Poo, poo and then more poo

Cholera has arrived in Zim....big time. I have the job of coordinating my NGO's response to this outbreak. We are desperately trying to prevent the epidemic from reaching what the UN has predicted will become a catastrophic disaster. It is proving difficult however when everything seems set against us. The main international agency coordinating the entire relief effort has no fuel, we are short of most other things and interagency collaboration is proving a nightmare. It takes about 15 minutes to get the networks to connect to make a phone call if you are lucky.

Today we started trying to get to every primary school and tell the kids about cholera before they shut for the end of term- 91000 children in 5 days. When you arrive at the schools most of the teachers are absent because their wages don't cover their transport into school and the children just stay for a few hours. Thankfully we were able to find some amazing volunteers who have given of their time for free to help us spread the message. People are so generous with the little that they have.

As the rain gets more intense the outbreak will intensify so although I know Zim is desperate for rain part of me wants it to stop to give us more time to prepare. The sewage system is here has broken down and sewage floods the streets (as the above photo shows). The water company are running out of the chemicals needed to treat the water- it feels as though everything here is grinding to a dangerous halt. The 10 years of decline in Zim have taken a serious toll and this rapid onset emergency is therefore all the more devastating.

I am quite exhausted and there is so little time for a break. I am torn between wanting to keep going but feeling as though my reserves are running so low. I do not want to get burnt out- but getting burnt out seems a luxury that most of Zimbabwe cannot afford. Having said all this I still love it here, it is such a privilege to be here for such a time as this.

Love to you all
xxx

The breadbasket of Africa....

Well this is my local supermarket (no joke). As you can see we are spoiled for choice. (I'm not sure if the sign comes out on the blog- it says shoplifters will be prosecuted)!

Getting food and other supplies is a perpetual hassle and trying to work out whether I need Zimbabwe dollars or foreign currency is another time consuming activity. On Thursday I bought pay as you go airtime for my rarely working Zim mobile- it cost me 50,000 Zim dollars, I had to buy more on Monday and the same amount cost me 500,000 Zim dollars! Crazy crazy especially when I can never get through to anyone on the phone anyway since the networks are so bad (although they still charge you for calls that don't go through, humph).

So life here can be slightly irritating on a day to day basis. My mild irritation is nothing however when compared to the suffering of millions of Zimbabweans as they battle to survive here. I can get food and although it may not be my first choice, I have the luxury of being well fed. For most Zimbabweans the story is so different. Everyday presents new challenges and feeding a family is a hard slog. You wouldn't really know it though- people are so joyful in the most hideous of situations. I am surrounded my people who continually 'make a plan'. This is a well known Zimbo phrase now! The people here are seriously creative problem solvers....although you would rarely find these plans are within the confines of the Zimbabwean government's oppressive laws.

The creativity and passion of the people here is amazing. I am loving working with my colleagues- so much joy and enthusiasm despite the situation. The problem is that the people are drip fed messages that they are worthless from their own Gov. There has been no investment here in health, sanitation, education for years and things are unravelling. The messages coming from Harare are that you are not worth our time and money and you certainly are not worth any form of justice. Instead the money goes on 'personal' projects while the beautiful people of Zim continue to die and suffer. I am about to start working on a cholera prevention and preparedness programme because we have cholera here and it will devastate the township areas. Cholera is in Zim because the money that should have gone on water treatment and the sewage pipes has been stolen. Try encouraging a child to believe in themselves and take care with hand-washing etc when no one has bothered to treat their water. The lie here is that 'you are worthless'- I can't wait to see that lie exposed for what it is.

Love to all of you- thank you for all of your messages- apologies for not getting to reply to them more or getting onto Facebook- internet is hard here. x