Be Free

Every day has been filled with stories, fulfilling work, and hilarious times in the village.  As for work, we had our first Muzoka HIV/AIDS Support Group meeting on Friday.  I was exhausted from being at the clinic all day, but when the 8 members of a previously formed support group (who dissolved due to disorganized leadership) sat with me under a tree to tell me their stories and their ideas for Income Generating Projects, I felt immediately re-energized that day.  There were at least 3 times as many group members in the previous group, so as our weekly meetings continue, we expect to get many more to re-join.  However, having 8 committed members show up to a first meeting was a huge success.  These individuals were so comfortable speaking about their status, personal and community reactions to their status (including both discrimination and acceptance), and their frustration with the long distances they have to travel in order to get their ARVs.  ARVs may be "free" in Zambia, but transport is expensive and time-consuming.  We discussed collective income generating projects, and decided we would begin a community garden for the members to both eat nutritious vegetables, and sell these vegetables in the market.  Next week we will choose a site for the garden, and elect members to various positions for the group.  Our first meeting truly inspired me, and each group member was so ready to begin our project.  We also would like to form dramas to sensitize the community on HIV/AIDS and safer sexual practices.  The group members, who are all over 40 years old, told me it would not be a problem to show up next week with skit ideas.  They were excited and began discussing costumes and drums to accompany the skits.  I hope to eventually combine this support group and my Anti-AIDS club at the school in our community dramas, culminating in a Village Health Day carnival.  I have also had quite a few villagers come to me to learn English.  They sit on my veranda and bring schoolbooks to read together.  Some are kids, some adults, some young adults who want to find jobs.  I don't really find it to be "work," I just enjoy teaching. 

I needed some alone time on Sunday, so I decided to go on a bike ride in the opposite direction of the route to the clinic.  I found gorgeous rolling hills (which gave my legs a good burn) and a peaceful, quiet path to ride when I need to get away.  I blasted my ipod as I admired the beautiful green untouched hills.  In a few months the green will begin turning brown as the Earth dries and makes Zambia look more like a savannah. 

My friends in the village are beginning to come to me as their friend, not just as a foreigner.  They tell me about their family problems, their struggles.  They laugh with me as they ask me why I am a 23 year old single women living alone without children (although the only "alone" time I have is at night when I get to read under my mosquito net).  They also laugh as I try my hardest to speak Tonga (and I laugh at my attempts as well).  I painted the words "Be Free!" on the outside of my hut, and they have really understood that my door is open.  This village is becoming my home, and I fall in love with it more and more every day.  It is challenging, exhausting, and I miss friends and family back home.  I miss people showing up to meetings on time, I miss abundant fruits and vegetables that I can buy at the grocery store, instead of waiting to see what is available during the season at the market.  I miss the ease of American transport.  But I am grateful, and I try to soak my spirit in the beauty of life in rural Zambia.

So Busy, So Happy!

I am busier and happier than I have ever been in my entire life!  Since being back in my village, every day has been a whirlwind, always moving.  I have been back for about a week and a half, and already so many things have begun.  Yesterday was probably the most exciting day.  The water pump near my home, which serves about 30 families, has been broken for a year or so.  My family has put so much work into rebuilding my home, and to give back to them, I really want to repair this borehole.  So I spent time finding the man who knows about taking apart and repairing boreholes.  He lives in a nearby village, and goes to the church not far from my home.  On Saturday, I went to the church, but was told he would be arriving late.  I went home to wash clothes and dishes, and when I went back to the church, I found him.  I invited him to our village meeting the next day, a Sunday, at my home to make plans for repairing our water pump.  I didn't want to get my hopes up on Sunday, so I spent the morning tutoring 3 girls in my village, knowing that my plan may not work out.  Things have a way of both happening as planned and not happening as planned in Zambia (usually the latter), and you just have to accept whatever happens.  Make peace with it.  At 15:30 the man arrived, but my village was not at my home.  I called the children to tell my village that they must come on time, as the man to repair our borehole has made a long journey and is at my home.  They quickly organized, and the man with water pump expertise, myself, and 8 men brought our tools to the borehole to begin the job.  The women and children gathered as we took apart our water pump.  It turned out that the only things needing replacement were the bearings, some rubbers, and a nylon nut.  I came to town today to price the items with the coordinator for the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program, and the pricing is even lower than I expected.  For the whole job, it will cost each family less than $2 (or 10 kwacha), equal to one bottle of cooking oil.  To have water for years.  Now, the only hurdle is to call upon these families to put together what they have to repair our water source.  My host brother things it is very, very possible, as "water is life."

