Working week

Tuesday -

Today was largely uneventful as I spent most of the day again waiting around for Gideon. I did have the idea of visiting Copperbelt Health Education to see what support they could give Gideon following the death of Jedone. I started to get the ball rolling by getting in touch with Franco, one of the other volunteers.

Wednesday –

I finally met with Gideon this morning and told him that he needs to use me to the maximum before I go. I think he took on board my comments as he gave me a proposal document and a budget template for an exciting project to empower women to develop enterprises using basic banking concepts in Lumwana, 300km West of Kitwe. This is to be funded by Lumwana Mining Co who have opened up one of the largest mines in Africa there. I spent the rest of the day looking through this and making notes, identifying the challenges and risks of the project. The project is called Nsabo Yetu which means ‘Our Wealth’ in the local language of Kikaonde.

Thursday –

I went through the initial budget template with Gideon and Vivian, the accountant. This took up most of the day and we came up with an initial costing of 2bn Kwacha (266k in pounds). This does however include 3 new motorcyles, a brand new 13 seater toyota landcruiser and about 200m Kwacha of management costs.

Friday -

In the morning I went to the school again to watch the children play football in the donated kit. They were so excited when I got my camera out and wanted to take team photos and it was a pleasure to see them running around happily in kit donated by people from the UK.

Today I also met the new Programmes Manager, Gordon Konta-Konta. He has previously worked for WorldVision on a Child Sponsorship programme. The idea is that we use his expertise to develop a similar programme on a smaller scale. I found that Mr. Konta-Konta is very knowledgeable and we started completing the project proposal document for Lumwana, looking at the objectives and developing an implementation plan.

Saturday -

I spent the morning at work with Mr. Konta-Konta continuing with the proposal. They is a lot to complete in a short space of time before I leave as the project at Lumwana involves large investment and a two year implentation period.

In the afternoon, I made my way to Sherbourne Lodge to relax and watch the football and what a great evening of football it was. I saw Newcastle come from 4 goals down to draw against Arsenal and then the highlight of the evening came with Wolves win over Manchester United. One of the boys at the bar realised I was a Wolves fans and bought me some free drinks after the game.

It was also it this point that I said goodbye to Franco, who was going back to the UK tomorrow. After he left I got talking to this American man called Oliver who has decided to travel by land/sea on his own from Botswana, where he was working to Belgium where his uncle lives. He wanted to travel through Congo to Uganda as every other traveller went through Tanzania and he wanted to be different. He had no contacts on the way and had just looked at the map. I explained to him the dangers of Congo but I think he decided to go there anyway the next day. I hope he had safe travels!

Sunday-

I was invited to Jedone’s church today called the New Convenant. Unfortunately the driver did not turn up in the morning and I had to walk for an hour up the Ndola dual carriageway and over the railway line through Kitwe Centre to the church. I was exhausted when I got there.

The service was not really to my liking as it was very repetative and the congregation got very emotional like they were speaking in tongues. I did however find out they have churches in Loughborugh, Chesterfield and Clay Cross and have decided to visit one of them when I return. I went back to the lodge and rested for the remainder of the day. I hoped the football would appear on TV but all they showed was a Zambian gardening programme and a Nollywood (Nigerian) film

Anyway folks, this may be my last post until I get to the UK, as I take the bus to Lusaka on Wednesday and the flight to UK on Thursday. I will upload some photos upon my return.

Safari time and back to work!

Friday-
The other volunteers in Kitwe and me have organised to go on a safari break for two nights to have a well earned rest and see some animals.
After much thought, we decided to visit Kafue national park which is about two hours drive from Lusaka and stay at somewhere called Mukambi lodge on the wide Kafue river.

