Monday, April 21, 2008
water carriers in training
the best image of my day: my two little three year old neighbors each carrying a plastic 500 mL water bottle on their heads. so cute.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
donate to my library!
i've pasted and copied the description for the Peace Corps Website below. We've already raised $1000! But anything, and really i mean ANYTHING (if everyone who has ever been sent the address to this blog gave $5 we'd prob have over $1000!) helps...
So, to donate:
go to peacecorps.gov. on the left there is menu and at the bottom is a button "DONATE NOW." That will take you to a page with a couple options, click on "Volunteer projects" and then go to Zambia. It's labelled "community libraries" project and the name is "C. Staatz." Colleen is a friend of mine and her library in another district is getting some of the books along with some other PC libraries. Please please help with whatever you can!
Also, if you have books you'd like to send that's possible, but maybe more complicated. e-mail me with specific questions about that. Thanks!!!
Community Libraries
Imagine learning to read with 1 book: your 2nd grade textbook that 3 siblings have already torn to pieces. Imagine learning to appreciate reading when you’ve never been read to or watched an adult read a book. Imagine learning to read in a language that is not your first language. Imagine living in a place where books can cost your parents’ monthly income. These are only some of the issues that Zambian school children face in learning to read and speak English.
This project will fund the transport of 20,000 books to develop four libraries in Zambia. All three districts are far from the capital and lack reading and reference materials is a problem. These students are often eager to study topics that interst them or refer to outside materials when preparing for exams, but are unable to do so. In addition to reference materials, these libraries would also include basic children’s books, which wil help Zambian students to improve their English, a vital skill for performing well on their national examinations and their ability to continue in higher education. All four libraries are being built in schools or community centers where local kids as well as adults can easily access the books.
The communities have greatly contributed to this project by providing the physical spaces to house the libraries. This eliminates the need for costly construction materials and ensures that the libraries will become functional quickly after the arrival of the books.
So, to donate:
go to peacecorps.gov. on the left there is menu and at the bottom is a button "DONATE NOW." That will take you to a page with a couple options, click on "Volunteer projects" and then go to Zambia. It's labelled "community libraries" project and the name is "C. Staatz." Colleen is a friend of mine and her library in another district is getting some of the books along with some other PC libraries. Please please help with whatever you can!
Also, if you have books you'd like to send that's possible, but maybe more complicated. e-mail me with specific questions about that. Thanks!!!
Community Libraries
Imagine learning to read with 1 book: your 2nd grade textbook that 3 siblings have already torn to pieces. Imagine learning to appreciate reading when you’ve never been read to or watched an adult read a book. Imagine learning to read in a language that is not your first language. Imagine living in a place where books can cost your parents’ monthly income. These are only some of the issues that Zambian school children face in learning to read and speak English.
This project will fund the transport of 20,000 books to develop four libraries in Zambia. All three districts are far from the capital and lack reading and reference materials is a problem. These students are often eager to study topics that interst them or refer to outside materials when preparing for exams, but are unable to do so. In addition to reference materials, these libraries would also include basic children’s books, which wil help Zambian students to improve their English, a vital skill for performing well on their national examinations and their ability to continue in higher education. All four libraries are being built in schools or community centers where local kids as well as adults can easily access the books.
The communities have greatly contributed to this project by providing the physical spaces to house the libraries. This eliminates the need for costly construction materials and ensures that the libraries will become functional quickly after the arrival of the books.
Monday, April 07, 2008
"orientalism"
it's interesting how many people responded to my last entry about my awe at my "African" moments. i'm not sure if it's that i asked for comments cause i want to know who's reading this or if it's because that's such a common, expected feeling. i know it is. an awe at the beauty and the frustration of living here is hard to not make romantic.
i'm reading a book called "The Road to Hell" right now (i forget who it's by, but i'll try to get it on here next time!) which is, to be very broad, about the failure of development organizations and possibly even the evil of them... that they can participate in the continuing underdevelopment of nations. but it focuses on somalia in the '80s and the work done around the famine and food aid. the image of a starving african child is, in its horror, romanticized by the "Development" world. "you can help! you can feel good about yourself! you can smile at how you helped!"
it's sick and yet part of the system. of course women here in their beautiful, colorful suits will seem romantic and an "other" to me because it's been part of our media for so long. africa, since the days of the explorers, has been full of mystery, intrigue and excitement. and that goes from here to the states too. a zambian in america would probably keep thinking "this is america! this is the land of opportunity!" yet, trying to make it a reality, with it's complexity is something i try to do everyday and something i also try to do here, on this blog. keep commenting!
to change direction just a bit, i got an e-mail from a friend today talking about "relative" poverty. i'll quote:
"Otherwise, I have been spending a lot more time thinking about the situation in the US. Obviously, we don't have extreme poverty like that which exists in Mali, Zambia, India, and Honduras. So at times I think it is foolish to spend time wondering how to help those who are relatively well off globally yet poor relative to our country. And yet, it is sensible and even powerful to be an advocate for change and justice within one's own community and culture. Perhaps I can do more in that capacity...especially as I do not envisage myself living overseas for the remainder of my life. Perhaps not. Either way, the conditions here are not great. The country is going through a terrible crisis of confidence, with 81% of people thinking the country is seriously off-track. Prices for food and fuel are soaring, the number of people on food stamps is growing, unemployment is up and the economy is struggling with a seriously f-ed up loan system and declining real estate prices. As usual, the poor and lower middle classes suffer the most. That, plus the presidential race and the serious questions of race and sex it elicits, makes it a fascinating time to be here."
