Ryan's Thanks!

So it turns out this whole blogging process is not as tough as I thought (that is of course if this blog entry actually works).
The existing entries have covered the events of our exchange really well, but I just wanted to say a big thank you to all of you who have helped make the 2008 Group Study Exchange between Rotary Districts 9600 and 9210 a success.
Firstly, thank you very much to everyone in Southern Africa – Rotary District 9210 GSE organisers and all D9210 Rotarians, especially those that hosted us along the way!! Also, South Africans, Andy and Jenny and Johannesburg Rotarians.
Thanks also to the District 9600 GSE organisers and especially the Rotary Club of Caloundra for sponsoring me.
Lastly, many thanks to my family, work and of course our GSE team, Chris, Fran, Jodie and Greg. In particular, a huge thank you to the Team Leader, Chris T.L. Goninon who's prior Rotary and GSE experience, enthusiastic attitude, thorough preparation and leadership skills were a huge part in making this exchange run smoothly.
I personally didn't anticipate the workload the GSE program required of me, but I can confidently say now it was all worth it, as the value of the program's rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime experiences far exceeded my expectations!!

Chris' Blog - The End

As Jodie and Greg have covered the end of our experience so well, I'm not going to add anything about Livingstone, beyond Ryan's big vocational experience (pic attached) and to direct anyone to the pics on Jodie and Gregs Blogs.

We did meet with one more RC - the RC of Bedfordview - who missed out on our presenation due to a broken piece of plastic on our plane. They still hosted us and gave us a very quick tour of J'burg. To them thanks and think that they saved the Rotary Foundation at least $500.

And so home. (and a pic with all of our supporters.

Jodie has covered a lot of the thank yous, so just ot add to them, thanks to everyone (sponsors) that gave us things to give away, most of these have ended up with people who need them in hospitals, schools or orphanages. Also thanks to the Rotary Foundation and the district management teams (both D9600 and D9210)that were involved in the organisation of thie exchange. I'd alos like to thank TA my wife, for acting as the blog updater while I was in Africa, and for doing a lot of follow up bits and pieces for the team while we were away.

And finally as team leader - Thanks to my team - Fran, Greg, Jodie and Ryan a great team that really made this exchange the success that it was. They showed themselves to be a true credit to our country Australia, Rotary, their professions and to themselves. WELL DONE!!

This exchange had its hard moments, things such as 12+ hour road trips, nearly 7 weeks away from loved ones, sights that were heart breaking, processes that are frustrating, and conditions that are not what we are all used to. Yet we all survivied and have grown from the experience and have made a great group of new friends and professional contacts.

So from me, Cheers and thanks for sharing our experiences.

Chris 'TL' Goninon

Back home on leave, awaiting demobilisation.

Today is the first day since leaving Australia that I have driven on a road - there were no pedestrians on the side of the road except for one jogger, and instead of spotting Impala, Kudu or Buffalo I was admiring the beef cattle, the flooded gums and the iron barks. That and the rain.

It was an odd feeling not having Fran yell at me "Smile, damn it! Keep frowning at the camera like that and you'll crack the lens!"

My time waiting at the Oliver R. Tambo Airport (Johannesburg) was rewarded with the purchase of 4 locally printed books regarding southern Africa which I am unlikely to find in Australia - I would like to thank the hosts who allowed me to rummage through their libraries and quiz them incessantly about what were and weren't good books worth my reading. Many things are cheaper in southern Africa than in Australia, and some things are more expensive. Books are one of the things that are more expensive, and with a low rate of literacy there is a low market, coupled with a low average income, which is a vicious circle coming against the spreading of literacy, education and an informed society.

