Many people can say they visited Africa but in reality few actually experience it. There is so much misunderstanding in the developed world about the people and their true situation. The motto for Zambia is “The Real Africa” and a recent survey in the United States found that 54% associated this phrase with a negative connotation.  Admittedly, many travelers to Africa get their initial impressions from the Western world news which reports on violence and the charitable organizations who appeal for donations by showing sickness and poverty.

The Zambian Tourism Board is trying to “rebrand” the country and a new motto will soon be chosen. However, the “Real Africa” we have discovered is actually a beautiful place with wonderful people. Zambia offers experiences many tourists never encounter because of the way tour companies package their holidays, taking into account the fears and misunderstandings of their clients. As such, Safari travelers shuttle around on buses from one activity to the other and back to the safety of their well protected resorts and lodges.

This past week Margie has been staying with us. It is a busy time for us with the opening of the Arts Cafe and difficult for us to find time to take a “holiday” with her. The alternative is to thrust her into our lives here and make her a part of the experiences we so much enjoy. That’s not to say she isn’t getting a chance to see the wildlife or tour some of the more interesting sites – she is. But she’s also meeting so many people, sharing their stories, learning about their way of life, and visiting places which are off the beaten path.

Yesterday, for example, we got invited to a free performance of the Tongabezi traditional dancers and the Lady Assumpta children’s choir at the Hindu Hall. It was an amazing show but there weren’t any tourists in the audience. Last Tuesday, we got a private walking safari with a game ranger who took us within twenty feet of a white Rhino because he knew where it had moved to. In the Maramba market she found some beautiful fabric and had a seamstress make a dress for her. A couple days later she went to the market on her own, found the same shop and ordered shirts for her son and father. Then she climbed on a packed mini-bus with the locals and made her way back to our house. She couldn’t stop talking about it.

On Sunday, Margie and Marilyn are going to Botswana to take a boat down the Chobe river, enjoy lunch in a safari lodge and do a game drive in Chobe National Park. It will be an amazing experience. Our friend Richard always makes these arrangements for us and it saves $55.00 off the cost others pay. I’m not going with them because the Livingstone Tourism Assoc. (LTA) is having a “social” function for its members which includes a  byob rafting trip down the Zambezi River followed by a cruise on the African Queen. Such an experience would normally cost a tourist $150 – $200. The cost for me is K30,000 ($6.00).

Margie is now “Auntie” Margaret to our cast and many others she has met through us. She has spent time painting walls at our Arts Cafe, volunteered for a day at Mwaanu Mbwami community school with the Book Bus, sat with the Bedyango in her home at Mukuni Village, and come to know people who greet her on the street. We still want to take her to Agrippa and Jeanette’s orphanage and take a drive with her through Malone village.

Margie arrived in Livingstone on Tuesday after a long flight. Surprisingly she was not exhausted and we managed to see some of Livingstone and sit up and talk in the evening. She is so excited to be here and has had some great experiences over the first few days of her visit. We are looking forward to showing so much more while she is here.

Margie brought a winter coat which she gave to Lefard who is one of our night watchmen. He was so excited. The nights are quite cool now as Zambia is having its winter. The days, however, are still a lovely and sunny 25-28 degrees.

Most of our time is taken up with getting the Arts Cafe ready for our opening scheduled for July 3^rd. As with any construction project the Arts Cafe is now over budget. Paint is expensive and we’ve needed a lot of it in many colours. The materials to replace the ceiling, the electrical and plumbing and the cement work are extensive. The work is taking much longer than we hoped but generally speaking we have some great workers and see progress every day.

Marilyn did a radio interview on a local station (Zambezi FM) on a program called Lifestyle and did an amazing job of capturing the essence of our project. She displayed a lot of enthusiasm and it seems to have been heard by a lot of people locally who are now asking about LiPAF and the Arts Cafe.

On Friday, Margie and I and a young woman named Linda from California spent the day painting one large room. Margie has a lot of experience painting and Linda offered to volunteer after coming to our show and getting to know us.

We also got the LiPAF logo painted on the front of the building but not the sign above which will read “The Arts Cafe”. Jack, a musician and artist we know well was hired originally but got sick. He then got Rasta to come and he did the LiPAF logo but then he too was admitted to the hospital. Tomorrow, another artist named Hendrix is coming so hopefully it will get done this time.

It seems there is a lot of sickness this time of year in Zambia, and many of our cast members have been suffering from colds. Our housekeeper was off one day this week when her niece died from malaria. Jane rarely misses work and only such a tragedy would keep her from coming to do her job. It happened to be a day when all the costumes had to be washed but four of our girls came and helped out.

I did take last Sunday off and worked in the garden staking up our tomatoes. We are now eating rape (a leafy spinach type plant) and we picked our first green beans. It is quite a challenge having to keep the plants watered every day in the hot dry weather and the sandy soil is suitable for some plants but obviously not others. Our beets and potatoes haven’t done well.

On my way to Mukuni Village last week to hire a young man to make tables and chairs for the Arts Cafe, I happened to come across a small group of elephants on the road. The elephants have been creating a lot of havoc in and around Livingstone lately and today one did some damage at the resort where we perform. Margie hasn’t seen an elephant yet and I’ve been teasing her that she may not although I know she will see plenty before she leaves.

