Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wow!!! I can't believe I was just able to post pictures. I thought the day would never come.
Well sorry it has been so long since I have written. It's been difficult to find time to write let alone have the internet work in my favor. Life is great here in Zim though! I am still loving it and I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity.
Work is really busy but I am really liking it. I am still helping with the implementation of a nutrition programme in addition to attending trainings and workshops. Last week I was able to attend our National Office Rapid Response Team training in Hwange. It helps the national staff prepare for when an emergency happens so there was a simulation excercise that we had to go through after learning all of our polocies and protocols for responding to a disaster.
Life outside of work is great too. I went on a safari with some friends and saw a lot of animals. It was really quite neat. I also attended the HIFA international arts festival which has performers from all over the world performing music, dance poetry and theatre and also displaying art. It was so much fun and I was able to hear different kinds of music I had never heard before.
Anyway, my boyfriend is coming to visit in 18 days, not that I'm counting or anything, so I am really excited. Yay!
Well I'll push my luck and try to post more pictures. I want to publish this before my computer freezes, the internet goes down or the electricty goes out.
Miss you all back home!!!! Lots of love!!! Melissa
Well sorry it has been so long since I have written. It's been difficult to find time to write let alone have the internet work in my favor. Life is great here in Zim though! I am still loving it and I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity.
Work is really busy but I am really liking it. I am still helping with the implementation of a nutrition programme in addition to attending trainings and workshops. Last week I was able to attend our National Office Rapid Response Team training in Hwange. It helps the national staff prepare for when an emergency happens so there was a simulation excercise that we had to go through after learning all of our polocies and protocols for responding to a disaster.
Life outside of work is great too. I went on a safari with some friends and saw a lot of animals. It was really quite neat. I also attended the HIFA international arts festival which has performers from all over the world performing music, dance poetry and theatre and also displaying art. It was so much fun and I was able to hear different kinds of music I had never heard before.
Anyway, my boyfriend is coming to visit in 18 days, not that I'm counting or anything, so I am really excited. Yay!
Well I'll push my luck and try to post more pictures. I want to publish this before my computer freezes, the internet goes down or the electricty goes out.
Miss you all back home!!!! Lots of love!!! Melissa
Monday, April 6, 2009
Salibonani! Greetings from Zimbabwe! I’m happy to report that I arrived safely in Bulawayo about two weeks ago and have been having an amazing time since. It’s so beautiful here and the people have been more than welcoming. I really wanted to put pictures up rather than lots to read, but the internet is too slow for this. I'll try for the next blog to just have pictures.
I am living in Bulawayo which is Zim’s second largest city after Harare the capital. I’m staying at World Vision’s guest house. I’m the only one staying here for more than a month but people have been trickling in and out so it’s been nice to meet new people. I am very spoiled here. I don’t have to cook, clean, or do laundry. It’s nice but something I’m still getting use to. We do have cable so it’s quite nice to see my favorite cartoons and movies. The weather is very nice and much like Southern California. The best part is that I feel very safe and have had no problems adjusting. There is also a 24 hour security guard at our house so that helps too.
I absolutely love work and time is going so fast!!! I am learning so much everyday and my team here has been amazing. The first two weeks I have been supporting their nutrition sector in Gwanda district to prevent and decrease the prevalence of malnutrition amongst children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women. This opportunity has allowed me to visit our outpatient clinics in rural Zimbabwe as well as meet with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare weekly. It is really rewarding to see these projects at work. The community members have also been trying to teach me Ndebele which is one of their dialects. I learned a few words and they still laugh every time I attempt to speak, but I can tell they really appreciate the effort. They also have the click sound in this particular dialect. There are actually three different sounds to the click depending on the word. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to say any words with the click but of course this was not the case. I was taken to one of the community leaders to receive some feedback about the program being implemented in his community and when he introduced himself, his name had a click. Out of all the people I had to meet, it had to be the community leader with a click in his name. So a little embarrassed I tried, and again got a laugh, but a smile too
Times have been very tough for Zimbabweans and I am continually amazed with their level of resiliency, optimism and faith in God. They work so hard to make a living and have so much dignity and pride in themselves to continually make ends meet. Last year, virtually nothing was available in stores, the rains weren’t enough for their harvest, no one was getting paid and the government was unstable. People even stopped going to the bank to receive money because the value of the Zim dollar was so low that it couldn’t buy them anything. Prices were changing daily at drastic levels so it was difficult for those even making a living to save up for purchases. However, they continued to go to work.
