We are back in Zambia after a great stay in the states through the month of August. Between us, we managed to visit 7 cities and see over 70 people!! We felt so lucky -everyone made a huge effort to avail themselves while we were in town, I guess we should go away more often because we felt like celebrities!! J We were able to visit some of our most missed places and do most of our favorite things – swimming in the cove at La Jolla, cycling along the coast, running at Torrey Pines, eating In-and-Out, hugging my nieces and nephew at night, sharing good food with family, and too many drinks with friends. They were really good times. We left feeling rejuvenated, ready to return to our far-away “home,” grateful for the familiarity and comforts of our true home with all of you guys.
We found Zambia heating up, preparing for October, our hottest month of summer. The mosquitoes are out in full force! After a few days in Lusaka to shake off the jetlag, Kimberly is off to Kitwe for a week-long Adult Antiretroviral Management Training. Dave is busy consulting with CRS as they finalize their 2009 Country Operating Plan. It looks like the US Government has granted another 48 million over 4 years of PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) funding to be distributed among 15 resource poor countries. With our jobs secured and continued work to do in Zambia, we’ve begun wondering whether aid money is the answer. There is a “donor-dependant” mentality that may be impairing the country from creating their own solutions.
Other news here is that the Zambian president, Levy Mwanawasa, died during our holiday last month. He suffered a 2nd stroke in June and was unable to recover. So now we face elections on October 30th. The vice-president, Peter Banda, does not automatically take office since he was named by Mwanawasa after his election and he was not elected by the people. There are a number of candidates vying for the presidency, but we are assured that this coming election will be peaceful, as is the history here in Zambia. In fact, some Zambian friends have complained that their peers are often too passive in the presence of corruption like election rigging. There needs to be a balance between a passive response lending to a peaceful environment and the need for a more assertive protest for a just and equitable government.
We’re trying to get back into our fitness schedule after the heavy eating and relaxing we did in the states! This has been a bit tough with the wind and heat. We are missing the coastal breezes and the variety of food at our fingertips.
David is preparing to leave for Rwanda on October 6 for 7 weeks. He will be doing audit work with CRS as one of his short-term consultancy projects. .He is excited to visit Rwanda as it supposed to be beautiful. We are planning a trip to see the gorillas over the Thanksgiving holiday. After 4-5 weeks away through the month of August, we are waiting a bit to plan our next trip home. You are all welcome to visit us anytime. We would love your company.
We’ll be updating our smugmug link with some photos from home. Please keep in touch and share some of your favorites with us as well.
We love you!
~Kimberly & Dave