Last night when we got home from the show, there was a car broken down right in front of our driveway and another two cars behind that one. I pulled up along side to see what was happening and it turned out one vehicle was towing a police car and the rope broke. The police office came up very angry saying “Move out of here, you are obstructing traffic”. When I told him I lived here he became really apologetic and directed me around the cars, down the side walk towards our gate. Unfortunately, I had to drive under some tree branches and it turned out there was a big limb hidden by the leaves. Now I have to take the Pajero to a panel banger to have the roof fixed.

TGIF. Yes it’s only Friday and I am writing my weekly blog early because 1. I have lots to say, 2. I have lots of time 3. I have lots of extra energy, or 4. None of the above. Actually number 4 is probably most accurate. This past week has been draining as we try to keep on top of the renovations at the Arts Cafe and still get all our other work done. Still, it is exciting to see the progress even if it can be frustrating and slow.

We have created a lot of emplyment in Zambia and even more so now with all the workers doing the renovations at the Arts Cafe. Painters, Welders, Plasterers, block layers, plumber, electrician, delivery drivers, etc. show up each day. Most are very reliable, some harder workers than others and almost all needing a lot of direction and problem solving.

We finally announced the Arts Cafe to the businesses in Livingstone through my regular emails entitled LiPAF News. Many people already know about it because they’ve asked what is happening at the brightly coloured building. Now we need to start our marketing and hope all the tourist operators will get behind the project and push it to their clients.

June has so far been a poor month for attendance at our shows and, in reality, every tourist operator is hurting. It seems people have stopped traveling to Zambia due to the world cup. Air fare through Johannesburg has almost doubled and it makes sense people are waiting until it is over. Livingstone is expecting a rush of people in July as those attending the world cup come to see Victoria Falls. Time will tell.

Speaking of the world cup, I have never been much of a fan of soccer but it is hard not to get swept up in all the enthusiasm around – especially since it is being held in Africa. Last night we watched a great Opening Ceremonies Concert and it was excellent music and performances. Today, people all over Livingstone were dressed up in their best football colours with a lot of those long plastic horns being blown. We watched the first game today between South Africa and Mexico which ended in a 1-1 draw. There are 32 countries playing in the first round divided into 8 groups. I also have a pool going where participants have to guess the winner and the total goals scored to get points in each game.

Tiika has been in Lusaka since Wednesday picking up our staff’s passports, working on getting our deed for the land LiPAF purchased in 2007,  filing our applications to renew our work permits, and picking up supplies which aren’t available in Livingstone. He is such an asset to our operations and takes on so many varied tasks.

There are many individuals tied to our lives in Livingstone. One young man named Amos is married with one child. He has lost both his legs at the knees and basically spends all day in town begging for money. We got to know him when we paid for him to go to the hospital in Lusaka and bought him medication when his stumps swelled with fluid and needed to be drained to relieve the excruciating pain. He never asks me for money but gives a hearty wave and greeting when we meet. Yesterday, I happened to see him outside the shoprite store where we buy our groceries and I bought him a bag of mealie meal to take home to his family. It is such a small thing at only K7000 ($1.50) but it will feed the three of them for a week and it also made me feel good at the end of a long and tiring day

Marilyn is busy writing our newest ‘original” African musical and the cast is rehearsing the scenes as soon as they come out of her head and onto the printed page. She is so talented and it is her experience, skill and creativity which sets us apart from any other performance group in Zambia.

Fridays are rehearsal days and for the past month we have been holding them in our back yard. It is quite a lovely setting and sometimes our neighbours come over to watch. We have hired a new female for our troupe after Rachel decided to go back to her old job when her contract was renewed. She is making more money than we can pay at this time. Marilyn is also auditioning drummers to replace Gift who didn’t pass all his grade 12 subjects and has returned to school to upgrade at the insistence of his parents.

We like to support those on staff who are interested in furthering their education even though it sometimes means they will leave us. Evans left last year after completing his social work degree and is working for an agency in Livingstone. He still loves to perform, however, and comes out whenever we need a male drummer/dancer.

Mwneya is currently studying nursing, Jane is writing exams for her first year of law distance learning law courses, Michael is studying Human Resources and Given is upgrading his high school marks part-time. Even Abel our night watchman is going to school in the afternoons to get his high school diploma. It makes us very happy to help them in these endeavors which will undoubtedly give them all a better chance in life in a country where life is hard. We are trying to help them financially as we can but it would be great to find them sponsors.

We registered our company in Zambia under the name “The Livingstone Arts Cafe” and are busy getting all the licenses weneed to run a bar and restaurant. There are also health and fire inspections to be completed once we are ready to open. I’m supervising all the work at the Arts Cafe and it is proving to be a real challenge to keep things moving along. We should bestarting the cement block seating this week but we have to wait for the bricks to be made and dried before we can buy them. There are no stockpiles as there would be in Canada.

Marilyn took on another job this past week for a company opening a new attraction at the bridge which spans the canyon between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

They are hiring two full-time people to conduct historical tours on the bridge as part of the operation which runs the bungee jumping. They approached us and asked if we could audition and train the two tour guides. Once again Marilyn’s expertise is being sought after. She has already narrowed the field down to six potential workers and it is so great to be involved in helping people get full-time jobs. Good for Allen and Paul and Russel -the ones involved in this new project.

