Week 3

Work is getting more and more defined each day. What I am working on now is, with a “task team” for “communication” we will try to analyse where the problems lie. We will gather information about “what” we want to communicate, to then go further and see “how” this is now being done and if this is happening effectively, correctly, uniformly, and probably a couple other factors, depending on whether it is applicable. The first part is “internal communication”. But within that there is a whole lot of (mis)communication going on so feedback on what is going wrong and what is most important needs to be gathered. Every time there is a team meeting with the communications team it seems we achieve so much and discuss so many issues! Figuring out what will go in my attachment report under the topic: “link to the communication course” might get a little tricky. I should’ve brought my courses with me!

That is roughly my main activity during office hours, among other little additional things like updating the content on the website/correcting a text that was pre-written.

This weekend I normally would have had a workshop on Life Skills Teacher Practice in Seke Teacher’s College in Chitungwiza, but unfortunately the workshop got cancelled. It’s quite a pity because I was looking forward to finally finding out what EXACTLY is done in VVOB. They generally “facilitate” (assist) in workshops that discuss or raise awareness on Life Skills, HIV/AIDS awareness, Moving on after HIV/AIDS in the direct community, Gender inequality, Nutrition and a few more. This happens in Teacher Colleges, so, to teacher students and their lecturers to prepare them to build schools that give quality education to all children, including the most vulnerable. Hence the name of the programme: Quality Education and Vulnerability. The idea is to implement these attitude changes into the colleges so that they can be passed on to the schools once the teacher students become teachers.

You can clearly tell I have learnt a little after reviewing the text “what VVOB does”. A more clear picture on how these workshops and facilitation works will have to wait till next time a workshop trip pops up.

Besides working we have also been having more social contacts, some in the freezing cold of the office, others in the sun during lunch time. It’s an amazing difference. How I wish I had one of my warm blankets, a water bottle, a winter scarf and woolen socks here, and how addicted I have become to a hot cup of tea! In the sun the jerseys quickly fly off and everyone becomes hopeful for the rest of the day, big disappointment there! The topic that has often been coming up during lunch is the man-woman relationships. And every time it shocks me how the two cultures differ: men are expected to pay lobola (a fee to the family before the wedding) for their wives, men expect to be the bread winners of the house while the woman cooks and the women highly disagree with this, yet do expect to be “bought”. Men clearly fulfill a hierarchical position, but try not to make it visible and see the woman as “the boss of the house”. Tradition and modern practice have gone over into each other to make a confusing combination. I haven’t quite figured it out. (Don’t worry Frank, I’ll stick to my European views and fend for myself while you cook me delicious dinners ;) ).

ZESA (Zimbabwe Electricity) have NOT been a great friend lately, in the darkness we spend the evenings, cooking happens on a fire, outside and the generator at work runs all day just to provide electricity and internet. If this happened in Belgium, a combination of 15° indoors and a lack of (needed) electricity the schools and offices would have closed down. We would, literally, have holidays almost every day. But people stay motivated and just put on a pair of extra socks and two jerseys.
It's amazing how happy people become when MAGHETSI ADZOKA!! (The electricity is back!)

First downtown experience, First combi trip

Gogo on her birthday, me and Juliet

Little smiley Vheneka

Gogo and Aunty Mary-Anne happily cooking sadza on the BBQ

MaiVee and BaVee

good friends

Uncle Zanda and I

Gogo happily celebrating her bday!

This weekend was once again a busy one. After a week at work, the one day busier than the next, lunch meetings with Juliet, Vheneka and her old and much-loved hand-me-down doll Pippo and receiving results which showed me I successfully finished my bachelor (with only an outstanding internship to complete) it was time for some none-work-related free/celebration time.

Friday after work I was picked up by Francy, to then spend the evening with her and the family. We had a pretty relaxed evening and the next day we were going to check out what was happening in town (because of my persistency of definitely wanting to go to town). A lot of Chinese shops, a lot of people and a lot of weave shops. My eagerness to visit town was quickly destroyed after a short encounter with a pickpocketer. Luckily we were aware and had all valuables stacked to the bottom of our bags and someone warned us by shouting at the person in question. No harm done at the end of the day, and I will be careful to always use my pockets and avoid bags of all kind! And avoid town. We did have a fun time after all though, more catching up and shopping around a little.

The evening was spent with Hanne and her kids, playing sword and jumping on the trampoline.