We left early in the morning and made our way to Lusaka where we had to stop at a travel agent to pay for the break. Lusaka is about 5 hours away so we stopped half way at Kabwe and had an ice cream. On arrival in Lusaka we paid for the break and then visited a modern shopping mall to get some money. This felt very strange after spending over 2 weeks in Kitwe and surrounding areas. Everything seemed so neat and clean. I didn’t really want to have this experience until I got home and made my weekly trip to Westfield. We then made our way through the outskirts of Lusaka on the road towards Kafue.
Lusaka seems like a very mixed place. On one hand you have the clean, western-style shopping mall and then there are the local markets which have massive piles of rubbish by the roadsides.

The journey to Kafue seemed to take forever, partly because the road is completely straight and the countryside looked the same all the way. Zambia is quite a flat country covered mostly by bush.

We arrived at the lodge at Kafue at about 3:30pm, had a drink and want straight on to a 4 hour night drive safari. The guide on the drive was very informative and pointed out Impala, jackels, vultures and different types of bird. The highlight came however when we went off the main road and saw a young male lion sitting in a tree. Unfortunately he ran off quickly and we continued along with track.

After a break, on the way back we saw the lion again. This time it was dark and the vehicle stopped as the young lion just stared straight at our vehicle. We were able to stop for a few minutes to take photos, so I have proof I saw him!

After a healthy meal of rice and beef, I went back to my chalet feeling tired. My chalet is right on the banks of the Kafue River and I slept in a four poster bed with comfortable mattress and two pillows. What luxury!

Saturday –
I woke up at 5am to go on the sunrise drive. Before we left, outside my chalet I saw massive footprints and I am sure that during the night I heard a hippo in the nearby river. On the drive, we saw a couple of elephants, some small wild cats and more impala (they seem to be everywhere). We also saw some baboons on the main road on the way back to the lodge.

After a nice English breakfast, I relaxed for most of the day in the surrounding of the main lodge building looking out onto the beautifully calm river. Before dinner, during the evening we went on a river cruise where we saw some crocodiles and hippos. It was very relaxing just sitting in a small boat moving slowly down the river.

The evening meal consisted of fillet steak and creamy mashed potato and then it was off to the chalet for a nice long sleep.

Sunday-
Today was departure day, however I still managed to have a lie-in. In the morning I saw some Impala, baboons and a family of warthogs outside my window. I still haven’t seen the hippo that was around the previous night. Just as well as apparently Hippos are the second biggest killer of humans. The biggest killer is the mosquito!

Breakfast was fantastic as some lovely pancakes were being served. After filling myself with pancakes with sugar and syrup on top, we left for Lusaka. We again stopped at the shopping mall where I paid a visit to the supermarket which was so busy. I spent ages trying to get some bananas. We arrived home at about 6:30pm and I had something to eat, watched a strange Nigerian film and went to bed, ready for work the next day.

Monday –

This morning I was picked up by Gideon at 8:30 and taken to one of schools which is run by Children with Future. The school consisted of one big room split into two sections. Basically, there is one section for the younger children and another for the bigger children. I watched part of a lesson where the kids were loudly reciting the alphabet. The kids seemed very keen and were really enjoying themselves. In Zambia, the head teacher told me most kids love to go to school and they have a problem of kids breaking into lessons as they can’t afford the education. I didn’t want to say that we have a problem with truancy in the UK.

I had brought with me all the books, shirts and clothes mainly donated by people from my work and Wolves. The teacher was very grateful for the gifts and loved the Wolves training kit. She said and I quote ‘it was very smart and had an original design’. Some of the books were laid out on a table and the children help up the shirts so that I could take a photo of them. I was told that they would be used for sport and the children would not take them home as they may get lost or stolen. I was also invited to watch them play sport on Friday where they would wear the shirts.

I got back to the office at 10am, where I continued to write the proposal and set out some guidelines for the child sponsorship project. Gideon kept telling me that they want to develop serious income generating activity rather than just get money from the former German volunteers selling pancakes in their home town.

After work I went into town by bus with one of the guys that is doing work experience with Children With Future. I needed something to get something to eat so he took me into the market area to this restaurant called Lions Share. I don’t think they get many foreign customers there!

Anyway folks, Im off back to my room. Tried to upload some photos but it just takes too long as the internet connection isnt great.