The bridge was constructed in 1905 and it really is a marvel and even more so considering the equipment and machines available over 100 years ago. The Chief Mukuni of the day was convinced it could not be done and came every day to watch the foolish white man try to span the canyon and fully expecting it to all fall into the gorge. These days they only allow one vehicle on the bridge at a time for safety reasons.

Several people we know are suffering from colds in Livingstone and it makes me think of our flu season. The days are sunny and warm but it is getting quite cool at night. Leaves are falling from our trees yet our garden is flourishing. However, we need to water it every day. Our bananas and popos are ripening and should be ready in a few weeks.

Last Friday I got a call from a man named Brush who was looking for a piano player to entertain for a gathering at his house. As we talked, I discovered he love music, plays guitar, and just enjoys having people over to his home to jam and have fun. Marilyn and I met him for coffee at his office on Saturday and we realized we had found a kindred spirit.

Brush invited us to his home after our show on Saturday and we arrived around 10:45pm. He had family and friends gathered and he and his wife were so welcoming. They have a lovely home built on the grounds of their factory with a swimming pool, courtyard, second storey deck, and spacious livingroom and kitchen.

Brush and his brother operate a dairy making long-life milk called Finta. We drink this all the time because fresh milk is often not available. We were first introduced to long-life milk when we lived on the Greek island of Naxos. Brush’s grandparents first came to Livingstone from India many years ago and now his children are fourth generation born and raised in Zambia. Brush is also building a large resort on Mosi-o-tunya Rd. and is interested in the whole idea of providing cultural entertainment and music for guests. He was quite pleased to hear about the Arts Cafe. He and Marilyn played some songs together before we went home around 1am.

Today (Sunday June 6) we are performing at Jollyboys backpackers. The owner, Kim, is from Vancouver Island originally and we work together on a lot of projects in Livingstone through the LTA. She is a real go-getter and has a really successful and lovely backpackers which is one of the busiest lodgings in town. We regularly get people attending our shows at the Sun from Jollyboys because Kim promotes us.

We are aiming for a July 3 gala at the Arts Cafe and combining it with our Festival of Banners project. We will be inviting lots of dignitaries. I just hope I can keep it on track to be open soon. There are still toilets to replace, lights to purchase and hang, interior painting to do, the bar to complete and lots of other surprises I’m sure.

On June 15, Marilyn’s sister arrives for a visit and we will be planning lots of things to do during her stay. We are always so happy to have family and friends sharing our home here and our experiences.

“We loved it!” This is the feedback we get from our shows on a regular basis from individuals and groups. In addition to our regular shows, we performed an extra show at a boma dinner event for 88 people from South Africa. They were celebrating their third year as champions of a football league. Our show works extremely well with this kind of event as it gives the patrons a full night of entertainment while they enjoy their meal. The concept of dinner theatre is well known to us in Canada and other parts of the world but is somewhat new to those in Zambia.

The boma at the Zambezi Sun is a lovely environment for dinner theatre and the Sun is the only place in Livingstone with such a venue. Although the British used the word ‘boma’ to identify their administrative centre, the term to Africans basically describes a ‘traditional’ eating area. The Sun has constructed a circular place with several thatched roof structures, a stage, and various pieces of art work. All the cooking is done outside and when laid out as a buffet it is quite stunning.

One really nice thing about performing during dinner theatre is the enjoyment we see in the faces of the Sun’s staff as they look on. We have many friendly contacts with the Sun staff and it is always nice when they express their pride in seeing their culture exhibited to the guests. They applaud along with the international guests and even engage patrons in conversations afterwards about the show. We are quite pleased that international guests are educated at the same time they are being entertained and love the fact that local Zambians take pride in seeing us perform.

So much is happening these days it is hard to respond to all the contacts coming our way. We have a special performance this coming Tuesday and another next Sunday. LiPAF has been hired to recruit and train staff for a new tourist event taking place on the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, we are working with the performers at the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zim, and some of our performers may be recruited to go to England as part of an international folk dance exchange. Some people from Michigan who run three theatres are also in touch with us to discuss a trip to perform in the US. As the only group in Zambia with an ‘Artistic Director’ we are getting a lot of recognition for the quality of our shows and the fact that we are promoting Zambian culture as a means of alleviating poverty.

The cast is currently in rehearsals for our new play which still doesn’t have a title although I like “. In the true tradition of music theatre it is another fascinating tale which celebrates African culture through drama, music, dance, and song. It has more acting in it which our staff love and responds to the many patrons who saw African Shoes and have been hoping for another music theatre play from us. We are planning to open it in the next month or so.

So with all this happening it is amazing that we find time to oversee the renovations at our new venue – “The Arts Cafe”. We recently hired a full-time marketing manager and she is busy working with Marilyn to plan our gala opening in July, put together our new flyers and show program, and make sure everyone in the tour business both in Livingstone and internationally knows about us. Marilyn meanwhile is putting together the series of workshops we’ll be having and recruiting those who will run them. She’s also compiling a list of bands and other entertainers to invite to be part of our ‘cultural centre” experience.

As you can see the colours on our building are quite bold and it is getting the just the reaction we hoped for. So many people have been asking what is happening there and the word is getting out even though we haven’t made any official announcements. Several lodge owners have said it will be great for them to have something like this for their guests and lots of local residents have said they too look forward to coming.

