Project Luangwa - 30-06-14

I got up early this morning to see the dawn over the Luangwa river, because how often does that opportunity come up? 5:30 saw me, groggily stumbling towards the firepit with a torch. In the distance I could see someone waving with a torch, so I waved back then turned my torch off since the light was slowly bleeding into the sky. Suddenly one of the staff came running at me out of the dining area, frantically waving his arms and hissing "Elephant! Elephant! Elephant!"

Just in case you're not familiar with the concept of 'elephant'.

There's apparently a pachyderm partial to a palliative picnic who wanders into camp and eats the fallen marula fruit. This fruit, which looks like a large golden plum, is actually related to mangoes and is desired by animals of all sizes, from mammoths to mouses. Small rodents know the soft spots to nibble on the stone of the fruit to release the seeds inside. Elephants like the fruit because of its intoxicating qualities. So there I stood, in the gathering dawn of an African morning, watching a huge bull elephant enjoying his breakfast.

After making everyone very jealous with my close encounter of the tusked kind we set out to meet Karen at Project Luangwa. Karen and her team work with the people of the Luangwa valley to develop education and help protect the local ecosystem, and improve the health and wellbeing of everyone who lives there. At present the focus is on women's health, and educating young women about puberty. There is a lot of misunderstanding still about the nature of menstruation, and a lot of people still believe that it is something dirty and shameful. Most girls don't have any way of dealing with it, because sanitary towels are not available, so they stay away from people, including school for that part of the month. Project Luangwa has devised a discreet and washable sanitary pad, which can be stuffed with raw cotton, plucked straight from the bush and they are running workshops with local women teaching them how to make them for themselves. While the women are there they can also talk about their lives, and often find out that they're not alone in whatever problem they're facing.

After lunch we visited Anna Tolan at Chipembele. Anna runs an animal sanctuary and education centre. The animal sanctuary is limited to caring for young animals orphaned by humans, so hunting or road accidents mostly. At present she is officially caring for two young monkeys and Cosmo the baby baboon, but Anna's house is akin to something from a Gerald Durrell novel. Also on the premises is George the vicious squirrel and his unnamed ladyfriend, Maureen the baboon who won't leave, and Douglas, a sizeable hippo that Anna rescued as a baby.

There's Douglas, chilling in the shade. This was as close as we could get because he is, after all, a sizeable hippo.

David S told us a story of the last time he came to visit Anna. They were supervising the sunset with a swift gin and tonic when David felt a warm breeze and a damp weight on the back of his neck. Douglas had come to investigate the newcomer and bestowed upon him a gift which would keep on giving. Hippos exude a red oil which both keeps them cool and stops them getting sunburned. It also gives them that characteristic pinkish hue. It is also impossible to clean off. For days David was wiping red goop off the back of his neck, but on the bright side he didn't get sunburn.

David S minus red hippo-goop, plus baby baboon bottom. He just has an affinity for animals.

It had been a thought provoking day, so we returned to Tundwe and cracked open some more wine as fuel for setting the world to rights.

Team building - 29-06-14

Today was a long day. We had a nine hour drive north east along the Luangwa river from Nyamvu camp to Tundwe camp. Most of the way was paved, so that was nice, but when we got to Chipata the tire on our jeep finally gave up the ghost. Three hours passed while it was reinflated/repaired/hit with sledgehammers. We were bringing wine and nibbles for a gathering at Project Luangwa so the delay was irritating, as it meant we missed the reception. On the bright side we managed to break down on the mechanic's mile in Chipata. On the even brighter side we were left with a gathering's worth of wine and nibbles. Party at Tundwe!

Mwape again - 28-06-14

Hunting is a part of life here. People hunt for food and tourists hunt for sport, bringing money to the area. Lodges are situated all along the Luangwa river and run for the hunters that come from the beginning of July to the end of October. Each area has a quota of animals which can be killed without damaging the ecosystem and hunters pay a high price for the privilege, so the game is fiercely protected to make hunting a sustainable industry, but as with all things there are people who think they are outside the law.

This crocodile tried to take a man outside the village, so it had to be hunted and shot.

