Don't forget your vehicle repair kit

Hello again.

It seems that the promise I made to my family that I would post a ‘regular’ blog may have fallen slightly short. Having said that, two in five months isn’t bad going!

I think the first thing I should do is pass on the bad news. The bike, which had achieved so much in its short time on the streets of Lusaka, has had to retire. When I realised I had almost paid its value again patching it up, it was time to say goodbye and look for a new set of wheels. It is currently looking a little forlorn in the flat as it leans up against its gleaming bright yellow replacement. The new bike may not have the personality of the old one but so far nothing has fallen off, which in my book represents good value for money!

There is still a part of me that hopes the old boy will make a famous return to the jagged tarmac. Perhaps I will keep it for any visitors from the UK who want to experience the thrill of riding with no pedals while evading large trucks, negotiating endless streams of mini buses, and dodging out the way of street vendors selling puppies and monopoly boards!

Since my last blog two Orphanage World Cup mini tournaments have taken place in Kamwala and Kalingalinga. Both communities are highly populated and situated on the edge of Lusaka. The event in Kalingalinga was particularly special. The football pitch and netball court are situated right in the centre of the community where a lot of the action takes place. As the games were played, well over a thousand people were around the pitch, some watching the games, others bustling through the market stores while young children danced and sang on the edge of the dirt field. It was a hive of activity and a great place to be around.

I’ve also been delivering a lot of HIV education over the past few months, including a session with 250 children and one ball! Now I have a better understanding of the local languages it has definitely made it easier to communicate the health messages. I’ve been incredibly impressed with how quickly some of the participants pick things up, from information about how they can prevent the spread of HIV to what they should do if they themselves or a friend has contracted the virus. When I come back to deliver the next session they remind me what info they picked up last time.

I’m also running the first TackleAfrica Taster training event this month so I will have representatives from hopefully 20 local organisations who are interested in using our education approach as part of their programs.

You may have noticed that the title of this latest blog has changed slightly from the first. It stems from a leisurely camping trip 600km north to Zambia’s Northern Province to take advantage of a 2 day national holiday. It began very well with a bit of hiking (something that is not always easy because of wild animals lurking in bushes!), a visit to a beautiful colonial house and some natural hot spring bathing.

Then on the penultimate day we drove about 100km south to a local guest house where we planned to dump our stuff and then find something to do. On arrival we were told of a beautiful waterfall, unknown to tourists, that was about 20km out in the bush. It could be reached by a ‘road’ as long as we gave ourselves plenty of time. Just bear in mind that the guest house itself is 10km from the main road which is then another 100km from the nearest town.

As we begin our drive the ‘road’ turns into a mine field with holes and rocks waiting to rip apart the car’s chassis. We manage to drive about 10km passing small rural villages where it is made clear that cars and mazungos are not regular visitors, if at all. Our knowledge of Bemba, the native language in the area, is poor and no one speaks English.

Then all of a sudden we hit a rock, everyone jumps out unsure of what damage has been done before a torrent of oil begins its journey from under the car down the hill. We had ripped a hole in the transmission oil pan meaning the car could no longer get into gear ... oh dear!

So now we are in the middle of nowhere, 10km from the guest house, over 100 km from the nearest town, we have 1 hour of daylight left with no mobile phone coverage and we are in the middle of the bush, the home of many a wild animal!! After a brief attempt trying to fix the car we decide to start the walk back to the guest house. After an hour of walking and trying to communicate our problems unsuccessfully to locals we hear the sweet sweet sound of a diesel engine.

As the sun sets we see the headlights of a large delivery truck on its way to a local village, something it does only once every three months. It turns out that the driver studied in the UK and can speak English very well so we manage tell him what has happened and he agrees to help but only after he has completed his delivery. He leaves us in a local village at 7pm saying he will be back in about two hours.

In the village we are made incredibly welcome. It can get very cold at night here but they made us a huge fire and invited us into their hut to stay warm. Although we couldn’t communicate we managed to get a game of football in and dance the hokey cokey. As we approach midnight we hear news from another village that the truck has ran out of gas so we’re there for the night. Again the family were very kind providing us with a straw mat and some chitenges (a local dress that doubles up as a sheet).

No one gets much sleep, partly because we are unsure how we are going to get the car back along the pot holed tracks but mainly because it is absolutely freeeeezing! In the morning we make our way back to the car to check it is okay and to pick up a football and a few other bits and pieces to give to the village to say thanks. On our way back we again hear the sweet sweet sweet sweet sound of a diesel engine.

The truck has arrived with around 50 people on the back of it. News of our predicament has spread right across the area so everyone has turned up to help. Using a small rope and a tree trunk, cut down by the driver in about 3 seconds, they fashion a towing ‘device’. I jump in the driver’s seat while everyone else climbs into the back of the truck and we make our slow but surprisingly uneventful 100km+ journey to the nearest town with the rope only snapping once. As we move through the bush more locals join us walking along side the vehicles and hanging onto the truck.

When we arrived at the nearest town, Sirenge, we were glad to hear that the car could be fixed that day so we could drive it the 600km back to Lusaka ... happy days. It was all rather a quick ending to what we expected but we were certainly not complaining.