Another project we’ve initiated is the Festival of Banners. We’ve spoken with the City and the Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA), of which I’m a member of the Board, and everything is moving along nicely. We are putting the budget together for it and will soon be seeking sponsors. Essentially, we are going to have a school competition where students are given material to paint a banner on the theme “Livingstone Proud”. They will be judged and the best 200 or so will be hung from the new light standards downtown. Everyone we’ve spoken to is excited about this colourful display brightening up the downtown and giving it a festive feel.

We have other news as well. Marilyn’s sister Margie is arriving in Livingstone on June 15 and her cousins from New Mexico are coming at the first of July.

We’ve had a really great week starting with our trip to Lusaka to pick Ryan up at the Airport. We went up on Saturday and stayed at Mika lodge. We went to a reggae festival on Saturday night and picked Ryan up at the airport on Sunday. It just happened to be his birthday and when we arrived back in Livingstone we went to Olgas Italian Restaurant and Giuseppe put three candles on a dessert for him.

On Monday we took Ryan to our new Arts Cafe building and he got to meet our cast as well as our staff, Tikka and Daisy and lots of our friends on the streets of Livingstone.

On Tuesday we went to Botswana for a game drive and boat cruise down the Chobe river where Ryan was treated to a host of animal sightings.

We got up close to so many animals in Chobe. We even saw a lion which is my first sighting since we came to Africa. There were water monitor lizards, water buffalo (very dangerous), hippos (very dangerous), crocodiles (very dangerous), elephants (sometimes dangerous) and a host birds and other wild life.

On Wednesday morning he and I went to Nalituwe School where he met Stephania, the principal about some possible science projects with the Earth Rangers in Canada. He also gave a lecture to a grade 8 class on biodiversity.

In the evening he got to see our show again and was so impressed he and Sally are donating to the Arts Cafe to help us buy additional lighting and sound equipment. It is a big boost to our plans to create a ‘cultural centre’ in Livingstone.

Thursday was another busy day showing him around Livingstone and he also spent time helping us with our web site and other office related projects. Friday, he gave a talk to our staff during rehearsal day and they were absolutely enthralled and filled with questions. I am so amazed at how Ryan can share very complicated scientific information in a way that all can understand regardless of age or education. Our staff and friends really like Ryan and I’m sure many will keep in touch with him via email.

The week went by too fast and as we headed over to Zimbabwe on Saturday I started to feel sad that he would be leaving on Monday. However, we had a great time in Zim. We were the guests of Nicole and Karl at the very beautiful Victoria Falls Hotel. Marilyn is working with the VFH cultural dance group to help them develop their show and while she did that Ryan and I drove around the town of Victoria Falls, relaxed for a while around the hotel pool, and, on Sunday morning, we went to the falls where we both got soaking wet.

Ryan left today (Monday) and is now in South Africa awaiting his trip home via Amsterdam.It has been so great to have him here with us and his departure was sad. He did say he would be back, and we’ll see everyone in August if our plans go well.  His visit sure did make me realize how much I miss our times together.

It is so nice for him to have this first-hand knowledge of our project and it will enrich our long distance conversations until we get together in August. He makes us very proud.

Usually I sit down and write my weekly blog on Sundays. I know there are people who make it a part of their plans to read it and this motivates me to keep it going. I also consider it a log of our activities and will someday read back through the years and summarize our experience here in Africa. It is hard to believe that we first visited Zambia in 2006 and have lived here now for more than a year. So much has happened.

It is Thursday night and I’ve decided to post my blog on Friday this week for two reason – so much has happened already this week and we’re driving up to Lusaka on Saturday and back on Sunday and we won’t be around. Ryan arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday and we’re picking him up at the Lusaka airport on Sunday morning. This will be Marilyn’s first visit to the capital city and my first time driving. The other two times I took the bus.

It’s been quite a week so far. Last week we signed a lease on a building and started major renovations to create an ‘Arts Cafe’. It will be a cultural centre with daily activities. I’ll write more about how it will operate in the weeks to come. We’re hoping to open early in June.

Even in the beginning, we wanted to have our own venue for our shows but the original location we sought at Victoria Hall didn’t work for a lot of reasons. In the end, we abandoned the idea and settled for performing in resorts. We actually thought this could work to our advantage but being dependent on others to provide a venue and market our shows hasn’t really let us develop in the way we want. We can’t create a permanent set or gain the level of exposure necessary. However, we will want to continue at the resort and see the Arts Cafe as an expansion of our operations.

We don’t intend to be in the restaurant/bar business so we have been meeting with those who are and are considering various partnership arrangements. Food and drink will only be available at certain times of the day to compliment our theatre shows and other activities so we will hopefully avoid the pitfalls of such a business.

This is a big risk for us but Marilyn and I have decided to “go for it” and we are extremely excited. We hired a contractor, an electrician and a plumber and already the work is progressing at a surprising rate – especially considering this is Africa (TIA). I suspect my blogs will be mostly about the Arts Cafe for the next while but then again one never knows the news we will have on other matters. No two days are ever the same it seems.

In the office, I was also quite busy. Ten days ago, I got a call from the consulate of the Czech Republic to say the Czech embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe was very positive that they had found us a sponsor for our trip to the folk dance festivals. I had almost given up hope. Based on this news, we were asked to get our passports for our staff. The embassy in Harare was sending a letter to the Zambian Foreign Affairs office to facilitate the process in Lusaka. We put all the paper work together and Tiika travelled to Lusaka last week.

