Sunday, July 22, 2007

Clean Water

Its our last morning in Ndola with Seeds of Hope International Patnership (SHIP). This past week has been great. Almost everyday we've loaded in the van and visited communities around Ndola looking at their needs through the eyes of sanitation. We met so many wonderful Zambians and were always greeted warmly. The week gave us a chance to bond with Flavia and Obby the two SHIP staff who spearhead the hygiene and sanitation program. We are already missing Flavia and Obby as we prepare to leave for Livingstone. Our last post gave you a feel for village life in rural areas. Another type of community we visited were "compounds", unplanned urban settlements with increasingly dense populations. Compounds are quite large, often 50-65,000 people living in about a square mile or so. I wouldn't quite call them slums, but they're close. In my mind, an African slum has houses built of scraps of wood and plastic. In compounds people live in mud brick homes, most compounds we visited are located in lowland areas often near a seasonal marshland. During the dry season the water table drops a meter or so and allows gardening in the marshes which helps these families survive. The problem in compounds is that they are unplanned, that means no sewer system and no control on how dense the housing can become. Often as children grow-up and start having families, another little house springs up in the backyard and due to there being a taboo against using your inlaws latrine another latrine is built. Due to the lowland location the water table is quite high, often only a couple meters below the ground which means all latrines are dug into the ground water table. Some compounds have kiosks where clean water is piped in and available for about a penny per 5 gallons (20 liters), but many families dig hand dug wells a few meters down to get "free" water. However, as I learned in high school economics, there are "no free lunches" and this water comes with the high price of sickness since these wells are located a few meters from 1 or 2 latrines and the groundwater is badly contaminated. Its impossible to express the sadness Darcy and I felt when we watched children lowering their buckets down these holes. In the compounds there are no low cost sanitation solutions to the groundwater pollution that is occurring, that hurts too. Since they are unplanned communities the government has taken no initiative to build sewers. The solutions our classes taught apply best to rural settings where the population density is lower. There are two solutions that SHIP can offer to provide clean water. One is to drill deeper wells, which hopefully penetrate a deeper aquifer that is sealed off from the near surface aquifer and thus not contaminated. SHIP has two teams that are on the road every week drilling wells. The second solution is the production and distribution of biosand filters. CAWST , a Canadian NGO, developed the biosand filter, which is a hollow concrete box filled with sand that effectively filters water. Each filter is placed inside a home and can service that family plus a few neighbots. Lifewater is also educating partners how to construct these filters. Over the past couple of years SHIP has started distributing biosand filters in compounds as a way to purify household drinking water. Using these two methods changes are being made to people's health. Francis calls them "seeds of hope" since when a family is well its ability to make an income or grow crops is greatly increased. SHIP's biggest obstacles is distributing biosand filters. They have a well run production center where they can produce 2-5 concrete filters per day, however their is only one truck to distribute them and this is also the truck that is used to tow the 2 drilling rigs. Right now there are 100 biosand filters sitting in the yard waiting for distribution. If you'd like to help SHIP get a new vehicle contact them via their website.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Cell phones in their pockets

Today we loaded in the van and set off with three of the SHIP trainers we had as students last week. The destination was Lazaro, a rural Zambian village about 30 minutes outside Ndola. Lazaro was the real deal; our vehicle was the only one in town and there were goats, pigs and chickens running willy-nilly between the huts. The village had a warm feel to it, each hut had a thatched roof and was constructed of the mud bricks. Darcy felt at home because each house had a collection of potted plants on the front step. The path through town was dotted with banana and mango trees. The centerpiece of the village is the handpump well that SHIP installed about a year ago. This well has made a huge difference in the health of Lazaro's citizens and has wiped out the dysentery for everyone that uses the well versus the stream where everyone used to get their water.
About 30 villagers gathered for the sanitation class in the cool shade of a giant fig tree. From the homes and nearby churches the village supplied a few padded, wooden chairs for there guests to sit on. Although there were a few more chairs than our team needed the villagers preferred to sit on the roots of the fig tree, a couple african style drums, and tattered bamboo mats spread on the ground. The only exception was the wife of the village head-man who joined us on the chairs. Men and women sat in separate groups. The meeting began with introductions. When we were introduced as a married couple people clapped and cheered for us. Following the introduction of the Seeds of Hope team each villager introduced themselves. Our favorite was an older man who said "I'm one of the village children even though I have gray hair." It was so cool to see the respect paid to each person, both in how we were given seats of honor and how the village introduced themselves to us. As Seeds of Hope began teaching the first lesson about disease pathways we heard crackling, and found ash falling on our heads. We realized the nearby bush was on fire, but it was of no concern to the attendees as burning the bush in small sections is a common technique of keeping the land clear. Mothers nursed there babies while participating in the lesson from their seat on the bamboo mat. In contrast to this kind of hollywood image of Africa outside the class circle people were making calls on their cell phones. Cell phones are everywhere in Zambia including places you would never guess there would be service. It sort of messes with your mind when you stop to think that you're in a village teaching people about the importance of using an outhouse and these same people have Nokia cell phones in their pockets. The classes went very well and their was lots of lively discussion; including once where the men reported that when they took a poop in the bush they took a shovel to bury it, but the ladies were quick to point out that was a lie. It was great seeing our students as teachers and the message being passed along. Now the 30 people we trained today will spread the message the more than 700 people in Lazaro.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

