Livingstone: The (temporary) escape!

I wasn’t planning on any more posts prior to our Botswana and Namibia road trip, however I felt an update necessary, if for no other reason than to vent!

In the lead up to our “escape”, the doubts I’d been having in regards to my organisation and their receptiveness to improve and work hard continued and became stronger.

The absence of my colleagues from work and then their unwillingness to work during the limited time they are there continued. In the pursuit of the next “big donor”, current partners (and beneficiaries) were being let down with lack of focus on those programmes. The monthly newsletter that was started to promote the organisation and which had been receiving a lot of positive feedback has been abandoned, my colleagues only producing a single edition on their own (i.e. without me doing it for them), before simply being too lazy to complete anymore. Lack of forward thinking that perhaps putting in the hard yards short term and impressing current donors (regardless of the amount they have contributed), may lead to bigger things in the future, seems to escape the minds of my colleagues.

Prior to leaving for my trip I worked with them to put together an organisational work plan so that we could see all of the things we had on, schedule them and allocate responsibility. However I hold little hope that much of it will get done and I know I will come back in a month’s time to yet again disappointed.

And what to say of Zambia? On the 20^th of September, the country went to a presidential election, an event that should bring hope and excitement for the future. However the lead up left me feeling that new leader or not, nothing was likely to change. In the week prior to us leaving for our road trip, both our water and electricity situation had never been so good. High water pressure 24/7, not going out once. And our electricity outages stopped, completely! Coincidence? I think not! (N.B. Since initially writing this post the election results have been posted, with the opposition party, Patriotic Front and a new President Michael Sata, winning. Interesting times lie ahead for Zambia.)

And then there is the really sad story of yet another infant mortality that I know would probably never happen at home. One of my colleagues (the one that is the smartest and hardest working by far), was expecting his first child, due in September. Only a week before I left, the doctor told him and his wife that he “suspected” twins and recommended she go the hospital.  The result? The first scan she had during her pregnancy confirmed twins and literally days after she went into labour, having a boy and girl. But instead of keeping her and the babies in for observation, they were released that day and only the girl survived. Complete stuff up from all medics involved! And more eye opening for me was the reaction of people in Zambia. No one seemed to care, it was so easily accepted. My colleague who was clearly devastated, and rightly so, was back at work two days later and expected to carry on like nothing had happened. It made me realise what little value on life Zambian’s seem to have.

So with all that said, I think our road trip came at the right time, with my patience growing thin and my cynicism towards Zambia and development aid rapidly growing.