It is often hard for people in Zambia to get a passport or visas to other countries (including Canada) because they are seen as potential defectors. This connection with the Czech Embassy really helped. Unfortunately, it also cost us K4,000,000 which we hope to recover as part of the sponsorship. However, this week “very positive” turned out to be “its a lot of money you need” and we are now less optimistic. In fairness to those planning the program in the Czech Republic and our need to get on with our own plans, we’ve decide to cancel the idea as of the 17^th if we don’t get positive news. Perhaps next year, we will have our own funds to make it happen.

While in Lusaka, Tiika also went to the Immigration office to see about getting our work permits renewed. They expire in July and it can take two months to get new ones, if at all. It is something that has worried us a bit although we have a good reputation from our work here and being volunteers makes it even more attractive for the Zambian government to extend them. However, we found out we have to surrender our existing work permits while they process the new ones. We are going to Botswana with Ryan while he is here and need them to avoid paying entry visa fees when we return to Zambia. We will wait until after our trip to begin the renewal process.

While Marilyn continues to manage our performances, write and rehearse her new musical play, and create the daily schedule for the Arts Cafe, I can’t seem to catch up with all the jobs coming my way. As the Co-chairperson of the Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) FEM committee (Fundraising, Events, and Membership) I had a number of duties to undertake and managed to clear only a few from my desk. LTA is also hiring a new program coordinator and I chaired the interview process last Saturday. I could write a book about the LTA as it has gone through a lot of growing pains but I’m enjoying my role on the Executive.

Being in the tourist business gives us the opportunity to meet a lot of people from all over the world. I must admit most of our lasting contacts come through Marilyn who always strikes up a conversation so easily. Her German comes in handy quite often.

This week she met a man named Rhudi from Mauritius who is an architect. He spent 15 years working in New York city before returning to his home country. His wife was attending a conference for three days and we struck up a friendship. He came to the Arts Cafe twice and has consulted with us on a lot of things. What a great turn of fortune and what a nice guy.

I’ve arranged two meeting for Ryan at local schools. He is interested in setting up some science projects with an NGO in Canada. We have a wonderful relationship with many teachers and the headmasters and it is always a pleasure to be greeted with such warmth. They are very excited to meet Ryan when he arrives.

We had a nice video conversation with Sean and Makiko and Julian last Sunday. They are moving after being in their first apartment for 4 years. Michele and Frank were there a few weeks ago and we really need to plan a trip to Japan in the not too distant future. Julian is growing so fast and he brings out all his toys and books to show us through the video link. When we say goodbye he gets very upset and doesn’t want our call to end.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. At last night’ss show we had the Zambian Football team show up. They are in Livingstone as part of a huge celebration taking place. Since everyone is so hyped up about the world cup next month in South Africa it was quite exciting. They are a great bunch of fun loving guys and really enjoyed the performance. They say they are coming back again on Saturday.

Reflections on doing work in Africa:

Yogi Berra, who had a great way with words once said “nobody goes there anymore….it’s too busy.” Another of his sayings which I’ve used many times is “when you come to a fork in the road….take it.” Beyond the humour there is a lot of truth to what he says in that particular phrase and Marilyn and I have come to many forks in the road in Africa. I doubt many NGOs are created and run by just two people and few are ever self-sustaining. In our case, we have no choice but to earn the money necessary to keep it going. We don’t have the funds ourselves nor do we have a large donor community such as the David Lewis Foundation.

It is interesting to reflect back on the various decisions we made and the goals we achieved only to discover another ‘fork in the road’ or perhaps more accurately it is not a road at all but rather a path covered with dense vegetation. By this I mean we have often met a goal we set for our Foundation but the results aren’t what we expected.

Some would say T.I.A. …’This Is Africa’ which is a common expression in these parts. Generally it is used to explain away why there might be a long delay in expected accomplishment, the bureaucratic nightmare which exists without technology, the lack of quality workmanship or needed supplies, or adjustments required in a system with a very different work ethic. Personally, we like to avoid this phrase and never use it. Still there is a reality in Africa which is very foreign and probably misunderstood by most people in the developed world.

Take for example our school sponsorship program. We have been blessed with wonderful friends in Canada who help us sponsor 28 vulnerable children in school. However,  when we discover one of the young girls we are sponsoring has been shipped back to the village to get married or a boy is removed to work in the fields, it can at first be frustrating. That’s when you realize T.I.A. We are forever adapting to this local culture.

The best (or worst) example, depending on how you look at it is our school borehole project. Last year we found a good welder to construct the water tower and there just happened to be a well drilling firm in Livingstone we were able to hire to drill the borehole. In anticipation of having everything completed in a few months, the teachers and students hand tilled a large section of land and planted a vegetable garden.

First, we were promised a 5000 ltr water tank at a reduced price as long as we could pick it up some 150 km from Livingstone. Each week for more than two months I spoke to the man offering it and was promised the arrangements would be made for me to pick it up. In the end, there was no water tank and we bought one at full price from a local dealer.

There was another delay in getting a submersible pump from Lusaka and the discovery that we needed a special ‘control box’ which didn’t exist anywhere. In the end we had one made for us but this too took several months. Finally, I hired a plumber/electrician to complete the work but one type of pipe to connect the pump to the tank is not available anywhere in Zambia. We have been waiting for our order to be shipped for three months. Obviously, the school’s vegetable garden dried up during last year’s dry season, to my great disappointment, but what is one to do….. T.I.A.

