Today I delivered the school supplies I bought in Lusaka a few weeks ago with the money that Cosgriff Elementary School(http://www.cosgriff.org/) raised for this purpose and with additional funds from the fundraisers I held in November in St. Louis and Salt Lake City. It was fantastic. The kids were smiling, singing, and dancing. The teachers were ecstatic and the parents were emotional. It is amazing how much a simple pencil and a notebook can create such joy.
The school had organized an entire ceremony to welcome me, say thanks and receive the supplies. The conservation, science and art clubs let the show. They had rehearsed and prepared a number of songs and local dances to perform. Numerous students also recited poems, essays, and testimonials as to how the school supplies will help them and how they care about nature and conservation. A number of students also performed a skit about poaching and the negative affects it has on the community, the animals, and the poacher’s family. It was astounding, beautiful and very emotional. After the ceremony, I, along with the headmaster Mr. Kulofwa, presented the materials to the students. Mind you this was all outside under a tree. The school has 750 students and three classrooms. The school house has no windows and just a few tales in each room. The teachers and students were ecstatic. New crayons, water colors, markers, chalk, pencils, pens, notebooks and various other supplies were part of the donation. Then the teachers presented me with a gift of two very large locally grown pumpkins and a 3 foot plastic bag filled with fresh ground nuts (peanuts). To end the ceremony the students helped to carry all of the materials to the school store house.
We have put some of the photographs of the event on our website and next time I have a good internet connection I will make sure to post some of the video we recorded. I can’t wait to return to the school to watch the students in session and to help with the after school programs. I also can’t wait to deliver them more supplies and needed equipment. We also delivered the same materials to Chalilo School however did not get to meet the children.
Don’t forget to visit our website check out what we are doing and to donate: www.kasankababoonproject.com. Our next goal is to raise funds to purchase scrabble games, footballs, and netballs for the two schools.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
April 12, 2011 - How do you begin to teach someone to use a computer who has never turned one on?
Good question. One thing that I have learned during my months in the field is increased patience and the ability to not let the little things get to me. I hope that these qualities stick once I am back in the concrete jungle
In the western world we have become so proficient in the use of technology it is hard to think back to a time when we didn't know how to use a computer.
As I intend the Kasanka Baboon Project to be a long term research site I have been thinking for several months about how I can keep the site up and running while I am back in the states finishing up my degree. Certain grants I am applying for will determine the definition of what “up and running” is. In this vein I have decided to teach my scouts and Desmond how to use the computer. Basic things to us such as downloading pictures, creating a simple spreadsheet, or writing an email can be overwhelming when you are George who has only used a type writer and Desmond who learned typing once a week in high school (5 years ago).
Lesson one? Begin with the basics. How do you turn on a computer, how do you navigate the mouse, how do you open a document, how do you save, how to you fix errors etc… George and I had our first lesson this morning and I think it went great. A bit overwhelming for him but it just takes lots of practice. I have no doubt he will take to the computer well. He said he enjoyed it very much.
My brother Willy is coming out for a month in late May. He will spend three days a week at the schools working with the science, conservation and art clubs. The rest of the time he will send at Kinda Camp working with the guys on the computer.
What will I do when all my staff becomes computer proficient with bulging bank accounts? Surely they will move on to greener pastures. I will start again I suppose.
In the western world we have become so proficient in the use of technology it is hard to think back to a time when we didn't know how to use a computer.
As I intend the Kasanka Baboon Project to be a long term research site I have been thinking for several months about how I can keep the site up and running while I am back in the states finishing up my degree. Certain grants I am applying for will determine the definition of what “up and running” is. In this vein I have decided to teach my scouts and Desmond how to use the computer. Basic things to us such as downloading pictures, creating a simple spreadsheet, or writing an email can be overwhelming when you are George who has only used a type writer and Desmond who learned typing once a week in high school (5 years ago).
Lesson one? Begin with the basics. How do you turn on a computer, how do you navigate the mouse, how do you open a document, how do you save, how to you fix errors etc… George and I had our first lesson this morning and I think it went great. A bit overwhelming for him but it just takes lots of practice. I have no doubt he will take to the computer well. He said he enjoyed it very much.
My brother Willy is coming out for a month in late May. He will spend three days a week at the schools working with the science, conservation and art clubs. The rest of the time he will send at Kinda Camp working with the guys on the computer.
What will I do when all my staff becomes computer proficient with bulging bank accounts? Surely they will move on to greener pastures. I will start again I suppose.