Against this backdrop the Rotarians of Bedfordview, Johannesburg, are distributing superceeded textbooks from America free of charge to underprivileged schools in South Africa. With the extra distances and hold ups the cost would be significantly more for them to get these same books (which we wouldn't doubt would be very much needed in many of the schools we've visited on our exchange). South Africa also has its own problems in education: we were told by one of the Rotarians that 12 teachers died per day of AIDS in S.A. Although the parts of Johannesburg our hosts showed us through was very beautiful and well kept, they acknowledged there was a high rate of violent crime in the city (higher than anywhere on our exchange) and as a result many residential areas are now enclosed behind gates and fences.

Also whilst in Johannesburg we were able to gain extra insight into the violence against Zimbabwean and other African immigrants; on arrival at my host's house we waited for his wife to come home from a meeting at their church which was helping to coordinate a relief effort. The fine line which had to be walked was that they didn't at the same time neglect poor South Africans who were also inn need and thus provoke further resentment against the immigrants. There are problems of unemployment in South Africa among those who compete for low-paying work, and in places like Johannesburg this is exacerbated by an additional 1-4 million illegal immigrants - South Africa could nearly cope with its own unemployed, I was told, but to add so many from neighbouring countries makes a solution to the problem so much harder. There is also then the issue of people who used to cross freely the borders that now exist that were set up by Europeans.

These issues not only dog security and the economy but also the ability to provide free public health care.

Something to think about.

Greg.

Livingstone, Johannesburg, Singapore and HOME!!

Livingstone - The last part of our GSE adventure was spent in Livingstone - home of the Victoria Falls. We had sent through a number of recreational activity requests to the Rotary Club of Livingstone, and the club was very accommodating! On Saturday we headed across the border to Botswana to a game park in Chombe. This was an amazing day for the team. We crossed the Zambia / Botswana border in a small boat before jumping into an open jeep for our game-spotting adventure. In the morning we were on the water, where we saw herds or elephants playing, eating and drinking along the river bank. As well as pods of hippos and a number of crocodiles that were all to close to the boat for my liking! We saw one croc enjoying his breakfast of impala (small deer), which the other crocs were eyeing off jealously...
In the afternoon we went through the game park in the jeep and saw a number of other animals, including giraffe, baboons, more impala, mongoose, and a number of native birds. We went along the river bank and were within a few metres of the elephants.

The next day saw us take flight over Victoria Falls. Chris. Ryan and myself opted to travel in a microlight - a small two seater plane without any walls with an engine that sounds like a lawn mower (and yes - we waited until we landed safely to tell our families exactly what this adventure entailed). Greg and Fran opted for the safety of the helicopter - with equally stunning views of the falls. We then headed for an Elephant Walk. This involved 'boarding' the elephant via a platform and touring around the park for an hour. They do not move fast at all, and we were well protected as the leader of the tour carried a rather large rifle in the event we come across any wildlife that may disturb our elephant friends... After the walk we were able to feed our elephants, as well as the two baby elephants. This was great, until the baby elephant got an itch in his trunk and sneezed all over my pants...

In the afternoon (yes, our tourist day continues!) we went to Vic Falls and the sound and the spray was amazing! Although we'd been warned about just how wet you would get, our raincoats provided little protection from the almighty spray that the falls produces. The photos we took will not do the falls justice, as they were taken through the safety of a plastic snap-lock bag!

Our final tourist destination was the Livingstone Museum. We were there close to closing time and had a quick look around the displays on Zambian wildlife, cultural traditions and also the stories of explorers in the area, particularly David Livingstone.

We did manage to squeeze in some visits to Rotary Projects on our last full day in Livingstone. We visited St Joseph's Hospice, an Orphanage, an Old People's home and a home for sexually abused girls. The amazing thing about these Rotary projects is the clubs focus on the sustainability of the projects and empowering the organisations to become as self-sufficient as possible. We then attended a fundraising lunch boat cruise down the Zambezi River.

The afternoon provided us with the opportunity to wander through the market stalls for some last minute shopping. The locals are interested in bartering for the goods you carry in your backpack, and also the clothes and accessories you are wearing (including hairbands and bobby pins).

