Development

I know that I haven't been blogging much about work, which is partly because it's a bit more mundane than some of the other things I've been up to and partly because it's so different to work in the UK that it's hard to describe in a soundbite. I think some of the differences are because I'm not used to working for a small organisation, but some of the frustrations are definitely contextual. The lack of resources here is chronic. Last week the one computer in the office was being used when my boss and I were supposed to work on the operational plan (a plan that should have started 1st April...) but someone else was using it. He suggested that we devise the plan manually and type it up later. I agreed this was a good idea, and we stood up to go to our office. He then turned to me and said 'oh wait, you've got a pen, right?'

This week I've been learning a lot about the development industry as I've been at a week-long 'workshop' at a hotel in Lusaka. Workshops are a very common feature of work here, and frequently take my colleagues away from the office for a week at a time. I've been fairly vocal (I know that anyone reading this who's worked with me will find that hard to believe...) in questioning whether this is the best use of everyone's time, and my boss decided that I needed to experience one to confirm my criticisms.

In some ways it's been a really informative week, as I've met lots of interesting people, including several DACAs (District AIDS Co-ordinating Advisors, the local civil servants responsible for working on the HIV/AIDS effort) and people from organisations like mine across Zambia. It's also been useful to spend some time with the accountant from my office and we've made some good plans for when we get back to the office. I'm the only westerner on the course, and it's been a really useful insight into work culture here as my organisation is so small that it's not very representative. Some of the speakers have been interesting, but I can't help but question whether 6 nights in a pretty nice hotel (my bathroom has a jacuzzi), and a generous sitting allowance (across the development sector, participants are paid to attend training sessions like this one) is really the best use of money donated by the US government to help reduce HIV in Africa.

I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues to implement some of my learning when I get back to Livingstone on Wednesday, but will miss Lusaka a bit as it's been a lovely week hanging out with my friends here. A highlight was definitely attending a couple of zumba classes, a cross between aerobics, African dance and any other kind of dancing from night-clubs around the world.Much fun, and good to find some time to socialise even in the first 40-hour working week that I've done since I've been in Zambia!

A day in the life...

There's absolutely no such thing as a typical day here, and I never know what's going to happen tomorrow, but Friday morning this week seemed to encompass a lot of what is typical about my life in Zambia. I woke up to a torrential downpour, the likes of which we rarely see in the UK, but which is pretty bearable as there's no wind so an umbrella's a pretty effective. I left the house early to pay my water bill on the way to work.

I stopped to get cash out of my Zambian bank. You get charged to use the atm, but it's a bit cheaper at your own bank so I went there. The atm was broken so I tried the Barclays one and it swallowed my card. Barclays told me it was illegal for them to do anything other then cut it up, I said that I really needed it and please could I have it and they said okay come back at 1 o'clock. All this required several conversations with Barclays and my bank, and I texted my boss to tell him I was running late. He texted back to say he wouldn't be going to work til the rain stopped (I knew none of my other colleagues would be in the office either, rain here has the same effect as snow back home). My boss asked me to go to an internet cafe while I was in town as we had an urgent e-mail from a funder. Unusually for a rainy day, the internet was working and I managed to download the e-mail and walk to the office. The rain stopped, so we walked back to the internet (a 20-minute walk, 30 minutes at Zambian pace) to reply to the e-mail. By this time all my colleagues were attending to personal errands, so I went home to open the best parcel ever (thank you!) and then to the bank. I managed to retrieve my card, although no-one knows why it was swallowed in the first place so I don't know if it will work again.

It's good that I have more free time here, as seemingly simple things always seem to take an entire morning!

In other news, I've been away this weekend to visit volunteers in Mazabuka, a small town about 5 hours drive north of Livingstone. It's a nice town, and it was good to see a less tourist-y part of the country and catch up with volunteer friends. I'm away from home for 10 days now, and should have more chance to blog this week so I'll update on my travels soon.

Sunday update

I had another visitor this week, a Welsh volunteer visiting the Falls at the end of her placement. (If you want to follow the life of a volunteer in a less tourist-y haven, her blog is much better than mine - http://www.tina-in-zambia.blogspot.com ) It was lovely to have her here, and also to see my life through her eyes. She loved our beautiful house, and it made me realise that we have gradually made it into a home.