Now that the government has formed this new coalition, people are very optimistic about things getting better. However, there are still many challenges in the country especially in terms of food security, HIV/AIDS, and costs for basic living. The Zimbabwean dollar is no longer being used at the moment so everything is in South African Rands and US Dollars. The upside is things not costing billions and trillions of Zim dollars. The downside of this is that almost EVERYTHING is at minimum a dollar. One can of coke, a newspaper and a loaf of bread are all priced at one dollar each. Now for a country where most of its citizens live on less than $2 a day and have an average household size of 8, you can imagine the challenges they face, in addition to the rains not being enough for this harvest either. Everyone is praying for better times ahead.
I’ll be updating my blog as much as I can but I think it’ll be every 2-3 weeks as my access to internet is limited. As time passes, I hope to get better pictures of the people and landscape so that you can see more of Zimbabwe. I’m very excited to say that my boyfriend, Eddie, will be coming to visit me for two weeks in June so I’m really looking forward to having a visitor. We’ll be travelling to Victoria Falls and going on a Safari so I’ll be sure to post those pictures after our trip. I can hardly wait!
Until Next time.....
I am living in Bulawayo which is Zim’s second largest city after Harare the capital. I’m staying at World Vision’s guest house. I’m the only one staying here for more than a month but people have been trickling in and out so it’s been nice to meet new people. I am very spoiled here. I don’t have to cook, clean, or do laundry. It’s nice but something I’m still getting use to. We do have cable so it’s quite nice to see my favorite cartoons and movies. The weather is very nice and much like Southern California. The best part is that I feel very safe and have had no problems adjusting. There is also a 24 hour security guard at our house so that helps too.
I absolutely love work and time is going so fast!!! I am learning so much everyday and my team here has been amazing. The first two weeks I have been supporting their nutrition sector in Gwanda district to prevent and decrease the prevalence of malnutrition amongst children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women. This opportunity has allowed me to visit our outpatient clinics in rural Zimbabwe as well as meet with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare weekly. It is really rewarding to see these projects at work. The community members have also been trying to teach me Ndebele which is one of their dialects. I learned a few words and they still laugh every time I attempt to speak, but I can tell they really appreciate the effort. They also have the click sound in this particular dialect. There are actually three different sounds to the click depending on the word. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to say any words with the click but of course this was not the case. I was taken to one of the community leaders to receive some feedback about the program being implemented in his community and when he introduced himself, his name had a click. Out of all the people I had to meet, it had to be the community leader with a click in his name. So a little embarrassed I tried, and again got a laugh, but a smile too
Times have been very tough for Zimbabweans and I am continually amazed with their level of resiliency, optimism and faith in God. They work so hard to make a living and have so much dignity and pride in themselves to continually make ends meet. Last year, virtually nothing was available in stores, the rains weren’t enough for their harvest, no one was getting paid and the government was unstable. People even stopped going to the bank to receive money because the value of the Zim dollar was so low that it couldn’t buy them anything. Prices were changing daily at drastic levels so it was difficult for those even making a living to save up for purchases. However, they continued to go to work.
Now that the government has formed this new coalition, people are very optimistic about things getting better. However, there are still many challenges in the country especially in terms of food security, HIV/AIDS, and costs for basic living. The Zimbabwean dollar is no longer being used at the moment so everything is in South African Rands and US Dollars. The upside is things not costing billions and trillions of Zim dollars. The downside of this is that almost EVERYTHING is at minimum a dollar. One can of coke, a newspaper and a loaf of bread are all priced at one dollar each. Now for a country where most of its citizens live on less than $2 a day and have an average household size of 8, you can imagine the challenges they face, in addition to the rains not being enough for this harvest either. Everyone is praying for better times ahead.
I’ll be updating my blog as much as I can but I think it’ll be every 2-3 weeks as my access to internet is limited. As time passes, I hope to get better pictures of the people and landscape so that you can see more of Zimbabwe. I’m very excited to say that my boyfriend, Eddie, will be coming to visit me for two weeks in June so I’m really looking forward to having a visitor. We’ll be travelling to Victoria Falls and going on a Safari so I’ll be sure to post those pictures after our trip. I can hardly wait!
Until Next time.....
Friday, March 20, 2009
Zimbabwe Crisis Briefing (Alernet.org)
Hit by drought, HIV/AIDS and economic meltdown, Zimbabwe is in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since independence.
Farming is the backbone of Zimbabwe's economy, but agriculture has been crippled by the combined effects of drought, HIV/AIDS and controversial government land reforms.
Unemployment is sky-high and galloping inflation has made basic foodstuffs, fuel, health and school unaffordable for many. Millions of Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring countries.
Zimbabwe's crisis escalated when efforts to forge a power-sharing government - following disputed presidential elections in March 2008 - ended in deadlock.
The impasse was resolved in early 2009 and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister with Robert Mugabe remaining president. The new unity government now faces the challenge of putting the country back on its feet.