In the evening we were treated to our last bbq - which doubled as Greg's Birthday Party. Our hosts for the evening, Sue and Mike, provided us with great food, fabulous music and a few quiet beverages the celebrate the end of our GSE journey.

On Tuesday we left Livingstone for a brief stopover in Johannesburg (made even shorter due to our flight being delayed 4 hours) before heading home via Singapore on Wednesday.

We arrived home at around 8pm last night. There was a few tears at the airport as our families came to greet us and take us home to warm showers, flushing toilets and familiar foods!

Thanks to everyone who has supported our GSE Exchange. Particularly to our sponsoring Rotary Clubs (Albany Creek, Brisbane Mid-City, Buderim, Caloundra, and Murgon), the families and Rotary Clubs that hosted us in Disctrict 9210, our employers, and our families and friends who have followed our adventure!

Take care, Jodie : )

Chris' Blog 23 May

Luska

Today Fran had her most exciting vocational expereince in at the Ministry of Health. The team (minus Greg) met with with and was able to gain some very interesting facts, figures and stats about the number of health workers (and an idea of the size of the shortages) across Zambia. We also were able to learn about some of the (few) incentives that health workers have to work in rural areas. A quick summary of how they get staff there is - MD's - must do some of their internship in rural areas, if they accept a role in a rural area they are entitled to a car and the more remote it becomes the greater the financial / housing incentives are. For other staff there are also similar (although not at the same pay scales) incentives. The scaring thing is the shortage of health and allied health staff in the country, but at least they have an idea of how many they have, where they are needed and how many more they need. Thanks to the Minstry of Health.

We then revisited the Gem shop and some purchases were made (two happy ladies in the team and one happy TL's wife when we get back)

In the mean time Greg visited a research farm that grew (wait for it) lucerne. I'll leave it to Greg to expand on this.

The rest of the day for the rest of us was spent travelling to Livingstone. Unfortunaly we were sent on two flights, with Fran Ryan and I arriving in the ealth afternoon, and Greg and Jodie about half an hour after our presentation to the RC of Livingstone.

Yes, our final presenation was delivered by the three of us. I delivered both my presenation and subed for Greg, Fran played Jodie and herself and Rayn had the luxuray of being just himself (but then had to run heads and tails). Overall the presenation went very well and the club (and over 25 visitors which included a group of Rotarians for the US and the youth exchange members from the US (Hannah) and Canada (Jolene) (who become our honourary GSE little sisters) . Jsut sad that this our final presenation in D9210 (and it ended up being our final presenation) was missing 40% of the team.

Chris' Blog 22 May – The Trip

Lusaka – This morning we broke into two groups. Greg and Ryan went off to look at some construction sites, While Fran, Jodie and I went to the University Medical Hospital. We started off with a meeting with the CEO / Chief director of the facility who was able to answer a lot of our questions, and when he didn’t know he told us he didn’t know, but at least gave us some suggestions where to find it, (and who). Following this we met with one of only 4 OT’s that are in Zambia (1 of these being Jodie). Jodie has covered her meeting the OT well in her blog of 23 May (Jodie I added a picture I hope that is ok!!).

While Jodie met with the OT Fran and I busied ourselves trying to find some info about medical programs at the hospital, and then how long they are. But we did (We hope). The difficulty in understanding this was they have both Postgrad and Undergrad (U/G) entry, + for the U/G you can enter directly, or with an extra year undertaking O levels, or after completing 2 years of another program.

Our next visit is to the Paper Mache project, where the staff (all who have some phycial disability) make items that can be used to assist other with disabilites. These items include tables, chairs and items to assist people to stand up. The items also include straps to assist people to stand or stil in place, with then can address other issues such as bed sores, and the proper development of joints, muscels etc. (This is really Jodie's specialist area so sorry for using very basic layman terms).