Other than that, the week has been what Zambians would call 'just okay'. Work was really great at the start of the week, and I felt like I understood what was going on. By the end of the week I seemed to be having a sort-of argument with my boss which I didn't really understand, and I've no idea what Monday will hold! But all fun and games, this week we're supposed to be finally writing the operational plan in the hope of setting realistic fundraising targets for the coming year. That's been the plan for every week since I've been here, but I'm optimistic that it will happen this week before we head to Lusaka to attend a week-long workshop on how to make an organisation sustainable.

The weekend has been perfect, slightly more like a normal one and less like a holiday, in a good way. Friday night my friends held a braii (bbq), and I received lots of lovely post from home! Thanks Mum, facewash and some bits to replace what was stolen so much appreciated!

I had my first Zambian clothes-shopping venture Saturday, as I'm starting to believe people who tell me that they really do have winter here and I'm going to need some warmer things... To buy clothes here the best option is DAPP, a NGO that sells on second-hand clothes donated mostly from Holland. A Dutch friend took me exploring, and you have to have patience but it was fun. And I'm now the proud owner of one jumper!

Right now it's still glorious summer though, and today I've been eating ice-cream and sitting by a pool. So maybe it is still a bit like a holiday...

Instant gratification

The first time I visited Africa, a good friend warned me that I might come back a Conservative. He meant that in many ways African countries can seem to be very inefficient, and that in some ways it is no mystery why the economic and social structure seems so chaotic. A few days in the Gambia in 2002 didn't really give me chance to explore the idea, but as I get to learn about Zambian culture I've been thinking about it more.

In many ways things do seem very inefficient here. My colleagues seem to spend a lot of time talking on the mobile phones, which is very expensive (impoverished volunteers always text, which is very cheap) and then don't have credit to communicate important information like their absence from the office. The 'short-cut' that they insist on taking when we walk from the office into town is in fact a windy and much longer route, albeit a more pleasant walk. Generally as we're working it's clear that we think very differently and have different ideas about how to achieve our goals.

On the other hand, it is often easier to get quick results here than at home. This week we decided that we needed to do some market research among schools in Livingstone before submitting a funding bid. With 2 days til the deadline, I couldn't believe that any school would spend the time filling in our survey about their student populations, much less distribute a questionnaire to whole year groups asking detailed questions about students' sexual behaviour. I was completely wrong though, and all the schools we asked were happy to meet our requests in line with the deadline. This instant response also applies to my domestic life – I can't imagine getting a plumber to come out in London on same-day notice, especially not when I used my best bargaining techniques and negotiated him down to a labour charge of 25,000kw (about £3.50), which is only slightly above market-rate.

So perhaps Africa, or Zambia at least, isn't inefficient, just differently efficient. The walk that my colleagues favour is more shady and thus easier, and texting doesn't work if the recipient doesn't have talk time to call you back! I'm certainly having to adjust my London sense of planning, and to get used to not knowing what the next day will hold. But it's liberating and relaxing in some ways not to have planned my weekend until friday. It's turned out perfectly, swimming at one of the posh hotels with a new Zambian friend and indulging in some much-needed girly gossip, and making a very English Sunday lunch for some other VSOs. I'm sure things will still be frustrating at times, but it's been a really encouraging week at work and I'm definitely in a positive frame of mind!

Easter in the wilderness

I know that every post talks about feeling like a holiday, but this weekend was my first actual holiday in Zambia. I went camping with a group of 8 people, mostly VSO vounteers from Lusaka in my new tent, and had great fun toasting marshmellows and getting to know some new people.

The weekend started off somewhat surreal-y, as Helen and Dan (a British VSO couple in Lusaka) invited me to stay at their flat. They have been keeping a video blog for VSO, and I'd taken a virtual tour of their flat when I was still in London. Odd to be spying on your friends before you've met them, but lovely to find out that they're even nicer in real life than on screen!!

Apart from an epic journey (the drive ended up takng about 15 hours after a couple of punctures, not many places to buy tyres on Good Friday, slight route mistake and a lot of potholes, and the fact that after we turned off the road it was another 25km into the campsite!) it was an incredibly peaceful weekend, exploring a very different side of Africa. Typically I took hardly any photos, but it looks exactly like on the website http://www.mutinondozambia.com Highlights included swimming in waterfalls, canoeing, and climbing a hill to see probably the biggest landscape I've ever seen. Incredible to see for miles in all directions and not be able to glimpse a single road or building.

Back in Livingstone now and work's really interesting this week. Frustrating today trying to get a proposal sent, but will be great news if it's successful and may even lead to internet in the office........please keep all fingers crossed!