Today we had a p.e. session at Tionge and the new topic of the week was drugs and drug abuse. We split the students into teams and had them do dizzy bat relays. They had to run across a field, jump rope halfway, and then run ten times around a long stick. A lot of people play dizzy bat as a drinking game at home so we thought it was funny that the peer leaders suggested it for the lesson. It was hilarious to see the kids falling all over the place—the videos are priceless.
After lunch, we caught a bus across town to Chipata compound, one of our new worksites. We had to pass through the main town bus station and it was so chaotic! There were people everywhere and so many fruit, veggie, and souvenir stands. Chipata is a very different neighborhood than Munali, our other worksite. It’s a lot more “Africa-looking”. It’s more of a slum area with lots and lots of small wooden markets and people bustling all over. It’s very busy and there’s a lot to look at but it’s a much rougher area. I’m not sure how many pictures we’ll get because it might be risky to take our cameras out, but we’ll try to catch a few.
We’re working at the Chipata Open Community School. It serves orphaned and vulnerable children (usually shortened to OVC). The government or donors often support the schools for this type of student so that the children who cannot afford school (books, uniform) can still attend for free. It’s the most run down school we’ve been assigned to so far. The toilet is just a hole in the ground (you would’ve died laughing if you heard Sarah when she went inside—“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god”—and I had to ask where I should put my feet, so I guess we both struggled with it) and we saw a few rats in the teacher’s lounge. We’re going to be doing our HIV/AIDS education program and research every Thursday afternoon there.
Orphaned and vulnerable children often live in especially poor environments and are exposed to risky behaviors that could lead to infection, so it’s really important that they have access to information. Today we were just meeting the teachers and the students. The site coordinator, Pearson, helped us go through some teamwork and leadership activities with the students (he made us dance in the middle of the classroom for the students to kind of break the ice—you try standing in front of 50 teenage strangers and being told to “shake your ass” hhaha). Next Thursday, we’ll actually start the HIV sessions.
After work, we spent a great three hours sharing the kitchen with Ivy, Dave, and Mike. It takes forever for us all to make and eat dinner when there are only two burners that get hot enough for cooking. It’s really fun to hang out together, so kitchen time at the end of the day has become one of our favorite things about living with other volunteers. Only 1 night left before we’ll be in Livingstone, Zambia!
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