Sad Days!

Well, it has been another eventful week for me.

Tuesday morning I got a phonecall at 6am from Gideon, director of Children with Future that Jedone Kambidi, the executive director has died at the age of 35 of pneumonia. I later found out that Jedone was HIV positive which would have weakened has immune system. The even sader fact is that he leaves two children as orphans and was the main breadwinner in the family.

As you could imagine this set me back in terms of work that I needed to do as the staff were off work for the rest of the week.

Gideon actually met me on Tuesday morning and said that he was sorry he couldnt spend any time with me this week. Also, bizarely I went to the undertakers with him to look at coffins and then we went to the hospital to pick up the death certficate.

I returned to my lodge in the afternoon and rested for the remainder of the day and organised to go to Friends of Street Children on Wednesday.

Wednesday -

I spent the day at Friends of Street Children today, looking at a business proposal to get funding from the US government via their embassy in Lusaka. I also looked into the viability of Friends using their tailor to generate income by making school uniforms. In the afternoon I had a chat with the tailor about costings for the proposal. He seemed keen although he was a bit demotivated by the fact that his contract runs out next week. I also found out he was on 450,000 kwacha per month which is 60 pounds, just above the poverty line set by the UN. Puts things into perpective really!!!

The journey home took longer than usual as the traffic lights going out of town are now working!! People here are not used to traffic lights (or robots as they call them) as they think green means ‘you can go if you want but don’t have to’. So you get people sitting stationery at the lights whether they are green or red!

Thursday -

Today was the day of the funeral for Jedone. Ironically this is the first funeral I have ever been to!! I got picked up by Gideon at 8am and then we went to the undertakers to meet the funeral car to guide it to the church. Here, a funeral car is a converted minibus. The unfortunate thing was that we had to go over loads of pot holes and the coffin was bouncing and moving from side to side. We set off on the way to the church, however Gideon did not actually know where it was so he had to stop and ring the pastor for directions.

We arrived late at the church which seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere. The service was obviously very sad and was started off by a massive outpouring of grief from the family. There were the usual speeches from somebody at Children with Future and the pastor from Jedone’s church. Jedone was a very active member of his church and was made a deacon a few years ago.

At the end of the funeral service, came the body viewing. I was ushered up to view the body although I was reluctant to do this. However I thought perversly that I have to do this and eventually meet Jedone for the first time.

Following on was the burial. We drove down the road to the cemetary where the hole was dug and coffin lowered in. The cemetary was so busy. There was about 3 funerals going on at the same time. I was later told that 50 to 70 people are buried at that particular cemetary every day. The sad fact is many people die young in this country mainly due to HIV related illnesses.

I spent the afternoon finishing off some work at Friends of Street Children and then went home exhausted after an emotional day.

Despite being a very sad time, it was an interesting experience attending a Zambian funeral and one that can only help to strengthen me.

I would like to say a big thank you at this point to Chris and Dalley at Friends of Street Children for their hospitality and support and also to Gideon, who despite having to cope with Jedone’s death still managed to spend time with me. Furthermore, the company of the two other volunteers in Kitwe, Franco and Heather has helped me survive some difficult times.

I would also like everyone who is reading this to spare a thought for Jedone Kambidi and all HIV/AIDS sufferers and people affected by HIV. There are some fantastic people in Zambia and it seems unfair that they lives are spoilt by this horrendous disease.

The next couple of days were much more enjoyable, as I arranged to go on Safari with the other volunteers. Update to follow!

Long time no post folks! Unfortunately this is due to my severe lack of access to decent internet.

