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Fiona Campbell contributes another of her updates from Zambia
Trip to the Copperbelt
Week 6 for me in Zambia. This week has been a mix of meetings and further travel. On Tuesday, Annie Namukanga and I embarked on a roadtrip to the Copperbelt in the north of the country. This, as insinuated by the name, is mining country and the communities were established by mining companies however many are in decline due to reducing natural resources and the statistics provided to us on HIV prevalence was quite shocking. We visited Mufulira (around a 7 hour comfortable bus ride to Kitwe and then a rather bumpy hour to complete the journey from Lusaka), which is where the EduSport Copperbelt office can be found a quiet little town with friendly locals and a nice community atmosphere.
In Mufulira the District AIDS Task Force (DATF) coordinator welcomed us; they work in partnership with EduSport programme and spoke favourably of the role sport has played in the communities efforts to sensitise youth about HIV. Despite only having a population of 156,000 people, last year 35,000 tested HIV positive. Indeed during our 30 minutes in the DATF office they were handing out medication, nutritional supplements and support equipment for community outreach workers. The EduSport community coordinator, Judith, spoke of their challenges with stigma particularly in male community members, so much so they have had a campaign over the last month to inform and test the community which they located at the bus station to reach their target audience.
It was a facinating trip outside Lusaka, the quiet of a small town was alluring and I am already considering another trip north to participate in their training workshops and events planned in November. The other positive outcome of the trip was the ideas and thought stimulated by hours on the road observing the country whizz past the window. Before meetings started Annie and I had a ‘thought shower’ (I like to politically correct to all epileptics out there!), it was amazing the ideas that came out of our joint thinking; some of which have already gone into action and others will be planned for 2010 and shared when we’re ready!
Sporting activities
If I can rewind slightly, last weekend I embarked on a new Zambia sporting experience for me. Well actually two new experiences! Firstly I went to the Central Action Team game against the Green Buffalo’s (women’s Army team), the game was held in the barracks a large walled community located along the road from my house. Due to a shortage of players, I ended up in a strip and warming up with the team.
However, only a few minutes before kick off I was ‘marched’ into a senior officers office by a man wearing a starched military suit and carrying a stick. It turns out, ‘white’ people are not allowed on site (understandable given it is the Army headquarters and the only question I was asked at the gate was which country was I from). I think they were trying to communicate that actually no ‘unauthorised’ foreign nationals were permitted access to the barracks, however the phrase that was continually repeated was ‘white people not allowed’ which irked me somewhat!
So I was escorted from the grounds; while I was disappointed that my Zambia footballing debut has been delayed I felt even more sorry for the soldier at the gate who allowed me in who was being shouted at as I left...think he was in more trouble than me! To cheer myself up I headed to Manda Hill and indulged in an iced mocha; followed by taking in the ‘sights’ of Lusaka rugby game against a team from the Copperbelt. There were celebrations as Lusaka won the game; the first victory in a while by the crowds reaction! This weekend is the last World Cup Qualifier for the Chipolopolo boys (Zambia National team) so hoping to find a suitable establishment to enjoy the game.
Cha-Cha-Chawama!
Last Friday was a Cha Cha Chawama day. It was refreshing, as always, to get out of the office (into the 40degree heat!) and see community sport in action and being led by young people. The peer leaders and community community had done a great job in coordinating a tournament for the the top four teams from their school leagues in football and netball. The league has run with 14 teams since March and this event signalled the grand finale.
As such the crowd of supporters were enthusiastic and their enthusiasm frequently spilled over into pitch invasions with each goal scored! In the end the victorious teams lifted trophies to the delight of their fellow pupils (and a few proud teachers) on the sidelines. A job well done by the Chawama committee.
As Friend of EduSport representative it was great to see our supported peer leaders in action officiating, providing first aid support and to evidence a number of familiar faces still involved that were part of the peer leader development workshops back in 2007. Also a special mention to IDEALS group 3, Sam and Christina, on their impressive addition to the community ground in the form of a wall mural. I was delighted to see the Friend of EduSport logo on display and the colourful display certainly brightens up the wall behind the volleyball court.
Friend of EduSport
I hope everyone who attends the FoE development day in London enjoys being part of this unique event and leaves feeling inspired and motivated..........we have lots on our to do list! However sometimes I don’t think we always take the time to recognise what is already being achieved. Reading about the shipment of books leaving the UK bound for Zambia is just one example of a project which would not have reached this stage without a considerable ammount of perseverance and dedication from a team of people, a notable mention to Derek and Anne for taking the library idea from concept to reality. Well done!
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Once there was a little boy who was walking down the beach. On that
particular day there were thousands of little star fishes thrown up on
the sandy beach at the high tide line. The little boy decided to start
throwing the little fishes back into the ocean. While he was doing that,
an old man came over to him and said to the boy, " What difference is
what you are doing going to make, can't you see that there are too many
of them?". The little boy got one fish and threw it back into the ocean
and said, "This one sir. This one will make a difference.
