Zambia

One Last Post

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this blog and follow along on our journey. Amanda and I had an incredible experience traveling with the Periclean Scholars to Zambia and hope that you enjoyed the stories we shared and found them meaningful. It’s an experience that we will never forget and we hope that some of what you read will stick with you. As we readjust to life here in the US, I’m thinking a lot about the enormous privilege of time. You’ve read about differences in housing, money, disease and so much more, between us and the residents of Kawama, but the one that continually stuck out to me was the difference in how much time we have. When you have a 2 hour biking commute...

More Pictures!

Breakfast A welcome song from Kawama's kids on our first morning there Noah, making sure Rosemary's house is just right Lontia's Crew hard at work Looking at the world from the bottom of the latrine We never had to work alone. On the right is Albert, who bikes 2 hours each way every day to the DR Congo to find land to farm. He's lucky enough to have a bike, so imagine what the commute is like for the women on the left, who must walk, rain or shine. Watching (and filming) the inauguration After a beautiful service with the members of Kawama's Catholic Church The boys' room The whole group Victoria Falls

A Woman's Place is Building the Home

During this journey we attempted to fully respect and participate in all Zambian cultural customs, but we all weren't "equally yoked" in that effort because of differing expectations there, which were delineated by gender. This burden was much heavier on the women in our group, since Zambian women are typically restricted to certain roles and types of dress, while the men are seen as the ones in control and can essentially do whatever they want. To give a few examples, the women in our group were required to purchase and wear chitenges (traditional wraps), since even a pair of shorts can be considered too revealing in rural areas. Needless to say, these are not so easy to do construction...

A Few Pictures

Now that we're back I wanted to share a few pictures with you all. We also have a few more thoughts and stories to share with you all and will post some more pictures once we have time to get settled back in, so I hope you'll check back for those! Lontia's Future Home and Work Crew Rosemary's Future Home and Work Crew From Right to Left: Shepard, Mozo and David. (See Obama Post) From Right to Left: Beatrice, Jen and Veronica from the Kawama Habitat Affiliate An overview of one small section of Kawama, a community of over 200 Habitat homes in Zambia's Copperbelt Province

This is What a Corporation Can Be

I want to take a second to highlight the fact that I am working here in Zambia. I’m not on sabbatical or vacation, this isn’t an extended leave or loaned employee program, this is a part of my job. I’m lucky enough to work at a place that has only one mission—to improve the human condition—and is consistently searching for new ways to live it every day. The most recent example: Redwoods sending two of its employees to work with Habitat for Humanity in Zambia. There’s so much potential and need for this kind of action by for-profit corporations. Non profits and NGOs are strapped, especially in this financial crisis, and governments aren’t always effective and can’t do it all. On the other hand...

Hooked on Bemba

Hi everyone! Since Zambia is a country with 73 different language groups, which is what happens when people unfamiliar with local cultures divide up a continent for their own benefit, we figured a little language lesson was in order. Kawama is home to members of the Bemba ethnic group, one of the larger ones, and its citizens were kind enough to teach us the following (spelling is approximated): Molishani (mo-lee-SHAH-nee) – How are you? Bwino (BWEE-no) – I am fine Mwabukashani (mwa-boo-kah-SHAH-nee) – Good Morning Mashwoken (MAH-sh-woe-ken) – Good Morning Natotela (nah-TOE-tay-la) – Thank you Desacupale (day-SAH-coo-pah-lay) – God Bless You Nuevonan (noo-eh-vo-NAN) – What’s your name? Chimo...

Guilt is an Underrated Emotion

Take a moment to appreciate just how ridiculous it is that I’m blogging from rural Zambia. I’m beaming these words up to a satellite and down to your computer screen, while I sit on an ant hill staring at a row of outhouses because no one here has running water. Yes, technology is incredible, but that’s not my point. I want you to feel the disparities present here and my resulting guilt in carrying around this pricy piece of equipment, in a place where families can only afford basic shelter with the support of Habitat. The only reason I’ve been able to blog at all from Kawama is that the one family we found here that could afford electricity has been kind enough to allow me to recharge my laptop...

What Obama's Inauguration Means

Last night we were fortunate enough to watch Barack Obama’s inauguration at the little Kawama Tavern. It was truly a unique experience to see Zambians intently focused on his speech and hear their cheers as he spoke of his plans for working with the rest of the world. The impact of his election is truly a global one. In our office, yesterday, the showing of the inauguration was preceded by a video of people, mainly employees, sharing what this moment in history means to them, beyond all political considerations. I have another story to add to those, that I think truly displays what this really means. After we arrived, we made friends quickly with the children here, and I personally have spent...

A Note from Voster

What follows is a blog post from Voster, our group leader here from Habitat for Humanity Zambia, who we asked to write a blog post. Voster is 24 and just graduated from the University of Zambia with a major in Natural Resources. He has only worked with Habitat for a few weeks now and we are lucky to be the first group he’s led. Here’s what he wanted to share with you: There is nothing so amazing like helping the vulnerable and being able to see the impact of your hands rights through their eyes, no matter how little your effort or contribution may be to their well being. This has been my experience for the past few days right here in Kawama, Ndola in the Copperbelt province of Zambia Working...

Until Justice Rolls Down Like Waters

Yesterday, like many of you, we honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with a day of service for the greater good. As I reflected on the holiday here in Zambia, I wanted to share my thoughts with you. After a Herculean effort alongside community members in scorching heat, we laid a few rows of bricks on 2 houses and dug out less than half of a pit latrine. Big deal, right? What’s the point of coming all this way to do a little work? It doesn’t fix anything. Well, it doesn’t fix anything right away. Dr. King said that “the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I agree, but we need to go a step further: someone has to do the bending, it won’t just happen by itself...