Time for planting

We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving last week with the wonderful volunteers in Northern Province. Forty volunteers, 10 staff members and two dogs enjoyed the feast that took several days to prepare. We cooked pig, turkey, chicken, stuffing, corn bread, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and many other traditional dishes followed by an entire table of dessert. As we are placed in very remote locations throughout the country, each province with volunteers has an office/house where volunteers can stay to work and, of course, eat together. Not all Peace Corps countries have this luxury and we are fortunate to be able to gather together during the holidays.

We have a saying here that' there ain't no pro like no pro'. I'm beginning to see that it is true. We have a lovely group of people in a beautiful province. I was able to visit Lake Tanganyika recently. Although I love my village, Mpulungu is such a beautiful district and Mbala is very nice BOMA. I know I will return to visit my friends and Lake Tang often throughout my service.

I also took a quick trip to Kasanka National Park to see the annual fruit bat migration. This is the largest mammalian migration in the world. It is not a well known park or migration, however the BBC recently did a special about this specific migration. We were able to meet several temporary/volunteer scientists that come this time of year from the UK and South Africa. We were even able to climb the tower/treehouse that the BBC built for filming to watch the bats returning from a night of foraging.

I have initiated some conservation farming demonstrations and permagardening in the village. I also brought my farmers to a beekeeping meeting where the government heavily funded an organization to begin keeping bees, processing honey and beeswax, and selling bee products locally. My farmers seemed determined to become registered as a group and start a similar income generating activity (IGA). I am fortunate that I have eager workers and a plethora of possibilities for my service. They have made it clear that no volunteers will be posted in the area after me. My goals are to maintain the pace of new activities and to ensure sustainability with any projects from current and past volunteers in the area.

Puppies

I have been in Zambia for 8 months now. My work in the village has begun to slowly take off. We have many activities planned although there are the occasional delays due to lack of supplies or the inevitable wait for people to help with building projects. Funerals and other meetings have postponed a lot of my meetings but I have managed a few steps forward. I am working on beekeeping, although the hive has taken 2 months longer than expected (he said it would take 4 hours!) Our farmers group has planted pine nurseries, had compost demonstrations and will soon keep rabbits. Its funny when the Zambians want me to take more action but could have done much of this on their own.
Zambia just elected a new president in a very peaceful election. I was woken by the sounds of screaming and celebration very late in the night. I went outside to investigate assuming that Sata had been elected. Coming with the promise of change (sound familiar), many Zambians believe that this man and party can fix the deteriorating infrastructure and raise the levels of poverty that still exist heavily in this country. I was told that Zambia was just raised to the status of developing country but still see the villagers living on less than a dollar a day. In fact they feed their entire families on less than a dollar a day. There is a huge disconnect between the cities and the rural areas and although the status and wealth of the country is improving the wealth remains concentrated in those areas. Many people believe that the only way to ensure the lives of the poor are improved is through education. So I went to my school.
I came to our basic school to propose two things, an environmental education club at the school (or rather two for the different levels as basic schools run grades 1-9). I also proposed the forming of the GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) club. The head teacher seemed very eager for my plans to work at the school. When meeting with the teachers, they seemed far less eager to work more than they already do (which sometimes is not at all!) All government workers on the local level seem to have an interesting attitude in this country. It does , however, make me feel very grateful for our hardworking staff. It would be difficult to get paid like americans and not work like them. Even here.
In the meantime, I have been trying to prevent the slow death of my football team and have been busy with the most important thing you can do here, playing with the 20 puppies that now live at my site! As I search for the perfect names and try to keep them from chewing on everything I am enjoying my time in the village.