Thursday -

Today I walked to Children With Future in the morning. I did the usual half an hour to walk there through the township of Ndeke, although I stopped off at the BP petrol station to get some supplies. Ndeke seems very mixed. There are some reasonably nice houses with satelite dishes but also some more basic housing. A lot of building is currently going on in the area. I arrived about 9am and half the team were already at the premises although Gideon, the Deputy Director, had not yet arrived. I spent most of the day talking to the various members of the team. At lunchtime, I went for a walk around Ndeke with Moffat, the Programmes Manager. He is looking for a new flat as his current lodging are the other side of Kitwe. He was told that there was somewhere nearby so we tried to find it. Unfortunately he was given inaccurate directions and we spent half our time wondering through the pot-holed streets of the township.\

On our way back to the office, we stumbled across a small charity called Bethesda Zambia who are also involved in AIDS/HIV education. They had a library with some books about HIV and a very interesting 2000 page document detailing the financial activities of various departments of the Zambian government. I thought to myself, Tony from work would be fascinated by this!! There is even internet access at this small charity however it was currently not working. I had a drink and headed back to work. In the afternoon, I had a chat with Gideon about Income Generating Activites. We had a long discussion about setting up a child sponsorship programme. In the evening, I had dinner at the lodge, where yet again I was the only person in the restaurant.

Friday -

I was due to visit Ubumi Centre however the woman who was suppossed to give me a left did not turn up. I think it this stage though, I would like to focus my efforts with Children with Future. I did my usual walk to Children With Future and had a very quiet day looking through some business proposals. Unfortunately there are a lot of restrictions in place for small organisations such as Children with Future when applying for funds. One of them being that they can’t claim for management overheads. I get the impression that sometimes it is quite common that a lot of organisations are sometimes unable to pay wages. Thats makes me pleased that I work for the NHS! In the evening, I made my way to Sherbourne Lodge for a nicer meal than the previous night. I also found out that Wolves beat Doncaster 5-0!! Happy Days!!!

Saturday –

Some of the other volunteers arranged to go on a trip to the Congolese border. We didn’t actually plan to cross the border due to passport restrictions, safety and also the fact that I wasn’t insured as Congo DR is seen as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for westerners to visit. We were driven by Isaac Mumba, who works for Copperbelt Health Education Programme. He is saw knowledgeable about Zambia and Congo DR. He was telling us how us father walked 1000km in 50 days from the Congo to Zambia about 60 years ago.

We stopped off at Chingola to get some supplies from Shoprite and then made our way to Chililabombwe where we were introduced to a small charity called Learning for Life which acted as a kind of refuge for HIV positive locals to help them integrate into society. We had a meeting with some AIDS sufferers and were able to ask them questions about there condition and how they cope. The block making idea came up again, it seems like everyone is doing it!!

We next drove right up to the checkpoint, where one of the other volunteers bought some Africa- styled material for his wife. The border is so busy. There is a queue of about 5km of trucks waiting to be searched to cross the border. Apparentely some of them will be waiting to cross the border for about a week. You also get a lot of hassle from people trying to sell you mobile phones and fruit.

On the way back to Kitwe, we again stopped off at Chiliabombwe for something to eat. I ate a ominous looking bright pink sausage with chips. Fortunately it had no lasting affects on my digestive system. When I got back to the lodge, I found out that Wolves had lost, not so happy days!!!

Sunday -

Church day again. After church I had a nice coke in town at the Hotel Edinburgh and did some shopping. I bought some Cadburys dairy milk which doesn’t melt in the heat. When waiting for a taxi, I saw two street children who had cuts on their feet and looked mal-nourished. I gave them some of my chocolate however we are encouraged not to do this as they will continue to beg. It does however make you feel very fortunate and also sad.

Quite a hot day today so just chilled at the lodge and watched some football. Although when I watch TV at my lodge I am at the mercy of the owner who has the remote.

Monday –

I spent today revamping some business proposals and doing a costing spreadsheet for the child sponsorship programme. I also tried to teach the finance assistant how to do Vlookups on spreadsheets. I think I need Tony here to teach her nested sumif formulae. At lunchtime, myself and Moffat walked to buy some muffins from one of the locals on the street. They cost 500 Kwacha each (7 pence!!). After work I got a lift into town and here I am at the internet cafe in town. Now im off to get some chicken for dinner and go back and watch a DVD. Tomorrow I am visiting the local school.

