post holidays

I have been living in the village about 4 months now. It has been going well and I think I am both becoming used to village life and my community is becoming used to my idiosyncrasies such as being very independent. People are also feeling comfortable asking me for a thing, which also has its ups and downs.

The holidays in the village were largely uneventful with regard to celebration of any sort. Since it is planting season and most are starving from poor harvest last season, everyone was in the fields planting or doing something related to it. I spent Christmas Day and morning building a fence for my garden, cleaning around the house, and collecting firewood (which is a never-ending task). The fact that almost all of community is Seventh-Day Adventist may also play a role in how little celebration there was as I heard that there were celebrations in other rural communities in Zambia.

My crops are doing well (maize, soybeans, as well as small things in the garden) and rainfall is better than last year as reported by folks in my area. I will harvest much more than I can feasibly consume so I am thinking of ways that the food can benefit those affected by HIV in my community.

Other than that I am in the process of applying to graduate school in international food science that I hope to start at the completion of my service. I work on applying every time that I am in town and near Internet, which is about every two weeks.

I am still fit and have been getting quite a bit of exercise as I build and work in the fields and in my garden. Working out is useless here as I can help others do manual labor that keeps me in good shape. Field greens are now available which are quite tasty and growing randomly all over the place.

Anyway, we are well and I hope everyone had wonderful holidays.

Best to all and enjoy the below photos.

Niko.




This is a photo taken at a World AIDS Day walk in my community. About 200 folks showed up and did drama and such.








This is s photo of a singing group at World AIDS Day.










This photo was taken from my doorstep in late November, 2006. Pretty dry huh?

This photo was taken from the same place december 30, 2005. Demonstrates how green things can get.

december post

I have been here another month or so.

The rains have come. Big, fast-moving, deep blue thunderheads, carried on strong winds that drop anything from light showers to downpours. Dark skies with lighting and thunder that shift unexpectedly as the days go.

My house is thatched with grass. I have put black polyethylene plastic underneath the grass to keep myself reasonably dry. Locals say the grass doesn’t leak, while expatriates say it does. Given my tolerance for being wet is more likely on the expatriate side, I have put plastic. I may add that the rain repellent of grass is not helped by local cows considering my roof a delicacy.

Work is going well. I am beginning to understand the structure, the time table, and the general work that my counterparts have (those that I am working in HIV with, all Zambian as of now). It is not frustrating, rather an interesting learning experience. Isn’t it all though?

I might add that my learning curve would be a lot steeper if I spoke Tonga fluently or was a local. Oh well, one I am working on and the other I cannot help.

Speaking of which, I have found a local teacher with whom I will continue formal Tonga lessons. This will be in conjunction with the popular local method of speaking to me in very fast Tonga and expecting my understanding. I appreciate the contributions of both, but I am looking forward to the learning on two fronts.

I will be in my community for the holidays and am looking forward to both seeing how they are celebrated here and spending some quality time in my community.

Physically and mentally, I feel fit. I don’t find myself ill or battling shock or depression. I am eating well and have found good friends in my community that sustain me. I am also keeping occupied learning about HIV, nutrition, agriculture, and the culture in my community.

I have felt my patience deepening and am working on my compassion as I am judged constantly. These are challenges I have readily accepted as I endeavor to continue strengthening these qualities that I value.

I hope these words find everyone healthy and surrounded by joy.

love. niko.

second month text

I am still well here in Zambia, enjoying life and learning lots.

Relish (beans, soy pieces, cabbage, collards/rape, meat, fish), or that which is eaten with nshima (stiff maize porridge), is difficult to find these days. Many cite a lac k of money, water, or a garden from which they may draw food. A consistent request from many living here is that they want a borehole/pump as water is difficult to find.

I survive by going to town for staples (peanut butter, ground maize, sugar, oil) and buying produce near my village. These are options for me since I have a source of income and no family which enables me to stretch out my food in a way others can’t. Since I have no family it takes me about a month to go through what others may finish in a few days.

The HIV/AIDS work is going well. I am helping my community form a community AIDS task force (CATF), which should allow more communication and learning among the various clubs and support groups here in Keemba zone. I am also assisting as an HIV/AIDS teacher outside my zone with colleagues in the field.

I am also finding that I spend a considerable amount of time in the nearby town (Monze) and the capital (Lusaka), as I update reports, find information, and network with those doing HIV work here in Zambia.. I think my travel may be a result of working in HIV and my assigned role as a liaison between my community, the Ministry of Health, and others doing HIV work here.

The travel may also be a reflection of the community in which I live, as there are daily multiple vehicles that go to Monze in the morning and return in the afternoon for those with business there. I may add that this is an option for those with money, but is an obstacle for many that live in the village, as the cost of transport may buy a weeks worth of maize for a family.

I may add that the relatively easy transport does not appear to be common among other Peace Corps sites nor does my relative proximity to the capital city (~6 hours from my hut doorstep to Lusaka). A colleague of mine said that the transport may reflect the past wealth of the area in terms of livestock and agriculture which has decreased due to both the current drought and HIV. Though this means my Peace Corps experience may be a bit “citified”, the easy transport may be assumed a comparatively higher HIV infection rate than other rural areas, making my presence worthwhile.

Other than that, I am preparing a small garden, building small things around the house, and preparing to plant for the rainy season (November-April). When I first arrived, the headman offered to give me land to farm, which I am taking him up on. I, with some agricultural experts, will hopefully plant a demonstration farm to show methods that may decrease water and fertilizer dependency.

We will see. It should be a learning experience all around.

I hope everyone is doing well.

love, niko.

more pictures

This is ba-phiri. he is my ministry of health counterpart and rocks! He is always smiling and loves to joke. we have a lot of fun together.






This is my good friend Ba-Clay. He is close to my age and we chat often.







This is my house. self-explanatory I think.








This is ba-lumba. She is finishing certification to be a teacher of history and Tonga language. She also stays at the compound when she is not in school.








this is hamagaye. he is the same age as Ba- Bonanza, but he is one year ahead at school. They are both helping me learn Chi-Tonga.







this is ba-bonanza. he lives in the same compound and is a son of the headman. He is 19 years old and we hang out when he is not in school. He is currently in 11th year.









This is mrs. Chilumbii and Joy. Mrs. chilumbii is one wife of the headman and joy I believe is her daughter. Mrs. Chilumbii is the headmistress of the basic school and I believe I have explained what she does previously.

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.