Community Entry

I have completed month one of community entry. I got a small break to come to Kasama as a result of a minor sickness which will be common and hopefully not too frequent throughout my service. I have avoided most requests for charity but am hoping that people will realize that I am not there for handouts sooner than later. I am both fortunate and cursed by being a third generation volunteer at this site. People compare me to past volunteers, yet they already know what the Peace Corps' intentions are in Zambia. My program is different than prior volunteers so I won't have the issues of being compared entirely.
The family compound where I stay consists of 3 brothers and their families. I have no idea how many people are in the family as people seem to come and go. Grandma seems likes she will live forever. She likes to steal things. So far she has only taken some toilet paper, tuna cans and some charcoal. I told her that she doesn't need charcoal because her kids cook for her, but she is always hungry and always asking for cibwawa. Which is ironic because I haven't seen any cibwawa since I've been in Chimba. Anyways, I felt as if I was getting more and more frustrated in the past week so I'm glad to have a break from village life for a bit. It's tough being sick, trying to speak a language that I'm still not familiar with and having to haul water and cook for yourself constantly. However, it gives a perspective into people's lives that I've never could experience while traveling.
I met the chief of the Chimba and he expressed that he wanted the road paved. Most people also want stands of pine and eucalyptis. I am trying to teach them that this is not why I am there. I usually just say that I will look into it and then never follow up with the requests that I cannot fulfill. Plus, improvement projects are the government's jobs and I am certainly not here to replace them. Fortunately, some people really seem to understand what I am here to provide. Knowledge. Unfortunately, the people who don't ask for anything and want to learn better farming techniques are my family so working with them will only exacerbate jealousy issues that I am already seeing in the village. Out of the three wives of the brothers, only Monica speaks English. She plays on my women's football team and is the youngest. Plus she's Monica, she's my namesake! However, the other wives are upset that I hang out with her. She is also a vegetable farmer and he husband is the only person who has asked me about conservation farming. He said he loves to farm and always seeking more knowledge and better techniques. So these are the type of people I have seeking to work with and its difficult for them because they get harassed for becoming so close to volunteers.
I have started a women's football team and am gathering farmers for a sustainable farming/agroforestry/beekeeping group. They want to do everything so it seems a little overwhelming at times, but luckily my family is there to help and there is a headman with excellent English that helps translate. My Bemba isn't improving as a result of my access to so many English speakers but once things gets rolling, I will have more time to practice.
I have also spent some of my down time helping at the clinic. It has been good experience to see what the health issues are and what my program can do to help solve them. It seems like better sanitation and nutrition will be the link between agriculture and health. Seems a little obvious, you say? The health problems are generally and not surprisingly diarrhea, malaria, respiratory ailements and HIV. I am fortunate to be so close to the school, clinic and even a cell phone tower to work with many groups of people. I want to make a better effort to see the extent of my catchment and reach out to those who cannot make it to my meetings due to the distances. Luckily I enjoy biking!

Zamblish

I have made it to Zambia. Actually, I have been here for almost 2 months, but have been a little too lazy to make the effort to get internet access. Anyhow, I have been in training near Lusaka since mid-February so I will start at the beginning. After a few days at ISTT for orientation we were sent to first sight visit. I visited a life volunteer, Anna, in central province where we spent 3 nights with her and 2 RED volunteers, the education group, who have been in Zambia for a year now. We were introduced to village life which consists of learning how to survive everyday life without running water and electricity. Our first nights sleep was interrupted by heavy rains finally returning after a 2 week absence. We went to a beekeepers meeting and saw the different hives used in Zambia. The trip was an amazing experience and only fueled my desire to be here. Upon returning to Lusaka, everyone was eager to share their experiences. Some groups saw dances celebrating the full moon, other ate nshima with the chief. All unique and wonderful stories. The next day we were dropped off at our homestays where we will stay until we are placed in our villages in May. I now live in Kakobe village and am learning Bemba. My ba maayo and ba taata have 8 children and 20 grandchildren. The land they live on was given to the father of ba taata by the chief. I meet new family every day and have trouble knowing who is a part of the family and who is just visiting. I have begun training which was exhausting at first due to the intensive language courses followed by an 8 km bike ride to our training center and more nshima than you would wish upon anyone. I have now adjusted to the food, biking and language and am getting to know my family. Ba maayo is catholic and I went to mass the first Sunday. The service was in Nyanja, another common language in Zambia. It was 3 hours long. The music was beautiful, needless to say, I didn't return the following week. Three of the granddaughters Jen, Olivia, and Maggie who are 13, 11 and 8, respectively, do much of the household chores. They teach me how to wash my clothes, sweep, gather water and cook. I spent much of PACA day with them learning to make nshima, and play various games that mirrored duck, duck, goose and dodgeball. Every thursday we have medical and cultural training where we are poked with another needle and taught about the various parasites, insects and diseases waiting to interupt our time in the village. I am currently in Northern Province where I will spend plenty of quality time over the next two years. I have just visited my village named Chimba, 60k northeast of Kasama. It is a beautiful area with wetlands and forest. The family compound that I will live in has three families that appear very eager to work with me. I even have my namesake, Monica, as a neighbor and fellow farmer who I look forward to working with soon. I have a grandmother at my site who is a character enough to keep me entertained for two years. She always asks to borrow something, today it was salt and perhaps some money for a fanta, although she goes in and out of Bemba, Swahili and random bouts of screaming. There is a lovely RED volunteer close to me who has showed me the ropes of village life in Chimba and is building a theater dedicated to HIV/AIDS education and awareness. Most importantly, she is starting a women's soccer league that will certainly give me plenty to do in my down time. I am replacing a RAP volunteer (from the aquaculture/fish pond group) who was very active in the community, excellent at Bemba and who constantly ate nshima with the family. I will try to live up to the standards of the first two that she has left behind, although I do not know if I will ever learn to love and eat nshima as the Zambians do. At this point, the community seems to be interested in environmental education, beekeeping, and diversifying crops. Anything to lessen their reliance on fertilizers for maize and their dependence on government subsidies for support. Hopefully, I can get a little done in the next two years to help out my village!