Following this we visited a wheel chair + building facility run by staff with mobility difficulties, where they build wheel chairs (predominatly using bike parts) used in rough terrain and make changes to other wheel chairs (such as the foundation wheel chairs) so that they can be used in villages. (Basically they remove the existing front wheels and replace them with wider wheels. The other recent development that has is an ambulance bike trailer that can be towed behind a bicycle. A great development.

We then all gathered for what ended up being our final presentation as a full group at the RC of Lusaka Central. This was also attended by DG Nickole, which was great as he had missed our presentation at the conference. The afternoon saw us again spilt into our two groups, with Greg and Ryan visiting Zesco (the electricity producer) and Fran, Jodie and I learning about gem stones and then visiting the Ministry of Health to try to get some info about rural health (unsuccessfully that afternoon, but wait till the blog tomorrow). The evening saw us get together with members of both clubs, and for most of us a fantastic seafood meal.

Chris’ Blog – 21 May

Our travel today is to Lusaka via “Public Luxury Coach”. The coach is in comparable to our coaches, except it has opening windows, no air con, and the seating arrangements are two across, the aisle and then three. The bus is scheduled to leave somewhere between 9 and 10am, depending on when it fills up. As you can imagine, after we have been in the bus awhile everyone starts to close their windows and it warms up and becomes very stuffy. At every stop there are many street vendors trying to sell us food, drinks, cd’s DVDs and other “interesting goods”.

We are joined on the bus by Jolene, the Canadian youth exchange student, who is also on route to Lusaka and then on to Livingstone. As we drive to Lusaka we see (incredibly) some hay bales (interesting for Greg) and arrive at one of the maddest bus stations I have ever seen. We are then driven to our hosts, and enjoy an evening home with our hosts. (Fran, Ryan and I are all hosts by Arnie and Emily and so stay up to watch Man U beat Chelsea in the Champions League match)

Chris’ Blog – 20 May

Today we moved on to Luanshya, a short trip in a mini bus. On arrival we split into two groups. The boys visit the local water treatment plant and the girls to a local School. The water treatment plant, like a lot of activities in the copper belt, are based on equipment built for the mines, or as is the case, equipment that could be used for the mines. In this case this resulted in a wonderful lake that is used of recreation, and a settling pond for water drawn from the river. With our lack of water in SE Qld, it is amazing to know that if the river runs dry in Luanshya, they would run out of water in a couple of days, there is no significant water holding facility.

In the afternoon we had a rest opportunity, and later in the evening we make our presentation at IPDG Patrick Coleman’s home with the club.

Chris’ thoughts NGO’s (Non Government Organisations)

While we have traveled in D9210 we saw a lot of activities of both large and small NGO’s. The large NGO’s make themselves very obvious by the purchase of new white 4x4’s for most of their staff and shop fronts and offices. On seeing these many of us wondered how they are able to afford these, so after some question asking, to staff of these organisations, government departments, and other people, we were very disappointed to hear that many of the large organisations have a very poor success rate of spending a large percentage of their funds on the people they are meant to be assisting. So please next time you think of supporting any of the large NGO’s with a financial donation, ask them what percentage of their funding actually goes to the people they are trying to assist, after admin charge in the country where the donation has been made, and on staff, administration and other costs in the country where they are assisting people.

If they are honest you may be surprised (and very disappointed).

It says a lot about the strength of donations to the smaller NGO’s and community organisations, who are often are the ones that local governments look to for real support.

Chris' Blog - 19 May

All I think we could all say about today was wow. The reason, we went 350m underground into a copper wine. What an experience. The tunnels were only slightly wider than the large trucks that travel underground to bring out the rock and ore. Where this plant is very similar to those in Australia is that the waste product is used to fill in the tunnels once the ore is extracted. This results in a much safer and stable mine site, and reduced need of space above ground. TI was also interesting to see how they ensure there is enough oxygen underground, and how the miners work in such a hot, dark and cramped environment. It is also worth noting, that the copper at this stage is only 3-4% of the ore, so there is a lot of work after extraction before the ore becomes copper as we know it.

