.

I also got to teach an adult literacy class. They are working on mathematics right now so it was right up my alley. I took the beginners along with Alicia. We worked on multiplication of 2 and 3 digit numbers. Some of them understood it quite well, some could do it when you helped them and others were a bit lost. The adult classes are a lot of fun because they really do want to learn, but it can also be frustrating because of things they don’t understand. I’d really like to take a class and teach every week. It would be nice to see the progress and I think it also gives the students more consistency.

On Saturday I went to Victoria Falls with Richard, Alicia and 13 local kids aged 15-18. We swam at the top of the Falls (not Devil’s Pool yet, but I will get there), climbed down to the Boiling Pot and got some great photos of the Falls. The kids were great and I’m really glad I went with them instead of just other volunteers. The rest of the weekend was spent finishing up the medical information sheets and sitting by the pool at Zambezi Sun.

Tomorrow we are putting on a football (soccer) tournament. We are combining sports with HIV education. The medics are setting up quiz stations and the teams can earn points in the tournament by doing well on the quiz. HIV education is really, really important here. 1 in 3 people have HIV here and there is a lot of false information out there.

August 18, 2009

I just got back from the football tournament. It was a bit unorganized. We were supposed to register teams from 8:30 to 9 and start playing at 9:30 but most teams didn’t show up until 10 and some didn’t show up at all. The owner of the pitch (field) we were supposed to play on said that we hadn’t talked to him and charged us 150,000 kwatcha ($30) to use it. Plus there was a slight misunderstanding about food. We were not providing it but some thought we were so a lot of the kids didn’t eat all day. To hold themselves over they ate something from the trees they call African cracker. I tried it. Not a fan. Anyway, once things got going the tournament went well.

The power is going to go off in about an hour so I have to keep this short. I’ll post more next week.

More to do than can ever be done

At reading club with my friend, sunrise in the gorge, Victoria falls, Family support children

August 9, 2009

On Saturday I went to watch seven of the other volunteers bungi jump. They have a package deal where you get to do three different things. The first is a zip line across the gorge, the second is bungi jumping and the third is a gorge swing, which is pretty much bungi jumping but you swing out instead of falling straight down. I am considering doing it myself next month.

On the way out we saw some baboons. One of them started chasing after the woman behind us because she was carrying some fruits. I also got my first glimpse of Victoria Falls. They are majestic. I will go back another weekend to get a closer look and swim in the Devil’s pool.

Today was a very relaxing day. I slept in until 8:30 and then read for the rest of the morning. After lunch we went to Zambezi Sun, which is a three star hotel/resort near the Falls. I suntanned by the pool and jumped in a few times, although the water was quite cold. They also have zebras and giraffes in the park just behind the resort. The zebras wandered into the pool area and one ended up right beside me.

August 11, 2009

Yesterday morning I volunteered at Mahatma Ghandi Memorial Clinic. I took vitals for the first half of the morning before wandering back and sitting in with the Doctor. I was able to ask a lot of questions about the cases that came through and I’m hoping by doing this more I can get a better idea of how medicine works here in Livingstone.

Last night we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant in honor of Jessie’s last night. After dinner we went to the Waterfront, which is a resort of sorts with a bar. We returned to some disturbing news. Apparently when we dropped of a group of people after dinner they found one of the night guards in their room. A Nintendo DS turned up missing and they found a key to one of the girl’s lockboxes on the floor. The man ran and was chased after by the security company he works for. The Nintendo DS turned up the next morning in the bricks near the guard’s chair.

This morning I did home based care in Maramba. We saw an old woman named Alice who was bedridden. She was bent over at the waist so her head rested near her knees. Her legs were paralyzed do to a case of Kaposi Sarcoma, which is normally associated with HIV. They had taken her to the hospital on numerous occasions but she was ignored and not given treatment. Alice’s daughter said the medical staff wouldn’t even touch her. Because of the paralysis and the fact that she is never moved, she is developing bedsores on the bottom of her legs. There wasn’t much we could do but I plan on checking back in on her in a few days.