Sunday was an early wake-up, with the combi (commuter omnibus, crowded busses that don’t pay too much attention to the traffic around them) to Juliet’s place. Luckily I got there in one piece, with a little walk since I got off a little too far - these busses don’t follow the same route at all times, they follow the route on which they can pick up the most people - as expected it resulted in mini panic attacks from me! All good at the end. After cooking breakfast at Juliet’s place, feeding the baby and learning her name (Vheneka) means light, we took the car to Ardbennie to celebrate gogo’s (her/my:) grandmum’s) birthday. Because of lack of electricity it became a braai (BBQ) party! With meat and sadza, and a few drinks! Delicious, with great company and many kids running around. Unfortunately there was no music, but then we just made our own music performance, and my phone introduced some Maz-Notic into Ardbennie braai parties! By the time we went home it was only 8 o’clock but I felt almost as if I was coming home after a night out at 4 am! NOT due to alcohol abuse of any kind! That was a very strange feeling, luckily I knew exactly where I was going (from a certain recognition point) so there was no problem getting home.

And then the next week showed up again, and a move to Robert’s place again, back to Mabelreign!

Mavambo Trust

This week I visited a “school”/ learning center where VVOB is working (thinking of placing students for next year). So it was my first experience out of the office, on the field. It was very interesting and a great project started up by a sister ten years ago. It’s a place/school/organization/learning center where certain (disadvantaged - orphans and/or unable to attend school financially) kids aged between 8 and 12 can follow class. So they have a “learning center” where three classes are given: Maths, English and Shona. In each of these classes they incorporate other subjects: like Science, Religion, … The aim is to get the kids out of the learning center and into proper schools after a year (sometimes two), and their mission has been a success.
Apart from giving class they also organize afternoon activities, have social workers, volunteers, former students acting as tutors and a lot more. Outside of their “learning” programme for the 48 children there they also offer financial aid to (many) students and former students and tutor classes to the children that now attend normal schools. So a whole lot of initiatives, I’ve probably missed a bunch.
When we were shown around the classes everyone immediately stood up to say (in perfect unison): GOOD MORNING MISTER AND MISTER AND MISS. Good morning how are you. FINE THANK YOU HOW ARE YOU. Fine thank you, sit down. THANK YOU! That’s something we’ve always had to do here in Zimbabwe but would be totally unthinkable back in Belgium.
Very friendly people, and polite children, very nice little community!

Continued…

To continue my story…

Sunday I went to Lake Chivero. It is actually a national park, and with Jeremy being a tour guide with a passion for wildlife it could not have been a more educational and interesting trip.
The plan was to drive around and hopefully see some animals (and we definitely did!) and then have a braai (BBQ). We had barely entered the park and already we saw a kudu, little did we know it would be one of the less amazing things. A little further down a giraffe was quietly eating his leaves, very close to the car, as it moved further we decided to get out and follow it. We got quite far eventually (the furthest Jeremy had ever gotten to a giraffe, and that’s saying something), but at one point it just walked away. Sorry people, I was savouring the moment and did not have my camera. Later on the afternoon we saw zebra’s, wildebeast, ostriches (and a dead one, unfortunately) and two rhino’s, of which I have beautiful pics!
For lunch we had a braai, which was very delicious, and they had absolutely everything prepared for it! While waiting for the veggies to get ready I got a whole speech about why 1988 was a great year - athletics-wise. So now I’m that much smarter, not that I remember too many details. After the lunch, as we were packing up the same two rhino’s, probably the only two poaching survivors, came up to us quite closely. Once again we saw the animals from close by. Really impressive! Beautiful sight!
On the drive home we saw a sunset, which was a perfect ending to a great day!
At night I slept to the sound of hen’s getting ready for morning (it was 11 o’clock or so..) in the little cottage where I’ll be staying for the rest of the week until Robert is back from his Bulawayo workshop.

My First Zim weekend: an adventurous one!

Selbourne Routledge School, same sign as always

Marching band at P.E

And the red sea that follows

Why was it adventurous?
- Cars don't always stop for people and what you're used to in Belgium can be a little different in Zimbabwe - law of the strongest.
- I got lost in the streets of Mabelreign, right next to where I’m staying, but it took me and a not so happy taxi driver a while to realize that.

But it was adventurous more in a positive than a negative sense:
- work wise, a structure of what needs to be done is becoming clearer.
- I saw old friends and went back to the familiar (it’s not adventurous, but important).
- I went to the most popular sports event of Zimbabwean high schools.
- I saw wildlife, from VERY close by.

