new update

Hi Again,
Roughly a month here and as far as I can tell, I am doing well. Zambians are telling me I have become fat (means I look healthy as my weight has not changed so much, still ~150 lb).

I live in Hakainda village, founded by the father of the headman in whose compound I currently live (headman is traditional village leader). I have a two room grass-thatched hut, a cooking shelter, and a ventilated improved pit latrine in progress (here in town today buying cement for those things).

Hakainda is in Keemba Zone, about 34 km from the main road that leads to either Lusaka or Livingstone. Monze town is at that junction as well, and is where I do business (pop ~160,000, about 3 hours from Lusaka). Monze has internet and I have access to computer services at the District Health Office where I can look at Health Statistics to my little hearts delight. Internet is fast though expensive (not available at the Health Office, ~400 K per minute, 1000 K can buy my meals for the day if I cook).

Hakainda is about 3 km from Keemba. Keemba is a reasonably large rural town that has electricity and a basic school (grades 1-9, Keemba pop. ~2,000). It also has a rural health center where I do some work.

I am supposedly in charge of the HIV/AIDS activities in Keemba Zone (pop. ~12,000, >12 main villages). I am currently in the process of learning about the place and determining where I will concentrate my efforts. My community is quite motivated and has been teaching me a lot about their home and how I might help with HIV/AIDS in the area.

I live on the same land as Ba-Chilumbi, his children, and wives (4 total and many children, he said 87 and it might be close). One wife is the headmistress of Keemba Basic School and is quite well versed in community based organization goings on and HIV/AIDS. All are very welcoming and good friends that help me quite a bit with anything I need to do.

Anyhoo, I will endeavor to update monthly as I get to town about 2 times a month. There is a bird/wildlife sanctuary about 14 km from where I stay, supposedly quite cool for any that would like to visit. I plan on visiting soon and regularly as there is some wildlife (flora and fauna) that makes me dumbfounded at its’ beauty.

I hope everyone is well and life is good.

Take care all.

Love, niko.

This is my language group. We spent about 4 hours each day together learning Tonga. The fellow with the small child is our language and cross-culture liaison/teacher. We also did site visits together, meaning that we visited villages as a group. We all basically get along well and have gotten to know each other pretty well. This photo is Me, Renee, Natalie, Ryvin, Cryvin, and Spring taken when we were sworn in as volunteers.




This is some friends in the HIV and AIDS project group. We took a walk to a dam and posed for shots. Me, Matt, Fraser (blonde) and Katie. Fun group, we have fun and like to laugh.











This is Ethan, obviously an adorable 3-month old child that I was fortunate enough to stay with while here in training. Cute, eh?













This is Leon. I actually have a short video of him dancing that is hilarious. He is totally cute and often stared at me with his big eyes. He is one happy fella.






That is some pics for you all. Things are good and will try to update again in a month or so.

best. niko.

about to post

This is my host family with whom I stayed during training. Pictured are my host mother and father (Mr and Mrs Milimo Miyoba, back) along with Busiku (front young girl), Viola and her 1 year old son Leon. Mrs. Miyoba has their 3 month old son strapped to her back.

I will try and post more pics.

-------------------------posting-------------------------------------------------

Hi All,
I am about to get taken to the village where I will be living for the next two years.

I do not really feel so nervous and am really looking forward to staying in one place for a while as training has been hectic with me sleeping all over the place. I think I might feel differently if I had not lived in other places “alone” before. I don’t know how alone I will actually be as I will be in a village surrounded by very curious Zambians.

I am staying right now at a PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) house in Choma that houses the provincial leader for Southern Province.

Computer access here is pretty good, but this place is about 3-4 hours from my village and I don’t see making regular trips here for e-mail purposes. I will probably wait and head up to Lusaka and visit friends there rather than come here.

Language is going well, I passed a proficiency exam, and look forward to actually speaking regularly while here in Southern Province. I am learning quite a bit as I practice with locals here on a regular basis.

I have purchased a cell phone for ease of my work here and for people in–country and out of country to get a hold of me. Number is 097-410-730.

We are currently awaiting petrol so that we can be transported to our sites. Apparently it is affecting the posting of PC volunteers all over Zambia as most of us are just waiting at the provincial houses in each of the seven provinces that we are being posted to. So we are hanging out in a house together and reading and eating and trying not to spend our PC stipend (Four HIV volunteers are still here as there was enough petrol to post three of the seven of us. There are three LIFE (Linking Income to Food and the Environment) volunteers coming to southern province as well).

The petrol situation is unclear and I have heard varying reports of what is going on.

Anyway, that is news from Zambia for now. I may try and update in the next few days when near a computer or will leave it until I come into Choma again (about a month to celebrate the birthday of one of the HIV volunteers).

