Aeroplan in Zambia with EWB

Aeroplan “Beyond Miles Partnership” with EWB

2009-01-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

First off I'd like to say how exciting it is that some of my fellow employees are currently in Kenya on another employee engagement trip! I cannot wait to hear all about their experience and to see what kind of impact they were left with. Jose and I have already spoke about having a Vancouver office presentation to represent 2 of the partner organizations from Beyond Miles.

As Minh described below, the annual EWB conference was absolutely amazing. The energy and passion throughout those few days is what is going to fuel the changes made in our world. To quote Parker in his and George's closing remarks, our goal is to "make the difference between where we want to be and where we are smaller." Right now that difference is in the extreme and it is up to us to narrow the gap. The most inspiring part is that is it possible. It will not be easy but it is possible. Over 500 students were at the conference, full of naive excitement, raw passion and endless innovation. They are the change we need. The few professionals that were there represent the interest taken by our capitalistic world in how we are to make our globe truly one that we are proud to be living on.

We attending panels about the MDGs, about CSR programs and heard from business owners, professionals, a member of the conservative party, professors, economists and many more. Each with their own unique way of tackling the problem of poverty. The debates were rich and endless and left everyone with a renewed sense of motivation and direction. I cannot count the amount of peopleI spoke to who said "wow I really needed to be here at this conference, I feel like I've just been completely re-charged."

It was also wonderful to be able to meet up with Jenn and all the other OVSs we had met while in Zambia. And that they treated us like family did nothing less than warm my heart.

It was overall an truly inspiring experience. It is people like those who were at that conference that are going to be the change we want to see in the world.

Picures are still to come!

Carissa

Folks,

The legacy of our blog continues... we had an amazing experience attending and presenting at the EWB 2009 National Conference.

Our trip to YYZ included a visit to Aeroplan's office in the Air Canada Centre, to present to our colleagues in the partnership group and meeting one of the next lucky "winners" who will travel to Kenya with SWB (School without Borders).

The support of Alden and her team in Community Investments, our managers at Aeroplan, and organizers at EWB to provide us the chance to share in this event deserve a great thanks!

See the link to learn more about the event: http://conference2009.ewb.ca/collaboration-day/schedule

With pictures and more commentary to come...

Back from Zambia

2008-10-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

Folks,

We're back from Zambia... a recap will come shortly.

Meantime, we've loaded albums (bottom left hand side of the screen) for your viewing pleasure. By clicking on the thumbnail you can view the pictures in a larger size.

To wrap up our blog/trip chronicles, we're preparing a "roadshow" presentation to share the lessons learned, anecdotes about our travels, and hopefully inspire anyone who attends. More details to come. PS. Let us know what topics you would like to hear.

Slady & Carissa catch some zzz's

The ride out of Zimba

Last night in Zambia

2008-10-22T09:39:00.001-07:00

Folks,

Our last night in Zambia was spent over dinner at the newly established EWB home in Lusaka. Trevor and Thulasy, EWB Overseas Volunteers, prepared a great pasta dinner... followed by a great conversation about our trip; our findings, understanding, and next steps upon returning home.

EWB Home in Lusaka

(Left to right): Slady, Jenn & Thulasy Balasubramaniam

(Left to right): Trevor Freeman, Minh, Carissa

Village life in Zimba... for the guys

2008-10-18T11:00:00.001-07:00

As Carissa mentioned, we split between two households for the night in Kolomo, as Slady and I (Minh) stayed with Kenny’s family. Kenny is on the council of sorghum farmers, one of the first to join the program. Here are some of events that took place:
- Evening bathing: the family prepares my bathing water and as I set up, the son casually mentions, “don’t worry about the chicken in the corner.” I think I now had a slight paranoid disposition, hoping the chicken wouldn’t attack me or whatever while I tried to wash off the day’s grime.
- Next morning: at 5AM I joined the son to fetch water 2.5kms away on bicycle and carried a 20ltr jug on my bike, whereas the son carried 3x20 ltr jugs. Reaching the water hole, I discovered they were using a pit dug only metres from the dam. Perhaps not the best water planning/treatment prevention, as we learned during or Wat-San visit.

Water quality somewhat suspect

My return ride was not working out so well because the jug had a tipping effect as I tried to ride back. Thankfully a friend of the family was crossing our paths carrying a live chicken. He traded bikes with me and carried my water back, but somewhere on the journey back to the house the chicken jumped free, so I watched the friend first put the bike on the stand then chase the chicken and strap him to the jug of water… (this is somewhat funnier to see than write, kinda Keystone Cops scene)

Riding with 3 x 20 litre jugs

As the day continued, we toured Kenny’s property and discussed his sorghum crop. Among the highlights he addressed:
- Concern that weather forecasts have to be communicated in advance of seed planting season, otherwise rain could wash away seeds (a wasted effort).
- Other natural disaster, such as the elephants who recently walked through his field may ruin certain quantities of crops (you have to see the footprints to see the magnitude of damage)
- He has embraced a strategy to diversify his fields and rotate them between sorghum, maize, and garden veggies such as peas, sunflower, etc.
- Rotation should ensure that sorghum does not grow immediately after maize has grown in same field because the lack of fertilizer in the soil. Garden veggies however, do re-fertilize the soil.
- Maize should only be grown to feed his family, therefore leaving the remaining fields available to higher-profit margin crop.
- The fact Care is wrapping their program, he needs to gain all their knowledge before they leave.