i thought he (and i'll reference him if he tells me it's ok!) wrote so eloquently about the complexity of poverty today. the poor here suffer. lack of clean (or running) water, illness, infant mortality, HIV, poor education, lack of jobs and capital and loans and so much more make life difficult. yet people are friendly and kind and supportive in ways that i know i will miss when i am back in america. the random person who saw that i greeted another peace corps volunteer and then asked me to greet someone for him and who i ended up talking to as i walked the two blocks to the internet...
yet, the poor everywhere suffer. especially when you SEE wealth and inequality around you. few people here have a good education so, though you may want that for your children, it's not rubbed in your face as much if you don't have it... is that harder? or is that easier? where do we need to work? how do we make change? obviously the answer is both. we need people who can work and make change here and we need people who can work in the states making change (both with the poor and how we view the poor!)...
but, i also recently got a letter that another friend wrote a year ago. not sure how on earth it travelled to take so long but she wrote about being a peace corps volunteer and trying to both teach people but not change values, to work within the cultural system and values. but if you're trying to teach to change behavior how does that not, inherently, struggle with changing values? women are healthier if they don't have ten children, but children and having family are valued here. they are also valued as a kind of social security - unpredicatability and lack of care in old age mean children help you survive... but as we encourage women to have fewer children (both for their own health and for the fewer expenses of caring for fewer children) do we change values? change a culture? to come back to the beginning, make it real and less romantic and less full of suffering?
i'm reading a book called "The Road to Hell" right now (i forget who it's by, but i'll try to get it on here next time!) which is, to be very broad, about the failure of development organizations and possibly even the evil of them... that they can participate in the continuing underdevelopment of nations. but it focuses on somalia in the '80s and the work done around the famine and food aid. the image of a starving african child is, in its horror, romanticized by the "Development" world. "you can help! you can feel good about yourself! you can smile at how you helped!"
it's sick and yet part of the system. of course women here in their beautiful, colorful suits will seem romantic and an "other" to me because it's been part of our media for so long. africa, since the days of the explorers, has been full of mystery, intrigue and excitement. and that goes from here to the states too. a zambian in america would probably keep thinking "this is america! this is the land of opportunity!" yet, trying to make it a reality, with it's complexity is something i try to do everyday and something i also try to do here, on this blog. keep commenting!
to change direction just a bit, i got an e-mail from a friend today talking about "relative" poverty. i'll quote:
"Otherwise, I have been spending a lot more time thinking about the situation in the US. Obviously, we don't have extreme poverty like that which exists in Mali, Zambia, India, and Honduras. So at times I think it is foolish to spend time wondering how to help those who are relatively well off globally yet poor relative to our country. And yet, it is sensible and even powerful to be an advocate for change and justice within one's own community and culture. Perhaps I can do more in that capacity...especially as I do not envisage myself living overseas for the remainder of my life. Perhaps not. Either way, the conditions here are not great. The country is going through a terrible crisis of confidence, with 81% of people thinking the country is seriously off-track. Prices for food and fuel are soaring, the number of people on food stamps is growing, unemployment is up and the economy is struggling with a seriously f-ed up loan system and declining real estate prices. As usual, the poor and lower middle classes suffer the most. That, plus the presidential race and the serious questions of race and sex it elicits, makes it a fascinating time to be here."
i thought he (and i'll reference him if he tells me it's ok!) wrote so eloquently about the complexity of poverty today. the poor here suffer. lack of clean (or running) water, illness, infant mortality, HIV, poor education, lack of jobs and capital and loans and so much more make life difficult. yet people are friendly and kind and supportive in ways that i know i will miss when i am back in america. the random person who saw that i greeted another peace corps volunteer and then asked me to greet someone for him and who i ended up talking to as i walked the two blocks to the internet...
yet, the poor everywhere suffer. especially when you SEE wealth and inequality around you. few people here have a good education so, though you may want that for your children, it's not rubbed in your face as much if you don't have it... is that harder? or is that easier? where do we need to work? how do we make change? obviously the answer is both. we need people who can work and make change here and we need people who can work in the states making change (both with the poor and how we view the poor!)...
but, i also recently got a letter that another friend wrote a year ago. not sure how on earth it travelled to take so long but she wrote about being a peace corps volunteer and trying to both teach people but not change values, to work within the cultural system and values. but if you're trying to teach to change behavior how does that not, inherently, struggle with changing values? women are healthier if they don't have ten children, but children and having family are valued here. they are also valued as a kind of social security - unpredicatability and lack of care in old age mean children help you survive... but as we encourage women to have fewer children (both for their own health and for the fewer expenses of caring for fewer children) do we change values? change a culture? to come back to the beginning, make it real and less romantic and less full of suffering?
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