After an exhausting morning down the mine, we all travel back to Kitwe where we split, with Greg visiting a farm, Jodie a company clinic and Fran, Ryan and I visiting the Ipusukio Community School.

The school is a community school that has 3 taverns on its boundaries, all with music so loud that the speakers are distorting. The school itself is made up of eight class rooms for over 1,200 students. The entire plot is only about 500m2. Four rooms are brick, (one with a door caving in, the second with the roof propped up with wooden poles) the others are wooden and are similar to 18th century country barns in Australia, dirt floors, huge gaps, and using maize sacks to stop the wind. How the students and staff can study in these conditions is amazing, yet the students of the school have over a 90% success rate at passing the year 8 entrance examinations. The Rotary club is involved in building a new school about 1.5kms away, to get away from the noise and poor learning conditions. A worthwhile project.

The evening we spend with members of both clubs with a quiet get together, we then all get home at about 11.30pm.

Chris' Blog - 18 May

Sunday. Sunday Morning with spent with our hosts. For three of us we went to church, with Fran and I (both with the RC of Kalulushi) at the local United Church (Similar to the uniting church in Australia). We both had a meeting with the minister before attending the service. There were at least 3 choirs, so there with lots of singing in the 2 hour service. After a quick lunch, we spent the afternoon visiting a deaf school, the local public hospital including the morgue (we were all glad that we knew Mwangala and could go private), and St Josephs Hospital. (A catholic hospital). Interesting to note that in this hospital there were the normal health advisory posters, including promotion of the use of condoms to prevent aids…. All I can say is that this is modern Catholicism!!

That night we made our presentation to a join meeting of the two clubs at the Sherbourne Guest Lodges, with local cuisine, including the staple Shima (Maize), beetles, local game + some of the more traditional foods.

Chris' Blog 16-17/5/2008

The Trip 16-17/5/2008 – 35- 36 /47

This morning started with us visiting Copperbelt University. It started with a visit to the Registrar’s office with the Vice Chancellor joining in the discussions during the hour meeting. After the meeting with undertook a quick visit of the Campus and then split into two groups with Jodie and Fran visiting a school and Ryan, Greg and I holding discussions with the Dean of Engineering.

It was very interesting as Copperbelt has in place a number of policy and plans in place to address government funding shortfalls. We also worked out why most degrees a year longer than in Australia. First year is basically an O level year with students undertaking the similarly content to Australian Degrees after that. We then undertook a quick visit to the Kitwe Stalls before joining the Rotary Club of Kitwe North for their meeting.

After that we visited the Kitwe Hospital and following that Ryan and I visited a road reconstruction site.

The evening with finished off with a presentation at PDG William’s house along with a great buffet style dinner.

17/5 Started with Greg and I joining my host Moss with short round of golf. Like Fran a week earlier, Greg showed himself to be quite good with the golf clubs for a first timer. We then joined our new hosts, RC’s of Kitwe and Kalulushi. I was hosted by GSE team Leader Mwangala, and to try to address a couple of short falls in our program, we spent the morning trying to arrange vocational visits for later in the week, both with Kitwe and Kalulushi, and later in Lusaka and Livingstone. After some work, and across the next couple of days, Vocational visits and trips were arranged.

The afternoon and night were spent at a Braai with the clubs, and then later with the individual host club members in the towns that we were being hosted by. The location of the Braai was amazing as there was a resident crocodile that enjoys both bread and t bone steak bones. It was also at this stage that I started to realize how important titles were in the copperbelt and Zambia in general. Basically I should have been introducing myself and PAG (Past assistant governor) rather than as TL (Team Leader) and PP (Past President). You live and learn.

DG’s Banquet.

Just some pics of us on our way to the DG’s banquet. Sorry it has taken so long, but we only had one camera at the event and this is the first opportunity I have had to get it onto the site.

