God BRess You

The rains ended a while ago now, and Lusaka instantly returned to its dry, dusty self, covering anything in its path in fine layer of dirt. A couple of weeks ago I passed a car whose fine layer of dirt had the words “God BRess You” written clear across the back window. No matter how often I see or hear it, the alphabetical confusion never ceases to make me laugh. At least in this case it was probably being pronounced properly…

The last weeks here have flown by. But then, I guess they always do... Work has been very busy but very interesting recently. In particular, things at TALC, a young and tragically understaffed NGO (they have one employee and a small office with no furniture where meetings take place on the floor), are really taking off, thanks to a host of dedicated volunteers. One of our most passionate volunteers is an inspiring activist who I have been working with to develop a proposal for a TV Talk Show to address HIV/AIDS and treatment issues. We met with the national broadcasting corporation, who seemed keen on the idea, but such a monumental project requires full-time staff that no donor seems willing to fund. How they expect activities to be run without providing funding for the necessary human resources to make them happen is beyond me…

We have also been working with one donor to develop an advocacy plan for the coming year that will target various segments of society including government, church leaders, traditional leaders, health care workers, the media, people living with HIV/AIDS (known as PLHA in HIV/AIDSlish, a language of acronyms which I am slowly gaining fluency in…) and the general public. There is an endless number of issues to tackle, but the focus will be on: (1) the ability of the health care system to deliver treatment (i.e. lack of equipment and resources, inefficient processes, inadequate infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and a critical shortage of human resources); (2) stigma and discrimination, which is an enormous obstacle to accessing voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) and antiretroviral treatment (ART); and (3) the meaningful involvement of PLHA (MIPA) in decisions which affect them, which we hope will be improved by providing training in leadership and public speaking to encourage PLHA to actively seek involvement, rather than waiting for the powers-that-be to come to them. It will be interesting to see how successful the activities are, however, since once again no funding for staff is being provided…

TALC has also managed to make quite a name for itself in recent months. Two weeks ago we were invited to attend a meeting at the National AIDS Council (NAC), the coordinating body for all AIDS interventions in Zambia, to discuss coordination between civil society and NAC. The meeting was an eye opener for me: the thirty participants were mostly 40-something expats from donor agencies, embassies and the UN, along with some local representatives from prominent Zambian organizations, myself and three PLHA (all from TALC). The issue of HIV/AIDS was discussed in fairly abstract and vague terms, with (in my opinion) little regard for the concerns or input of the few people in the room actually living with the virus. After the meeting, everyone else took off in a shiny ‘company’ 4x4, while the four of us climbed into the private vehicle of our one employee and sputtered off to drop the others at a bus stop so they could get home. Somehow, the people who should really be having a say, and who really need support in the form of resources (like, say, oversized vehicles), seem to be the only ones not getting it…

TALC was also recently approached by a consultant involved in organizing the global campaign for World AIDS Day to discuss how we could help coordinate a civil society meeting to develop a local ‘theme’ for this year. It was agreed that TALC would approach the necessary partners to ensure that civil society could gather and develop a theme relevant to Zambia, instead of having one imposed upon them – a flattering role for a budding organization.

In addition to the three organizations I am supporting, I have also been helping a drama group at a youth centre in M’tendere compound to plan a TV soap opera. Don’t ask me how I got myself into it – one minute I was offering to help them develop a proposal, and the next minute I was advising them on how develop a TV show! After a few meetings – and all the inexpert advice I could offer – I left them to it, knowing I couldn’t take on such a huge project in my spare time. I don’t think anything has come of it, but we’ll see what happens.

So work has been great for the last few weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to a nice long break from it! It’s very strange to think that I am leaving Zambia tomorrow for 5 whole weeks… I will miss a lot of things here while I am away. The wonderful people I work with. My nieces and nephews. The guy near the train tracks who calls me 'my size'. Buying vegetables from the women on the street on my way home from work. Having a Mosi after a long hot day at work. Hearing evening prayers over the mosque loudspeakers. African sunsets. Christopher and Sebastian, the troublesome but adorable guards at our gate. Rose, the spunky woman who does our laundry. Sam and his family. Even the now familiar smell of burning garbage will be missed...

There are also a lot of things I will be happy to leave behind for a while. Namely being honked at by every taxi driver in all of Lusaka, and hearing of colleagues and friends attending funerals as regularly as I shop for groceries...

And, of course, there are a lot of things I am also looking forward to in Canada. Visiting with family and friends. Sidewalks. The smell of the ocean. Eating sushi. Public parks. My brother's cooking (hint, hint). And much, much more, but I have packing to do so I am off.

My next update will be from a place much closer to your neighbourhood (for most of you, anyway)!