Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!!!! Especially my own loving Mother.
I'm back from Midterm Conference and heading back to my village today. I'm glad that's over with and now I can offically begin my 2nd year as a PCV. It's not that I'm surprised I made it this long, but the time has just gone so fast.
I'm trying to gather some black dolls for my community because I see entirely too many little Zambian girls carrying white dolls around and I don't feel that it's good for their self-esteem. So, if you want to donate an old or used black doll to my community you're more than welcome to do so. I'll be home in July and will be gathering them then.
Love ya and TTYL,
Kim
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
1 year down, 1 to go!!!
Hey peeps, how are you? I'm in Lusaka for Midterm Conference which means getting more vaccines and checking in with my supervisor...and of course seeing all the other volunteers. I finally got my last dosage of Hepatitis A and B, plus a flu shot (you know swine flu kills) and a TB test. I can say that all those shots hurt like heck! You know I'm not a fan of innoculations, but it's all in the name of development, so what can I do? But, I'm healthy so it's no big deal.
We took a permaculture workshop and I'm really inspired to try it out in my village. It's a new way of gardening which is very labor intensive in the beginning, but after the initial work it's free sailing!!! I will let you know how it goes.
Love ya,
Kim
We took a permaculture workshop and I'm really inspired to try it out in my village. It's a new way of gardening which is very labor intensive in the beginning, but after the initial work it's free sailing!!! I will let you know how it goes.
Love ya,
Kim
Friday, March 20, 2009
3 months and counting
Wow, I can't believe it's been over 4 months since I've blogged. I'm really sorry. Funny how time flies when you're having fun!!!! So, for Christmas I went to Cape Town, South Africa to visit Tracy. It was so much fun. Unfortunately I gained 10 lbs eating at McDonalds and KFC most of the time. I just couldn't help myself. I really had no self control. Back home I never even went near McDonalds, but in South Africa I just couldn't get enough. It was the best food in the world. It was legit McDonalds...just like home.
While in South Africa Tracy took me to a township (also referred to as "the Location" because that's where all the South African's were located during Apartheid) of Guguletu where Xhosa is spoken. On the day we arrived 2 local boys were coming out of the bush. This is when 18 year old boys are taken into the bush to be circumcised and taught to become men. I believe they stay in the rural area for 2 full months. See pictures of them emerging below. It was truly amazing to see how excited the community was to see these new men emerge from their solitude. I actually had tears in my eyes, but I don't quite know why. (Feel free to chime in with your own opinions of why I was crying). To show our appreciation each person had to bring a bottle of brandy. There was so much food. It was unbelievable. It was so tasty. Especially the goat....yummy. We also went to a place called Mzoli's where everyone goes to eat and be seen in the Guguletu. I loved it. Tracy really showed us the true Cape Town. It wasn't all tourist spots and white washed fun. It was a true experience.
For most of January and a lot of February I was doing trainings outside of my village, but they were in conjunction with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and other NGO's in Zambia. The MOE has a radio program called "Learning at Taonga Market" which is used to help teachers with lessons. It comes on everyday at a certain time and teachers follow along with the broadcast. It's a great idea, however the problem was that many community school freeplay radio's went missing, or teachers were missing parts of the lesson because it moves to fast, etc. So, QUESTT has a program where they give Ipods to community schools in place of the former freeplay radios. I and other RED (Rural Education Development) volunteers were helping to train MOE officials on how to use the Ipods, then they in turn teach community school teachers how to use them. It seems to be working. I also did a Peer Education workshop with CHANGES2 which helps High School students prepare to implement training with their peers through things like AIDS Action Clubs, and Mentoring. Through this program we want to address behavioral change, gender issues, traditional beliefs, and to raise awareness of the ways that HIV/AIDS is spread amongst the population, and promoting life skills. Working with the teens was a great experience. They were not afraid of asking any and everything! They wanted clarification on certain things, and if one of the facilitators didn't know something they called them out on it. It was very refreshing. I loved it. It's definitely different than working with adults here, because they never say anything. They take lots of notes, but rarely ask questions or interact with the facilitators.