Cheers

Chris

Some catching up

Hi all,

Yes I got behind!! It was not on purpose, it was more lack of easy internet access and lack of time (and sleep). So I'll finish off my daily messages over the next couple of days, and then repost Jodie and Greg's messages as they deserve to be at the end.

Cheers

Chris

Jackpot - A Real OT in Zambia!

Hi Everyone,
Well, we have reached Lusaka in one piece after catching a bus from Luanshya (on the Copperbelt) on Wednesday. The bus was scheduled to leave around 8 am, but they had to wait for it to fill up and we finally left at around 10am (we're getting used to Zambia time!).

Yesterday, we visited the University Teaching Hospital (UTH to the locals) and as we walked into the building Fran spotted a sign that said "Occupational Therapy". I could not believe my eyes!

UTH is the largest hospital in Zambia and caters for around 800 inpatients and sees 1400 outpatients a day. We briefly met with the managing director, and when I asked about the Occupational Therapy Department he started telling me about Physiotherapists who then do some occupational therapy training. My heart sank... my spirits were quickly lifted as our Rotary host, Peter, told me he knew an Occupational Therapist who worked in the hospital.

So we went on a mission to track her down.... Her name is Julie and she's from Holland. She's been in Africa for 12 years, and Zambia for four. Her role at the university is in the Department of Medical Education Development. She's trying to improve the standard of teaching of the Universitie's medical courses (she also has a Masters in Public Health and Medical Education - hence she can take on this role). She has very little to do with the 'occupational therapy' department, as it is not run by Occupational therapists, but by people who have had some basic training in rehabilitation. She is able to subsidise her wage from the university by working as an OT at one of the international schools, assisiting with children with ADD and Aspergers, and also educating the staff about these conditions. We had a rather candid discussion about the organisations and facilities I've seen whilst we've been away, and she was able to fill in the gaps from a cultural point of view. She is keen to get Australian Occupational Therapy students to do project placements in Community Based Rehabilitation in Zambia and is willing to supervise these students too (I have no idea how she'll fit it in - she's so busy already!)

After meeting Julie, we visited Apters and Disacare. Apters is an organisation run by people with disabilities that produces paper mache equipment for children with diasbilities - they make corner chairs, standing frames, and supportive seating and charge a very minimal fee. The structure is started with dense cardboard and then the paper mache is applied to give the stability. They are painted brightly and varnished for durability.

Disacare is also run by people with disabilities. They make wheelchairs and do wheelchair modifcations to suit village life. We'll include some pictures of their work when we have more time. Their latest invention is a tricycle ambulance - a tricycle with a trailer on the back in the form of a stretcher to carry people out of the village and to the nearest health clinic. Amazing stuff!!

That's all for now. We're off to Livingstone today to see the mighty Victoria Falls!

Take care, Jodie : )

Jodie's next vocational update...

Since the district conference we have been enjoying the hospitality of the Rotarians on the Coperbelt - Northern Zambia where, ironically, they mine a lot of copper (amongst other things, but you should check with the guys about that..)

In Ndola we visited the National Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, which is a residential facility for adults with disabilities to train in a variety of vocations. Unfortunately, there have been no students since February as there was supposed to be a strike by the staff, so the students were sent back to their homes. However, the strike didn't eventuate, and the staff have been there without any clients since. Regina, the Physiotherapist, has been seeing some clients privately to make some money for the centre. Hopefully the students will return soon. When the students are around, they have courses such as business and accountancy, agriculture, and home economics. The orthopaedic department is able to produce prosthetics for those who require it - the limbs are somewhat different to those you'd see in Australia, but they are doing a great job with the minimal resources and equipment they have.

The following day we visited Authur Davidson Children's Hospital, which is a 250 bed hospital - the only Children's hospital in the District, and one of only two (I think..) in the country. The main illnesses they see are TB, malaria, cholera, and infectious diseases such as chicken pox and the measles. The children with those infectious diseases are kept in hospital to keep the measles or chicken pox from spreading through the village. They have a physiotherapy department - located on the third floor, but without an elevator - which is staffed by two physios.