Other than that, I have started an Anti-AIDS club at our school, and after teaching the students about HIV/AIDS education, I would like to begin creating dramas with them to sensitize the community on HIV and safe sex practices.  This week, I am also holding our first meetings for my nutrition program at our clinic for the most malnourished children (there are a lot of them at the Under 5 weighings, as we are still in hungry season and nutritious foods are in short supply), and re-starting the HIV/AIDS support group that once existed at our clinic.  I have also been approached by many in my village and in neighboring villages about starting a pre-school, and will hold our first meeting for the pre-school committee in about a week.  It is so much, and I have been running around like crazy, but have also not forgotten to admire the bursting field of sunflowers on my bike-ride to and from the clinic, the intensely beautiful sunsets, or sitting in my new mango tree at the end of the day (which I realized the other day as I was bucket bathing looks exactly like the tree tattoo on my shoulder!).  I also take time to laugh with my friends in the village, A LOT.  Almost every day.  I used to be way more stressed in the village, but meditation amidst the chaos is something I have recently found. I have also been devouring books before I go to sleep, as well as writing tons in my journal.  If you have any books you are finished with and would like to send my way, it would be so greatly appreciated.  Sending so much love back home!

Safe and Staying Positive

I do not want anyone from back home to get too scared, but a few nights ago the house where I was staying with another Peace Corps Response volunteer while waiting for my hut to be finished was robbed.  I heard noises in the living room around one in the morning, but thought they were just my roommate in the bathroom.  Turns out, our house had been broken into.  Luckily it was only my roommate's computer and nothing else.  We were not hurt, and although the computer was a devastating loss (it had many personal files and photos on it), we realized that it may have deterred the robbers from entering our bedrooms.  Peace Corps responded immediately, and we spent the next day at the police station.  I am now back at the Peace Corps house, waiting for my new hut to be finished.  I am set to go to my village on Friday to ensure everything is finished, and then move in on Monday.  My new home, in addition to the packages I just received from family and friends, couldn't come at a better time.

Although there have been some intense happenings thus far in Zambia, I am remaining positive and happy.  I have also received some inspiring e-mails from teachers and mentors of mine recently, which have also brightened my days.  Sending peace and love back home!

Blessings in Disguise

My new hut is almost finished! I should be able to move in by the end of February.  But for now, although traveling to different villages has been exhausting, I've been able to do some incredibly successful programs that I will bring to my village very soon.  I just returned from a friend's village where we had the most successful HIV/AIDS talk!  The group was quite large, about 60 villagers gathered at a rural health post, and the individuals were both male and female and of varying ages.  We first discussed the facts and myths regarding HIV transmission and prevention, and then we discussed "living positively" if you discover you are HIV positive.  We also played a game at the end where I wrote "activities that can transmit HIV" and "activities that cannot transmit HIV" on index cards, and the group had to correctly place the cards into either category.  They were so enthusiastic, and placed each of the cards in the correct category!  We also taught a group of women how to make cheese, and they were so excited to make it for their families, and to possibly sell the cheese by the roadside since it is so inexpensive to make (and nutritious).  I gave a health talk at the cheese-making demonstration, and after one of the women tasted the cheese, she said, "Wow! I already feel my body getting stronger from this cheese!"  The whole day, though it was rainy and gray, made me smile.

I realized, particularly after the HIV talk, that this is the kind of work I want to do for the rest of my life.  Helping to mobilize a village to facilitate in their action and excitement to improve community health makes me so happy, and fills me up.  It makes my soul feel both energized and at peace, knowing I am putting my efforts towards helping villagers improve their own health with just a bit of knowledge and inspiration.  I have so many ideas, and I just hope that 20 more months is enough time to see them through with my village.

Birthday Updates

I'm 23!  Don't feel much different than I did yesterday, yet 22 began what feels like an epic chapter that will continue to be filled with stories of adventure, inspiration, frustration, and beauty.  The past weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind.  After IST I moved into a temporary homebase, in Kalomo which is a boma (small town) 40 minutes south of Choma.  Not really diggin the town vibe, I miss the quiet communal feel of the village, so I am traveling from village to village working with other Peace Corps volunteers on various programs.  Just came back from doing a cheese-making demo at my friend's school, which was a success!  Cheese-making, particularly as hungry season begins (in between planting and harvesting time), is a great way to improve food security, especially because at this time the cows are producing lots of milk due to the rains and abundance of grasses for them to eat.  All you need is milk, vinegar or lemon juice, and salt to make village cheese!  The kids really loved our cooking demo.  I spent my birthday evening with this same friend, listening to music and enjoying the clear, starry, moon-filled sky.

All of the Southern volunteers had a giant January birthday party on Saturday.  The theme was mustaches, machetes, mini skirts, and mohawks.  Tons of fun and overwhelming celebration.  Headed to a friend's village before the party to do a malaria prevention talk at the Under 5 clinic.  The sun has been shining the past 2 weeks, so we bathed and swam in his river for almost an entire day.  Got tons of vitamin D, which I have been missing in the rain! Headed to another friend's village today to do an HIV prevention talk in her class, and then doing both cheese-making and HIV education in yet another village next week.  Then to visit a close friend in central province.  Keep moving, that's my current slogan.  I want to teach myself how to make fruit jam this weekend as well, so I can teach villagers how to preserve the abundance of a single fruit before it spoils (for example, now mangoes are falling everywhere, and many rot before they can be eaten).

