19.11.2012 THE TOILET DAY Because of the heat to say that it is November would be as weird as to celebrate the World s toilet day, however it is exactly what we did today. The difference between the center of Chingola town and the next inhabited place where the celebration took place is huge. If the town got multi-storey buildings with all the sanitation, then just couple kilometers further people live in self-made clay homes that are covered with rusty tin sheets thrown away by some wealthier home owner, hay, pieces of wood, leftover slate and who the hell know what else. The Toilet day was celebrated in one of these neighborhoods to remind the lessons of the DAPP leaders in these regions - that the ditch behind the house should not be used for the relief of natural needs. This would not only spread the stench but also diseases that are especially threatening to children. For children, exploration of the world implies touching and tasting everything they come across. In these places even rain can be dangerous in spreading fecal to the nearby gardens where the vegetables are grown. The Toilet day, to which we took the bus from the office with the one of the youth groups with which I would have to work in the future and which was singing very beautifully different gospel songs all the way and we tried to take part by clapping the rhythm with Honza, this time was combined with the free HIV test organized by the representatives of the hospital and with the town s awards for the best gardening, house, toilet, bard and other areas. To congratulate the locals came not only the youth group with their singing and theater play but also the president of the Chingola region who with his entourage gave out the awards and walked around the town to admire the best objects awarded. It seems that when remembering that day, the ride on the bus will always be in the mind as I would give anything for that kind of concert and trip not only around the center of the town that had pawed road but also deep in the jungle. Those were really African and positive emotions. The day is far from over and the local time is just 16:15 but it will be dark soon. Around here it starts darkens around five and in it is dark already at six in the evening. And again we do not have electricity but this time there is an explanation as for the first time since I have been here it rains. It is not a big surprise as during the rainy season with the heaviest rains and the highest temperatures are expected in January. In these kinds of weather conditions it is understandable that electricity is turned off as in many households the electricity wires are with little or no insulation which can be very dangerous for the whole region. Close up of the Chtenge exhibition. On special celebration women by tradition are wearing chtenge (kerchief that is used as a skirt). Children of Kafue s town. Everyone wants to be in the photo, therefore to take a close up picture was in possible. Everyone is trying to get in front of each other and the first ones are already stepping on my toes. They do not make the shot. After the picture is taken the children do not ask for the photograph. The most important is to pose.
Children of Kafue s town. A very common scene. Children playing in the sand and ge tting dirty up to their ears.
The income generating ideas that I had thought about back in school seems completely useless as people here do not lack imagination. Themselves they can greatly think of how to earn. It is harder to come up with the starting capital which DAPP give as a loan within their capacity. Except for the poorest region, almost every household has self-made kiosks from beam edges (wooden pieces with bark) or simply stacked up boxes on top of which the owners sell everything they have grown in the back of the house. The label house in this content should not be taken too literally as in these regions they are small size buildings made from clay briquettes with just one living room and couple very small rooms for sleeping or some buildings would just have one single room. Very often the kiosks are without a seller and if someone wants to buy something then they have to call for the owner of the household who is busy doing work around his home. On the main roads where there is public transportation these sorts of kiosks are less visible as they tend to concentrate in one area creating something like a shopping center. This is where sellers would not only sell their own harvest but also their neighbors and production bought from wholesale bases. We have befriended couple of these sellers; however it is hard to separate who is an actual friend and who is trying to gain material good. Here at least ten times we need to explain that we are not here to spread money or goods. Nevertheless, we have one friend who comes to hang out with us every night. He is very energetic 23 year old brother of my project leader who asked him for couple of weeks to look after us and our house. From our many conversations we have already been able to discuss and understand the local cultures. We went to a dance club and the evening started when the locals who were playing billiard wanted to play with us. Of course, we had to pay for the game and the put in one dollar as the bet for the winner. Honza wanted to play and when it came to the actual game just before starting the other side all of a sudden changed their player. And of course, they swapped it with the best player so that they would win Honza s dollar; however it would not upset Honza. During the evening three of us dance, nevertheless we got bored soon and as it was the middle of the week and there were not many costumers. Glen (brother of Annalisa) on the way got some local beer that was filled in a plastic bag and pushed out from one side like liquid soap and he said that it is very good and strong beer. The local beer was 45% strong and it has no color. It looked like vodka but tasted like liqueur. Children of Kafue s town. The dish drying rack that has been made by the DAPP sample is in the background. This kind of shelf is needed so that the washed plates are not dried on the ground that livestock walk on and children play in. Good health can be maintained with eating clean food from clean plates, therefore dishes should be kept away from children and livestock. The roof of the shack is made from the cheapest available materials. The rocking chair on the roof serves as guide for easier location of the shack. Commissionaire of the municipality (representative of the government) personally walks around the properties of contestants of the best well kept land, cleanest house, cleanest toilets, best tipi-tap contestants properties and work and give out awards to the winners of competition.
The further away from the comfortable city houses and apartments, the close to the traditions of Africa. The Kafue district in Chingola is one of the poorest; however people here have not forgotten African songs and dances. The locals were singing a special welcoming song in the Bemba tongue when meeting the visitors from DAPP and KCM who are the managing company of the ore mines that support the finance of the DAPP projects. In Zambia the Toilets Day is celebrated every year on 19 th of November. The slogan of 2011 was - Keep it clean, make it safe and the year before the slogan was - The safety of child begins with the toilet. The very poorest regions are visited by the representatives of their municipality and also by organizations that work on education and development of the region. The locals have a chance to get a free HIV test on the spot. Children of Kafue s town.