Kenny (holding sorghum)

Kenny & Slady in the field

Care’s support of the farmers has encompassed the following:

- Provided free sorghum seed in 2006 as incentive to change crop (from maize)

- In 2007-08, they began charging 50% the price of seed, encouraging farmers to treat sorghum as part of their business plan

- In 2009, they will end their support of the program, believing that farmers will become self-sufficient by that time.

- The past year, they made an exceptional expenditure to help defray 50% the price to transport the sorghum that has been harvested. Higher than expected transport costs more than the value of the crop. Without profits, the farmers will be unable to purchase seeds or fertilizers (for maize)

- The council leaders have been held accountable by Care to present their business plan for the coming year. The meeting we attending showed a profit of 10M KW (KW = Zambian currency) off sales of 101M KW. This plan is being updated to include a risk management plan (costs of selling, price of crop in future) and needs to know how to effectively manage sales channels that account for 80% of their business, but 20% of client base (the pareto rule “80-20”)

Business Planning meeting with sorghum council leaders

Follow up to Minh

2008-10-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

Carissa:
Hi everyone! So we're now back in Lusaka and Minh just posted his observations during our meeting in Livingstone...we don't have too much time tonight because we're having dinner with some EWB volunteers so I think we'll be back tomorrow. There is a lot that has happened between Livingstone and Lusaka so for now we'll try and catch up a little bit:

To elaborate on the meeting with Susan:

It was different because she was not in the wat-san or agriculture area, her specialty was in CARE’s HIV/AIDS division. It was interesting to talk to someone who’s involved with the health component of development. I learned that in Zambia, anti-retroviral drugs are actually now free but only at government institutions. A huge problem is access to these institutions for people that live far away ie rural areas. The CARE volunteers that work with the SCOPE and HIV/AIDS program cannot bring the meds as they are prescriptions, but they can help the patient formulate a regular schedule for administration. There are so just so many angles at which to approach development, so many that it almost seems like chaos at times.

Livingstone is the location of the CARE regional headquarters, so it was a great place to see an NGO in its operational stages. Everyone seemed very focused and well organized within their respective projects.

A topic we’ve been discussing to quite a great extent since we’ve been in Zambia is that of development and its effectiveness. Literature on the struggles of development can only begin to describe what is actually happening in the field. All the devastation and disease and poverty is there but its display is much different than I would have imagined. I was picturing people with their hands out, pleading, crying with all the hardships they are experiencing in their lives and instead we have encountered time after time silence. These hardships have been already engrained into their lives, their parents and their children’s lives. They face poverty, hunger, death and disease every single day, it’s almost like it has become a part of their routine. It just pretty much left me speechless at times.

Another side note about Livingstone is the difference that city possesses based on the tourism industry. The Victoria Falls and the Zambezi river off this world of adventure and excitement to people from all over the world. Upon arriving you feel different. It almost felt like we had stepped out of Zambia (or at least the Zambia we had seen up until then). It’s amazing the difference one industry can have on a region. Some people would argue that it is taking away from the real Zambian culture yet others argue that it is perfect to give great, profitable opportunities to locals. It’s hard to say. Something to think about…

But what a spectacular sight to see: the Victoria Falls. October is when the water levels are at their lowest so the falls were not crashing as you normally see in the classic videos and postcards, but it was so low that we actually could walk all over the rocks that the river usually crashes over. We walked all the way to the edge where the water pours off the top of the rocks and crashes with its huge sheets of mist. It was just breathtaking. The sky was blue, you felt like you were literally at the edge of the world, you’re standing in the Zambezi in Zambia and looking over to Zimbabwe just across the way. It really is a sight not to miss.

Next stop: Muzya and Kalomo

I believe Minh did talk about Livingstone also so I will proceed to Tuesday and our journey out of tourist Zambia and back into rural lands.

Side note: Zambia is hot in October. Unbelievably hot. Exponentially hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced. In Livingstone, as we searched for something to eat before embarking on our bus journey to Zimba, we were literally just darting from shaded area to shaded area because any place in the sun, even 10 seconds worth, was just stifling. So we had a bit to eat, and were pretty excited because the bus company had told us that the bus we were taking was “ business class” with A/C. Business class means 2 by 2 seats and A/C means the windows do not open. Departure time is 1330. I can’t wait to cool off for 2 hours so I’m all smiles as we get on the bus. It’s a little hot to begin with but I figure once we start moving the A/C will kick in and we’ll be comfortable. And then we start moving. And the AC does not come on. And then we find out it is broken. And the windows don’t open. So basically we were roasting like chicken. We arrived in Zimba to meet Jon, antoher EWB volunteer who is joined by Wysin, the CARE co-ordinator and practically fall out of the bus. It was quite a scene. We sat and drank water for about a half hour before any one of us felt remotely well enough to get into the CARE Toyota Land Cruiser and bump our way into the village.

