Solwezi and the wild Northwest
em breve Things picking up a little bit in Smartcareland. Got a chance to see more of the country a few weeks back, by assisting one of our provincial trainings up in Solwezi, way way way up in Northwestern province. A long haul by bus, but luckily not so bad in our CDC SUV. Big bwana style. Even though in what I know of Zambia there is not huge variance in scenery (read American Midwest), the trip was pleasant. The strip-mining gorges (Copperbelt), road-side fruit vendors, suicidal goats and scrappy pine forests (Copperbelt) kept us travelers from catatonia
Our deployment methodology focuses around these provincial trainings, where the system is taught to local health officials/managers/information officers etc. The idea is then they will deploy the equipment to their localities, training those under them in Smartcare 101. Of course at training as the usual logistical fun and brushfires, but went very well with a very sharp group. The touchscreen technology indeed makes the system mais rapido to pickup.
So that was a nice change of pace, from the office roll. The project has one more training in Eastern Province, and I hope to assist at that as well. Indeed, our PCV clump here is still organizing for direct field support/collaboration in the field, so as the "big" trainings wind down we can focus more on "monitoring and evaluation" activities to see how everyones faring.
posted by Brent at 4/30/2008 07:25:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments |
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Ndi li tulo
In Chechewa/Nyanja that means "I have been having a problem staying awake". Awake enough to update this blog. Anyway nice lull, rest, flakiness. The web is very distracting.
Onward to the update. Surprisingly enough nearly half-way through the whole Zambia stint. True to the saying, once your finally adjusted its going to be time to hit the road again. Doh. Work is rolling along in SmartCareLand, albeit on Africa time. Still fairly scattered in daily activities, Training, Testing, and odds and ends. The PC presence has also swelled, another PCV has joined the project, with one more in the pipeline. So how many PCVs does it take to change a light-bulb? They could teach someone to build a solar still though.
Back when I first came to Zambia I had a vision of my job. Living not in the bush, but in a provincial capital, fanning out from there to directly support SmartCare in surrounding villages and clinics. The system is meant to be a nation-wide thing, everyone with a Smartcard holding their health history. Much like my vision for youth center in CV this ideal has undergone revision. Currently its in our collective strategy to do something similar, but mobilize PCVs already in the field to "Monitor and Evaluate". Picture one day a strange black box appears in the village. The clinician remembers their district boss mentioning something about computers at a training six months back, but the deployment was delayed by 4 months, due to roads being washed out, and the computer being "lost" and found half-way back to the capital. The clinic has electricity (solar panels) but the voltage needs to be changed for the computer to work. In fact how do you turn the computer on? The user manual was eaten by a goat, or used as toilet paper. Fortunately a PCV (or their trained Zambian counter-part/friend) bikes in to get some mealie-meal, and utilizes the magical power of "skills-transfer" to teach how to power on the machine. Repeat visits, training, and support ensue until the community is comfortable with the tech and kicking solitaire playing youth off the computer. The volunteer/counterpart reports success and disasters back to the SmartCare mother-ship in Lusaka, and metrics are weighed and pondered.
Thats the grand plan how we can be most effective here. The SmartCare PCVs been attempting to get things organized and formalized in between our other miscellaneous tasks and Lusaka living. I'll blab a bit more about the motivation/philosophy behind the above proposal after this 4 day weekend. Happy Easter. They do have Cadbury cream eggs at the Spar here. Thank God.
posted by Brent at 3/20/2008 12:34:00 PM | permalink | (0) comments |
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Lull
Been quiet around here. Like really quiet. Office jobs are office jobs and Lusaka more typical expat life then "atypical" Peace Corps. All going good though.
posted by Brent at 1/17/2008 05:58:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments |
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Not a Desert
Well not much to write about…daily and weekly routines forming up in a boring, but relaxed, city. The job with CDC/SmartCare is definitely a full work day type of thing, so doing the 9-5, more or less, testing/hacking software for bugs, gaining knowledge of the Smartcare system, building on training and deployment practices, learning about the Zambian health care system and helping on any number other miscellaneous items that come up. So there is definite flow and professionalism to the position, God be praised, unlike some, ahem, previous engagements. The project is situated in a very comfortable office environment; we have high speed internet, and AC, among other amenities foreign to most PC volunteers in Zambia. Who can complain? Awesome team of colleagues as well, got to know them a little better on a retreat out to “the bush” about a week back. Went out to a lodge a short distance from Lusaka and had an intense, but groovy three days discussing issues, full board feasting, and wildlife viewing from our porches. Getting away from Lusaka keeps the energy level up. After the rainy season going to try and schedule more short getaways/camping to escape. There are a couple of tranquil options for weekend relaxation within striking distance, like Kafue National Park.
Clearly, this past month, the rainy season has hit, and kill me for constant comparisons the Cape Verde, but wow. Thunder, lightning, and violent downpours so I’ve got that checkmark in my “experience the real Africa” column. I’m loving it, except when the afternoon thunderstorms coincide with my 40 minute walk from work to my home. Other waypoints like learning Nyanja, the local language, proceeding much more slowly…but fun. However I have been eating local with the ubiquitous staple nshima (sorta grits/mashed potato), like a pro, utensil-free. Method being forming a nshima ball with your hands and then using it to scoop up the fish, chicken, cabbage, boiled spinach or whatnot that’s hanging out on your plate. Tasty.
Looking forward to some Christmas plans, going to be heading down to Botswana to visit my friend, who also extended from Cape Verde. We’ll be bumming around the Okavango Delta, then up to Victoria Falls. Until then…got a wedding coming up for one of my colleagues.
posted by Brent at 11/28/2007 07:36:00 AM | permalink | (0) comments |
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Past Few Weeks
So a busy start here in Lusaka now calming down to a more normal pace. Despite not having to participate in a Peace Corps "Pre-Service Training", still had meetings and introductions galore to get the ball rolling, and keep it rolling on logistical and policy issues. Actually missing some of the integrative stuff PST equipped us with in CV. Then it was up to Kasama (very long drive to the North) for 5 days for a CDC (Center for Disease Control) SmartCare deployment. As I have previously mentioned, this is my primary project here, involving an electronic medical records system, and SmartCards. Though initially focusing on AIDS, and ARV (Anti-retro Viral treatments)it is a complete system, and encompasses various other health-care areas. It was nice getting out of Lusaka in my first week in country, though we were limited to the conference center the entire time. So the North (which I hear has stunning hiking and waterfalls) will have to be explored at some future juncture.
Also upon arrival in Zambia my housing had not been settled, now three weeks later I have a ridiculously nice pad. Two-story, furnished, three bedroom, back-yard garden, full kitchen, and random useful stuff left by previously tenants. I probably will be getting a room-mate eventually but still. So thats good. However, as expected, Lusaka is taking some major adjustments to get used to. Given I generally dislike big cities. Vila da Ribeira Brava had 2,000 folks; Lusaka has around 2 million. Secondly Lusaka has a funky (lack of) urban planning(?)and a fortified vibe to it. Most everything, businesses, restaurants and homes are gated off behind imposing walls. Which is odd, because most of the major core areas feel tame with friendly welcoming Zambians. Transport around this sprawl is also a major headache, as taxis are expensive ($5), and the informal bus system only hits the major roads. Undoubtedly, I'm in mental gridlock comparing things to the easy flow of life in Cape Verde. Not to mention a wonderful California "home leave". Giving it a little time before the final verdict heh, still getting my bearings.
posted by Brent at 10/31/2007 06:45:00 AM | permalink | (1) comments |
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