I had another incredibly moving day yesterday. I went to visit a brand new school being built for orphans in one of the compounds about 30 min walk from downtown Monze. It will be called Kalundu School for Orphans and Vulnerable Children of Monze (OVC). I had a meeting with the Coordinator and Founder of the school, Jubilee and the Executive Director Richard. They showed Eric and me around the very small abandoned building that they are using as a makeshift school currently and showed us the compound of where these orphans live mostly with distant relatives. They never once asked for any money, but it was overwhelming to see how the 400+ kids live (in grass huts and practically no furniture) and what limited funds the village has to build even a toilet for the kids. I felt a strong desire to help them with some of the finances to build the school and help with getting donations of school supplies. They practically kissed my feet and cried. I told them to put together a list of all the expenses and get the document to me. Jubilee called me within 2 hours and brought the detailed document to me. It was very thorough and it turns out it only costs about $9,500 to build the whole school and sustain it for a year! The ironic thing is I am reading the "3 cups of Tea" right now and it is about this man who built 53 schools in Pakistan and it is unbelievable what the similarities are from that book to here. Hence the name of this post. Nshima is an absolute staple food here and it is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have realized if you don't serve nshima with a meal that you have cooked for our guests here than they will not feel satisfied at all and need to go home and make their own. Nshima is the ultimate food of Monze and is eaten with their hands. They roll it up like play dough first and then dip it in the sauce and greens. I tried to think of a type of universal food that we have in America that would come close to that and I can't think of one. We have way too many options to be tied to one type of food.
Many people have asked me if they could donate some supplies or money towards the people of Monze or the BSI program. So, I am going to put out a polite request for any donation that you would like to give towards the school. I have put together the excel sheet to show how much each item costs and you can either donate towards a child or children (it is about $20 per child to give them school for a year) or you can donate towards any item on the excel sheet. It is amazing what a small amount of money can do in the villages. Therefore, any donation will go a long way.
The best way to donate money is to wire the money through Western Union online. It is very simple. You will look up Zambia on the international WU site and then fill out all the necessary info. You would address the money to me and there is a security question which is "What is Carol's favorite baseball team" and of course you will answer "Boston Red Sox". Thank you in advance for your help to this very worthy cause.
As some side points to my life here in Monze. It has been raining like crazy here! When it rains here it is like a monsoon! The scary thing is Eric and I almost got struck by lightening! I am not kidding! We were walking home from the field when the sky just opened up and the lightening was so loud that it was piercing. Then one strike came so close to us that we literally fell to the ground from it. It was incredibly scary!!! I have never been that close to lightening before.
Some fun facts of Zambia is that many men walk around holding hands, but it not that they are gay it is their way of showing their affection for their friendship. Ironically, you will never see a man and a woman walking together holding hands. All their affection is done in the privacy of their own home.
I am feeling a bit sad today because Eric had to leave this morning because he got a job offer to be a college professor in Orlando and he has to start this coming Monday. All the BSI volunteers were so sad today saying goodbye that I thought they were going to cry. I was so bummed as well. It is like my new best friend left me and I am not sure when or if I will see him again. We had a big going away party for him last night. His friends Crispin and Perry bought a TON of food to grille and bought some delicious wine from Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia which is 3+ hours away. We all danced to some good ol' American hip hop music until 2am. The people here are like my extended family.
In summary for this post, this trip is far more than what I could have expected. I knew that it would be life changing, but I didn't understand quite how it would. I am not going to take anything for granted anymore. We are SOOO incredibly lucky to live where we live and have pretty much every necessity possible. Try to be thankful for all the things you do have and not focus on what you don't have...I know it is easier said than done.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
The "Wonder"ful Victoria Falls
Last Friday, Eric, Natasha and I made another painful journey on a 6 hour bus ride to Livingston, Zambia on the border of Zimbabwe to go see Victoria Falls - one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. To put it into one word – Breathtaking! It is like Niagara Falls on steroids. On Saturday we went white water rafting down the Zambezi River which was the most extreme rafting trips I have taken. It was level 5 and the tour guide was a wild man himself so he took us through some crazy ass rapids. We almost capsized twice and Eric was thrown from the front of the raft to the back of the raft. The other nice thing about the trip is I met 3 hot Brazilian men and we went on a booze cruise together after the raft trip. On the cruise we saw plenty of Hippos and crocodiles. We all went out dancing in a local club Saturday night and I learned some new African moves. In return, I showed the locals and Brazilians some moves from a crazy white American. I think the Africans will stick to their way of dancing. On Sunday, the 3 Brazilian men and I went swimming at the top of the Falls and it was absolutely amazing. The guide had to hold us with ropes so we didn’t fall off the side and take the wildest water slide ride of our lives.