I am really enjoying my time here in Zambia. The other volunteers are really cool and I enjoy the projects we are doing. However, many here feel like they are not doing enough. My friend Jessie (she was from Bismarck, how crazy is that?) left today but left me in charge of a program she’s been working on. The plan is to have a laminated card with basic information on HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, diabetes, hypertension and others that the volunteers can carry with them. That way when they are doing home based care they can give advice and do more in the line of talk therapy.

That’s it for now. Don’t worry about my safety. I am fine and we are switching security companies. I keep my passport and money locked up. The town is very safe during the day and we are required to take official taxis anytime we go out after dark. Miss and love you all!!

Let the volunteering begin

August 5, 2009

Today was my first day volunteering. In the morning I took vitals at the Maramba Clinic. I did most of the blood pressures while my partner, Kirstie, did weight and temperature. One thing that I noticed was the body odor. I assume I will get used to it, but personal hygiene is not as much of a priority here as it is at home. I may have also been contributing to the stink. The water at the volunteer house was turned off last night or this morning, and no one was able to take a bath (I miss showers…)

This afternoon two other volunteers and I did family support. Turns out its just playing with a bunch of children for two and half hours. We brought a net, a basketball, a really old half deflated soccer ball, two frisbees and a bunch of paint, paintbrushes and chalk. The paint may have been a bad idea. Not only were the kids painting themselves, their friends and their shoes, but one adolescent boy also decided to paint “sex is good” on the wall. Three times. After I told him not too.

August 6, 2009

This morning I did home-based care. One other volunteer and I, along with three caregivers and a man named Victor that works for African Impact, walked from house to house checking on patients. We have a folder that includes notes from past visits and based on those notes we access how the patient is doing and if we should recommend they go into the clinic. We are also able to prescribe a mild painkiller, multivitamins and rehydration packets.

We got done with this early and waited by the Ngwenya school for the bus. A woman selling Manego, which is a local African fruit of sorts, offered us some for free. It took us a while to figure out how to eat it (split it open, take out the seeds, put it in your mouth, chew it and then spit out the rind) but it was an interesting experience. We also saw a crazy woman. She sat down in front of us to show us a sore on her leg, then started talking to herself, walking around and chasing other people. It is sad that she has nowhere to get help and that everyone is afraid of her.

This afternoon I did a reading club with the children at a small school. They were really sweet kids and it was a very laid-back time. It was, however, surprising at the education level they were at. Autumn reads better than kids five or more years older than herself. They simply just don’t have the opportunities that we do at home. Even their parents can’t help them because they are themselves uneducated or are just now taking classes.

We returned to the house and headed across the street for a friendly soccer game with the locals. I wasn’t in at first but ended up playing most of the game. I even headed one ball. It was fun and I think I did okay for my first time. The electricity is now out in the building but there was still hot water for a bath.

August 8, 2009
Yesterday morning I was assigned to work at the Maramba Old People’s Home. The first half of the morning was spent cleaning their dining room and lounge areas. After that I was told to move some chairs out into the open so the residents could play games. However, I got a little confused and instead of moving the small chairs that were in the dining room, I dragged the big chairs out from the lounge area. I got laughed at a little for that. There was also a worker there that said he didn’t like me and I should go away. One of the residents that was standing nearby laughed at me for that too.

Instead of doing volunteer projects in the afternoon, we packed up our stuff and headed out to the gorge to camp on the banks of the Zambezi. On the way there we stopped and picked up some Lusaka beer. It came in a milk carton and didn’t taste very good. At the gorge, they have a big cable car that will take you down but eight of us decided to hike it instead. It was a little difficult and I slipped a few times. I think I may have to invest in a good pair of hiking boots. We hired some porters to carry all of our blankets and cooking supplies down the mountain. When we were about halfway down they passed up with huge bundles on their heads. Some were even barefoot. It was impressive to say the least. When we got down to the bottom we found out that the sand squeaked when you stepped on it. Quite strange. Some of the group spent money to ride on a jet boat. They said it was quite fun but the water was cold. I heard later that the first two jet boats they had out here sunk.