April 10, 2011 - Weyher Savings and Loan - Accounts opened: 2
As I see the poverty and the rural people in Zambia living mouth to mouth I think: “Is there any way I can make a small difference?” At the beginning of the year I decided to start savings accounts for my staff. I didn’t know if they would go for it but it was worth a try. After explaining first to Desmond that if he saved a part of his salary each month I would match is savings at the end of the year. There are several conditions. 1) there is a maximum amount he can put into his account each month, 2) he must physically give me the money each month, 3) he can take out money if he needs to but he will not make interest on his savings, 5) the maximum amount that can be out in each month is 150,000 kwacha (equivalent to $30 US dollars, 4) at the end of the year, I will match 100% the amount that he saved.
Both Desmond and my scout George have started savings accounts with me. Actually George’s wife is saving with me. Desmond’s goal is to save enough to enter school to earn his teaching certificate. George’s wife Maureen, already a grade school teacher in Serenje, has begun her Diploma in Primary Education (similar to one with a teaching certificate in the United States going on to get her Masters degree in education). By the end of the ear Maureen should have enough money saved to pay for her two years of education. Desmond will have saved enough for one of two years of a teaching certificate.
So David, is this a simple savings account or a “conditional cash transfer”?
Both Desmond and my scout George have started savings accounts with me. Actually George’s wife is saving with me. Desmond’s goal is to save enough to enter school to earn his teaching certificate. George’s wife Maureen, already a grade school teacher in Serenje, has begun her Diploma in Primary Education (similar to one with a teaching certificate in the United States going on to get her Masters degree in education). By the end of the ear Maureen should have enough money saved to pay for her two years of education. Desmond will have saved enough for one of two years of a teaching certificate.
So David, is this a simple savings account or a “conditional cash transfer”?
April 9, 2011 - Black Mamba
Originally this post was going to be titled “Spitting Cobra”. Now it is titled Black Mamba as you will come to understand in a moment.
A few days ago George and I were coming back to camp on the road after an excellent morning with the baboons. In the past week we have had a few elephant encounters. Each time he is very quiet and his instructions are made with hand movements about which direction I should move in. When we find baboons he is animated, points his finger, and says “there they are”. So on Thursday when we were approaching camp he put his arm out and said wait, wait, wait, as he slowly backed p. First I thought “elephants”, then I realized he was speaking so I thought “baboons” but I had never heard him say this before. I backed up with him, watched his movements. After a few seconds he said “very dangerous snake, it was about to strike”. What? I have been saying to myself recently how lucky I am that I haven’t seen one snake the entire rainy season. I don’t like snakes. Needless to say I didn’t see this one either. My eyes were concentrated on the road just in front of my feet searching for baboon tracks. George then explained that as we were walking a spitting cobra had begun to move out onto the road, was surprised by our quick approach, had lifted its body up and turned toward us and stuck out its tongue. He claimed ready to strike. Spitting cobras can spit very accurately into their victim’s eyes. I believe making one blind. They also have a venomous bite. Needless to say we made a detour back to camp.
Today I encountered another snake, alone, and at my camp; actually inside my dining hut. We have been having some mice problems so I had been packing things away better and organizing things. I am glad to say that is now under control. Under the bookshelf I had cardboard box full of lab chemicals. I pulled out the box and was transferring everything to a vermin proof plastic tub. I then pulled the box out a little farther and I saw a snake. It was grayish black, not too thick, or too long. I had obviously woken it up as it was moving slowly. I left the nsaka went to my tent for a while, the kitchen nsaka for a while, then stood outside the nsaka where I saw the snake trying to decide what to do. I felt squeamish but not afraid. I even considered going back in to see if it was still there. After all it wasn’t large like the black mamba I saw a few years ago.
Thinking clearly, I went and got George my scout instead. He came along with the camp attendant Friday (yes Friday). George grabbed a stick on his way. They both asked if it was big and I said “not really’. They entered the nsaka. At first it seemed that it had left but then they saw it. George gave it a whack. I asked, meters away by the kitchen, what it was. George said “black mamba”. What? A black mamba? I sit next to this box every day working on my computer, typing mails, entering data and eating.
George safely removed it. Unfortunately I thought the rainy season was when we would see the most snakes but it appears that now, at the end of the rains, they are more visible. Not so lucky for us as in some places the grass is now a meter above our heads.
A few days ago George and I were coming back to camp on the road after an excellent morning with the baboons. In the past week we have had a few elephant encounters. Each time he is very quiet and his instructions are made with hand movements about which direction I should move in. When we find baboons he is animated, points his finger, and says “there they are”. So on Thursday when we were approaching camp he put his arm out and said wait, wait, wait, as he slowly backed p. First I thought “elephants”, then I realized he was speaking so I thought “baboons” but I had never heard him say this before. I backed up with him, watched his movements. After a few seconds he said “very dangerous snake, it was about to strike”. What? I have been saying to myself recently how lucky I am that I haven’t seen one snake the entire rainy season. I don’t like snakes. Needless to say I didn’t see this one either. My eyes were concentrated on the road just in front of my feet searching for baboon tracks. George then explained that as we were walking a spitting cobra had begun to move out onto the road, was surprised by our quick approach, had lifted its body up and turned toward us and stuck out its tongue. He claimed ready to strike. Spitting cobras can spit very accurately into their victim’s eyes. I believe making one blind. They also have a venomous bite. Needless to say we made a detour back to camp.