I also went to Zanzibar which is an island off the country of Tanzania for a music festival. There were local artists from all over Africa and beyond. It was really an amazing festival and not commercial at all. For the last night of the festival they had a bonfire on the coast. It was absolutely beautiful! It is the Indian Ocean so the water is pure blue and warm. And all I ate was fresh seafood for every meal, drank fresh juice and ate fresh pineapple and fresh coconut juice. Everything was fresh! It was awesome.
Those have been the highlights so far. I wish some of the family could come visit but I know times are tough right now.
I think that covers everything. Talk to yall later. Love ya,
Kim
While in South Africa Tracy took me to a township (also referred to as "the Location" because that's where all the South African's were located during Apartheid) of Guguletu where Xhosa is spoken. On the day we arrived 2 local boys were coming out of the bush. This is when 18 year old boys are taken into the bush to be circumcised and taught to become men. I believe they stay in the rural area for 2 full months. See pictures of them emerging below. It was truly amazing to see how excited the community was to see these new men emerge from their solitude. I actually had tears in my eyes, but I don't quite know why. (Feel free to chime in with your own opinions of why I was crying). To show our appreciation each person had to bring a bottle of brandy. There was so much food. It was unbelievable. It was so tasty. Especially the goat....yummy. We also went to a place called Mzoli's where everyone goes to eat and be seen in the Guguletu. I loved it. Tracy really showed us the true Cape Town. It wasn't all tourist spots and white washed fun. It was a true experience.
For most of January and a lot of February I was doing trainings outside of my village, but they were in conjunction with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and other NGO's in Zambia. The MOE has a radio program called "Learning at Taonga Market" which is used to help teachers with lessons. It comes on everyday at a certain time and teachers follow along with the broadcast. It's a great idea, however the problem was that many community school freeplay radio's went missing, or teachers were missing parts of the lesson because it moves to fast, etc. So, QUESTT has a program where they give Ipods to community schools in place of the former freeplay radios. I and other RED (Rural Education Development) volunteers were helping to train MOE officials on how to use the Ipods, then they in turn teach community school teachers how to use them. It seems to be working. I also did a Peer Education workshop with CHANGES2 which helps High School students prepare to implement training with their peers through things like AIDS Action Clubs, and Mentoring. Through this program we want to address behavioral change, gender issues, traditional beliefs, and to raise awareness of the ways that HIV/AIDS is spread amongst the population, and promoting life skills. Working with the teens was a great experience. They were not afraid of asking any and everything! They wanted clarification on certain things, and if one of the facilitators didn't know something they called them out on it. It was very refreshing. I loved it. It's definitely different than working with adults here, because they never say anything. They take lots of notes, but rarely ask questions or interact with the facilitators.
I also went to Zanzibar which is an island off the country of Tanzania for a music festival. There were local artists from all over Africa and beyond. It was really an amazing festival and not commercial at all. For the last night of the festival they had a bonfire on the coast. It was absolutely beautiful! It is the Indian Ocean so the water is pure blue and warm. And all I ate was fresh seafood for every meal, drank fresh juice and ate fresh pineapple and fresh coconut juice. Everything was fresh! It was awesome.
Those have been the highlights so far. I wish some of the family could come visit but I know times are tough right now.
I think that covers everything. Talk to yall later. Love ya,
Kim
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Change Made!!!!
For the first time in America's short yet sometimes troubled history, we have elected a Black man as President. It feels very surreal. Sometimes I get down about being out of the country during such a historic time in my life and the history of the U.S., but then I realize in life one has to make sacrifices to reach certain goals. I had no doubt that Mr. Obama would win the elections but I'm still very proud of the voters of the U.S.A. just because it was a landslide victory. Maybe the country has really matured after all. Now, this is not to say that things have changed all that much, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
Anyway, as for the happenings here in Zambia....