In Kitwe we visited the Valley View Basic School, which has a hearing impaired unit for around 22 students. The students are involved in a number of programs, and are taught with in the unit, as well as with the rest of the students. The students were curious to know a bit about Australia, and their teacher was able to interpret for us as their sign language is different to the signing we use in Australia.

Yesterday we visited Kalalushi Mining Hospital, where I spoke to the Physiotherapist who deals with the mining accidents, in particular Lower Back Pain injuries. They tend to use a lot of machines as opposed to hands-on physiotherapy. The clients are seen between 2 - 5 times a week. The physiotherapist is not involved in any training to prevent to incidence of injuries in the mines. This is taught by the First Aide Officers. We discussed the role therapists in Australia play when they are trying to prevent such workplace injuries, and the Consultant Surgeon said they may discuss it in the current review of the first aide training.

In the afternoon I visited Company Clinic, which is a private facility offering Physiotherapy amongst other medical facilities. Although they treat mainly adults, they run a clinic on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at the local church where children from the local area can come and receive treatment for a minimal fee. There is also an Occupational Therapist (!) working amongst the local villages as a missionary providing some group treatment to those in more remote areas. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet her.

Today we arrived in Luanshya and Fran and I visited the Dagama School for Children with Physical Disabilies. This is a Catholic run school and has just over 170 students from Grade 1 - Grade 12. Due to the decreasing incidence in Polio, this school now caters for students with intellectual impairment as well. Around 40 of their students do not have disabilities, but are considered 'vulnerable' children, either being single (one parent has passed away) or double (both parents have passed away) orphans. These children do not board at the school like the other children, but come from their homes in the local area for school. The school has a physiotherapist and a pool (but this can only be used in the warmer months as there it is not heated).

That't about all from me for now - just to clarify I haven't defected to becoming a Physiotherapist, I'm still an Occupational Therapist, trying to spread the word of the importance of my profession to hospital executives in Zambia!

Take care, Jodie : )

Chris' Blog - 14-15th May

The Trip – 14/15 May – 33-34/47

Wednesday saw us with a scheduled ‘Free time”, however we were all kept busy. I visited Raman’s factory – Wood Industry Processing. The plant takes pine trees from a stage where they have been cut down, through to timber, molding and different products such as doors and flooring. Importantly now piece of wood is wasted, including the sawdust and bark.

The reminder of the team visited the Zambian flying air doctor.

Lunch was a combined meeting of the Ndola clubs, with Matilda from the team that visited D9600 the guest speaker. And then the sad part as we left on our way to our next hosts at Kitwe. All of the team, with the exception of myself are staying with PDG William, while I am with a different host, Moss.

The evening was an evening with our hosts, so while I went out for dinner, the rest of the team had an evening in.

We spent Thursday with the Rotary Club of Mufulira, about a 45 minute drive from Kitwe. While with Mufulira we visited a farm set up by one of the mining companies for retired and out of work miners as a way to teach them skills to look after them selves when they stop working in the mines. Yes in retirement they are planning to farm!!! The farm started in 2004, and has a manager (paid by the mines), with the rest of the group in a cooperative. To date they are growing Bananas, assorted vegetables, maize (of course) and a piggery. They have further plans, including a dam. Interestingly there is no need to liaise with people down stream, they can just block it up.

After the farm, it was off to the golf course for a super fast lunch (1 hour from ordering to delivery), and then a visit to a local health clinic / hospital in a squatters camp, and then on to a school building and water pump that have been installed by the local Rotary club. One thing you have to say about Rotary here (D9210), they are making a difference to the many disadvantaged and struggling people. It is hard to understand even while we are looking at people from our 4x4’s how much difference a bore hole and water pump improve life for these people. Something to think about next time we turn on our hot water taps and have a shower. Well done all here for these projects.