Saw photos of my new hut... I can't believe how much work Peace Corps staff and my village have put into this new home!  I am expecting to move in at the end of February, and I really cannot wait.  I cannot wait to re-decorate my hut with paintings, wall-hangings, citenges, collages, photographs, etc.  I am also planning a vegetable garden and kitchen compost, hoping to grow kale, lettuce, carrot, onion, and sunflowers.  Hopefully the chicken wire can prevent the goats and cows from eating the vegetables! My new hut is located on top of a hill that overlooks the entire village, as well as the nightly golden sunsets.  I have a mango tree, a bit more privacy, probably better cell service than I had before (which was next to nothing, so anything will be an improvement!), and hopefully a comfortable new home.  Sending so much love to you all back home <3

Changes Changes!

I am currently in Lusaka at IST and have completed my Community Entry... I can't believe how quickly it went by!  I am beyond happy to be with all of the friends I came into country with, and a bit sad that I will not see many of them until midway through my service.  Let's see... I have a new hut being built because the flooding destroyed my hut, so I will be staying with two Peace Corps Response volunteers in Kalomo (a small boma) until my hut is finished.  I want to get back to my village so badly, I miss everyone so much and I miss having a home.  I am, however, excited to decorate my new home... the paintings and collages from my old hut may not make it in the move up the hill to my new hut, but I will make them again.  Impermanence of things, and patience.  I will be hopping around to friends' villages to do nutritious cooking demos, health talks, and will also visit the District Health Office and a number of NGOs in the boma so that I can bring back ideas and resources back to my village in a month (hopefully it won't take much longer than that, but time is elastic here in Zambia). 

My counterpart from my clinic Judy and I have come up with a plan to have a program at our clinic where we take 10 to 15 of the most malnourished children from our Under 5s, have a cooking demo once a week where the mothers each bring an ingredient to a potluck and we will teach the mothers to cook balanced meals for their children, and we will monitor their weight gain.  Once they reach their target weight (which I will collaborate with the nurses to determine), the women and their children will graduate from the program and we will rotate in another child and his/her mother.  I am also hoping to start an HIV/AIDS support group at my clinic.  I am so energized to get back to my village and begin working on these programs.  Love you all!

Happy Holidays From Zambia!

It's Christmas here in Zambia, and though I miss sitting under the Christmas tree with family, I am at the Provincial House with 10 of my PCV friends singing Christmas music, baking, and enjoying one another's company.  We have a mini Christmas tree that we decorated last night, and though it's raining instead of snowing, it's a cozy kind of day.  There are a few major things that have happened in the past few weeks, so I'll start with the good.  I have given some really successful health talks at my clinic, mostly to pregnant women teaching them about HIV prevention, malaria prevention, and nutrition.  I have an incredible translator named Judy who is also one of my really close friends at the clinic, and who I have chosen as a counterpart to take with me to Lusaka for IST in just 2 weeks.  I am also hoping to start an HIV positive support group at my clinic, and I began mentioning my idea to the clinic staff, who seem to be excited.  My clinic is by the tarmac and gets very busy, so I think this group has the potential to be successful! I would also like to do an income generating project with this group (particularly because of the wonderful location of the clinic by the roadside), so I am excited to get back from IST to begin this project. I have a trip to Malawi coming up after IST for about 4 days (plus 2 days of travel on each end, which will inevitable be chaotic), and being by the water with friends who I haven't seen in a while should be so peaceful.

On the flip side, I returned to my hut after a heavy rainstorm to find what I have been worried about since I was stuck in a flood in Panama some years ago... my home was flooded.  Completely flooded, from the front door all the way across my hut and underneath my bed.  This is not a usual occurrence, because most volunteers have huts that are elevated on a layer or 2 of brick foundation, and not located on a slope.  My hut, however, is not elevated at all and is located on a slope-- not great for rainy season.  So, I have to get a new hut built in my village.  I have worked tirelessly to make my hut homey, putting up pictures and collages and shelves, spending weeks painting my walls and a beautiful tree on door #2 (the first door broke and this tree painted door resides at the provincial house).  However, I will be grateful to be in a new home where I feel safe and comfortable, it will just take some time and energy.  I feel a bit like a wanderer without a home; my mantra has been 'patience is a virtue.'  I am trying my hardest to stay present, accept that I will feel at home in the not-too-distant future, and I am feeling appreciative that I have so many beautiful friends here who constantly make me feel like I have a home and a family whenever I'm with them.  I know that the Universe tends to work in mysterious ways, and though the road now looks a bit windy and fogged, I'm still smiling and feeling grateful and loved.

For the holidays I wish for you to all feel thankful for family and friends, for sustenance, shelter, and love. I am sending my love to you all from Zambia!