My Zambian Heroes

Sadly, I am getting used to being stood up by people in Lusaka. I will show up for an appointment and find no one there. Sometimes the person forgot, sometimes there was confusion about the date/time, and sometimes something more pressing came up such as a funeral to attend or a meeting with a government official.

There are plenty of people, however, who will drop everything to help me out. If I call they will suggest I come in that day for a meeting, and if I show up unannounced they will happily give me their time. They are willing to chat for hours. They will suggest others that I can meet with, and offer me drinks, rides, and instant friendship. At times I feel awkward accepting what has been offered, since I know that both time and money are more scarce for this group than they let on. There also have been countless people that I have asked for help in finding particular streets or buildings. Not only have they been gracious in providing directional advice, many have stopped what they were doing to personally guide me to where I wanted to go!

Among people in this second group I am starting to identify Zambians (both black and white) that I am considering to be heroes. Here are the descriptions of a few –

First, there is a woman who is a head of a government school who is always happy to meet with me. She is candid and thoughtful in her responses, and gives me quite a bit of her precious time. She had set up and administers a scholarship program (using foreign donors) at the school where she was previously employed. Recently, she and I traveled on the bus together when I learned that she had sold her car a while back to buy a house that she could rent out to earn an income to help her grown children pay for post-secondary education. I also learned that she currently lives with several orphans that she has taken in.

Second, there is the man who has set up his own VSAT (satellite internet) company. He met with me recently (on short notice) at great length and gave me a free education on VSAT mechanics and the local options. He and a friend had wanted to set up an NGO working on health and education issues, but they didn’t have the funding to get it off the ground. Instead he has decided that he will serve the non-profit community by providing VSAT service (both the equipment and the monthly fees) at cost to all NGOs. He has agreed to earn nothing for supplies or his labor!

Third, there is a woman who has become a good friend. She calls frequently to check in with me and make sure I am doing well. Although she is the head of a school and also is working on her own continuing education, she will adjust her busy schedule to meet with me. She has given me gifts, advice, rides, and great local information. I recently told her that I needed some help with my visa and she instantly called several people to see if any of them had contacts at the immigration service. I think she is as invested in the success of my project as I am!