Today I encountered another snake, alone, and at my camp; actually inside my dining hut. We have been having some mice problems so I had been packing things away better and organizing things. I am glad to say that is now under control. Under the bookshelf I had cardboard box full of lab chemicals. I pulled out the box and was transferring everything to a vermin proof plastic tub. I then pulled the box out a little farther and I saw a snake. It was grayish black, not too thick, or too long. I had obviously woken it up as it was moving slowly. I left the nsaka went to my tent for a while, the kitchen nsaka for a while, then stood outside the nsaka where I saw the snake trying to decide what to do. I felt squeamish but not afraid. I even considered going back in to see if it was still there. After all it wasn’t large like the black mamba I saw a few years ago.
Thinking clearly, I went and got George my scout instead. He came along with the camp attendant Friday (yes Friday). George grabbed a stick on his way. They both asked if it was big and I said “not really’. They entered the nsaka. At first it seemed that it had left but then they saw it. George gave it a whack. I asked, meters away by the kitchen, what it was. George said “black mamba”. What? A black mamba? I sit next to this box every day working on my computer, typing mails, entering data and eating.
George safely removed it. Unfortunately I thought the rainy season was when we would see the most snakes but it appears that now, at the end of the rains, they are more visible. Not so lucky for us as in some places the grass is now a meter above our heads.
March 28, 2011 - Monday Night Movie
Every week or so since I started working at Kasanka and living at Kinda Camp I have showed the guys (meaning scout, Desmond, camp attendant, and anyone else around) a movie. I brought the BBC nature series Planet Earth and Life. David bought me Life of Mammals, Life of Birds, and In Cold Blood. I thought these films would be perfect, a way to allow everyone to see nature, animals and the world. I think I was a bit naïve. They enjoy the nature films and I often watch them with them. In January however (6 months into my stay here), Desmond had the courage to ask if they could watch a film instead. Silly me, of course they want a film. I searched through my movies and was hard pressed to find one that didn’t show any type of sexual scene. I knew I couldn’t sit next to them and watch this. I have a bunch of classic 80’s films but even “Can’t Buy Me Love” has a “make-out scene", not visual but the dialogue is enough to make me hesitate.
The quandary…I resigned myself to picking a film, pressing play and retiring to my tent. So far this seems to be working well. They can enjoy the film, talk as much as they want and feel completely comfortable. I also discovered they like action films with lots of fighting and explosions. Tonight? Inception, with Leonardo Dicaprio.
The quandary…I resigned myself to picking a film, pressing play and retiring to my tent. So far this seems to be working well. They can enjoy the film, talk as much as they want and feel completely comfortable. I also discovered they like action films with lots of fighting and explosions. Tonight? Inception, with Leonardo Dicaprio.
March 27, 2011 - Vermin
I am no longer at war with the ants, at least for now. Instead I am having a small battle with a mouse. I know it is strange that I am here, not worried about elephants or snakes so much, and have a fear of mice and rats. Not mice in the bush but mice in enclosed spaces. Last week a mouse chewed a hole in my tent. I woke up to it chewing on plastic. That’s right plastic. They also eat bars of soap! The mice here are bionic. I had one eat half of a cup (the bottom part) in June. From Peace Corps volunteers I have heard that in their huts they can hear them all night chewing on buckets and blankets. THIS is the reason I live in a bug proof sealed safari tent. I don’t like being in enclosed spaces with furry little creatures. The night it came into my tent it was 1am. As my tent is constructed backwards (another story in itself) it zips from the top down. How was I going to get this creature out? I chased it around and I swear it was going to leap on my face. It finally went out the hole it came in.
Two nights ago it was back but I heard it and saw it before it got in. I scared it off. The next morning I saw where it had chewed some of the duct tape where I “fixed” the hole. Needless to say I am sleeping with one eye open.
Two nights ago it was back but I heard it and saw it before it got in. I scared it off. The next morning I saw where it had chewed some of the duct tape where I “fixed” the hole. Needless to say I am sleeping with one eye open.
March 27, 2011 - Do I ever pinch myself?
