Happy New Year!

In Zambia, New Year’s is an event that everyone can celebrate, regardless of religion.  My New Year ’s Eve was spent in the home of 2 German volunteers in Monze. At one point in the evening, I was sitting and observing the crowd. Such a diverse bunch! There were people from all over the world - Zambia, Japan, America, Germany and, of course Canada. For most people there, English was their second language, but everyone managed to tell stories and laugh with each other. This type of scene brings with it a quiet sort of comfort that someday, this will be a common New Year’s setting in every part of the world (I know that’s sappy, but it’s really how I felt).

Since we’re currently in the middle of the rainy season (and this one is unlike those of past years – there’s actually rain), I’ve decided to hire myself out as cheap labour. I know that somehow, in some small way, this may be undermining development, since I am offering my services for free. But I feel the experience I get offsets this a bit. In the mornings, I wake at 5:30am, clean up the mess that my new puppy has kindly left me from the night before, put on my sneakers, and start out on my ten minute run - chitenge in hand - to the fields.  The ‘fields’ belong to the family of a girl, Olivia, I met during one of my runs. She’s an orphan who had to relocate from town to the rural area to live with her grandparents after her mother and father died.  She has a one year old baby girl, Precious, whose father lives somewhere in Monze.  Olivia says that Precious is her first and last child – something that I rarely hear from young girls here.  Once ready, we grab the hoes, Olivia straps the baby girl to her back and we start off. I wrap a chitenge – a piece of colorful material that acts as a skirt - around my waist to hide my thighs (it’s considered improper for men to see the color of your upper leg) and work barefoot. We’ve been weeding their maize fields for the past couple of days. Before this, I was helping my co-worker, Mrs. Simoonga, build sweet potato mounds (think of large anthills) in her fields. She is up and working every morning at 5am, comes to the WaterAid office to work with me for 8am, and then back to the fields in the afternoons. It’s interesting, people here rarely complain about their workload. It’s just accepted that one’s spare time will be minimal due to all the responsibilities which they have.  One of these major responsibilities is the caring for and education of children. Families here are usually comprised of extended family members, ranging from children who have lost their parents to those who come from less-to-do families. Mrs. Simoonga, for instance, has 4 children of her own, plus 2 children from her husband, as well as a niece whose mom died when she was 3 years old. Rue, being an educated woman, understands the importance of education and works tirelessly to provide this for her children. All schools in Zambia charge tuition by grade 7, and one is able to find many a child who had to withdraw from classes due to this.  Before Rue started working with me at WaterAid, she was traveling from Monze to Livingstone (about a 3 hour trip) every week to sell tomatoes (she gets a much better price there). Her husband helps maintain the residences at the local college, and together they have been able to send all of the children to school. One of the girls is currently studying to be a teacher…. 

I am completely removed from this type of obligation weighing upon me.  Having other people rely so heavily on my actions is a situation I’ve never experienced.  Often times, the older children of the family will be required to support the younger ones acquire their education and help the family survive. My sister didn’t rely on me to help send her to school. My family never relied on me to put food on the table.  What does that even feel like to have so many others depend on your ability to provide for them??  Especially when there isn’t a constant source of income? Would I even be able to handle it? Am I innovative, resourceful enough? I’m not really sure - I’ve never been tested.

Thoughts from the field…….

Lots of love, 

Jenn