Intro to Jon:

Like I said, he is an EWB volunteer working with CARE. He is involved with the agriculture side of operations. CARE has a program that is trying to get rural small scale famers to reintroduce sorghum as a profitable crop. Maize was pushed by the government to be the staple food across Zambia. A kind of “one country, one crop” unified slogan. Maize is what everyone grows, sells and eats. Farmers lives revolve around Maize A major problem with Maize is that is it very weather dependent. As seen last year, the rains wiped out a lot of crops and we have come to know that Maize also being quite susceptible to drought. Sorghum on the other hand is a very favourble crop given the growing conditions of Zambia’s Southern Province. It is quite drought resistant and provides quite an impressive yield.

Once we felt well enough, we piled in with our dusty luggage and rumbled our way through the dirt paths to Muzya area where we were split (me and Jenn, Slady and Minh) to stay the night in 2 different households. Minh I’m sure will describe quite accurately his experience as he and Slady had quite a different night and day from me and Jenn.

Jenn and I were dropped off at a household that we immediately named “the swank”. It was village living but with style. All 5 elements of sanitation, all sorts of animals, all kinds of huts for different purposes including ours which was just for us and had a bed were found a our swanky village. Our bed had a frame and a mattress and blankets! The main house had a TV that who’s battery had been charged at Zimba so even after dark we were still watching the news! There was white sugar! The latrine had a nice straw courtesy covering wall and a hand crafted cover! We were given a flashlight! For a few moments we both wondered if we really were in the village. But then the guinea fowls starting screaming (that’s what I call it because it’s terrible and illogical and goes on all night just so you ALWAYS know they’re there).

Our hosts were wonderful. The Mrs was very well spoken and articulate and we learnt much about her activity in the community and her role in her women’s group and their work with orphans and vulnerable children.

MORE TO COME INTERNET IS TOO SLOW!!! ALSO PICTURES TO COME AS WELL!!

HIV/Aids Home-Based-Care program

2008-10-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

Folks,

Prior to leaving Livingstone we had the opportunity to meet Susan, Coordinator in Southern Region of Home-Based-Care (HIV/Aids program) with the Care Organization. CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty by improving basic education, preventing the spread of HIV, increasing access to clean water and sanitation, expanding economic opportunity and protecting natural resources. This meeting allowed us to learn about the challenges Care faces in using home-based-care (HBC) volunteers to help HIV/Aids infected people. Here are some interesting highlights:
- 60% of HBC volunteers are male in the rural area, while 60% of HBC volunteers are female in urban areas. We believe one factor is that rural men have more “free” time to work than females in villages (recall workload of Mrs. Chilaw in Sinyendende).
- HBCs support an average of 5 patients each, working one hour each week per patient.

Incentives for volunteers (who are unpaid):
- keep their bicycles after two years in the roles
- provided surplus supplies i.e. chlorine, sanitation, etc, that they can sell to generate income
- bags, uniforms, and training that increases their skills capacity (for future employment elsewhere)

Susan, Coordinator in Southern Region of Home-Based-Care (HIV/Aids program) with the Care Organization

Because of the variety of challenges across the region, CARE is collecting data to show whether a bundle of services (Scope, C-Faarm, HBC, SCT, and/or SSCP) working together in a town or any combination of services leads to improved living conditions. It will provide invaluable information on what type of strategy will be needed to optimize their impact in respective communities.

Map of CARE cluster activities.

Mosi oa Tunya, R&R in the mecca of tourism

2008-10-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

With Indian Peacekeeping Officers
Tandem Bungee Jumping
Mosi oa Tunya
Mosi oa Tunya
Setting up for our R&R stay

Folks,

Besides the blog, one method our team has used to build on this learning experience is a top-5 list (of anything) following a segment of the journey. Comparing our impressions, sharing them with Jenn, and then building conversation around them have been invaluable to the learning experience. We are always discussing why things work the way they do, are programs effectively helping, and identify areas for improvement.

EWB - Agriculture
After seeing the Wat-San half of EWB work, our journey will move south to a village in Kolomo, 200km south of Monze. That segment will focus on agriculture and the work EWB performs with Care, a multinational aid agency.

Capital for Tourism
Before reaching Kolomo, we continued on the bus 100km further south to the town of Livingstone. This was a much needed R&R break and allowed us to explore another side of Zambia, its capital for tourism. Having a natural attraction, Mosi oa Tunya, “the Smoke that Thunders”, aka Victoria Falls, has proven a boom to the towns economy.