On Culture

Hey! Don’t get me started (ha ha). Although the promotion and preservation of culture is valued in all countries of the world, it is often expressed verbally but seldom in tangible ways. Pierre Trudeau once said being neighbours with the United States was like sleeping with an elephant… “no matter how friendly and even tempered is the beast, you notice every twitch and turn”.  Despite Canada’s attempts to define itself we know that we are tremendously influenced by the Americans.

In Zambia, the level of unemployment and poverty leads to a different consequence for cultural initiatives. Groups of cultural dancers form to sell their product and make a few dollars to support their families. However, they compete amongst each other for the few jobs available and mostly end up being paid very little. Meanwhile, large corporations, donor societies, and governments throw money at big festivals which are often as much political affairs as cultural celebrations.

LiPAF has set itself apart from other groups in several ways. First, we employ full-time performers. This job security which allows our cast members to gain a sense of economic security also gives us the opportunity to schedule regular rehearsals and develop new show material. It has been a struggle, however, to stay true to our roots which are music theatre shows. We are constantly being asked to perform for 15 minutes here or there and usually offered less than it would cost us to transport our staff to the event and pay their daily wages.

Secondly, we aim not to compete with the many other dance groups and often recommend them to anyone wanting something other than our show. We allow these groups to use our offices for meetings, access the internet, and even hire them from time to time to teach our cast members dances from the various provinces. In 2009, during the world economic crisis, we lost money each and every month. We knew what was needed to generate larger audiences but have been continually frustrated by the lack of assistance in marketing our productions. We realized early on ‘we were on our own’.

Throughout it all, we are growing as people which is a wonderful benefit when you reach my age. Both Marilyn and I enjoy getting up each day to do our work and are constantly evaluating and revaluating our operations.  It would be easy to pack it all in and return to Canada but we aren’t homesick at all for our past way of life. We do miss family and friends and our past social life but each day we are motivated by the fact that we are making a difference in so many lives. We truly enjoy the greetings from our many new friends when we pass on the street, the weather is superb, and we laugh a lot.

The Next Phase:

So it is with optimism that we embark on a new phase of our operations here in Livingstone. So far, in 2010, we have managed to generate enough revenue to pay our bills but we are ‘stuck’ so to speak as we depend on others to provide us with a venue and don’t feel we will expand under the current conditions.

Last week we signed a lease on a building which was a former restaurant. It has two large rooms, one with a bar and the other ideal for a 100 seat theatre. There is another fairly large room where we will soon relocate our office, a spacious dressing room behind our stage area with access out back to a courtyard for our staff, and several smaller rooms. Outside we will have a fenced garden area with tables and chairs and music playing.

Marilyn has formed a committee with several artists who are extremely positive about the potential of our ‘Arts Cafe’. There will be activities six days each week which demonstrate various cultural activities from drum workshops to basket making to cooking traditional Zambian food. We will have different bands playing in our garden for two hours each day leading up to our shows. We envision this as a great location for tourists to spend some time and meet and mingle with our local patrons.

Marilyn and the cast have also been working on a new show which will be our third. We hope to bring back African Shoes and together with Dancing Around Zambia and our latest production we can offer a variety of music theatre experiences which celebrate Zambian culture. If all goes well, we will be like other places in the world, where we become a ‘must see’ experience as people plan their vacation.

It’s all a bit scary because we must invest a fair bit of money to renovate the building. But money has never meant that much to me and even less to my wonderful and creative partner. What price can we put on this adventure we are so lovingly experiencing together? We know this trip we are on isn’t found in any travel brochures and isn’t available at any price whether you have money or not.

Still, we’re not interested in becoming totally bankrupt and have recently partnered with an NGO called the Netherlands Development Agency (SNV). They have steered us to some potential grant agencies and are offering to pay for the services of a marketing consultant to promote the Arts Cafe internationally. Will it all work……we think so…..we hope so. So many lives depend upon it.

Visitors:

On another note we have been blessed to have some wonderful visitors this past month. Kelly stayed with us for several days while she was waiting for her accommodation to be ready as coordinator of the ‘Book Bus’ project she runs. The day she left, Sue, Ben, and Dana arrived from Canada. What a pleasure to have them as guests. Now, we are awaiting Ryan’s visit on Sunday May 16 (his birthday).

Marilyn and I are driving to Lusaka to pick Ryan up at the airport. We’re going up on Saturday and staying over. Marilyn has not been to Lusaka and is looking forward to it.  We’ve booked a trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana with Ryan on Tuesday May 18 and he wants to visit some schools to set up some science projects. Of course, we can’t wait to take him to our show and enjoy sitting around talking which is always a joy with Ryan who so insightful, interesting, and compassionate.

Some of you will remember Kelly who worked for us last fall and made it possible for us to return to Canada for a Christmas vacation. She is the coordinator of the Book Bus which is a traveling library which visits local schools. It is run by a British NGO and is an amazing program utilizing volunteers in two week blocks of time.

The Book Bus only operates during the dry season so Kelly was free to work for us last November, December and January before she went back to England. Last week she returned to Livingstone to prepare for this year’s Book Bus program. She stayed with us for a few days until her accommodation was ready at “Grubbie’s Grotto”, a campground close to our house.