From Cursed to Blessed


One of the main areas where Seeds of Hope International Partnership (SHIP) is concentrating its efforts is in a very poor area of Ndola called Mapola which means "blessed". This is a new name for the area which used to be known as Chipulakusu or "cursed". It's home to about 65,000 people, 40% of whom are under the age of 15 due to HIV wiping out the generation older than that. There are lots of orphans taking care of orphans. The housing density is very high and the majority of homes are simple mud huts with makeshift roofing materials - sometimes tarps, sometimes a collection of plastic bags, or whatever can be found to shed water. Its difficult for these young adults to feed their parentless families let alone pay fees to go to school and learn job skills. Three years ago a man named Francis Feruka left his accounting job at a hospital to start a church in Mapola with the desire to bring hope to this community. Francis has a tremendous heart for people's physical and spiritual existence. He is a person of amazing intregity and patience. As he became involved meeting these needs in Mapola and other areas Seeds of Hope was born. Francis now not only pastors Mapola Vineyard Church, but he is also director of SHIP.

In April, a team from our church, the Boise Vineyard, visited Zambia to see where they could join in helping these ministries. The needs in Mapola spoke the loudest and together with Francis they decided that a training center to provide literacy and job skills (such as sewing classes) would be a practical way to bring hope to the community through the church. Back in the states the Boise Vineyard really got behind the project and raised $25,000 in a special offering to fund the training center. I had the chance to visit the building site this week the day after the concrete slab floor was completed. The slab was a herculean job as everything was done by hand by church members. This means the water was handpumped from a well about 30 yards away, carried to the mixing slab where gravel, sand and cement were stirred together by hand and then shoveled into a wheel barrel. The footprint of the slab is about 30x60 ft with a thickness of about 6 inches. Slowly over the course of three days the entire floor was poured without the use of any machines. The picture above shows me standing on the new slab with Pastor Francis and Kennedy, who is a church member who worked hard to make the slab a reality. Later in August, two teams from Boise Vineyard are planning to come to Zambia to help with the completion of the building. The building will be made out of blocks of compressed soil which is a standard building method in Zambia. To do this the large mound in the background of the picture (which is a termite mound incidently) will be excavated by hand and the soil pressed into blocks using a hydraulic press and the addition of a little cement.

Friday, July 13, 2007

A toilet is life

Yesterday we taught our promotion lessons and students came up with promotional campaigns for sanitation. The campaigns were developed after we did some "market analysis" to determine the highest preceived benefits to latrine use. The class voted privacy and cleaner surroundings the top 2 benefits. We had an interesting discussion about privacy. I generally would think of privacy meaning that no one can see or hear me going to the bathroom (ie 4 walls around me), added to this our students discussed how it includes not being interrupted or interrupting their neighbor who may be sneaking a visit to there latrine. One students told a story about how that very thing happened to him yesterday morning. He said how he enjoys reading the newspaper in peace, so some things are universal.

For the promotional campaign the assignment was to come up with a slogan for the campaign, and a skit and/or song that they could use to promote latrine use. One of the best slogana was "a toilet is life" which the students incorporated into a song. This was all accompanied by a 10-minute skit with some good acting.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Selling Sanitation

Our classes are going really well. Yesterday we finished all the lessons about assessment. These included lessons about the technical assessment that needs to be done when someone is trying to locate a latrine, things such as how deep is the water table, how close to wells can it be located etc... It also included social assessment which relates to what cultural things do you need to be aware of when you are dealing with sanitation. One example we mentioned in a previous blog was the fact the inlaw don't use their children's latrine. Today we really get into the promotion lessons which will be talking about selling sanitation as if it is a product. The goal is to make latrines appeal the consumer hidden in each person. We will be discussing ways to market latrines to people based on benefits they will receive from them. Today's lessons are very fun because we will divide the class up and ask them to come up with a promotional slogan and a song or skit that could be used in a village or in the media. We're looking forward to a lot of laughter today.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Potty Training