The community school teachers in my village still have not been paid in 4 months, so the teacher that lives next door to me has decided she will only teach 1/2 days now in the morning, then tend to her garden in the afternoon. This way she will not starve and will have food to eat. So, I will talk to my APCD and some of the community members to see how they will feel about me taking over for her afternoon classes. I'm still thinking about it though, because I really don't want to have a mandatory schedule. We shall see.....
Kim
Anyway, as for the happenings here in Zambia....
The community school teachers in my village still have not been paid in 4 months, so the teacher that lives next door to me has decided she will only teach 1/2 days now in the morning, then tend to her garden in the afternoon. This way she will not starve and will have food to eat. So, I will talk to my APCD and some of the community members to see how they will feel about me taking over for her afternoon classes. I'm still thinking about it though, because I really don't want to have a mandatory schedule. We shall see.....
Kim
Monday, November 3, 2008
Elections, Snake Bites....
Zambia's presidential elections took place on October 30th with Rupiah Banda edging out opposition candidate Michael Sata by only 2%!!! This should be a lesson to all eligible voters in the U.S. that we all need to vote. Vote your conscience, your best interest, your religion...whatever makes you feel good. Just vote!!!! Preferably for Barack Obama. Being outside of the U.S. and encountering people from all around the world I really believe that we need a public make over! Vote for change!!!! A change in foreign policy (bringing diplomacy back), a change in taxation (middle-class tax breaks), and most of all a change from the old guard to the new. It's time!
Ok, my political ranting is over...for now!!!
Anyway, there was a wedding in my village yesterday and typically a village wedding lasts long into the night. Another volunteer, Q, was visiting me so we decided it would be a wonderful cross-cultural experience for us to go see the ceremony and dance and sing along with the villagers. After lots of eating, singing, and dancing until dark we left and went back to my hut. Soon after returning to the hut one of the ladies on my compound brought a child up to my porch saying "he's been bitten by a snake". The boy was crying hysterically. Both me and Q were looking at each other in shock wondering what they wanted us to do. After a few moments they finally took the boy (Masha) away to an insaka and put some traditional medicine on the wound. Masha was crying, vomiting...he was extremely scared and frankly, so was I. Then a few minutes later another villager comes up to us saying he found the snake and killed it, and that it was a COBRA! So, me and Q pay 200,000 Kwacha to some guy to take the boy to town to a real doctor because the hut is 40 kilometers into the bush! Let me remind you that this is taking place at 9 at night, and it takes about 2 hours to get in or out of the bush because there is no paved road. Anyway, so we get to the Doctors office and he is on holiday! That's vacation for us. So, then we took him to the hospital and they gave him a tetnus shot! Nobody had any anti-venom so I guess that's the second best thing they could do for him. I had nightmares about this all night. I went to visit him today and he seems to be doing ok. Hopefully he will recover 100%.
Talk to you all soon!
Kim
Ok, my political ranting is over...for now!!!
Anyway, there was a wedding in my village yesterday and typically a village wedding lasts long into the night. Another volunteer, Q, was visiting me so we decided it would be a wonderful cross-cultural experience for us to go see the ceremony and dance and sing along with the villagers. After lots of eating, singing, and dancing until dark we left and went back to my hut. Soon after returning to the hut one of the ladies on my compound brought a child up to my porch saying "he's been bitten by a snake". The boy was crying hysterically. Both me and Q were looking at each other in shock wondering what they wanted us to do. After a few moments they finally took the boy (Masha) away to an insaka and put some traditional medicine on the wound. Masha was crying, vomiting...he was extremely scared and frankly, so was I. Then a few minutes later another villager comes up to us saying he found the snake and killed it, and that it was a COBRA! So, me and Q pay 200,000 Kwacha to some guy to take the boy to town to a real doctor because the hut is 40 kilometers into the bush! Let me remind you that this is taking place at 9 at night, and it takes about 2 hours to get in or out of the bush because there is no paved road. Anyway, so we get to the Doctors office and he is on holiday! That's vacation for us. So, then we took him to the hospital and they gave him a tetnus shot! Nobody had any anti-venom so I guess that's the second best thing they could do for him. I had nightmares about this all night. I went to visit him today and he seems to be doing ok. Hopefully he will recover 100%.
