Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Miyanda, who is another AFID volunteer. However he is actually has a full time job here in Zambia working at the Ministry of Finance, and is completing some AFID work when he can. He is a Zambian but has worked in many countries – New Zealand, U.K, India, Caribbean – and is the first time he has lived back in Zambia for many years.
He took me on a guided city of Lusaka pointing out to me many more interesting facts than the Lonely Planet does! This trip happened to occur with Independence Day for Zambia , and people were celebrating 46 years of independence. It was very interesting to hear his perspective on his country after the time has spent abroad, and as with many people I have spoken to have been impressed with the passion and enthusiasm he had when talking about his country. I have found many people to be very proud of their country, proud to be Zambian, and hardworking and determined to work to ensure a better life for themselves and others and are optimistic about the future. This feeling is similar to how people at Bwafwano have expressed themselves. I have spent time talking to Issac (Program Officer) and Eddie (a programme co-ordinator) about their plans for the future, and both talk with a lot of passion about the community work they are involved in and are very determined and ambitious to make Bwafwano grow and ensure it is successful in the future.
As Zambia is celebrating its 46th birthday here I a few facts I have learnt
· It has a landlocked countries with borders with 8 other countries!
· Population of the country is about 12mill (twice the size of London), whilst being about the size of U.K , Ireland and France combined. It is one of the most thinly populated countries in Africa.
· Economy is heavily reliant on export of copper
· HIV and AIDS have had a massive impact on the country – 1 in 7 adults is now infected and life expectancy at birth is only 40 years.
· President Mwanawasa died in 2008, and he appears to have been in a popular president. From speaking to people, he appears to have had lots of public support from when he came into power in 2002 and people believe he did lots to help develop Zambia. The present President Banda does not appear to have the same level of public support with many people looking forward to the elections next year.
Take Care – CCx
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