We stayed at a surprisingly nice Backpackers. It had a pool, pool tables, ping pong table, bar and many lounges to chill out in. It was the first time I was excited to take a shower in a Backpackers. I got my first warm shower with good water pressure in 2 weeks. All and all the weekend was worth the bus ride from hell. It was about 100 degrees on the bus because Zambians are use to being in very hot conditions, so no one opened their windows and there was no AC. When I asked the man next to me to crack the window he did it for all of 5 mins and then closed it. I think that wind blowing in his face is more of an inconvience than sweating his butt off. I had a man the size of Shack behind me pushing my back in the whole way and another man next to me who didn’t wear his Soft n’ Dry. Man! - bad B.O. is hard to smell for 6 hours. I guess I can add deodorant to my list of luxuries in Monze. Most people in Monze can’t afford it and I think it is part of the culture to not wear it, so it is a smell that I have to get use to for the next few weeks.
It is back to working with the kids today. We played water balloon toss with the kids for the first time this morning. They seemed to love it – especially when the water broke all over them. I will post more pictures later today. Time to play again!
We stayed at a surprisingly nice Backpackers. It had a pool, pool tables, ping pong table, bar and many lounges to chill out in. It was the first time I was excited to take a shower in a Backpackers. I got my first warm shower with good water pressure in 2 weeks. All and all the weekend was worth the bus ride from hell. It was about 100 degrees on the bus because Zambians are use to being in very hot conditions, so no one opened their windows and there was no AC. When I asked the man next to me to crack the window he did it for all of 5 mins and then closed it. I think that wind blowing in his face is more of an inconvience than sweating his butt off. I had a man the size of Shack behind me pushing my back in the whole way and another man next to me who didn’t wear his Soft n’ Dry. Man! - bad B.O. is hard to smell for 6 hours. I guess I can add deodorant to my list of luxuries in Monze. Most people in Monze can’t afford it and I think it is part of the culture to not wear it, so it is a smell that I have to get use to for the next few weeks.
It is back to working with the kids today. We played water balloon toss with the kids for the first time this morning. They seemed to love it – especially when the water broke all over them. I will post more pictures later today. Time to play again!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
So many kids to help - too little time
There is so much to write about I am not sure where to begin. First and most importantly, I want to tell all of you about my experience with the children I am playing futbol (soccer), basketball, net ball (girls version of basketball) and kickball with and teaching new sports to. On Monday I had my first day with the kids and it was so overwhelming!!! We worked with over 100 kids at one time! We only had 4 coaches including me. We had to organize all the kids from ages 4-16. It is almost too much to describe in words. I brought about 10 jump ropes and the frisbees and most of the kids have never seen them before. It was wonderful to provide them for the kids. We played tag frisbee, kickball, futbol, relay races, running around the field, calisthenics and jump rope contests. It was over 6 hours of playing with the kids with a break for lunch in about 90 degrees.
Some of the kids have never seen a white person before and certainly not one with as much energy as me. I am not sure they knew what to make of me. They just stare at me with amazement. Other girls grab onto my hands and legs for dear life. They also laugh every time I speak in Tonga. Eric told me that no matter how well you speak Tonga they will laugh every time. At the end of the day when we were saying goodbye Most kept pulling at my pony tail and laughing non-stop about it and then about one hundred kids were grabbing me and wouldn't let go. It was crazy!