We then take in a short tour of the town, and then join the Mufulira club for a meeting. We arrive back with our hosts in Kitwe at about 10pm for dinner. (For the rest of the team they enjoy a meal prepared by chef Jodie).

Chris' Blog - 12-13th May

12 & 13 May 31-32/47

What a couple of busy days. One thing that can be said for the Ndola Rotarians they really looked after us and met our Vocational needs. The next couple of paragraphs will not do justice to the efforts they made, but we were all so busy, that I’ve got behind in my diary, so my apologies.

On Monday we did visits to the Major of Ndola (Greg’s host) which included another newspaper interview, a community school (not funded by the government), the crash site of Hammarsk Joold (former UN Secretary General), National Vocational Rehab centre (Jodie had an extra visit later in the day with the physiotherapist), a new orphanage / school complex under development and Northrise University (a new private University). Overall there is a definite rise in standards in Zambia compared to our previous countries, and notably a bit more planning and some maintenance with some things. A pleasant change!

In the evening we presented to both Ndola clubs. While we did well, as a team we all agreed it was probably one of our worst while we have been away.


Tuesday was up and at them again. No rest for the wicked. We started the day at Fran and Jodie’s host (Don) farm, where we has a piggery, grows banana’s and chickens for both laying and meat, as well as a couple of other things. We then traveled to the Ndola museum which explained some of the many traditions of the local people, ranging from cooking, traditional roles to importantly and solving illnesses. Quite interesting. After lunch at the Rotary centre, Northern Technical College, where they teach automotive, mechanical engineering and IT. IT was then a quick visit to the Arthur Davidson Children’s hospital, where Jodie was able to see the Physio department equipment and then to the artificial limb factory. An exhausting day, followed by dinner with our hosts and team at and Indian restaurant.

Chris' Blog - 11th May

11 May 30/47

An 8.15am flight to Ndola meant leaving the Executive Lodges at 6.45am. Not a mean feat when we had got to bed after 1am following the night before. To top it off, Greg had a swollen ankle following a dancing incident the night before. George, form Lusaka who was looking after us while we were there did a spectacular job looking after us and getting us to the airport for the 45 minute flight. After a delay, we finally arrive at Ndola at about 10am. We are collected at the airport, (with Greg off in a chauffer driven merc (the mayor’s – his host)) to the Golf course. Yes we got to play golf. However we before we teed off, we had two media interviews – for a newspaper and a local radio station. Great game, and a first for Fran. (She has some real golf talent for a first timer).

We then had lunch with a local Rotarian, and had fresh pasta along with the chance to watch the Grad Prix on TV. At about five, after some Sallowship (a term used for fellowship with some drinks at at lot of clubs here we then headed off to our hosts. Greg and Ryan visited a village and Fran, Jodie and I enjoyed a fantastic Indian dinner.

Chris' Blog - 10th May

10 May 29/47.

The Presentation. We were the third GSE team, following the inbound team from Canada, the outbound from Canada, us and then the out bound team to D9600. And the result!!! Rather than using my own words I will quote from people that spoke to us afterwards.

“Best presentation at the conference”, “Most professional GSE presentation every delivered at a D9210 conference”, “Not only do we know about you, we know about your country as well – something not many teams have been able to do”. etc. And we even gave them “Heads and Tails” 300+ people in one game. So much so that I as team leader spent the next 2 hours talking to Rotarians about how to prepare, and present, people asking for copies of the presentation. D9600 – you would have been proud of your team, and the magnificent members that your clubs have nominated.

The afternoon was spent on a tour of Lusaka. We then prepared for the Governors Dinner. After a mix up with the bus, we arrived 2 hours late, but really got into the festivities. The night doubled as the DG’s change over and awards night. A fun evening was had by all, although it was quite sad at the end when we had to say good bye to our friends and hosts from the clubs that had hosted us during the past 3+ weeks. After a later return, we all hit the sack dead tired.