Talk to you all soon!
Kim
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Check-In
Hi Family and Friends. I'm still here in Zambia, still trying to figure out the best way to go about my service. Nothing new or exciting is going on so far. Zambia will have elections on October 30th, so we will be unable to do anything until the votes are counted. Speaking of elections, I'm nervous about the U.S.A.'s upcoming elections. I haven't received my absentee ballot, so I mailed in an official write-in ballot just in case. I want my vote to be counted!!!!!
It's been difficult for me to find a big project to do, maybe because I'm just not that inventive. I work directly with the DEBS (District Education Board Secretariat) office, but he's such a busy man that he rarely has time to give me things to do. So, most of the time I hang out at my community school and work with the children in my village. The community school in my village only goes up to grade 4 right now, and they only have 2 "classrooms" which are actually 2 separate mud huts with grass roofs. The children sit on bricks and write on their laps in lieu of desks. Grades 1 and 3 go in the morning from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, then grades 2 and 4 go from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and they get a 30 minute break. Sometimes I wonder how good of an education can they be receiving, but it's better than nothing. They have limited resources in the community.
With all that I have said above, I really hate that many children and their parents don't utilize the resources that are available in the United States, especially in the Chicago Public School system. Having attended and worked in the public school system I realize that it's not a perfect system, but if you use the system properly most children can and will succeed. We have put a lot of money into education. I would love for us to stop dumbing down children and bombarding their brains with video games, music videos, and television. It's really ruining a generation!!! Just my opinion.
Okay, so I kind of went astray on this post but oh well....It's MY BLOG! I Love you all.
Kim
Kim
It's been difficult for me to find a big project to do, maybe because I'm just not that inventive. I work directly with the DEBS (District Education Board Secretariat) office, but he's such a busy man that he rarely has time to give me things to do. So, most of the time I hang out at my community school and work with the children in my village. The community school in my village only goes up to grade 4 right now, and they only have 2 "classrooms" which are actually 2 separate mud huts with grass roofs. The children sit on bricks and write on their laps in lieu of desks. Grades 1 and 3 go in the morning from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, then grades 2 and 4 go from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and they get a 30 minute break. Sometimes I wonder how good of an education can they be receiving, but it's better than nothing. They have limited resources in the community.
With all that I have said above, I really hate that many children and their parents don't utilize the resources that are available in the United States, especially in the Chicago Public School system. Having attended and worked in the public school system I realize that it's not a perfect system, but if you use the system properly most children can and will succeed. We have put a lot of money into education. I would love for us to stop dumbing down children and bombarding their brains with video games, music videos, and television. It's really ruining a generation!!! Just my opinion.
Okay, so I kind of went astray on this post but oh well....It's MY BLOG! I Love you all.
Kim
Kim
Friday, September 5, 2008
update
President Mwanawasa passed away. It has been a sad 2 weeks in Zambia because the entire country is in mourning. He was laid to rest a few days ago. I don't know what this means for country or what's going to happen. I'm just staying prayerful.
Due to the passing of President Mwanawasa, the training for Changes 2 and the meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Education was canceled. It was a bit disappointing but it's ok. School starts here on Monday so there will be an influx of iwe's coming back to the towns.
I have been extra broke. Family send money.
Kim
Due to the passing of President Mwanawasa, the training for Changes 2 and the meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Education was canceled. It was a bit disappointing but it's ok. School starts here on Monday so there will be an influx of iwe's coming back to the towns.
I have been extra broke. Family send money.
Kim
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