I have come to realize that there are luxuries and necessities in life and it is different for each person. For me, a warm shower is a luxury because I have to choose between a steaming hot shower or a cold one. Since it is in the 90's here I am choosing cold, but it is freezing cold! Be sure to be thankful for your shower every day! The other luxury I don't have is a refrigerator and that has been tough. I ended up buying a cooler yesterday and put some big frozen water bottles in it to keep things cold and I put new frozen ones in every morning. I thought I could do without coffee, but I had extreme headaches for the first 2 days that were unbearable, so I broke down and got some instant coffee. That is one luxury I realized I can't live without - at least not while I am here because I don't want to ruin my time here since it is so limited.
TV is also a luxury. Although, I am not missing TV at all. I am reading more than I ever have, writing in my journal, spending time with the neighborhood kids and parents and cooking some amazing meals with all the local vegetables (eggplant, avocado, okra, carrots, maze, tomatoes, peppers and onions)and all sorts of beans and shima (local food that is made from maze flour). Everyone here eats shima almost every day because it is very filling and cheap. They eat shima with their hands and roll it up like it is playdough.
I have enjoyed not blow drying my hair at all. I think that is something I want to continue back at home. You really don't need a washing machine or dryer either. I am having my housekeeper do my laundry so she can earn some extra money.
There is no wine in all of Monze, so I have resorted to drinking the local beer Mosi. Yes - I am actually drinking beer. Surprisingly, it actually is not that bad. I have only had 2 of them, because I am trying to not drink that much during my stay here. I am not missing it either. Who knows, maybe I could try to limit my wine back at home - wishful thinking. Additionally, I haven't had any sugar in over a week and I think I have weened myself off of it which is great. I hope I can keep that up when I get home. I certainly LOVE my sugar!
Sleeping in a mosquito net has been interesting. mine is too small for my bed and it keeps pulling out of my bed so I wake up in the middle of the night wrapped all around my net. My pillow is made with the hardest cotton I have ever felt. I ended up making a pillow with my fleece sweeter and pillow case.
With all that said, I am really happy with this style of living. It is such a simple life, but so fulfilling.
All and all I have had an amazing past 3 days that has transformed my life. First of all, I went to the most spiritual church service on Sunday that I have ever been to. It was over 3 hours long and it went by like 30 mins. I was welcomed into the church with 2 big open arms and they even had everyone get up and welcome me by singing a chant and then brought me to the front to sit next to the pastor - Pastor Deborah.
The gospel music and sermon was so powerful that I found myself crying almost through the whole service. I was thinking of my dad and how close he is to death and it just made me so sad. Deborah pulled me aside after the church was over and sat with me for 30 mins and told me she could feel my sadness so she wanted to give me the love of God. It was very special. I walked out of there feeling very happy and full of faith that things will all work out the way they are supposed to.
Yesterday I went to the St Vincent's Ministry School for the orphans to meet the founder and head master Mazunka of the school. I gave him hundreds of pens and pencils and he was incredibly thankful because they were just running out of them. He told me the history of the school which started in 2003 and it was fascinating. I told him that I would be more than happy to give him some money to help fund it because it only takes about $2,000 per year to run. He took us through the classrooms and every student stood up when Mazunka entered the room. They were all very polite and thankful for the school supplies.
Afterwards, I went to meet the District Commissioner of Monze. She was such an interesting woman. She told us many stories about how she use to be an athlete and is very thankful to us for the work with are doing with the kids. She feels that sports is very important for these kids to keep them away from getting Aids since it is so wide spread in this country.
After that meeting I met the head of National Aids Council Godfrey Kalaluka. MAN!!! That was such a disturbing meeting about how incredibly bad the Aids epidemic is in Monze. I was so disgusted by what the men (most with Aids) are doing to the young girls here at even the age of 6 months!!!! and in some cases by their own relatives!!!! The percentage of people with Aids is not getting better in fact it is rising every year. Godfrey asked if I had any ideas about how to get the sexual education out there to the people of Monze besides just teaching it in the schools because many kids don't have the privilege of going to school since they can't afford it. Only the orphans get to go to school for free. I told him to print up pamphlets about the severity of having sex without a condom and if a man is found raping a young girl they will be prosecuted immediately and sent to jail for 25 years (that is the punishment here for any crime and there is no parole). They take crimes very seriously. I told him that the pamphlets worked for me when I was educating families about the severity of obesity with kids and adults. He said that is a great idea because it doesn't take any money because they have paper and a photocopier and they have volunteers that can pass them out. Also, I told him he should give a small incentive for people in the villages who could be undercover and find the men who are raping the young girls. They would be much more likely to find them since the men talk about only to their peers in the villages. He said that he thought about doing that and he thinks it is a good idea. Of course they need to find the funding for the incentives since they have no money.