My aim was to write a short one this time but again I seem to have gone on. One thing I will say though is how amazed I was at the amount of support we received. In total I think there were about 100 people involved in the operation, the driver of the truck, the family who looked after us, the man who watched the car over night, the guys who walked us through the bush to avoid any animals, the kids who sang songs with us, there are just too many to mention. All in all we will definitely look back on it as an incredible experience. 

I think maybe it’s time to go on some kind of vehicle mechanical course and try and find a little more about fixing cars; my knowledge of car headrests and how to remove them just doesn’t cut it anymore!

Don't forget your bicycle repair kit

I figured I had been here long enough to bore you with the details of my experiences so far. Feel free to have a little read when you’ve got time.

So I arrived in Lusaka back in March and spent the first two weeks staying with a local family. The mother was someone I had worked with back in Newcastle just after I had finished University. She told me I could come and stay any time although I’m pretty sure she thought I’d never take up the offer!

They were incredibly kind and helped me to settle in, introducing me to local food, culture and the interesting driving conditions. The main dish here is nshima, a maize product that looks like a mixture of mash, porridge, bread and rice. It isn’t the best tasting food in the world but it is eaten daily by everyone so thought I should join the party. I have it for lunch every day at work normally with either chicken or caterpillar and a bit of veg, lovely!

So early on it became apparent that moving around the city wasn’t going to be easy. Taxis are expensive, mini buses are crazy and can take hours to get anywhere and walking isn’t the safest. So the only other option ... buy a bike! After seeking advice I was told to avoid the local markets at all costs because, despite their cheap prices, they didn’t last more than a week. Of course, being a Sadler, I ignored the advice and made my way down to Kamwala market buying a mountain bike on the cheap. Within 10 minutes of riding out of the shop my seat fell off, as did one of the pedals ... to be continued.

So some of you may be asking, why am I here. Basically I represent two UK based charities, Tackle Africa and Alive & Kicking. They both use sport as a communication tool to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. With one organisation I have set up the ‘Orphanage World Cup’ a football and netball league that gives orphans and vulnerable children the opportunity to participate in sport as well as receiving vital HIV/AIDS education.

With the other charity I am in the process of partnering up with local organisations so that I can train and empower teachers, coaches and other educators to deliver the HIV/AIDS education themselves in their communities. Our approach communicates health messages directly through sports coaching sessions so participants have a very visual and participatory learning experience. Having seen these sessions and delivered them myself they really seem to work. The messages are clear and appear to be understood and the participants have been surprisingly willing to discuss the issues in depth, despite the sensitive nature of HIV/AIDS.

The football just seems to relax those involved and within a few sessions people are often talking freely and openly about the issues that affect their everyday life. I have seen some even admit that they are HIV positive which is a huge statement here as the repercussions can be very unpleasant. People can be rejected by their families and the local community because of the stigma attached to the virus. Hopefully, with more people openly sharing their HIV status and building their knowledge, understanding will increase and these stigmas can be challenged.

All in all the work is going well. At times it can be very frustrating and sometimes you can put a lot of work in with no outcome but things are slowly coming together. The leagues have begun with the first few weeks having taken place in the Chawama slums, we then move to Kamwala next week. I’ve also been visiting orphanages across Lusaka to deliver the HIV/AIDS education so hopefully we are raising awareness and allowing people to make informed life decisions.

During these visits I have been lucky enough to meet a lot of passionate people who are working incredibly hard to improve their communities with very little resources. These are people of all ages, some are elders who have lived in the community since birth and others are young children acting as peer leaders. One thing for sure, there is a lot of energy here which is quite an experience.

Going back to the bike ... so visiting different orphanages has meant a lot of travelling but I couldn’t give up on my two wheeled friend. So despite its initial problems I rode it with one pedal and managed to fix the seat. Then, on the way to my first orphanage (during my second week) 1km out of the city my other pedal fell off and my front wheel buckled. This was then worsened by the fact I had misread the distance and it was in fact 10km through scrubland out in the bush. Luckily a lot of people cycle here so there are a fair few ‘bike mechanics’ about. I managed to get two new pedals and screw things back together so I eventually made it there and back.

Since then, despite the help of sellotape,  I have had to replace the pedals four times, had two new wheels, had 4 new inner tubes, repaired 11 punctures, screwed the seat back on 4 times, screwed the breaks together twice, tightened up the handlebars 8 times and replaced the horn once! I have also managed to create a name for myself. Apparently locals know me as the ‘crazy cycling mazungo’ because, as I was told by some local street vendors, I am the only white person who cycles in Zambia. This explains why people constantly shout ‘crazy mazungo’ and laugh every time they see me pedal past.

Away from work I’ve been lucky enough to bungee jump in front of Victoria Falls, diving through a rainbow on the way, as well as experiencing the physical pain afterwards! We’ve taken a safari trip East to South Luangwa, a 10 hour drive from Lusaka. Driving here can be quite a challenge avoiding holes which could often be described as large chasms but happily our 4x4 rental made it in one piece! We also managed to spot some big name animals like lions, crocodiles, elephants and rabbits so the journey was worth it!

Wow this has turned out to be an essay rather than a blog so I’ll sum up ... Zambia so far is turning out to be an unforgettable and amazing experience. Hopefully as time goes on I will be able to tell you that the education projects are running smoothly and we will have created a sustainable health programme that will run and run long into the future. Next time though I think I’ll spend a little more cash when it comes to buying a bike!