By the way, I am finding it difficult to upload photos. I will keep trying.

Starting work!

After spending Monday looking at business proposals for Friends of Street Children, on Tuesday I met Charlene from Ubumi Centre (another charity that helps vulnerable childen in Kitwe). It now seems as though I have three charities on the go! Ubumi want me to do their 2010 accounts from stratch, they have not got an accounting system or complete records. I am due to visit them on Friday to see what I can do. I may just do an initial assessment and then another volunteer will take over.

On Tuesday evening, I was invited to someone’s house for dinner to eat the local dish called Nsima. It is basically a plain dish made from Maize (it looks a bit like mashed potato). This is usually eaten with chicken and vegetables in a sauce. It was nice and something different! Talking about local food, I also tried fried catepillar which is a common snack.

Today (Wednesday) I spent the day at Children with Future. Despite moving closer to the offices, it is still half an hour walk away. I have looked through some of their records and their cash book and I had a chat with the programme director about income generation. They are thinking about providing children with valuable employment skills and not just given them a classroom education. At the end of the day, I dropped in at Friends of Street Children and helped them do a business proposal for making and selling breeze blocks as part of income generation for the charity.

I am currently at one of the luxury lodges in town to use the internet, watch sky tv and have a nice meal.

Eventful few days!

After a delicious pizza on Thursday night and doing a bit of shopping at the local supermarket, Friday was mainly spent in bed after I drank about a litre of bottled water which I later found out was probably topped up with tap water.

I did however manage to meet Gideon who works at Children With Future (Unfortunately the Director Jedone currently has pneumonia, so I haven’t been able to meet him yet). The meeting went well and Gideon told me that CWFIZ are currently moving premises. Instead of renting an expensive office in town, they have now bought a plot of land outside of town near the local football stadium. They currently have no electricity. water or toilet and there are drainage issues, especially as it is the rainy season however they seem to have ambitious plans for the place.

On Saturday, I met Franco, one of the other volunteers who is based in Kitwe at the present. He currently works for a much larger organisation called Copperbelt Health Education Project. We discussed some of the finance related issues he has come across and had a few drinks and watched the football. His accomodation is quite luxourious however also quite expensive.

On Sunday morning, I was kindly invited to attend a service at the local catholic church which was a fantastic experience and interesting to see how the local people celebrate religion. After the service, I met Gideon and he took me to see the new plot and the offices. The track leading to the offices was a bit flooded and full of potholes but just about driveable! He then helped me move accomodation to be closer to the office. I am now staying at somewhere called Plot 35 lodge which is the same price as the previous accomodation but I now have a double bed, a fridge. The lodge does however seem a bit deserted as I have currently been the only one eating dinner and breakfast in the restaurant.

Now as I speak it is Monday lunchtime and unfortunately CWIFIZ still do not have electricity. Luckily I have been able to help at Friends of Street Children for a bit until I can make a contribution at CWFIZ.

I will keep you updated on my progress soon. By the way, the weather is warm, about 26 degrees with intermittent rain showers.

Arrived!!!

I have finally arrived in Kitwe. The biggest hurdle of my journey so far was the national express bus to heathrow which crazily took 8 hours due to the M1 being closed. I was worried at one point that I would miss my flight!

The bus journey from Lusaka was interesting and Lusaka bus station is mad, cars and buses everywhere, people trying to hassle you to buy bus tickets. Still I got my ticket for less than a tenner, so I dont think I did too bad.

I met a man with his son on the bus. He asked me where I was from in the UK. Funny that he had never heard of Derby or Nottingham, he said he only knows of places i England because they have big football clubs. He did know where Wolverhampton was though!

Anyway, I will keep this brief and get something to eat at the chicken place next door.

9 Days to go!!

Just set up my blog, doing my final preparations. Getting excited now.

I will update this blog as and when I can (internet availability permitting). Please follow me and help support my cause.

Please note that whatever is posted on this blog does not represent the opinions of Accounting for International Development (AFID).

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