We had so much fun and it was great to have her around. She came to our show again and was warmly greeted by all our cast who are quite fond of her, as we are. When someone stays with you, it is the best time to really get to know each other and having someone to bounce off ideas and vent issue is really cathartic.

Kelly moved out on Saturday and we were quite sad to see her go even though we will see lots of her over the next few months. Our house seemed empty. However, I got a call from a taxi driver on Saturday afternoon, who said he had three Canadians in his cab who were looking for me. I was at the office and I asked him to bring them. Sue Rosen and her daughter Dana and son Ben are from Orillia and we knew they were in Africa but weren’t sure if or when they were coming to Livingstone.

They started in JB in SA and traveled up through Zimbabwe, crossing over into Zambia at Victoria Falls. It was so nice to greet them and to be able to offer them a place to stay. Marilyn knew them from before because several years ago Dana was in the Orillia Youth Orchestra which joined with Marilyn’s children’s choir for a series of performances.

They are such adventurous travelers and travel in the same way we do which is to say all their needs are in backpacks and they don’t have a set agenda. I took them around some parts of Livingstone to give them a feel for the place and last night they came to our show. We sat up late last night talking and as I write this blog early on Sunday morning everyone is still sleeping. The kids and Sue are so great and fun loving and today and tomorrow we’ll have a chance to show them around before they head off towards Malawi to visit another family originally from the Orillia area.

On the 16^th of May, Ryan will be arriving in Lusaka and we can hardly wait. Marilyn and I are going to do the 5 hour drive on the 15^th and stay over in Lusaka so we can be at the airport to greet him on the Sunday. He will have spent 5 days in Nairobi, Kenya at a meeting discussing a project to identify the DNA of mosquitoes that carry malaria.

We had a great outdoor show last night at the Zambezi Sun last night with 40 people in attendance. We moved to a venue called the Kingfisher which is one of favourites. Set within a high twig fence and next to a beautiful pond it really suits our performance. There were so many different nationalities in attendance and it was one of our most lively crowds ever. They were laughing, applauding, and even screaming out at times with excitement.

One man in attendance was from San Francisco and in addition to having traveled all over the world he used to be a principle of an Arts College before he retired.  Prior to the show he seemed a bit judgmental as he said he had seen so many different kinds of cultural performances in his lifetime and often wasn’t all that impressed.

Well….. he absolutely loved our show. Afterwards, he made a point of hanging around and kept raving about our performance. He especially liked Michael who plays our bus driver/narrator for the show. We are used to lots of accolades from our audience members but coming from someone with such a background we were feeling quite pleased and proud.

My muscles are still sore from my visit to Victoria Falls last Thursday. I took Jane, our housekeeper, and three kids from the Maramba Farm compound to see the falls. It is such a fun place to go this time of year. The rush of water over the falls is incredible and the spray coming back up across the paths is like being in a major rain storm. Everyone was prepared to get very wet and believe you me we did.

I couldn’t believe that Jane, who has lived in Livingstone for many years, had never been. Since then, however, I find lots of local residents have not visited the falls. I guess the entrance fee is often a deterrent for those struggling to buy even the basics of life. The look on Jane’s face when she first saw the volume of water and heard the roar of the falls was so precious.

There is a narrow bridge crossing over one part of the canyon called the Knife Edge Bridge. It is located in the centre of the spray and since it is on a bit of an angle, the water was flowing down it like a small river. At first I didn’t think any of them would come across but finally Mary, the youngest, grabbed me with both hands and the rest followed. We were absolutely drenched by the time we got to the other side.

I don’t have many pictures because it is too wet to take a camera. I wish I had it with me, though, when we walked down to a spot called the “Boiling Pot”. This is a long series of stone steps to the bottom of the gorge where the river turns at its narrowest spot just after the falls. As such, it creates a whirlpool effect which makes it look like boiling water.

At the bottom of the steps there is a small stream which seems to come up from out of the ground and flow out to the Zambezi. This is such a beautiful area and the constant flow of water and spray has turned it into a mini rainforest. The ‘Boiling Pot’ is almost directly under the bridge over the gorge which links Zim with Zambia. We sat there for a long time and watched people bungee jumping off the bridge. The climb back seemed twice as long (and hard) and it is really a long distance and a very steep climb – hence the sore muscles for the next few days. Truly it was a great day and so much fun to treat the kids and Jane to this amazing wonder of the world.

This year I am on the Board of Directors of the Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA). I really like the other members of the Board and appreciate their desire to make Livingstone a more prosperous city and promote Livingstone as a tourist destination. They all work very hard and I want to make a valuable contribution.

Three committees have been combined to form the FEM Committee (Fundraising, Events, and Membership). Kim, one of the owners of Jollyboys Backpackers, is the Chair and a very hard worker with lots of great ideas. I am the co-chair of sorts but primarily responsible for the fund raising portion. However, Kim is England attending a wedding so I organized the meeting for this past Friday.

At first, it looked like we were going to have a great turnout but at the last minute several people cancelled. The meeting was held 12 km out of Livingstone at a lodge called the Livingstone Guest Farm. It was once an active farm but now contains a beautiful large building (see picture) and several other new suites. It has a lovely big swimming pool and a large campground.

Willem and Nsomo run it and they are on the FEM committee. Despite the low turnout, the 5 of us in attendance agreed it was a very good meeting and some felt we go much more accomplished than at a larger FEM meeting held last month.