Packing

I have one week left in Ohio until I leave to begin my new position with the Peace Corps. I will spend two nights for orientation in Philadelphia, and meet the other volunteers that will serve beside me for the following twenty-seven months. We will subsequently be shipped to the east coast on the 16th of February where we will catch a 20-hour flight to Zambia. From that time until the beginning of May, I will reside in Lusaka for training where I will work within the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) structure and the Zambian Forestry Department. LIFE currently works in the North-Western, Southern, Eastern, Northern, Copperbelt and Luapula provinces. Depending on my location, I will learn one of the following languages: Bemba, Kaonde, Nyanja, Tonga, Tumbuka and Luunda. Once I have proven competency in my new language and culture, I will be placed in my village for two years where my program aims to focus on sustainable agriculture, environmental education and income generation.
As I have learned from prior travel, expectations can be misleading. Therefore, I want to meantion what knowingly awaits me in Zambia. I am looking forward to being in warm weather again as I promise myself annually to leave Ohio before the next winter. I am anticipating hours of biking and, of course, walking where bikes cannot reach! A remarkably unique set of flora and fauna with some of the highest diversity in the world awaits my camera lense. I will learn the art of storytelling, gain further knowledge of organic gardening, explore new musical instruments, be inspired by the unbelieveable strength of African women and develop the inevitable love affair with nshima (the staple food made of maize meal). Most importantly, I am looking forward to a completely new culture and a simplicity of living that the Western world has long left behind.
However, with changes come sacrifice. I will leave behind my friends and family, hoping for visitors someday! ;) I know there will be days when I miss warm showers and electricity. Cheese. Rock music. Sarcasm. Pizza. Couches. Wine. Wasting time. All of which I have enjoyed extensively over the past year as I anticipated my service. As much as I enjoyed living with these luxuries, I will learn to thrive from the new skills and outlooks obtained from the African way of life. My next post will be from the other side of equator, in my new home, Zambia.

Zambia

As most of your know by now, I will be living in Zambia for 27 months beginning in February 2011. I wanted to give some brief information about what I will do over the next two years as well as a little introduction to Zambia.

Assignment: Forestry Extension Volunteer with Living, Income, Food and Environment (LIFE)

LIFE

In 2004, the Forestry Department invited Peace Corps/Zambia to join a new environmental initiative to help communities living near protected forests gain an economic stake and a voice in managing protected areas.

Working in five provinces, Volunteers promote the conservation of natural resources, especially forests and forest habitat, in order to enhance and sustain the economic and biodiversity benefits that these resources provide in Zambia. The LIFE project’s approach is to target communities adjacent to protected forests for development activities. Volunteers work together with Department of Forestry staff to develop capacity at the household level through the promotion of economic opportunities as an alternative to illegal and unsustainable forest resource use.

Also, Volunteers work in schools to enhance environmental education curricula and to deliver lessons to pupils in schools near protected forests. Other significant Volunteer activities address food insecurity and livelihood diversification of these communities, thus reducing pressure on forest habitat and natural resources.

Zambia

Zambia was relatively untouched by the outside world until the mid-19th century when it was visited by Western explorers, missionaries, and traders. In 1855, David Livingstone became the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River. Known locally as Musi-o-tunya, or the “Smoke that Thunders,” Livingstone renamed the falls after Queen Victoria. The Republic of Zambia gained its independence from Britain on October 24, 1964.

Zambia is divided into nine provinces and 72 districts. There are 73 ethno-linguistic groups, the predominant ones being Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, Bemba, Luvale, Kaonde and Lunda. English is the official language throughout the country; however, in rural areas, it is common to find those who do not speak English. Ninety-nine percent of the population consists of Black Africans, the rest being European, Asian, and mixed origin. Half the population is 15 years old or younger. At 36 years, Zambia’s life expectancy is one of the world’s lowest.

Named after the Zambezi River, Zambia is a landlocked country in central-southern Africa, and it is surrounded by Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zaire, and Zimbabwe. It is roughly the size of Texas and covers 2.3 percent of Africa’s total area. Much of Zambia lies on a plateau with an average height between 3,500 and 4,500 feet (1,066 to 1,371 meters). The climate consists of three distinct seasons: a warm, wet season from November to April; a cool, dry season from May to August; and a hot, dry season in September and October. The relatively high altitude tempers the humidity, providing a generally pleasant climate. The diversity of climatic conditions also allows for the cultivation of a wide range of crops.

Contact Information

Address during training (February-May 2011)
Monica Noon/PCT
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 50707
Lusaka, Zambia

E-mail:
ms.monica.noon@gmail.com