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More news from Fiona in Zambia
A busy week in Lusaka with farewells, visitors and finally a sporting debut! I now have a room to myself in the SIA house in Chilenje, I was sure I was going to be delighted to finally have my own space and be able to as messy as I am by default. However, it was really sad to say goodbye to Mel who left on Tuesday for Malawi, she has proved an excellent roommate. She taught me about religion, we shared cooking duties (cooked up some ‘interesting creations’) and it has been great to discuss the events our respective day or simply put on a chick-flick DVD and switch off. On her departure I realise I have been fortunate to be surrounded, since arriving in Zambia, by fabulous company that has kept my active mind engaged in stimulating conversation and discussions on ideas. Mel leaving marks the start of another Zambia chapter, a return to more independent living and as such I think you can anticipate more reflective BLOGs from hereforth! I will try to keep it factual rather than just rambling, but most of you know my writing style is far from concise.
On Tuesday, the new ‘me’ from UK Sport arrived in Lusaka for partnership meetings and an introduction to EduSport and Go Sisters project management. Jo, having had a nightmare 2 day long journey, managed to condense 3 and a half days of meetings into 48hours. It was an emotional meeting, from a personal perspective, as we sat with George and Mwape from Sport in Action and Greg from EduSport to review IDEALS 2009 and provide background information to UK Sport. But the meeting also marked for me the end; I officially handed over the project. I loved every minute (well almost!) of my IDEALS experiences, from the daily learning in Chawama in 2006 through to the close collaboration that takes place to coordinate the project from the UK. IDEALS has allowed me to grow personally and professionally and I will be forever grateful for all that it has contributed to me; not forgetting the incredible friends I have met as part of the wider IDEALS family from researchers, IDEALS alumni, contact staff personnel and of course the amazing people who make the placements possible in the NGO’s across Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia.
But as one door closes another opens. So I look to the next few months ahead in Zambia with some organisational development objectives to fulfill as part of the EduSport team and more than a few jobs on the horizon with Friend of EduSport. The first of which will be the organisation, distribution and learning to place as our first consignment of library books arrives early next month... all 17,500 of them! With a few logistics to put in place, clearing the books through customs and the preparation of the schools about to have their first ever libraries it should be a busy few weeks. Site visits, meetings and workshops are all planned across Bauleni, Chawama and Kalingalinga.
On Friday, I was able to take a very short trip to Chawama to see what was happening in my favourite place. True to form the peer leaders were there officiating games of U-12 football and the rest were finishing off a game of volleyball. I took with me on this trip a representative from the British Council, who was impressed by the young leaders present. So much so, I think we might have another new sponsor! Having lived in Lusaka for 6 months I couldn’t quite comprehend that this was her first visit to a community compound (unofficial housing area); however I am glad to say she has already vowed to return to Chawama for community activities taking place in November and to visit some of EduSport’s other sites in Lusaka in the coming months. Surely no visit to Zambia is complete without a konko madeso or ah jugujar Chawama style or a salad,cheese,tomato from the K-Town crew?!
Two exciting developments this week that must not go un-noted. Firstly is the first production of the Kalingalinga EduSport fundraising t shirts have not only gone on sale but already sold out! The peer leaders from K-Town have designed and printed t shirts to sell in a bid to raise enough funds to send their volleyball and netball teams to a tournament in Livingstone in December. Friend of EduSport are now taking orders from Zambia and the UK (£15 to be paid on line, inc P&P - be sure to tell us your size and postal address) for the t shirts as we hope to get the next batch printed and distributed in the coming weeks. Contact Kelvin directly if you are interested or wish more details at
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T shirt orders will also be taken at the Stirling University Ceilidh, which is due to take place on 13th November at the Stirling Rugby Club in partnership with Friend of EduSport. For tickets (a bargain £15 for the event of the year!) contact Gillian MacKenzie at
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The second exciting development this week being that I can confirm that I did make my Zambia football debut for the Central Action team on Saturday! Playing in mid-field (cringe!), I struggled through 20 minutes before the heat and let’s be honest, lack of fitness saw me subbed. Needless to say my face perfectly matched the bright red strips. Not a classic debut, I think I managed one useful pass during my time on the pitch but a girl has to get some credit for at least trying! Unfortunately at the final whistle the score-line read 6-1 to the National Assembly team. The coach has called for better attendance at training to improve performance so Wednesday afternoon at the Burma Community ground it is!
All from me for this week, it has been tiring but I finish the week feeling like things are moving forward in the right direction. I have also decided that football and fourty degree heat is far from an ideal combination; I remain hopeful that perseverance and a bit of Campbell determination will reap its rewards in the coming weeks!
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