Take care and best to all.
Love, Niko.

update

I am currently in Livingstone relaxing after attending a second site visit.

The second site visit was near Monze town in the Southern Province of Zambia. Three other trainees and I facilitated a workshop for about 30 Zambians (adults) about HIV/AIDS. I presented parts of the immune system and assisted with other things.

We had a language and technical trainer that functioned as mentors and assistants with translating to the villagers.

It was fun though exhausting and we are now at a campground doing some R and R before heading to a District health meeting in each of the districts that we will be working in. I will go and present my background and working plans to district Ministry of health officials. After that I will head to Lusaka to hang with Emory folks and finally to Mwekera to finish training.

I am finally getting used to the pace, which is comical as this pace will be over in the next couple weeks and I will be operating on village time, which is apparently verrrrrry slow. I am looking forward to changing gears though.

I have found out that I will be near Monze town for my 2-year Peace Corps service in a village/area called Keemba. It is where my host mother’s family is from and she is very excited to visit during my stay. I got a chance to check out Monze and feel as if it is bigger than the town I grew up in. I will only be 30 km from it, which will make my stay here less “bush” than I had previously thought. I will probably be able to check e-mail about every month in theory, so we will see.

The previous address for the Choma house will work for mail and I will post any address that I get in Monze. Monze is a 3-4 hour bus drive from Lusaka and roughly the same from Livingstone for any of you that would like to visit. Transport is very easy to Monze, though I have yet to figure out how easy it will be to my site.

Anyway, this is the second post as my other one was lost after about an hour of work so I will try it now.

Love and hugs to all and I hope everyone is enjoying good health and company.

Amusyaale (stay well)

Niko.

in Zambia

Hi All.
I have been on a whirlwind tour of Zambia in the past three weeks (or so).

Upon arriving we stopped in Lusaka for about 36 hours, during which I visited the main office and got a lot of paperwork, lectures, etc..

We then moved to the Central Province where I had a site visit for 5 days in the Kubundi district. We split up in Lusaka into our 4 language groups (Tonga for me, southern province of Zambia).

We basically lived in a village with a language instructor and saw what some current volunteers do for this time.

After that, we headed to our training site near Kitwe town in the Kitwe district at a place called Mwekera. I moved into a Tonga-speaking homestay and have been living with them for the training which consists of at least 8-hour days, 6 days a week involving language, technical, and other skill development.

I am incredibly busy and have just now been getting adjusted to my new life (for the next 6 weeks).

After that I will head to the Southern Province where I will be put in a new site previously untouched by PC volunteers. I will then have lots of time.

I have figured out some things such as: I will not have a phone and e-mail will be every three months or so. Snail mail is the best bet and the address for the next two years is as follows:

Niko Welch
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 630569
Choma, Southern Province, Zambia

I am very well though my schedule is kicking my booty. Today is my day off and I already washed all my clothes (by hand) and helped cook nshima for lunch. My homestay father is waiting for me so we can do a bit of planting upon my return.

Love and hugs to all.

Best.

Niko.

(i'll try to update before I head into the field, but no promises as my day off is pretty hectic)

heading out

Hi All,
Just wanted to update everyone about what has been going on in relation to my Peace Corps service.

I have basically finished my Master's of Public Health degree and am only finishing up loose ends like communication and presentation of my thesis work regarding instant noodles to various folks that assisted me during the project.

I will be in Zambia for Peace Corps working as an HIV/AIDS community mobilizer. I have what experience I have garnered in the past two years here at Emory, at the international AIDS conference in Bangkok, and at various volunteer positions I have had while here in Atlanta.

I have much more to learn though (don't we all).

I will be leaving the country from Philadelphia the 24th of May for Zambia and plan on being there about 2 months for training in Kitwe (northern Zambia) after which time I will be assigned to a post (village, I hope) in another part of Zambia.

When posted, I will have to remain there without leaving for the first three months. After that, I will be allowed to visit cities and/or leave my post.

Peace Corps service lasts two years and I may extend another year. Depends on the situation.

You all are welcome to visit after I have been at my post for three months (not allowed before then) and I recommend that you wait at least 6 months so that I know my way around.

I may take a trip to Guinea/Senegal in search of djembe knowledge at some point, so let me know if anyone is interested in meeting up.

E-mails for the duration are equatoriano2003@yahoo.com and niko74@gmail.com.

Mail can be sent during training in Kitwe to Nicholas Welch/PCT, c/o Peace Corps, PO Box 21527, Kitwe, Zambia.

I will update my two-year address when I know which region I will be assigned to.

Feel free to post to this site, keeping in mind my web access is going to be limited for the next coupl years.

Best to all.

niko.

testing

Just testing to see how this works.


niko.