Key facts
Percentage of population malnourished 45 percent ( WFP)
No. displaced More than 880,000 (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2007)
Percentage of people living on less than $2 a day 83 percent (U.N. Human Development Report 2007/2008)
For more in depth information: http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/ZW_CRI.htm?v=in_detail
- Female life expectancy 43 years
- Agriculture devastated
- World's highest inflation
Farming is the backbone of Zimbabwe's economy, but agriculture has been crippled by the combined effects of drought, HIV/AIDS and controversial government land reforms.
Unemployment is sky-high and galloping inflation has made basic foodstuffs, fuel, health and school unaffordable for many. Millions of Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring countries.
Zimbabwe's crisis escalated when efforts to forge a power-sharing government - following disputed presidential elections in March 2008 - ended in deadlock.
The impasse was resolved in early 2009 and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister with Robert Mugabe remaining president. The new unity government now faces the challenge of putting the country back on its feet.
Key facts
Percentage of population malnourished 45 percent ( WFP)
No. displaced More than 880,000 (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2007)
Percentage of people living on less than $2 a day 83 percent (U.N. Human Development Report 2007/2008)
For more in depth information: http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/ZW_CRI.htm?v=in_detail
Country Profile: Zimbabwe (BBC)
Full name: Republic of Zimbabwe
Population: 13.5 million (UN, 2008)
Capital: Harare
Area: 390,759 sq km (150,873 sq miles)
Major language: English (official), Shona, Sindebele
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
Life expectancy: 44 years (men), 43 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Zimbabwe dollar = 100 cents
Main exports: Tobacco, cotton, agricultural products, gold, minerals
GNI per capita: US $340 (World Bank, 2007)
Internet domain: .zw
International dialling code: +263
Population: 13.5 million (UN, 2008)
Capital: Harare
Area: 390,759 sq km (150,873 sq miles)
Major language: English (official), Shona, Sindebele
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
Life expectancy: 44 years (men), 43 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Zimbabwe dollar = 100 cents
Main exports: Tobacco, cotton, agricultural products, gold, minerals
GNI per capita: US $340 (World Bank, 2007)
Internet domain: .zw
International dialling code: +263
Zimbabwe is home to the Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, the stone enclosures of Great Zimbabwe - remnants of a past empire - and to herds of elephant and other game roaming vast stretches of wilderness.
For years it was a major tobacco producer and a potential bread basket for surrounding countries. But the forced seizure of almost all white-owned commercial farms, with the stated aim of benefiting landless black Zimbabweans, led to sharp falls in production and precipitated the collapse of the agriculture-based economy. The country has endured rampant inflation and critical food and fuel shortages. Many Zimbabweans survive on grain handouts. Others have voted with their feet; hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, including much-needed professionals, have emigrated.
Aid agencies and critics partly blame food shortages on the land reform programme. The government blames a long-running drought, and Mr Mugabe has accused Britain and its allies of sabotaging the economy in revenge for the redistribution programme.
The government's urban slum demolition drive in 2005 drew more international condemnation. The president said it was an effort to boost law and order and development; critics accused him of destroying slums housing opposition supporters. Either way, the razing of "illegal structures" left some 700,000 people without jobs or homes, according to UN estimates.
The former Rhodesia has a history of conflict, with white settlers dispossessing the resident population, guerrilla armies forcing the white government to submit to elections, and the post-independence leadership committing atrocities in southern areas where it lacked the support of the Matabele people.
Zimbabwe has had a rocky relationship with the Commonwealth - it was suspended after President Mugabe's controversial re-election in 2002 and later announced that it was pulling out for good.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1064589.stm#factsFor years it was a major tobacco producer and a potential bread basket for surrounding countries. But the forced seizure of almost all white-owned commercial farms, with the stated aim of benefiting landless black Zimbabweans, led to sharp falls in production and precipitated the collapse of the agriculture-based economy. The country has endured rampant inflation and critical food and fuel shortages. Many Zimbabweans survive on grain handouts. Others have voted with their feet; hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans, including much-needed professionals, have emigrated.
Aid agencies and critics partly blame food shortages on the land reform programme. The government blames a long-running drought, and Mr Mugabe has accused Britain and its allies of sabotaging the economy in revenge for the redistribution programme.
The government's urban slum demolition drive in 2005 drew more international condemnation. The president said it was an effort to boost law and order and development; critics accused him of destroying slums housing opposition supporters. Either way, the razing of "illegal structures" left some 700,000 people without jobs or homes, according to UN estimates.
The former Rhodesia has a history of conflict, with white settlers dispossessing the resident population, guerrilla armies forcing the white government to submit to elections, and the post-independence leadership committing atrocities in southern areas where it lacked the support of the Matabele people.
Zimbabwe has had a rocky relationship with the Commonwealth - it was suspended after President Mugabe's controversial re-election in 2002 and later announced that it was pulling out for good.
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