Time is going quickly. Each morning we are awakened by the sounds of roosters and clanging church bells and each evening we fall asleep to the barks of dogs. We've made it through day 2 of the sanitation class and there are 4 more to go. Before the first day we were expecting a class of 21. When Monday rolled around we had 12 participants although only 9 came back for day two. As is often the case in Africa students who desire to be in class often miss class for a variety of reasons; some couldn't get a ride from the other side of town, some had sick kids, some had to care for dying parents. Nonetheless we are really enjoying the ones who have made it both days. Today we covered how to locate latrines so that they don't contaminant drinking water wells. It was the most challenging material in the course, but we were really pleased when all the students made there way through the homework questions correctly and with only a few questions. Its helps us know they are getting around our american accents, as they are used to british english. Our class is interacting well and we have had some lively discussions about various sanitation topics. Often its the class trying to help us to understand the situation where they live or work. We learned today there is a traditional belief which says inlaws should not use the latrine or their married children, this brought about much laughter but we never really figured out why. Many in the class have such servant hearts and want to meet the physical and spiritual needs in their community. We have taken time to pray together and it has shown us the seriousness of issues as we hear participants make pleas for God's help. We also have some wonderful ladies in our class who begin singing and dancing at breaktime. Its sounds so good and makes everyone smile.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

We made it!

The hours of traveling are behind us and we are settled into the Seeds of Hope guest house in Ndola. Neither of us slept so well on the flight to South Africa, even with the help of sleeping pills. Instead we watched movies and eventually the sunrise over what we figured was the Zambezi as our plane parallelled a long windy river. On the way to Jo'burg we actually saw a little snow on the ground below and getting off the plane that morning we could see our breath! Not a bad trade for Boise at 105F the day we left. Here in Zambia temps are 70s in the daytime but temps dip to fleece coat weather by morning. Its great to be in Africa. The smell of diesel and charcoal smoke, the smiles of children, and the sight of sunrise through the limbs of an acacia tree are a few moments that have brought memories of my experiences in Kenya a decade ago very near. On our bus ride I found it amusing to think about the new things I am noticing - mainly latrines. Driving through the countryside some communities seemed to have them and others not so much. The other new item is the cell phone - everyone seems to have them and every shop sells pre-paid minutes for cell phones. Its great to be sharing Africa with Darcy and seeing the continent afresh through her eyes. She is journaling and hopes to post something here soon too. She is loving it.

We have met many of the fulltime Seeds of Hope staff who have gone out of there way to help us get settled in. After picking us up from the bus stop this morning they took us around to run errands including dropping off the training manuals at the printers, going grocery shopping, exchanging money etc... The 22 manuals for students will cost about 1 million kwacha ($250 US dollars). The exchange rate is 1 USD = 3,850 K. The lottery is giving away 1.5 billion. The biggest bill we've seen thus far is 50,000 K the smallest is 1,000 and there are no coins. Tomorrow we're looking forward to church and then to beginning our class on monday.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Waiting in London

Good day chaps!

We made it to London and all slept really well - thanks to Lunesta. After dinner we took our pills and slept soundly until the breakfast carts started coming around. We saw the Wimbilton stadiums before landing, packed with people watching today's matches. Last night was my best night sleep in the last three nights. Hopefully tonight on our way to Jo'burg we'll repeat that.

Jeff

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Excitement

The packing is done. All the lists have been checked. We leave the house in an hour. We are so excited, neither of us have slept much the last two nights. If all goes according to schedule we'll be in Ndola, Zambia on Saturday.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Where would you go?

Our countdown is under 2 days! We have lists coming out of our ears, but its the only way we know to make order out of packing for a month long journey which includes teaching a two week sanitation class and a week-long African safari tacked on the end. Its going to be an awesome adventure!

In our last edition, (some of you probably thought we already left for Africa) we mentioned going to the Annual Lifewater Conference. We had a great time there, saw many friends from our sanitation trainings, and met a whole bunch of other volunteers. It was great to hear trip reports that showed how Lifewater volunteers and partners are making huge differences in many people's lives. The sessions got our minds thinking and hearts feeling as we sought to further understand the world water crisis.

The picture above is part of Lifewater's new "Where would you go?" public awareness campaign. Its desinged to make North Americans aware that 42% of the world's population lacks a place to go the the bathroom. The concept is simple, if you were left without a place to do your business where would you go? The light-hearted and life-sized placards address a serious issue. To be honest it broke our hearts to learn a few stories behind the 42% figure. Sadly, the lack of latrines and bathrooms has the biggest impact on women. We learned that:
  • For privacy reasons many women have to wait until night to deficate in fields causing urinary tract and vaginal infections, and chronic constipation
  • Lack of latrines at schools oftens prevents girls form attending school after puberty and discourages female teachers from working at schools.
  • Having to walk into the bush to find a private place can put women in danger of sexual assault.

These facts put a face on the numbers and brought us to tears. Pray that as a result of our training class our students will change the lives of Zambian girls, giving them health and a chance at an education.