A more detailed account follows:

So, to start, since I’m here to work, it is quite important: on Friday we had a meeting with “the Communications Team”. This is a new group of people that were only now put together in order to make it ‘easier’/more useful for me and another (Zimbabwean) attachment communications student to work. So we will be working on the main things, with guidelines and feedback, and in general help from other colleagues. The first feedback will be on Monday, or during the week and then we’ll know how to move on.
Sometime this week I might visit Mavambo, a school that does special education for those lacking behind on the curriculum.

Friday night we went to a night club, we ended up just being four of us, but it was really fun! We stayed out till four! A few interesting things:
The place was FULL of guys, especially at the start of the night, and you could tell they came to watch. This made it slightly uncomfortable, but none were too bothersome, except one, who I used my well-practiced Lisboa skills on: “dude, seriously I don’t dance on request”. Who the hell comes up to a girl saying “I want to see you dance”?
The women in the toilets, who, to me looked like toilet women (those that collect 40cents so you can use the toilet) were actually hookers. Seeing my analogy, you can probably get an image of what they looked like. Apparently they get about 10$ per round, and around 30-40$ for the night. US$. Which is nothing, entrance to the club was already 5!
They had two rooms, one with rumba, in which we ended but not for very long, and one with more popular music and also some (South) African house, which wasn’t so much my style.
I tried Castle (the most popular Zimbabwean beer). I have to say, I was expecting a lot worse. Without too much trouble I managed to finish it. Just in case it wouldn’t happen again, I took a picture of me and my bottle.
I had a Freddo chocolate: and the questions on it have not changed: “what is freddo’s favourite song?” “The Hop”.

Saturday was an extremely busy day and despite going to bed at 4.30 I woke up before ten! I started my day with a (bucket) shower, which seems to be the way things work. I’m starting to figure out how to get my hair washed! After breakfast we headed off to Francis Flats where I used to live. There I was going to meet up with our old neighbours. Whilst walking through the flats a wave of recognition came over me: everything was still exactly the same, and in walking through I had a déjà-vu that I knew exactly where I was going. I was just smiling the whole way, probably looking like an idiot. When seeing Francy and her mum it seemed like nothing had changed, there I was again, sitting at the same table. We exchanged stories about what has been happening in the past ten years and will definitely be seeing a lot more of each other again.
After this I went to Old Hararians down the road (the good old tennis club). There, nothing seemed to have changed but the grass was dry and several courts were out of use. But people were still around, playing tennis. A tennis academy has been started up for the little ones so I might spend my weekends giving a couple lessons. Unfortunately the person that kept us there is no more.
I had some time to kill between walking back from Old Hararians and Prince Edward’s sports day so I walked past Selbourne Routledge (where I spent my primary school days). From the gates at both sides it looked like it hadn’t changed, but I didn’t go further because I saw people walking around and I wasn’t sure if I could just go wandering. During this time is also when I nearly got bumped. There were no pedestrian lights, so I crossed when the street had a red light. Halfway through it suddenly turned green, you’d think they wait for you to cross, none of that! They just went, as if I didn’t exist (though they probably went slightly slower than they would otherwise). I ran across as fast as I could and just before I got to the other side the cars from the second half were ready to attack, once again, without willing to stop! Next time, I’ll remember that it’s not because they’ve stopped they’ll let you through, and probably run across every street!
Prince Edward’s sports day was a whole event. Prince Edward vs. St. Georges. They had all sports, in several age groups. And the whole school seemed to be there supporting! We saw the soccer and rugby, where P.E won both. The marching band and the maroon sea that followed behind them were quite a spectacle, and boxing too was impressive, little boys knocking the hell out of each other!
On the way home we decided to take a taxi since it was dark and I didn’t really know where I was going. Luckily Tinashe was with me, I would’ve totally lost it if he wasn’t. The taxi driver didn’t really know how to get to that part of Mabelreign so Tinashe guided him and eventually after asking a couple people we got to the street we needed. Except the first house was not the one I needed. With network not working well and no credit on my phone finding it out was not easy. Tinashe called his whole VVOB phone book and eventually by riding down the street again I recognized the house. Instead of being on the street of the address it was on the corner of the other street. An essential that I hadn’t quite realized. Luckily I made it home, despite the cab driver not being happy with his wasted time. Two lessons learnt: 1. Know where you live, at ALL times! 2. Have credit on your phone for emergencies, at ALL times!

The plan for the next day was to head off with Hanne and her family to Lake Chivero. It’s a lake just outside Harare, but more important than the lake was the wildlife park around it. More on that next time, I’ll be off to bed, ready for a 6.30 wakeup!