The Congo
Staying at JollyBoys Backpackers Hostel gave us an opportunity to meet some wonderful people. Two people we wanted to focus particular attention on were Indian Army officers, David and Naveet, on their own R&R from UN Peacekeeping in the Congo. The chance to hear their thoughts half-way through their one-year posting was impressive. After their departure, we found an email from our colleague, Flore Lambelin that she decided in being a United Nations Volunteer for a peacekeeping operation in Congo. We only wish we had the chance to help with introductions, but I’m sure if they come across one another’s’ path, they would become fine friends. The Congo is geographically one of the most intense postings due to a lack of amenities, ie. heat, malaria, & Wat-San, that even the Indian Army takes precaution for its soldier’s health.

Fun – but Professional
Given the opportunity to visit in a town that has every imaginable amenity and service, we partook in a little sightseeing adventure… We began by walking through Mosi au Tunya’s dry river bed, peaking over the edge of a 100metre drop, and seeing the mist off the Zimbabwe side of falls. Always thinking of our safety, we took it upon ourselves to learn what a more than 75m drop feels like… So a professional organization with a first rate crew, safety tied us up for a tandem-bungee jump off a bridge that spans the Zambezi river gorge. The next day was felt the need to keep refreshed and feet closer to the ground… so we white water rafted 30km down the Zambezi.

As much as this was for R&R, we were able to think about other contrasts from Monze and their town living conditions. Livingstone is an example of a Zambian community that is able to profit due to geographic location…

More to come…

Fat, and gets a marriage proposal

2008-10-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Village map:Bore hole & garden
Circa 2007 bore hole
Circa 2006 bore hole
Gardens around the bore hole

So continue now where Carissa left off…

Note: We use as much time to write on the Jenn’s EWB-provided laptop and then hook up to the net to copy-paste into our blog… we’re constantly rotating Jenn/Carissa/Minh to get our blog & emails out. This is much more efficient than typing new messages when we hook up :o)
Leaving the Chilaw family early the next morning in order to “beat-the-heat” we begin our 6AM hike back to Monze. To join us, we had the pleasure of being “pushed” by Mrs. Chilaw for the first 1KM or so. “Pushed” refers to the custom of being escorted part of your journey. IMG_2262.JPG

On our return journey, we were fortunate to be seen on the trail at the 3KM mark by Slady’s father, who offered us a lift. His work consists of deploying anti-malaria sprayers to the various households in the town. The ride in the back of the truck proved quite enjoyable, especially given Carissa’s marriage proposal by one of the workers :o) IMG_2270.JPG

Once we returned back to town, we decided a single-day trip to the next village was more suitable. Chippenbelle village was 22 KM from Monze, with intermittent bus service. In order to reach this region, we hired a car & driver, Kenny. Kenny was an amusing chap who did not use turn signals in the along congested streets. However, upon reaching the area, decided that a roads which had a car half slanted, one tire a good two feet below the other side, now would be the perfect time to use his blinkers. I guess the occasional cow needed to know our intentions ;-)
From a project point of view, this village is one where Fabie has put her main efforts on since Jenn’s departure. This ward of 33 villages is where Jenn spent most of her 3 years with EWB. Chippenbelle has the goal of providing 100% its households with latrines. The community also has made some key decisions in order to provide support to all households that may not otherwise have the ability to benefit from this initiative:

- We were introduced to Abigail, a blind lady who used to rely on a well to collect water. She had managed to collect water along the same property path until the well ran dry. The local council and committee responsible for Wat-San took it upon themselves to build a latrine for her and ensure that the newly built bore-hole was only across the road from her property. IMG_2279.JPG
- While the location of a bore hole involves a mix of political and practical criteria for its placement (i.e. 1KM accessibility by households in the area), many bore-holes were built with vegetable gardens around them after their construction. IMG_2282.JPG

As our driving tour continued, we passed the local Witch Doctor’s home and discovered a variety of bore-holes that have provided communities with opportunity to combat last years floods. This included a community centre and school property which built its own irrigation system that fed water through pipelines into their garden. IMG_2295.JPG IMG_2301.JPG

Next was a meeting with Christopher, one of two assigned latrine builders for this village. He explained the process for getting latrines built: the household must dig the 3 x 1.5 metre hole, and purchase the bricks before he needs to arrive, and fortunately, the cement is free. A household should not be allowed to create the concrete flooring until the wall material is ready. The danger here is that a built floor may collapse before the walls are able to be built… resulting in a loss of efficiency and duplicate work for the household.

Christopher shared a variety of hurdles he faces in order to effectively complete his work. Having a cast-iron shovel to mix cement, a better way of reaching distant households, and households that had not provided “their side of the bargain” (prepared hole and material) had been brought to the local committee’s attention, but without success thus far.

What was clear, was his pride in his responsibility to ensure the 5 elements that comprise sanitation are taught in each household. And as an entrepreneurial fellow, he gained additional income by building villages in other villages as well, until local village households are ready to have their material ready. IMG_2306.JPG

After finishing our tour of the village, Kenny drove us back into town to buy Monze infamous “Chicken & Chips (fries)” and took us to a place called Moorings Campsite. This place once belonged to Mr. Mooring, who was robbed and killed over a year ago. His commercial farm was the largest in Monze, and he build a mini-oasis of lush green lawn, lodging and camping sites on his property.

