BLOG #13

Instead of our usual meeting this week with all the IPs (Implementing Partners of UNHCR in Mwange Camp) representatives from USAID, members of the US State Department, members of the US embassy, leaders in PEPFAR, and the head of UNHCR in Lusaka came to visit our UN office in Mporokoso and to see Mwange. These representatives were visiting with Mary Lang, a woman who has done a ton of advocacy work with the US government to get money to the refugees in Mwange. The money she has directed to Mwange has been used for such things as our secondary school (equivalent to high school) and other important centers.



Having all these Americans at our meeting and in Mwange was really interesting for a couple different reasons. First, it was great to see Americans after months without seeing any new American faces. Second, it was fun to show them all the work that FORGE has been doing and to see how impressed they were by FORGE's impact in Mwange. Third, it was strange to have somewhat of an outsider's perspective on Americans. For the first time in my life, I saw America from the point-of-view of the people receiving US aid. I now have a better understanding of why America is seen as a big bank, rather than a country with problems of its own.



After meeting the group, I also felt really lucky to be having this experience on-the-ground. Most people never learn how life truly is in places like this and if they do, they usually only stop by to check it out for a little while –for example, this group that visited was in the Mwange area for less than 7 hours. I and everyone in Mwange are extremely appreciative of everything USAID, Mary Lang, and everyone in their group have done for Mwange and were very happy they all came to see, even briefly, how life is here.



Xoxo