In an email a few months ago my mother asked me if I ever pinch myself and say… “I am in Africa”? Of course the answer is yes but there are also times, for example the last few weeks, where I wonder what I am doing here. Here meaning, out in the middle of a National Park living in a tent alone save for three rural Zambian men who are wonderful but we couldn’t have come from more opposite backgrounds. These times are worth it because when something great happens it becomes extraordinary and surreal. David, who has been in the Peace Corps explains it like this: when you are out in nowhere Zambia alone your lows are very low and your highs are very high. Everything feels more extreme here including the sunsets, rainstorms, and rainbows. Lucky for me I am NOT a Peace Corps volunteer with not enough work to fill my day. When the baboons are around I don’t have a spare minute. However, when they disappear, for example this past week, I can feel very isolated. I still have plenty to do but it is all on the computer. I find it somewhat depressing as I am NOT out here to sit in front of a computer.
So last night I had a “pinch myself” moment. Our camp attendant found our baboons while out collecting wood. We followed them and they came back to sleep within 500 meters of camp. They went up in their trees as if they hadn’t been somewhere unknown to us on holiday! I was elated. I headed back to camp and while I was making dinner I looked out to a glowing pink and purple sky. An absolutely extraordinary sunset!! …..
This is why I am here. This is what all of the computer work, grant writing and course work were for. I feel so fortunate.
So last night I had a “pinch myself” moment. Our camp attendant found our baboons while out collecting wood. We followed them and they came back to sleep within 500 meters of camp. They went up in their trees as if they hadn’t been somewhere unknown to us on holiday! I was elated. I headed back to camp and while I was making dinner I looked out to a glowing pink and purple sky. An absolutely extraordinary sunset!! …..
This is why I am here. This is what all of the computer work, grant writing and course work were for. I feel so fortunate.
March 21, 2011 - Can too much information be a problem?
I don’t know if other field researchers have had the same experience as I have had after several weeks “alone” in the bush. When I was in Nigeria in 2004 I had malaria. I didn’t know I had malaria but I knew I was sick. My only companions were Nigerian villagers and park staff who experience these diseases differently as they get them often. All the other Western researchers I was with were at a different camp so I had days to stew on what I had contracted. Of course malaria was at the top of my list but my symptoms didn’t match those described and even though I checked my temperature every hour but never had a fever. I also wasn’t vomiting. For a while I was convinced I had Lhasa Rat Fever. There were these rats in the house that I was continually at war with. Being lowest on the totem pole I got the room where the rats lived behind a stack of metal trunks. They would come out at night. I developed a way to keep them out. After they slipped through the door to raid the kitchen I began stacking books on either side of the door so they could not slip back in. So…as Lhasa Rat Fever was named after a disease first discovered in Nigeria I was certain I had it. How did I know? We had a large book listing all tropical diseases and their causes and symptoms. When I finally got sick enough I traveled by Landover to boat to Landover to town to discover I did have malaria.
I have a different book with me in Zambia. It is called “Where There is No Doctor”. Knock on wood, I haven’t gotten sick yet. I have had only small accidents including a broken toe. I find myself perusing the book for one reason or another. This time to figure out what the equivalent of paracetamol is in the U.S. Acetomenophin. Then I look at how to repair a break even though I know broken toes, like broken ribs, another thing I have had here, must heal on their own. After looking at my small ailment that has a few lines in the text, if any at all, I start to peruse the entire book. What are the signs of Guinea Worm, Tuberculosis, River Blindness, etc…
The positive thing about the book I have now is that it focuses less on diseases and symptoms which of course there are too many to count. Instead its focus is on how to deal with medical issues where there is no doctor… I am glad I have the book but also think it can cause my mind to over worry when I have time on my hands. So today I wrote on the cover with a sharpie… “For reference only: Do not diagnose yourself!” I put it there so my staff do not try to diagnose themselves when perusing the book :)
I have a different book with me in Zambia. It is called “Where There is No Doctor”. Knock on wood, I haven’t gotten sick yet. I have had only small accidents including a broken toe. I find myself perusing the book for one reason or another. This time to figure out what the equivalent of paracetamol is in the U.S. Acetomenophin. Then I look at how to repair a break even though I know broken toes, like broken ribs, another thing I have had here, must heal on their own. After looking at my small ailment that has a few lines in the text, if any at all, I start to peruse the entire book. What are the signs of Guinea Worm, Tuberculosis, River Blindness, etc…
The positive thing about the book I have now is that it focuses less on diseases and symptoms which of course there are too many to count. Instead its focus is on how to deal with medical issues where there is no doctor… I am glad I have the book but also think it can cause my mind to over worry when I have time on my hands. So today I wrote on the cover with a sharpie… “For reference only: Do not diagnose yourself!” I put it there so my staff do not try to diagnose themselves when perusing the book :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)