As a commercial farm, we were also required to undergo sanitation (vehicle & people) to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. Once driving into the property we sat ate our chicken & chips and discussed some interesting points about marriage with Kenny (who recently became engaged). We asked whether his family would need to buy cattle for his fiancé, also a town resident. He explained how he has already nominated his uncle to represent his interests with his prospective in-laws to pay a “lebola”. More interestingly, he shared stories about different tribal customs such as when a Bemba… we will load a video so you can see for yourself what happens!
Video

Village life in Sinyendende

2008-10-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Peri-Urban town in Monze:
Bore-hole in peri-urban town
Dam for livestock/village water supply
Rasta's home
Rasta's home

So continue now where Minh left off…

Monze was great. Slady’s family was so kind and generous and the Nshima (the staple Zambian food) was delicious. We had a good night’s sleep after our trek from Lusaka in preparation for our journey to the village the following day.

Village: Sinyendende
We woke up quite early on Wednesday and went around town gathering a few items before heading off to the village. On our way there, we excited the city compound and entered the peri-urban area. Jenn described to us the problems with this area: it is where people tend to live when they leave the village and are trying to enter the more urban areas. Unfortunately there is a lot of poverty, very close living areas, extremely low levels of sanitation, low access to water and just all in all an unhealthy area to live in. It was just striking to see the difference of that sort of community just past the town of Monze.

We continued on our way and saw our first water point. Basically it is a very deep hole drilled into the ground where water can then be drawn from. There is a pump created to fill the water containers of those using the water point. This first one we saw was surrounded by children and livestock and although it was pulling water efficiently, Jenn pointed out that the lack of run off (halfpipe type structure that allows the water to flow out of the pump and down the pipe a further distance away) is a problem because having a build up of water so close to the pump itseld brings on a whole new onslaught of problems ie mosquitos breeding malaria and other diseases, the livestock contaminating the water source etc… makes you appreciate going to the tap and pouring out a clean glass of water every time.

So we continue walking (6km in heat with packs) and pass a man made dam that is great for livestock, we saw plenty of people brinigng their animals down for water. Again the downside is that most of the people bringing the animals there are children and since the animals need to be brought down everyday, this prevents them from attending school.

Before we reach the village, we get to see something I have never seen before: a tree house carved out and dug out underneath its roots… wait for the pictures, it will make a lot more sense. The man who has created this one of a kind project is named Rasta and he a local who has the most intense schedule I’ve ever heard of: He works nights (1700 to 8am) at a local club in Monze (ie he has to walk the 5km every night and morning) he sleeps for 2-3 hours, then gets up and digs by hand his trenches and dams and tree… and all he owns is his field and a little brick square hut and a thatch made maize holder. That’s it. It was amazing seeing what he had done, I’ve never stood underneath a tree before.

Continuing on, Rasta escorts us to the family we are staying with in the village. We are actually privileged enough to be staying with the headman and his family (they adore Jenn). We meet his wife, Mrs Chilaw and slowly start to appreciate the role of a rural African woman. Her tasks are simply endless. She is the first up in the morning, last to go to sleep and is working all day. Not one minute the whole time we were there was she relaxing. Notice the picture with her and Jenn where they are holding sticks. They are pounding the maize in preparation for lunch time. I tried it for about 2 minutes and my arms felt like they were on fire. Mrs Chilaw was pounding for over 30 minutes after that. Wow. PS I look ridiculous in the morning in villages apparently lol

After meeting some of the family (most of which are children that are not necessarily the headman’s, they mostly seem to just have been welcomed into their family, us not knowing where their family is but excepting they probably don’t have one anymore.) Rasta takes us on a little tour of Sinyendende. We cross over a stream (Mulonga) which is dried up due to it being the hot and dry season and he tells us that this stream divides Sinyendende A and Sinyendende B and that during the wet season when the stream is full and running that no one can pass over. What a concept, no one can cross because there is no bridge, no path, no alternative. You are just fully stuck on one side or the other. We keep walking and stop at a house where an older lady offers us some of the local drink of choice (maize with a root…EVERYTHING they eat involves maize. They grow it, tend to it, harvest it, sell it, and rely on it for everyday function. Breakfast is a drink made of maize, lunch is pounded maize that has been boiled, supper is Nshima which is ground maize and snacks if permissible are boiled maize)

Rasta brings us to a gravesite for the village, we see a football (soccer) field and we visit a few more houses, including a mute lady and her elderly husband and a family who very graciously offers us a pigeon to take with us to eat. I politely declined.

After this huge walk, we end up back at what I will refer to as “home” for while we are in the village ie Mr and Mrs Chilaw’s house. It’s more different than I ever thought it could be. The bathroom is a latrine with a bucket on the outside to rinse your hands with, the bathing area is sheets of metal propped up together, the kitchen is a brick oval with log roof (the latrine and bathing shelter have no roofs), there is a maize thatch container, a stick pen for the cattle and the main house. There is no electricity, no running water, no oven, no stove, no fridge. All this and really this family is so kind and welcoming and generous and just amazing. This is their reality and they were so happy to share it with us. It was just amazing. To see how hard they all work together to get everything together and keep the household full of positive energy and purpose. They wake up with the sun, light a few candles at night for lights, all meals are cooked over charcoal and baths are done with a bucket.