I am now heading out for another day with those amazing kids. More to come tomorrow. Everyday is a new day of enlightenment. Sorry for the long blog today, but the internet has been down for the past 2 days so you are getting 3 days worth of info.
Some of the kids have never seen a white person before and certainly not one with as much energy as me. I am not sure they knew what to make of me. They just stare at me with amazement. Other girls grab onto my hands and legs for dear life. They also laugh every time I speak in Tonga. Eric told me that no matter how well you speak Tonga they will laugh every time. At the end of the day when we were saying goodbye Most kept pulling at my pony tail and laughing non-stop about it and then about one hundred kids were grabbing me and wouldn't let go. It was crazy!
I have come to realize that there are luxuries and necessities in life and it is different for each person. For me, a warm shower is a luxury because I have to choose between a steaming hot shower or a cold one. Since it is in the 90's here I am choosing cold, but it is freezing cold! Be sure to be thankful for your shower every day! The other luxury I don't have is a refrigerator and that has been tough. I ended up buying a cooler yesterday and put some big frozen water bottles in it to keep things cold and I put new frozen ones in every morning. I thought I could do without coffee, but I had extreme headaches for the first 2 days that were unbearable, so I broke down and got some instant coffee. That is one luxury I realized I can't live without - at least not while I am here because I don't want to ruin my time here since it is so limited.
TV is also a luxury. Although, I am not missing TV at all. I am reading more than I ever have, writing in my journal, spending time with the neighborhood kids and parents and cooking some amazing meals with all the local vegetables (eggplant, avocado, okra, carrots, maze, tomatoes, peppers and onions)and all sorts of beans and shima (local food that is made from maze flour). Everyone here eats shima almost every day because it is very filling and cheap. They eat shima with their hands and roll it up like it is playdough.
I have enjoyed not blow drying my hair at all. I think that is something I want to continue back at home. You really don't need a washing machine or dryer either. I am having my housekeeper do my laundry so she can earn some extra money.
There is no wine in all of Monze, so I have resorted to drinking the local beer Mosi. Yes - I am actually drinking beer. Surprisingly, it actually is not that bad. I have only had 2 of them, because I am trying to not drink that much during my stay here. I am not missing it either. Who knows, maybe I could try to limit my wine back at home - wishful thinking. Additionally, I haven't had any sugar in over a week and I think I have weened myself off of it which is great. I hope I can keep that up when I get home. I certainly LOVE my sugar!
Sleeping in a mosquito net has been interesting. mine is too small for my bed and it keeps pulling out of my bed so I wake up in the middle of the night wrapped all around my net. My pillow is made with the hardest cotton I have ever felt. I ended up making a pillow with my fleece sweeter and pillow case.
With all that said, I am really happy with this style of living. It is such a simple life, but so fulfilling.
All and all I have had an amazing past 3 days that has transformed my life. First of all, I went to the most spiritual church service on Sunday that I have ever been to. It was over 3 hours long and it went by like 30 mins. I was welcomed into the church with 2 big open arms and they even had everyone get up and welcome me by singing a chant and then brought me to the front to sit next to the pastor - Pastor Deborah.
The gospel music and sermon was so powerful that I found myself crying almost through the whole service. I was thinking of my dad and how close he is to death and it just made me so sad. Deborah pulled me aside after the church was over and sat with me for 30 mins and told me she could feel my sadness so she wanted to give me the love of God. It was very special. I walked out of there feeling very happy and full of faith that things will all work out the way they are supposed to.
