A Different Sunday

I watched two ball games on Sunday. One was called "netball" which was similar to basketball except that there was no dribbling of the ball but just passing to the members of each team and shooting. It is timed, there is also a referee and they also change courts. However, much as I want to learn about the rules of the game, it was freezing cold so watching outdoors for a long time was not fun.

After the first game, I went to another ball game, which according to one on-line article I read, is like a religion in Zambia, soccer or football. It was a match between altar boys of two parishes in Chipata. In my stay in Zambia, I have learned so much about the rules of the game, although not fully but at least the basics. By the time I left, the parish team where I belong was losing, the running score was 2-nil. However, due to too much cold, I did not finish the match. Hopefully, in some other occasions I would get the chance and opportunity to watch football match up to finish. Maybe by the time I leave Zambia I would also be a great fan.

This capped the last weekend of July.

Saturday in the Life of a Volunteer

The last weekend of July has passed productively. The garden of the seminarians at the Father’s House in Mchini Parish inspired me to start gardening in my own backyard. On Saturday I was busy preparing seedbed for my parsley. My plan actually was just to scatter the seeds on the seedbed and never transfer them into plots because I don’t have the powers to prepare them. Just preparing the seedbed made my lower back ache; however, it would be good to see vegetable herbs in my backyard. After the seedbed preparation, I also started potting soil in polyethylene bags because ornamental plants needed to be potted first before planting them directly to the soil. I tried planting directly but I failed because the soil was not fertile, moreover, termites are everywhere. Apart from this, my desire to plant ornamental plants was inspired by the roses I saw around Chipata, roses of all colors and types. I made a promise to myself that in two year’s time I would be able to fill the garden with roses. Luckily I am able to grow some; in fact some of them are already in full bloom.

On the same day, I made myself a good lunch. Experimenting on dishes has also become a hobby in Zambia. I have been craving for fish since it’s very seldom that I cook fish for meals because of the strong odor it emits when cooking which is not advisable to my enclosed kitchen (actually I can open windows and doors but I fear mosquitoes and burglars respectively). However, since it was a weekend, I grilled tilapia using my braiser a.k.a in the Philippines as "pugon" and makeshift griller from chicken wire. Since I was grilling, I also made “escalivada” as a pair to my grilled fish. Escalavida is another experimental dish courtesy of on-line recipe. It turned out well and I really enjoyed it. Of course, how can a Filipino meal be complete without rice? I fried the rice, eat it with escalivada and grilled tilapia with coke in can! I had a sumptuous Saturday lunch.

Cooking for the day was not yet over; I baked experimental bread---sweet potato bread. It tasted sweet potato but never looked like bread, it turned-out more like a cake. By the time I go back to the Philippines, I would probably be engaged in baking as a fallback career if I become unemployed for a long time which hopefully won’t happen since I want baking as a hobby although if it will bring me money I can make business out of it.

End of Saturday

Chama

I delayed in posting this blog about my trip to Chama because I tried to research for information about the socio-demographic characteristics of the place but I failed to get any from government websites until I resorted to checking the free encyclopedia on line, Wikepedia.

According to Wikepedia, Chama is a small town in the Eastern Province of Zambia. It is one of the most remote headquarters in the country, lying just inside the eastern edge of the upper Luangwa Rift Valley, at the foot of the highlands dividing Zambia and Malawi. Chama District is the most northerly, largest and least-populated district of the Eastern Province and includes a large wilderness in the Upper Luangwa valley just north-east of the North Luangwa National Park. Much of the population of Chama District lives close to the Malawi border and shares tribal and cultural links with the people of the northern highlands of that country. The people of Chama belong mostly to the Senga tribe. Members of the Tumbuka tribe also live in Chama. Chisenga, a language similar to ChiTumbuka and Chichewa or Nyanja, is the predominant language spoken.

Agriculture is the leading industry, and maize is the most common crop. Chama is also known as a rice-growing area. Cotton is a lucrative crop for some. Sorghum and soya beans are also grown. Other common food crops include groundnuts, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cabbage, sunflowers.
Wonderful description of Chama from Wikipedia! Information found in the said article was amazing because they were all accurate. They may sound very general but that’s the normal way I describe a place. I travelled almost 300 kilometers from Chipata through dirt road, wherein my clothes and the white land cruiser turned brown in color because of the cloud of dust.