When Sue, Ben, and Dana arrived, I showed them our garden and our Popo trees (papaya). However, our neighbours Richard and Natalie have some which are already ripe but way up at the top of a large tree. Lefard didn’t think he could climb it but Ben took a stab at it only to find shimmying up the smooth trunk of a Popo tree isn’t all that easy. Finally, another young guy watching us, climbed up the adjoining Mango tree, slid over to near the top of the Popo tree and with a stick managed to knock down three popos which Ben and Lefard tried to catch.

The first one landed with a splat on the ground and became mush. The second, Lefard caught but is was so ripe it burst in his hands. Finally, Ben caught the third one and cushioned the fall to keep it in tact. We all shared a bit but to be honest it was a bit too ripe. Our popos, bananas should be ready in a month and our vegetables in a few weeks. Lefard is tending the garden each day as it needs lots of water now that the rains have stopped. (Look closely in the pic below to see the man shimmying up the tree)

This has turned out to be a long blog entry with few pictures but there is one more item worth mentioning. Last week I got a call from the Embassy of the Czech Republic to say they thought they had found a sponsor to pay for our air fare so we can attend the folkdance festivals to which we have been invited. They asked us to get passports for our cast members as they were ‘almost positive’ we would get financial assistance. To help us arrange passports the Czech Embassy has sent a letter to the Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they have offered to process them all within three days.

It is expensive to purchase 12 passports but we really don’t have any choice. If the sponsorship comes through we will need to make our plane reservations in a hurry. We will all fly to Vienna and cross over into the Czech Republic. Once there, our meals, accommodation, travel and sightseeing are all paid for by the Festival organizers. We also have to investigate visas to get into Austria and find out whether there are any issues bringing our drums into England (a stopover) and Austria since they have cow skin heads. We’re crossing our fingers as this would be an unbelievable experience for our staff who would never imagine such a trip without LiPAF.

We went to a birthday party for Alexa who is a volunteer Kiwi we met at one of our shows. It was held at backpackers which is not yet open for the tourist season so it was an exclusive venue. As is the tradition in Zambia, Alexa got thrown into the pool. Richard planned the surprise dunking but while he was gloating someone gave him a push and he too got soaked. Brianna also got tossed into the pool and some people tried to throw Mwenya in as well but he is big guy and even a group of guys couldn’t move him.

That was Thursday night and around 19 hours it started to storm with a heavy downpour of rain. The brie full of chicken and sausage was moved in under a canopy and around 20 hours we sat down to a great meal of vegetables, chicken, nshima, and salad.

It continued to rain into Friday causing a lot of flooding in Livingstone and washing away sand from our yard. Marilyn held most of her rehearsal inside our back porch and livingroom until the rains finally stopped around noon. I was supposed to go to a meeting of the LTA (Livingstone Tourism Assoc.) but it was being held at the Livingstone Guest Farm which is 12 km out of town and the road was impassable so it got cancelled.

I wanted to share a few anecdotes in this blog to help demonstrate some ways of life in Africa which are different from what we’ve experienced in Canada. Here goes.

The Rain

When it was raining, Marilyn got text messages from several of our staff saying “I will be delayed due to the rain.” What this means is that they will not be leaving their house for fear of getting wet. From the time they are little they are told if they go out in the rain they will get sick and they see this as a reason to miss work. No amount of logic can sway them.

Finding Things You need

Usually you don’t know where something might be sold until you need it and start searching. Many shops sell a hodge podge of items and may or may not have what you want. By example, yesterday I was looking for electrical tape, a grill for our brie, and a bicycle patching kit. Two “hardware and electrical supply shops” didn’t have the tape but I found it at a store which sells mostly office supplies. The search for the grill took me to several stores and a walk through the Maramba market. Just as I thought I would have to have one made, I happened to see grills in the Shoprite grocery store.

The patch kit was a whole different story and none could be found. The shops selling bicycles didn’t have it. I eventually went to the area of town called “Second Class” (I’ll explain the name someday), and just started asking in every shop. Finally a little shop selling a variety of kitchen wares had it under the counter.

Watch my truck

Twice I have been caught asking for someone to “watch my truck” only to find when I returned that the person heard “wash my truck” and it cost me K10,000 each time.

Concept of Time

In many countries of the world the concept of time differs tremendously from our own in Canada. Meetings of any sort never start on time and inviting someone for dinner at 19 hours may see the guests arrive as much as two hours later. It has been a challenge to get our staff to understand that a bus leaving at 14 hours is actually leaving at 14 hours. Many have missed the transportation to the performances at the resort and had to make their own way. Now I am happy to say they are rarely early but at least “on time.”

I’ll get back to you

Never does anyone call you back.

Paging, texting, and calling

Everyone has a cell phone in Livingstone but many do not have much money for talk time. Paging is a way someone calls but hangs up after the first ring. This leaves a message which reads “ 1 missed call’.  It always means “I don’t have talk time, please call me.” Texting is cheaper and short messages are sent back and forth. Sometimes the message is so abbreviated it is unrecognizable and we end up calling anyway. Calls are often short and often you get a message such as “the person you are calling is either outside the coverage area or has their phone switched off.” This often means their battery hasn’t been charged. (As soon as people arrive at your house they usually plug in their phones as many homes don’t have electricity)