Living in Harare, Zimbabwe

Two days ago I arrived in Harare. But first I had to go through Munich - where I nearly got rejected from the plane because they needed my credit card for verification, and by the time they realized this, everyone had boarded. The next stop was Jo’burg - it has changed since the last time, with World Cup promotion - through the entrance hall there are colourful billboards promoting soccer, the transit hall has become bigger and more professional and airport-like looking, and a shopping part has been added behind the usual shops from before - this however does NOT mean it became any more interesting. Luckily I only had one hour and a half to waste there after the whole check in, so I didn’t get bored.
Getting into Harare airport I tried to have a look around, see if the airport is really as beautiful as it should be. When exiting out of the plane you enter a large open space, where nothing seems to be happening - here you quickly pass through, to move on to immigration, where people are standing behind glass on the other side, though I believe they were working, and not people picking up their visitors. At immigration I had to queue twice, after which they nearly gave me the wrong passport - of a man born in the 40’s! But luckily he realized and I had been warned to check my passport.

At the airport, after receiving my luggage quickly and in excellent shape, Tawanda, Becky and Niniva were awaiting me with a VVOB sign. We quickly introduced ourselves and went on to the car (and a quick meeting with the ‘police’ for faulty parking).
I got introduced to the whole VVOB team and together we had lunch - sadza (maize meal) with nice stew, and Mazoe for drink. I know what I’ll be spending my free 3kgs of luggage for - a cream soda Mazoe! Sadza and the stew doesn’t taste the same as in Belgium, so I think I’ll be enjoying it for the next three months! In the meantime I have gotten to know some colleagues better, I have frozen like an ice cube in the offices and I have received more information about VVOB. Once I’ve seen how it works in practice my role here will become clear. But I have realized I will have to be flexible and bring a lot of own input with regards to what I can do/ contribute. I also got my own and personal vvob address;)!
On Friday we’ll be going out to party somewhere, so that should definitely be fun!

During my stay I will be living with a colleague (Robert) and his family. They have two kids - a boy (2) and a girl (7) (who btw, is doing grade one and reads the same books I used to read in school - sunshine books with Chipo, Tatenda, Jenny and David). A very nice family, a lot of movement around with Taku, the youngest always jumping around. I was immediately welcomed. I haven’t seen much of the neighborhood yet - besides passing by car - since it gets dark early and we only get off work at 5pm. I also immediately got introduced to the great Zimbabwe life, with no electricity and no water (but apparently it is exceptional these days, so I have picked a good week to arrive). So first night was an early night - and since I was tired it came out quite well, and first morning was a bucket shower, which started off with a two-minute debate with myself on how best to do it in an efficient and quick way. Luckily it ended successfully! I might as well get used to it from the very beginning!

Not a lot has changed, in my opinion (incl. electricity and water problems), a lot of buildings I recognized; only a lot more cars and traffic jams. Julie (my childhood best friend) too hasn’t changed, neither has Aunty Mary-Anne and Gogo, who were all happy (and Gogo mainly surprised) to see me, which was very nice!! Unfortunately we didn’t see each other for very long, but we were all very happy to reunite and it seemed like I’d never left and nothing had changed. Even Vheneka ‘recognized’ her Aunty Maï and was smiling at me the whole time! The cutest little girl!!

My Shona is slowly improving, I’m understanding more, and slowly starting to speak a little bit more - once people start talking to me in Shona I reply more and more in Shona - it’s only day two, so there’s still a LOT of room for improvement. And since Aunty Mary-Anne said “no, it’s Samy who was the Shona one, Maï was always too shy”: the competition is ON! :)
What I’ve noticed is people seem to speak more Shona than I remember (or it’s just me not remembering) and people sometimes don’t understand me, so with sadness I’ll have to get rid of my Aussie accent and get into the Zim accent! I even got a compliment: I was locked out and was shouting for Tinashe to open the door for me and they thought it was someone else because of my good accent! Imagine what it will be after 3 months!

This is a super long blog entry, I’m assuming they won’t always be this long, but a lot has happened in the last three days and a lot needs to be told. And I’ve probably forgotten to mention a lot.

Tozoonana! Till we meet again!

My family from another family

The final count down

With exams finished and the weeks flying by it's time to move out, pack, organise paper work and say goodbyes. The week coming will be a busy one with tons of excitement, bundles of joy, tears of sadness, and maybe a little bit of fear. Luckily I'll be too busy to notice any of it, I'll probably board the plane in a state of zoned-out, waiting for the great unknown to arrive. The place I will be calling home for the next 3 months (and a week).
Leaving Brussels on the 27th at 19:00, arriving in Harare the next day at noon.