Chama is where I get my rice, apart from being cheap, the quality is good with a nice aroma and with my rice cooker- the quality of cooking really turns appetizing. In Zambia, one thing I realized was there is no sense of time. In fact, very few people wear wrist watch which is a good rest for me since it’s very relaxing and distressful. However, I hate this culture when it’s time for eating. Filipinos love eating and delay feeding them will result to all sorts of negative reaction from people. But I have witnessed in Zambia or in the districts in Chipata that they don’t mind if they eat late as long as at the end of the activity there is food. On the same occasion, lunch was served at 3PM. I looked forward to eating boiled rice especially prepared for me. I took my first serving but the man beside me shared the rice with me and he took his second serving without using a serving spoon which discouraged me from taking my second-serving. Lesson learned?: the first time you get food, get more than enough serving that you can take, otherwise having such delayed lunch will end up in unsatisfied eating. Moreover, if you are embarking on another long journey, better make yourself full.

Another interesting activity I witnessed was a mobile commercial store as depicted in the photo. It was a closed van which contained so many products from mugs to iron sheets. As I waited for the rest of the staff to finish their lunch, I was looking at people buying tin cups, plates, cooking pots, iron sheets while the storekeepers are slowly getting them inside the truck. According to people, the truck comes once a month which gives ample time for people to save money and buy stuff. While I was busy enjoying the movements of people, a man approached me asking for money. Automatically, I refused saying that I don’t give away money. This is one common misimpression about foreigners; dollar sign is seen on our foreheads. If they only knew, I am also a volunteer who relied on allowance to survive in Zambia although humbling to say that it is like paid job according to local standards.
After saying all the goodbyes, we started back our journey to Lundazi to stay for the night before proceeding to Chipata the next day. It was a rewarding trip because I always get affirmation that I am glad to be a Filipino and I am happy that Philippines is my country.

Politics and politicians are the same everywhere

I should say that politics and politicians are the same everywhere and who suffers most are the people that put them in their positions and the same people who are supposed to benefit from their service. On the other hand, people or the constituents are similar as well. The way people in Chama district reacted during the forum was not new to me because I have seen and observed the same reactions in the Philippines. Like what wise people say in the Philippines, “the movie was already shown” meaning they have witnessed the same event. However, despite this, I believe that the constituencies have all the rights to question the leaders they have put in their position because people have the right and deserve the best service they should get from their leaders.

What brought me to Chama was an activity of one of the programmes of Caritas Chipata under Governance. As M&E advisor, I am trying to move around to monitor the progress of implementation of activities in the different districts and parishes of the Eastern Province. The activity was dubbed “Sharing of Council Plans” wherein the District Council shared its plan to the people and in return they get the opportunity to ask what their council is doing. Too much protocol was observed during the activity. Courtesy calls were done to the Council Secretary and the District Commissioner. If my information serves me right. District Council is the counterpart of our “Sangguniang Bayan Chair” or the Vice-Mayor; however he was selected among the councilors of the district. District Commissioner on the other hand was the counterpart of “mayor” in the Philippines. The reception was good and very welcoming. The DC recognizes and appreciates what Caritas Chipata is doing in their district. However, for Caritas Chipata it has to assess whether it is creating impact to the grassroots community. Like all other local government units in the Philippines, the people were so eager to ask their leaders about what they are doing for their people or constituencies as they are called here. However, like politicians in the Philippines, when their ego is touched, they also react. The Council Secretary almost lost his temper when engaged in a debate for constructing a toilet called “ablution block” at the wrong place.

The opening remark of the DC was very long which affected the other scheduled activities. Like other TraPos, the speech contained his accomplishments but what struck me most was his remark on development, wherein he said, “your complains about heat in Chama district will turn into cash” because according to him, exploratory activities have been done wherein minerals have been found and soon investors will start mining their place and therefore, it would bring employment and revenue. It was sad to note that mining in Zambia is the answer to prosperity. I cannot refute because who am I to do it. If only they are educated about the harmful effects of mining. Simple logic: Copper mining has been in existence for so many years in Zambia but looking at the economic plight of the people and the country itself, did copper mining uplift the economy of Zambia and its people, the answer is obvious, otherwise development organizations won’t be around to help them in development which are mostly basic services.

What struck me was the constituency office in the district which is within the town centre ad within the proximity of the people. The constituency office is the counterpart of the District Representative’s Office in the Philippines. The Member of the Parliament (MP) who is the congressman/congresswoman in the Philippines has satellite office in the districts manned by two staff, administrative officer and assistant. Based on conversations with people, this is to bring the MP closer to the people and the task of the staff is to update regularly the MP about what is happening to the constituency. However, asked how effective it is and responsive to the needs of the constituents, I’ve got mixed reactions from people. Some positive and others were negative; however, as a point of reflection for me: in the Philippines, I have not seen visibly any office of the District Representatives that people elected. Their offices in the Philippines back in their districts are usually found at their residents which often manned by people who know nothing about bringing the leader closer to the people or manned by staff whose interests are the implementation of infrastructure projects.