Let's Hear it for Zambia

Late last night, Zambians achieved what has, of late, eluded many other countries: the successful and peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another. After a relatively quiet couple days of voting and counting, the results were made official around midnight last night. Upon their announcement, crowds of exuberant supporters, armed with car horns and vuvuzelas, took to the streets in celebration. Somehow I managed to sleep through it all, but this morning you can still see echoes of the jubilant night. The roads are jammed with marchers and there’s a literal symphony of triumphant honking, whistling and singing as people hang out their car windows with wild abandon. Everywhere you look the blue propaganda of the incumbent party has been quickly and effectively replaced by posters and wraps in opposition green, and the refrain of the opposition’s theme song, Donchi Kubeba (Don’t Tell Them) can be heard from every direction. This is a marked change from the past two days, when Lusaka was an empty ghost town. There was a huge army and police presence on the streets and all businesses would close up at the slightest rumor of unrest.

It's true, it wasn't a perfect execution; opportunistic mobs burned and looted businesses in a few cities across the country, and opposing supporters clashed in the compounds (though the vast majority of businesses and citizens were safe and secure). In addition, far too much money was spent on the campaigns and the government was wrong to silence all but state media ahead of the announcing the results. Nonetheless, the crowning success cannot be denied: the opposition candidate has been elected and the incumbent party is duly and peacefully handing over power. Not to say I believe one party to be better than another, I truly don't have the knowledge or experience to comment on Zambian politics. Rather, I'm celebrating the turnover (after twenty years) and the transition. If, by the end of today, this changeover reaches a peaceful resolution, I think the world should applaud what has happened here. With respect for fellow citizens and for the foundations of a democratic system, Zambians have laid the framework for a model of peaceful and representative elections which should be built on by all countries, in Africa and beyond.

Read more here and here 

What's New? (Other than the year)

Cruising on a secluded back road, returning from one of our schools to town, the windows are down, the breeze is perfect, Paul Simon is crooning from the speakers and the landscape is awash with a spectacularly orange sunset that seems to last for hours. These are the times I can really just relax and enjoy what’s happening around me. I wish I could share all of these little moments, but at least I can tell you about some of the cool things that have been happening here.

(A brilliant sunrise)

First of all, happy 2004! No I’m not suffering from heat stroke, that’s the new year as of yesterday according to the Ethiopian calendar. I’m sure my fellow fellows in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia enjoyed some great celebrations there, but even in Lusaka we observed the holiday. My roommate was invited to a new years party put on by the Ethiopian community here by a coworker at the UN, and she took me along. The food was amazing, the company was great and it was wonderful to sit in on the celebration of what felt like one big family. There was a roving band of singing kids decked out in their finest clothes approaching tables and handing out roses in exchange for a donation (nothing short of extortion through cuteness). Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of impressive dancing in styles I had never seen before involving lots of exaggerated shoulder and leg movement (more on this here). The highlight may have been the tradition of jumping over a roaring bonfire as a test of one’s manliness. All of this redoubled my resolve to visit Ethiopia at some point in the next year.

There have been a few firsts in the past month; we had our first student move on to the next step in life as he headed out to do his A-levels at the African Leadership Academy in South Africa. We’re very proud and happy for him as he joins the ranks of other future African leaders who've attended this prestigious program. I had my first paid gig as a photographer, shooting headshots at a party for a casting company. KF had our first event where we were able to gather some of our older students and their mentors together for dinner and a discussion of their futures. It was a delicious meal and a very productive dialogue.

Right now it’s hot and dry, and it hasn’t rained in months, but amazingly life is starting to bloom here. There are trees filled with stunning purple flowers that look absolutely surreal scattered on the rust colored ground. There's bougainvillea that looks like rolling waves of color overflowing the walls of houses around town. Even the thorny plants growing out of the gravel in my yard are putting out dramatic red flowers. I’m told that this is just the smallest taste of the lush, vibrant rainy season, so that’s definitely something to look forward to.

(Bougainvillea)

There’s a farm out in Lusaka West where they keep lions- mostly for breeding, but a couple as actual pets. All questions about the intelligence of keeping wild predators as pets aside, it was pretty incredible to be close enough to touch these beautiful and, happily, friendly big cats.

Community service is a big part of our scholarship program; each student is expected to design and implement a project. One of the ongoing projects has been the sensitization of communities to the issue of waste disposal, specifically plastics. To help the students further this project, we’ve been looking at different ways they could teach people how to reuse plastics. Two of the places we’ve visited so far to help inspire the kids have been pretty incredible. 

First, we met a group of boys in one of the compounds who, on their own initiative, have been creating instruments (drums, kazoos, cymbals) out of rubbish. What’s more, they’ve organised themselves into a legitimate band, with a repertoire of well rehearsed songs and even marching choreography. I was told sometimes they march down the main streets to raise money for their school fees. I don't have the internet bandwidth to post the videos I took of these so called Band Boyz, so a picture will have to do instead. 

Another weekend, we visited a hospital where the relatives of the patients are taught how to make jewelry and bags out of paper and plastic so they can earn a little money. The techniques were very precise and at times painstaking, but the end products are really amazing. This ingenuity and enterprise definitely impressed and inspired me, and I hope it did the same for our kids.

Thanks for reading! With the national elections next week and an upcoming trip to Malawi for the Lake of Stars music festival at the end of the month, I'm sure there will be more stories to share soon.