Mamma Africa

Ashlee was excited to talk about the tour she had recently been on with the US Embassy. They went to a refugee camp and say lots of refugees from all over Africa including the Congo and Zimbabwe have taken up residency there. She said the conditions we good relative to how Zambians live. They had mud huts similar to their village, but there were many different languages being spoken. All of the village services are provided by the foreign aid and the UN so it is actually pretty nice. There are many more bikes around than is typical for a Zambian village. There are now 15,000 refugees down from 63,000 10 years ago. Many children have now been born and raised in these camps. I asked why they can't just stay and establish their lives there as so many of their homes have been destroyed, but Ashlee explained that they cannot get Zambian citizenship as it is difficult to attain so they cannot move out of the camps which makes employment if difficult.
The primary role of the UN representatives is to travel around and visit the various villages, take photos and write reports. They also do things like showing the movie they did in Kasempa. Ashlee said that event went over fairly well. The movie they presented was about the national park and wildlife because they didn't think the people would speak English. Ashlee said there was a good response, but the people kept asking when they were going to show the Akon video, an American R&B artist who has become a favorite. My guess is because if his song Mamma Africa. Here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z8bH_pGm9Q
They are now in Chalimbana, a village 40K outside of Lusaka, awaiting the new arrivals for training. They are staying at a Farmers' Training College that they are using for their training sessions. I am not sure the duration of the training, but they are planning to return home before traveling back to Lusaka to meet up with the rest of us in a few weeks.
So far Andy has not able to get his tooth repaired but hoped to be able to on the return trip. Keep him in your prayers that he can get it fixed soon. Things happen on African time which can be frustrating, I am sure.

Only a second to talk

I could hear Ashlee's labored breath in the receiver. "Andy, don't forget your head light, we will have to walk back in the dark.....do you have your bag......" Mother hen clucking away at Andy.
"Didn't you get my text message? I can't talk today. The Embassy is here to show the movie and everything is a cluster right now."
They did run into a guy that had recently been with several NFL players visiting Zambia on their way to see some of the troops. Boomer Grigsby, Jared Allen, and one of the Cardinals that has dreads she wasn't sure who. Ashlee was excited to tell that much at least. Every reminder of home is exciting.
They found out that Andy can get a ride to Solwezi on Monday so he will take off then and Ashlee will be able to get a ride in 'a very nice' vehicle which they can take all the way to Lusaka so that was big to them. Transportation is on of the biggest obstacles for them so a decent ride is always a blessing. I am glad we are renting a car for our visit. Just a few short weeks now and the excitement builds...

Decisions, decisions....

The rains finally subsided five days ago after months of nonstop rain. In fact, it actually rained every day for the previous two weeks and made it impossible to do practically anything. Ashlee has been sewing to pass the time. It was finally dry enough for a decent bike rides so they took off and went about 55 kilometers. They said it just felt good to be out in the open air and moving around.
They are preparing for an upcoming visit by the US Embassy folks to the area and a trip to Lusaka to train the new arrivals. They have been giving a lot of thought staying on a while longer possibly in another capacity with the Embassy or PC. If they stay with the PC they could be located in Ulapa across the Congo. Andy would be the provincial coordinator and they would probably live in a provincial house. Decisions, decisions.....

The Ides of March

The ancient festival dedicated to the god Mars, the Ides of March, had brought nothing but rain for days upon days to the jungles of Zambia and the Fritz's have been feeling the effects. Andy's clothes molded on the line and Ashlee was dismayed to say that she has fungus growing on her feet. She desperately tried to convince us that it was perfectly normal, but I am not sure any of us were buying it. The 'good bridge' and 'bad bridge' are no more. They have both been wiped out in the high waters. Andy has not visited his bridge since the last big rain but will be that way this week. I wonder if good old American construction will hold up. They have been trapped indoors most of the times since they return from their vacation and they had been day dreaming of home. Andy had been wishing for the old log bed at the parents' house and hoping it would be waiting for him, which of course it will be.
Fuzzy Nut has gone missing. It was a sore spot so we didn't dwell on it. He disappeared while they were away and no one is fessing up. Frankly, I prefer to not consider the possibilities. It is hard to not get attached to a pet when it is part of your human fiber to love animals as God's creatures. Tosh is still around, however so the treats I sent will go to good use. Maybe Fuzzy will reappear and brighten their days sometime soon. Positive thoughts their way...
They have decided to limit their efforts to a single project each. They have been getting burnt out with trying to do so many different things and the people constantly disappoint them. Ashlee said that after all the effort she went through to get knitting needles and yarn once she gave the ladies the tools they have never returned for classes. This seems to be the predominant attitude towards any kind of aid. They take what is given, but do not make any effort to really learn how to best utilize it or gain more knowledge. So Andy is an official tree farmer and Ashlee will be continuing her traveling work to education on nutrition and children's health. She has been fulfilled with that work and it allows her to travel to many remote places and make an impact as the hospital has a truck that they use for their site visits. One of the villages they are scheduled to visit is near a national park and they should see elephants there. They have trouble with them eating the maize in the area. Kind of a big pest to have to defend you crops against. I hope she carries a camera and a big stick.
Something that none of us has figured out yet has caused there to be an evacuation of PC volunteers out of Madagascar several of which are being relocated to Zambia. Andy and Ashlee will be helping with the training of some of these new posts in Lusaka in a few weeks. They sounded excited to get some new faces in the area and participate in some group activities and I think a trip away from home is always welcome.
There is a visit from some representatives of the US Embassy planning to visit soon. They are coming to see the projects that are underway in the area. They will be visiting the tree farm. They will be traveling with a large projection screen and will show a movie to each village as they go. Ashlee was hoping it would be Top Gun. No matter what the picture it will be a first for most of those they will encounter. I wonder what will be going through their minds that night.

