Kala to Mwange

While it was a very long, dusty and bumpy drive, it was beautiful getting to see so much of Zambia. The lakes in the northern area were by far the best views during the drive – they looked like they were painted into the hills (as I tried to capture in this picture). And, we were never lacking for entertainment with Robson – he had 4 Redbulls throughout the day and was non-stop energy the whole time. When we finally arrived at in Kala, I was really impressed by the electricity and running water (including a shower!) in their team house. It was great to meet another group of people working for FORGE and get to hang out with them for a night. I’m excited to have another pair of Project Managers just a few hours away.

In the morning, Nick and I went into Kala Refugee Camp for about an hour and I got my first taste of what my life will be like for the next year - a bunch of children yelling ”MUZUNGU, muzungu!!” (meaning “white person”), with at least 4 kids holding my hands for almost the entire hour I was there. Aside from the children, I met some of the refugees who work for FORGE in Kala. They were all very welcoming and friendly. After Kala, we had a 3-hour drive to Mwange or so we thought. 15 km outside of Mwange the car brokedown! This was an introduction to the Zambian way of life - when things don’t work, you just have to wait. After Nick pushed the car for a km up a hill and we were attacked by flies, a big truck drove by and we paid them to tow us to Melu. Melu is the village I will live in this year, which is about an hours walk outside of Mwange. When we arrived at the road to Melu, we were unhooked from the tow truck and about 20 of the village children pushed the car, while I steered, to our house…what a way to arrive!

When we arrived, the team was in Mwange Camp, but they left a great sign for me at the house, which Daniel is trying not to model in this picture:) Daniel will be living and working with me as my fellow Project Manager for the next year. That night I got to meet the Mubanga family with all the house mother, Sophie’s, children and nieces and nephews who all live at her house with us. (A few of the Mubanga family are in the picture below.) I also got to eat nshima (cornmeal-like mush that you eat with your hands) for the first time; it’s actually really good!

Over the next few days, I had a ton of meetings and at a big ceremony I got to introduce myself (in Swahili) to a lot of the people in the camp. It was really amazing to see the impact FORGE has made in the lives of refugees in Mwange. I am really impressed by all the refugees who work for FORGE and by the remarkable projects that the team has produced in just a short 2 months. Although I had a crazy schedule for my first week in the Mwange, everything I saw and everyone I met made me really excited to start my job and work with FORGE here. Besides having to get used to the flies that fly at your butt in the hole-in-the-ground “bathroom,” I think I’m going to really like it here:)