On the way to Mwape this morning Gulam radioed to inform us that poachers had been caught in the area. They had killed two female elephants and removed their tusks, but while trying to cross a river with the ivory they were taken by local people. The fury facing poachers should be an efficient deterrent. These men faced a tough time at the local police station, followed by transportation to Lusaka and months awaiting trial. The likely sentence was life in prison. This was a tough one. Poaching is reprehensible by any standard, but seeing those men and the fear and desperation in their eyes was difficult to deal with. We were told that these would be local men, paid off by black market ivory dealers. Catching these men did not do anything to solve the underlying problem, and it's unlikely that they even knew who their employers were.

Our day in Mwape definitely helped to lift our spirits. As we were shown around the village we gathered a crowd of kids wildly excited to make friends with the strangers and competing with each other to hold our hands. We split into three groups and every time we saw another group in the distance a clamour would go up. It put me in mind of us on safari, spotting... well anything at all!

Hilary with her most devoted followers.

The little boy in the green shorts in the photo above is called Smart. A lot of the people here have lovely names like this, either qualities their parents wish to bestow, Smart, Charity, Joy, or names letting them know how special they are. Precious, Gift, Princess. When Dad was born it was the custom to name your child after the first thing you saw when they were born. He knew a lot of Towels.

Chieftainess Mwape laid out a veritable feast for our lunch, with nchima, carrot salad, green beans, boiled potatoes and goat stew. Goat is surprisingly delicious. Nchima is a staple carbohydrate in Zambia and it is made by pounding maize into a fine flour, then cooking it while water is stirred in. The result could be used as mortar. It is thick and glutinous and doesn't really taste like anything, but it is remembered with a misty-eyed nostalgia by Zambian ex-pats. It is the ultimate alibi food, but Zambians are so fond of it that it has been made their official national dish.

While we were there, the constantly canny Chieftainess persuaded us to buy cloth from their village shop. Ladies in Zambia wear sarongs called chitenge and these are made from a long stretch of brightly coloured and patterned cloth. There were some lovely patterns in the shop and I bought myself a 15ft bolt of waxed cotton. When we get home I shall make a skirt.

P.S. I made the skirt. It's awesome.

Mwape - 27-06-14

There were three separate visits today, to various villages in Mwape chiefdom. Chieftainess Mwape has been in contact with NPAC for many years now and she definitely knows the drill regarding the shipping containers. She has gathered all the baby bundles, clothing, furniture, medical supplies, toys, books and all the things NPAC has sent most recently in the guest house. She will circulate a date upon which all the people of the chiefdom can come to the guest house and claim their portion of the shipment. The baby bundles will go to the clinic and only the mothers who bring their children for vaccinations and checkups will benefit from them. This all sounds a bit callous, but it is the fairest way to distribute the aid NPAC sends. Making new mothers attend the clinic means that both they and their babies are safer, and the bundles provide incentive for them to travel to the clinic. The other items stored in the guest house are distributed to the elderly first, and then to other groups with a pressing need.

Sorting the items we brought with us.

Reading glasses are always in high demand.

We made sure to take plenty of pairs of reading glasses. It wasn't something I had thought of, but it makes sense that there's no point sending books if the readers can't see the words. There are people who have never seen the plumage of a lilac-breasted roller, or the stripes on a zebra, or the faces of their grandchildren. NPAC wants to make sure that the people who need it most get all the aid we can give.

The children of Mwape village.

NPAC is based on people. We raise money only so we can afford to send 40 foot containers all over the world. Most of the power we possess comes from the warehouse heroes, the volunteers who plan and sort and pack. The people who make sure it all goes to the right place, the Chieftainess Mwapes and the Isaacs and the KKs. And the power comes from the generosity of the people who donate their time and unwanted possessions to those who can make use of them. NPAC wouldn't be able to do any of their work without the support of people like you, so thank you.

Women washing clothes in what's left of the river. During the rainy season the river will rise and cover a lot of the flat ground outside Mwape Village.

The head teacher at Mwape school, Mwenda Lovemore, is another impressive person. He teaches in a difficult place, where parents are often torn between paying to send their children to school or paying to feed them, but he turned down a lot of the aid we offered, saying that what they had was enough because they took such good care of it. We did make a list of things to send, particularly for the children who board at the school. They need proper beds and cooking equipment, and of course a school always needs more books and pens.

While we were there Dad took a look at the clinic and made a long list of things they need. It's mostly disposables, like gloves, bedcovers, antiseptic wipes and hand gel. It's just impossible to get enough of this type of thing out to the people who need it.

The day ended with some more fishing and a rousing bout of ceilidh dancing. We gathered quite a crowd at the camp to watch the mad Brits dance, but oddly no one volunteered to join us.