We had the most amazing opportunity to go and collect water with the family. The first night we were there, Minh was given the responsibility of putting the yoke on the cattle that were going to pull the scotch cart where we put the containers for water collection. It was amazing to see that this is the children’s job. A ten year old was directing the cattle over the dirt paths rough terrain as he does everyday and I held on for my life as we blindly bumped over on our way. It must have been about a 1.5km from the house to the water point. And they are fortunate to A) have a scotch cart and B) have cattle to pull it because when we got there we saw the true burden as women were walking away from the water point with their babies on their back and their 20L water containers on their heads. And for those of you who have painted with me at LCS we’re talking those type of containers… 1.5km or more….on your head…with a baby on your back… in the blistering heat… SAVE YOUR WATER, KEEP THE TAP OFF WHEN YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH! There are just too many emotions to describe when you see how important water is to the quality of life of a family, a village. Even pumping is demanding, we determining that it takes about a minute and a half to pump enough for a 20L container, it’s like a minute and a half of push ups. This water point however was quite interesting because it did have quite an extensive run off and the community had constructed a wooden fence around the water point so that animals could only drink from the very end of the run off… see the pictures, it’ll be easier to understand.

There were just so many different things we were feeling and asking about and I think I personally just in awe of everything that was happening around me. An October night and I am in Africa, pumping the water I will be using for bathing, drinking (after treating with chlorine), cooking with, washing my hands. I am watching the sunset and the stars come out as the children run around me amazed at my digital camera. A headman’s wife is beside me and we’re all talking even though our languages are completely different.

Now it is dark and we’ve returned with all the water. Supper is almost ready and by tradition the wife does not sit with the husband to eat so Slady, Jenn, Minh and I eat with Mr Chilaw as Mrs Chilaw eats in the kitchen with the children and the visitors. We learn that the young lady visitor to their home has had a fight with her husband and it is up to the husband to come and get her before she can go back. If he comes to get her… This leads into the one of the most engaging dinner time conversations I’ve even been a part of. Thanks to Slady’s interpretational skills (he speaks Tonga and English wonderfully) the 5 of us spend the whole evening talking about Tonga traditions and ways of life. There is a lot I don’t understand and that I don’t agree with, but it was fascinating. The best part being Jenn’s million dollar question just as we emerge from a long segment on the multiple wife issue: “Mr Chilaw – what if a woman has two husbands?” His face was priceless. This vibrant, exciting old man with his warm smile that is missing some teeth just stared at Jenn like she was absolutely 100 percent clinically insane. Like he had never even thought that her question could have actually existed. We laughed and laughed and laughed and even though we are worlds apart there are just some things that are too funny to be bothered by. I will never forget that face!

After a long evening we head to bed equipped with mosquito nets and full body clothing and have quite the night. The cat jumps in and out through the little hole window in the brick wall and the crazy rooster thinks that sunrise happens at midnight, 3 am and 5 am. We are laughing as my mosquito nets falls on my face and well, we’ve just had an unbelievable day.

As you can see so far the village is quite the adventure. At least no one here called me fat.
Day 2 in the village = the day village life almost consumes Minh’s life

We wake up after not really much sleep at all, but we bathe and have a light breakfast and are ready for the day. Minh gets up earlier and helps bring in wood from the fields and is amazed, like ranting and raving amazed at the organized piles of cow manure set up in preparation for the upcoming planting season. Also notice how dirty he got during the first hour of his life as a rural farmer.

And so here starts a day we will never ever forget. Let me set the scene. It was 9am and already SO hot. Like Montreal in the middle of July times 4. We were ready to go for our walk around Sinyendende and the surrounding areas to talk to locals about water and sanitation and the projects that have been implemented in their communities and the impacts. Mr Chilaw joined us for this trek. This springy elderly man really showed us up this day.First I’ll describe the more objective observations along our way. We met some really interesting people and had a lot of questions answered. Jenn told us about the 5 signs of sanitation: a dish drying rack, a latrine, a hand washing station, a rubbish pit and a bathing station. It was amazing to see how few households had all the components. Even the local health worker, Patrick did not have a latrine built. How was the community supposed to take his example??? Problems like these were everywhere. We passed by a half completed dam that was an initiative started by the community where they went to the government and asked to have dam built so that during the dry season there would still be water for their livestock etc. The dam was like I said, half built, cement wasted, no water reserve and animals lying in the little water there was there breeding filth and disease. The contractors had apparently done a 2 week job in 5 days and clearly had not come close to finishing. But no, they do not intend on coming back and the community will not get back the 25% they put in to contribute to the project. It is clear that accountability is also a huge theme in development. People are also hungry, the rainy season last year was so powerful that many crops were destroyed. The hardships of these people are so hard to digest. And water, wow, the importance of water and the distance to the closest source and the quality of that source etc, what a pivotal role it plays.

