solwezi part two

okay, here's the real post i meant to put up today:

The drive from Lusaka to Meheba was nuts. It took close to 16 hours. We had some very harrowing/hairy situations in two of the towns along the way. I would say that it was the most stressful road trip of my life but would rather tell you details in person. Very relieved to finally cruise into the settlement late Thursday night.

First week in Meheba has been absolutely amazing. Our home is a square compound with a small courtyard in the middle. It feels a little like summer camp + Casa de la Ninez in Quito. We each share a room with a roommate. We have two very nice ladies that help us with the cooking. We have a tiny bit of electricity from solar panels on our roof, but it all goes to charging computers. This means we have no lights, but using candles is actually soothing and nice. The days are sunny and warm and the nights are clear and cool. When the sun sets, we usually sit around a fire in the courtyard and eat dinner. Food is mostly carbs….tough on me…but it’s yummy. Beans, rice, rape, onions, flatbread, some pasta.

So far we’ve had a lot of meetings with all the people in the camp we have to kiss up to in order to get approval for our project. We hope to bring in a team from Grassroots Soccer to provide a refresher training course to the 11 staff and coaches of our Community Sports League. We’re also looking at a mobile VCT clinic and a mobile ARV unit. These services are not offered in Meheba, and it’s just too tough on the refugees to travel into Solwezi for them. My partner Joe is a solid dude and we are going to make good things happen.

Yesterday we rode wayyyyyy out to Zone F to check out a clinic offered by a medical missions group affiliated with the Church of Christ. The bike ride was killer, but it was worth it. The staff was really nice and receptive to us. They were not offering HIV tests, so we donated 100 rapid tests and all the related supplies to their clinic. Also left lots of condoms with them. After Meheba, this group will spend the next week offering free clinics at various sites throughout NW Zambia. Very impressive. Many of the volunteers were from Abilene—small world.

The diversity in the camp is unlike any I’ve ever known. I’ve met people from DRC, Angola, Rwanda, Sudan. I can usually strike up a conversation with the Angolans who speak Portuguese, although I am very bad and have forgotten almost everything I’ve learned. I am able, however, to tell everyone that my college roommate was from Brazil and as such I was interested in learning Portuguese. So Nicola, if you are reading, please know that you have already acquired a bit of notoriety in Zambia. I think my feeble skills may pay off in terms of our schmoozing because the UNHCR director of the camp is from Mozambique. The second time I saw him, he greeted me in Portuguese, which is a good sign. It all comes down to what

Physically, things have been strenuous. Some of our bike rides have been over one hour each way. I think I was envisioning the type of bike ride I took to and from class at Stanford—very easy, smooth bike with functioning parts, paved roads, etc. Not the case. All our bikes break all the time, and they seem to be stuck in the worst gear. The roads are tough….some places have a few inches of very fine sand and it feels like a beach. I have been so sore the past few days. Also sore because I have been trying to earn some street credit with the soccer players in the camp. On Sunday we played a pick up game and I scored two goals (nice!). Today we played again and I rolled my ankle (boooo). I’m fine though. It is so nice to feel welcome playing soccer—I remember feeling a lot of hostility when the girls would play in Ecuador. Everyone here is so friendly and warm.

Okay, that’s about it. Lots of big meetings coming up this afternoon and this weekend. Fingers crossed for successful schmoozing!

Addendum: Today in Solwezi has been action packed. Picked up more than 40,000 condoms from the UNFPA office. Wasted an hour on internet this morning and accomplished very little (well, a little facebooking). Ate a chicken shawarma (read: PROTEIN!). Bought a Finding Nemo watch for $9. Bought some red wine at Shoprite. Had a long meeting at New Start, the mobile VCT NGO. They want to work in Meheba, but the conversation is going to have to involve IOM and others at the Lusaka level. So I better get back to my emailing.....