Yesterday I went to the St Vincent's Ministry School for the orphans to meet the founder and head master Mazunka of the school. I gave him hundreds of pens and pencils and he was incredibly thankful because they were just running out of them. He told me the history of the school which started in 2003 and it was fascinating. I told him that I would be more than happy to give him some money to help fund it because it only takes about $2,000 per year to run. He took us through the classrooms and every student stood up when Mazunka entered the room. They were all very polite and thankful for the school supplies.
Afterwards, I went to meet the District Commissioner of Monze. She was such an interesting woman. She told us many stories about how she use to be an athlete and is very thankful to us for the work with are doing with the kids. She feels that sports is very important for these kids to keep them away from getting Aids since it is so wide spread in this country.
After that meeting I met the head of National Aids Council Godfrey Kalaluka. MAN!!! That was such a disturbing meeting about how incredibly bad the Aids epidemic is in Monze. I was so disgusted by what the men (most with Aids) are doing to the young girls here at even the age of 6 months!!!! and in some cases by their own relatives!!!! The percentage of people with Aids is not getting better in fact it is rising every year. Godfrey asked if I had any ideas about how to get the sexual education out there to the people of Monze besides just teaching it in the schools because many kids don't have the privilege of going to school since they can't afford it. Only the orphans get to go to school for free. I told him to print up pamphlets about the severity of having sex without a condom and if a man is found raping a young girl they will be prosecuted immediately and sent to jail for 25 years (that is the punishment here for any crime and there is no parole). They take crimes very seriously. I told him that the pamphlets worked for me when I was educating families about the severity of obesity with kids and adults. He said that is a great idea because it doesn't take any money because they have paper and a photocopier and they have volunteers that can pass them out. Also, I told him he should give a small incentive for people in the villages who could be undercover and find the men who are raping the young girls. They would be much more likely to find them since the men talk about only to their peers in the villages. He said that he thought about doing that and he thinks it is a good idea. Of course they need to find the funding for the incentives since they have no money.
I am now heading out for another day with those amazing kids. More to come tomorrow. Everyday is a new day of enlightenment. Sorry for the long blog today, but the internet has been down for the past 2 days so you are getting 3 days worth of info.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Induction into Beyond Sports Integrated
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
The long and aching bus ride to Monze
I finally arrived in Monze late last night. It was quite the long journey! Let's put it this way, it should have been a 3 hour bus ride from the airport and it took almost 8 hours!!! I had a very sore bum because the bus had hardly any cushions on the seats and it smelt like major fumes the whole way. The Zambian way of living definitely tests your patience. I was fine with all of it because thank God I had Eric, my fellow co-worker from Florida with me. We met at the airport in Johannesburg and then we flew to Lusaka on the same flight. Eric was able to prepare me for how long the trip could take and the conditions of the guest house I would be staying in.
My Guest House is very nice - for Zambian standards that is. It has running water, but needless to say the water pressure is not anywhere near what we have in the states and the temperature of the water changes at any moment. I had an interesting first shower today when my hair almost burnt off from how hot the water got in an instant.
I also had a stray cat jump in my window which scared me half to death. I didn't know what type of animal it was at first because it moved so fast and went under my bathtub in a hole and was stuck there for awhile.
The Guest House keeper Victoria is beyond sweet. She said to me this morning "You have a very nice structure." Now you know why I really like her.
More to come later, Eric is telling me I need to leave this internet cafe to run to the store before it closes at 6pm or we will have no food tonight.
My Guest House is very nice - for Zambian standards that is. It has running water, but needless to say the water pressure is not anywhere near what we have in the states and the temperature of the water changes at any moment. I had an interesting first shower today when my hair almost burnt off from how hot the water got in an instant.
I also had a stray cat jump in my window which scared me half to death. I didn't know what type of animal it was at first because it moved so fast and went under my bathtub in a hole and was stuck there for awhile.
The Guest House keeper Victoria is beyond sweet. She said to me this morning "You have a very nice structure." Now you know why I really like her.
More to come later, Eric is telling me I need to leave this internet cafe to run to the store before it closes at 6pm or we will have no food tonight.
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