And to further prove how strong these people are, well, me and Minh almost became part of the dry bush as we nearly passed out from heat exhaustion and thirst. A short walk turned into over 6km over 4 hours of talking and visiting and well let’s just say, we did not feel so great when we finally made it back home. See the problem was that with the headman with us, and Patrick, we had to visit every household we passed, and every household was so gracious and inviting and talkative that it was a very slow moving process. Also the concept of distance is very different for Tonga people. “It’s just over that hill” to me means “hey you’re close” but to them it means “another few houses, over that hill, across that field, through that path, another few houses… “ Jenn, who speaks Tonga, after about 2/3rds of our trip, started to tell Patrick and Mr Chilaw that we were tired. This didn’t seem to stray them from their energetic goal of visiting everyone in a 5 km radius so she eventually resorted to telling them we were sick. Still nothing haha. At this point, I couldn’t really speak and I actually contemplated, like seriously contemplated, just collapsing on the path to see if that would have allowed us to go home quicker. But I decided this wouldn’t really help the situation at all so we trekked until finally we made it back. Notice the picture of the tree with the very flat bottom -- it’s a mango tree. There were a lot of them on our trek from hell but unfortunately it was of course, NOT mango season. It was a Zambian mirage.

Back at home, Minh honestly looks like he is not going to make it, so Jenn fills the washing bucket and we splash ourselves back to health and wait the designated half hour for the chlorine to kick in before drinking our water. And there is Mr Chilaw, still laughing and happy and in great shape. We officially were wimps. What an adventure!

The evening ends up being quite relaxing, Mr Chilaw and Minh naps in chairs outside and eventually Jenn and I also take a quick nap. We all feel better and go again to get water before having dinner and another great conversation. We sleep so much better that evening, personally because I am much more comfortable and yes so so tired.

We wake up with the sun the following morning and head back to Monze. I’ll let Minh take it from here… Jenn asked us to write down a few moments and questions we have in general about our tirp so far, just items that have made us think, and I think we’ll include them and perhaps they will provide a bit of insight on the pertinent humanitarian questions we have been facing…

Just some of the picture that might be worthwhile explaning:- The one where Jenn is dancing with the children, well we learned where the harlem shake comes from thanks to an 8 year old

Next stop: Monze... & Carissa is still fat

2008-10-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Slady & his mother

Slady's home
Monze
WaterAid office
WaterAid office

Minh:
Hiho folks, We arrived to the town of Monze, within maybe 200KMs south of Lusaka, but unfortunately, a 3-4 hour bus ride down there. This is town is where Jenn worked for over 2.5 years on Water & Sanitation (Wat-San) projects. Its one of the friendliest places to greet people, especially when you are following behind a person so popular that anyone in the town can call out Jenn's name, and we would partake in a introductions/reunion with her many friends. Our arrival also gave us the chance to use the Tonga that we had been taught so far:

- Mwabuga buti = Good morning

- Mwalibia buti = Good afternoon

- Ndili Kabotu = I am Fine

- Twalumba = Thank you

As we walked around, our introductions would be as follows:

- Us: Mwabuga buti

- New person: Ndili Kabotu, Mwabuga buti

- Us: Kabotu

Visting the town had us walk to the nearby volleybally & soccer fields, seeing how important sports are to engage people... and feeling bad I only brought one set of soccer unifroms to give away. We also met Jenn's colleague, Fabie, a Botswanian, who is currently coordinating the 100% use of Wat-San principles (latrines, hand washing facilities, dish rack, bath stall, & garbage pit) in a local village. Their goal is to ensure envery household is ready by November, before the rainy season hits.

Carissa:

We don't have much time to write, sorry about this, we will update as soon as we can, and I do apologize for the lack of pictures. I promise that we have taken plenty (over 1000 + videos) but it just takes too much time to load with the unreliable internet. The kind lady here just told us that we have 2 minutes until we close sooo unfortunately I'm going to have to sign off (and I was just about to get started!) but stay posted because we should be able to update tomorrow!!!

Kwasia buti! (good evening..) :)

Lusaka - you are fat

2008-10-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Carissa:
So putting those few pictures on was hard enough and apparently I am supposed to put them on while writing lol but what can I say I'm an inexperienced blog writer sooo the comments for the photos are here! The beautiful lie down beds were courtesy of Air Canada D cls, and is proof that the "upgrade list" actually works! So here was the itinerary we ended up on: Toronto - Munich - Hamburg - Istanbul -Joburg - Lusaka It took us a total travel time of over 42 hours. WHEW.