A much needed vacation

Andy and Ashlee were at the Provincial house when we spoke on Sunday evening watching a Chinese movie subtitled in English. Just relaxing for the evening. They had returned from their cross country travels to see their friends Trevor and Lisa in the NE province. Ashlee said visiting them was like visiting themselves. They too are stacked with American food from their loved ones. Andy and Trevor took several long bikes rides, around 200 K, while Ashlee and Lisa knitted and quilted at the house. They also went on several long hikes together. Ashlee said it was a much needed vacation and enjoyable to spend time with another couple.

Trevor has been frustrated with the work that he has been doing, so they have been reassigned to another position. I am uncertain if they will be moving or not. They are the only other couple in the region and they are in their late 30's so they are more mellow like Andy and Ashlee. Lisa taught Ashlee how to make pizza on the brazier, so they were excited to get home and try it. Good thing I sent pizza crust mix, pizza sauce, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni and Parmesan cheese in their last box. I told Ashlee about what I sent and she said she can't wait to see Andy's face. That is exactly what he has been craving. Somehow I keep managing to pick the exact things they want or need. I guess God does work in mysterious ways.

Their original plan for the trip was to attend an annual festival that is held in the region. They did travel through the festival, but decided it was best to keep moving. The festival was about 75% men and about 80% of those men were completely wasted. Ashlee said it was not a place that she she be. Several of the women and men were dressed in their native costumes, which was interesting to see, but the underlying purpose of the festival was to drink a lot of alcohol.

They are now staying at the Provincial house to paint for a few days. Ashlee said she has been painting ceilings for a couple of days and it is hard work. A portion of the roof had to be replaced as there was significant water damage. They said it was okay to do a different type of work for a while. Andy painted a large rainbow like image down the hall, so I am sure he is enjoying himself.

Ashlee was telling me about carbon trading in Zambia. This is an international program where countries exceeding their allowable carbon footprint can buy or trade carbon "points" from countries like Zambia who have little carbon footprint. I am not sure how the points are purchased, but here is a link to some information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading

They are trying to get some of the funds from these programs to pay for the seedling tree for the tree farm Andy has been working on. I think this may be what Trevor will be involved with in his new position. Andy is also going to be doing some radio programming. His experience working at the Andrews University radio station will be coming in handy. It seems like the variety of skills Andy has picked up over the years are definitely coming in handy.

My Funny Valentine

It was a good weekend for Andy and Ashlee. They went to the doctor's family and watched the two boys for a couple of days so the doctor and his wife could get away for the weekend. They did take the baby with them as she is still breast feeding. The family had just received a box from the States with new movies, so they spent the weekend watching movies and baking cookies. It sounded like they enjoyed the break.
Ashlee visited town to get scraps from the tailor to make bags. She has been making some cool bags and now she is making some by request. I can imagine the fabrics are interesting and I am sure she can come up with some fun designs.
There are now hippos only 20K from their village. They have not seen any in the flesh yet. They are very dangerous and a man from the village was just injured by one so they are steering clear of them. There was one recently nearby the garden where Ashlee works.
They are leaving next week for a much needed vacation. They will travel to the Eastern Province to visit Trevor and Lisa, the couple the befriended from Columbia, Missouri. They are the only other couple in the region. It will take three days travel to get to their village. They live approximately 70K form Chipata, the BOMA for that province. It will take approximately three days of travel to get there. Trevor and Lisa will meet them in Chipata and take them back to their house via hitchhiking.
The country is in the process of regrading many of the roads, as it is nearing the end of the rainy season, so they are unsure what to expect for travel. Some of the roads may even be paved, but they do not know yet. All of this work is done by companies that come in from South Africa. They do not train any of the local people how to do this work so they can maintain a monopoly on the work. This is true for most kinds of modernization. It is all outsourced, so rather than building an economy on the work of the citizens they send all of the money to other countries to come in and do the work. It is a backwards way of growing. As an example, ,most people have a full time maid and the average salary for this service is $100/ month. The poor make such little money it is amazing they are able to survive.
Just a note on Andy's tooth: They have plans to be in Lusaka in March and they will finish the work to his tooth, but he is nearly 100% again and is feeling fine.

Invasion of the red ants

Ashlee reported that they were experiencing some interesting encounters with nature lately. They had thousands of red ants that had pincers invade there house. Ashlee said that while she was running around trying to figure out what to do she looked down and her toes were bleeding. They were told to throw dirt on them to deter them. Several of the village boys ran over to show them how to dig a shallow channel around the house. This prevented the ants from coming into the yard and house as they would not cross disturbed dirt. So they now have a channel running around the house that is two inches deep. Amazingly it worked. If you are a reader I would recommend reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. There is a section of the book that refers to this same type of red ant invasion. The story takes place in the late 50-60's and is the story of a family that moves to the Congo (Now Zaire) to bring Jesus to the Congo.
Ashlee has been working on a new project with the hospital nurses educating the women who come in to give birth about nutrition and keeping their babies healthy. They have been traveling from village to village spreading the same message on nutrition.
Unfortunately none of there seeds are producing anything for them despite their diligent efforts. The climate and geography make it difficult to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. I know it must be frustrating to them as they have put in so much hard work. I guess there is a reason the people live off of sweet potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes most of the year.