I did take a quick dip in the river before it got too late. Apparently there are crocodiles in it but we didn’t see any. After that we changed into warmer clothes and started cooking. Neale (one of our leaders) cooked. We had bread, grilled and sprinkled with Italian herbs, to start with. He then cooked us up some crocodile meat. It tasted like chicken, but better. We ended the meal with some steak. I even helped chop the firewood. The rest of the night was spent playing games and watching the stars. They were absolutely gorgeous until the moon came up. Soon everyone settled in for the night. We made a ring of mattresses we brought from the house around the fire. The sleeping bag I bought worked very well, which was nice considering how cold it gets at night.

Everyone woke up around 6:30 this morning and packed up. Again most people took the cable car up but around ten of us hiked. It was a lot easier going up then going down and I sent my bags up with a friend in the cable car. On the way back we saw some elephants. I didn’t get a very good look though. We were driving by pretty fast and I had taken my glasses off for the ride. This afternoon I am going to near Victoria Falls to watch other people bungi jump and gorge swing. The rest of the weekend should be pretty laid back.

My cell phone number is 026-097-830-5476. I should be available most evenings, which is morning at home, if anyone wants to call me. I think incoming calls are free for me, but I’m sure you’ll have to pay.

Africa

Well here are some pictures. The top left is my room (sorry it's sideways). The top right is a group of kids at the school. And to the left is the monster truck.

I am surprised at how emotionless I have been since leaving. During the week leading up to my departure I had been a bit nervous and mood swings were getting the best of me. Warren even put a rule of no crying at the airport. But when the time came to say goodbye and go through security I was remarkably calm. The travel was long but went relatively smoothly.

I landed in Zambia around 2 pm today. After obtaining a dual entry business visa (cost $80) I was happy to find that my bags had made it from London. Later, I found out that that was not the norm. Earlier, I had met a few other volunteers at the airport. After meeting up with the program representatives we packed into an old blue truck and headed off to the volunteer house.

On the way the disparity between the rich and the poor was evident. The roadside sported small thatch roofed huts next to large gated houses. The vehicles on the road ranged from trucks over-stuffed with school-aged boys to brand new red pick-up trucks. The house itself is modest but quite nice. I share a room with 2 other girls. The bathroom consists of a sink, a toilet and a bathtub. Apparently only 1 or 2 rooms have showerheads.

The food is good. They served macaroni and cheese for lunch and spaghetti for supper. Tomorrow they will take us around to see the various volunteer sites. In the afternoon we split into our three groups, medical, teaching and sports, and continue our orientation. On Wednesday we start in the clinics.

I felt like a little kid when I climbed into bed yesterday. I’m on the bottom bunk and my bed is surrounded by a giant mosquito net. If I sleep with my head all the way up by the wall I can just straighten my legs. I miss the extra long twin beds of Notre Dame. I made myself stay up until 10, so I slept well and woke up around 8.

This morning we did a general induction. After climbing into the big blue truck, dubbed the monster truck, we drove around to various sites we will be working at. The first was a large school of about 406 children. They were very happy to see us and held our hands as we were shown the new building that was just completed.

Our next stop was a small farm. They had just completed a well there and explained to us the type of work we might be doing there. We then drove by a few more schools and clinics and went back to the volunteer house. The afternoon was a lot less exciting, and for the medical volunteers consisted of a 3 and a half hour talk about what we will be doing.

I also bought a phone today. But I have no idea how much incoming calls will cost. It’s more for calling taxis here and texting the coordinators and whatnot. I’ll let you know if I figure out the call costs.

My address here is: C/O African Impact, PO Box 60896 Livingstone, Zambia. Just keep in mind the mail will take at least a week to get here.

Go time...

I fly out tomorrow at 5:30 pm. I have a 12 hour flight, followed by a 7 hour layover, followed by another 12 hour flight, 2 hour layover and one more 2 hour flight. I'm excited but nervous. I think I am going to learn a lot this year but I am going to miss home too. I just set up my Skype account, username justinekaye.

The last week has been a lot of fun. I stayed with my old teammate Mal in Los Angeles and have been at Warren's house in San Diego the remainder of the week. I've been to Coronado, La Jolla beach, Sea World, Mount Solidad and just got back from a dinner cruise in San Diego harbor.

I am too tired to write anything else now, but I'll try to post within the next week.