It felt so good to actually land and know that we were finally at our destination! Upon arriving (we got here at about 1pm yesterday-sunday) we went to our hostel to get set up, take oh so refreshing showers and then I took a very well needed nap. Slady, Jenn's friend from Monze (the more rural city we will going to tomorrow) met us at the airport and is staying with us in Lusaka and taking us to his home! After the nap, we went for dinner down the road at an Indian restaurant with some other people from EWB and another Zambian, Mbozi, also from Monze who is studying radiology at a nearby Lusaka college. We had a great time chatting and relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere. We returned to our hostel later on and sat in the nice African breeze while Jenn and Slady taught us about Zambian culture - handshakes, greetings, customs, norms etc...very interesting indeed! All four of us had a great night's sleep and finally got out of bed mid afternoon feeling quite refreshed and ready to explore! Jenn and Slady took us the local city market where we experienced the bustling Lusaka life. We continued our walk to another market area where we met Trevor (from EWB) and Minh and I had our first taste of Nshima! (see the pic of him and jenn with the bowls, more pics to come when we reach another internet cafe!) We walked around more market area, picked up a few items and Jenn even ran into the lady who took her in and showed her Zambian culture the first time she was assigned to Zambia! We took a bus to this more westernized area so we could have internet access and share our travels with everyone! PS today was the first time in my life that a full out stranger looked at me and exclaimed " WOW hey you are so fat!" hahaha Jenn warned me before we went out and said that it means that you're healthy.. I couldn't help but to laugh anyways.

That's all for now, we'll keep updating, I have many more pictures, those pictures are from Minh's camera, we're going to upload mine on Jenn's computer and then upload them from there the next time we get internet!! Minh says hi, he's a little tired!! but he did load the photos!! We'll be adding more soooonnn!!! Thinking of all of you!

Our hostel in Lusaka
Lusaka Market
Eating Nshima with Trevor (EWB volunteer)
Lusaka Market
Our hostel in Lusaka

Arrival in Zambia!

2008-10-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

Daz 2.5 2nd stop: Munich

2008-10-04T03:05:00.000-07:00

Minh: Hiho folks,

We made it to Munchen - didn't see that coming, eh? Aline, our SKCH Lead maestro did an amazing job getting us onto a new flight... not without pulling out a tonne of stops (figuratively & literally) to do so.

Our routing is YYZ to MUC, then MUC to Hamburg, Hamburg to Istanbul, Istanbul to Jo´burg, and finally to Lusaka by Sunday morning. Whew, if you throught reading it was tough... wait until you start flying! But hey, once we load more pics you´ll see we enjoyed lie-flat comfort beds aboard the first segment, and will plead for the same upgrade on the next long segment (IST to JNB). Having a nice shower in the Business Class lounge helped revive the body from a long past daz.

Keen observers will note the occassional spelling error: the Y and Z kezs are in opposite locations on the kezboard...

Carissa: zes these kezboards are verz strange....
I love business class. love it. going from stanby to business class is just amazing. Even though all our flights got quite jumbled, Aline was able to save the day just when we were running out of hope!
I just took a shower as well, thez give zou all these little kits: on the plane, in the lounges, Jenn suggested we keep them and give them out when we get to Zambia!
We´ll keep zou posted as we embark on our next adventure, I wonder what the kezboards are going to be like in Turkey... hmm...

2nd stop: YYZ

2008-10-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

Carissa: (and on behalf of Minh)
Oh the joys of the airline industry.. guess what?!! our flight to LGA was cancelled!! And seeing as our routing was YYZ-LGA bus to JFK-JNB-LUN well we can all see the problem of if we didn't make it to LGA . The fun begins!
Luckily we've got the inside track (well Minh does at least, he was on the phone seconds after the announcement -- I was still shoving free maple leaf lounge food in my mouth) So we'll see where we're going from here!
The pictures are A- last night me trying apparentely very intensely to get the internet to work in the hotel lobby, B- at the airport the next day, me and Jenn being cool and comparing malaria meds, C- Corinne, our oh so helpful AC agent who took our bags off our original flight, got them onto a potential EWR flight, took them off that one when we decided we wouldn't be able to make our connection, all the while being friendly and really trying her best to alleviate our "interesting" situation.
For right now, all is well, we had breakfast in the lounge and are now going for lunch as we await news on where and when and how we are going to Africa.
We haven't even made it out of Canada yet!! (well techinically I guess we are in the States seeing as we went through US customs...)
More to come as our situation develops!

Day 1

2008-10-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Carissa:
Well it's actually day 2 for me... the west coast time allowed me to arrive last night and spend a very enjoyable, relaxing evening at the Westin Harbour Castle. After a restful night's sleep, I met Minh in the lobby and finally got to meet Jenn!! (EWB Zambian volunteer guide) We spent the day (Thurs, Oct 2) visiting the EWB headquarters, meeting the directors and other members of staff, all of whom were delightful. We met up with Alden for lunch (manager of Aeroplan Community Investments) -- we were so glad she could fit us in her always busy schedule!
As the day progressed, it was more and more real that we're leaving tomorrow for AFRICA!!

Minh:
Folks, so we've had enough shots to survive whatever hits us... more to come. Not to be accused of being boring (with people over my shoulder)... we're picking a team name: would you like to suggest something? We picked up the mosquito bed nets, a USB key which we planted on Carissa to walk out of the store and thought would go beep. Woohoo... we're just about done for the day... a few more parking lot issues to finish.