zimbabwe Blog and Journals

Wow it's only been a week in Zimbabwe and I've seen and heard so much. I went out for the first time in Harare to Book cafe for a concert, had a barbecue with the aid facilitators from german development service and started working. Everyone at the office has been so nice, despite all lack in supply here I had a perfect office set up in two days including work laptop, laser printer, mobile.. this was truly magic. Everyone thought I'd be used to these standards from Europe, but I actually  never had any job with this kind of service before -wow. It only upset my japanese supervisor since she felt she didnt get the same attention. Also for some reason she didnt know I was coming and is v frustrated about Africa in general, lets see how I can befriend her.

On friday I went for the UN games, there is sport matches organized between the different agencies every week. Everyone was doing so bad so it was the funniest exercise I ever had.

For the weekend, my collegues Creed and Tinashe were so kind to take me to Lake Kariba in the north of Zimbambwe. It's a beautiful place, extremely hot and dry (45degrees) and with a lot of big animals as you can see from the photos. The whole trunk was full of fuel canisters, cause all the stations are dead and they get it via UN. We went for a sunset cruise, and early in the morning for a game drive in the bush to see the animals. This was soo amazing. We also crossed the border to Zamiba, because my collegues needed to get their passports stamped to have the right to receive their wages in US dollars (which in view of zim dollar inflation is v advantagous) Everyone who can afford it likes heavy food, so despite the heat, whe had loads of grilled chicken, burgers, ribs, sausages, baked beans for breakfast, mash, french fries and saze, the traditional maismeal mash.

The political and economic difficulties Zimbabwe faces are evident. 70% of the population suffer from hunger, a lot of farming land is not used after the "land reform", there is no transport, a lot of water and electricity cuts, on of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world... So you might find my photos very "touristy", but somehow I feel it's not appropriate to wander around the townships and take pictures. You can imagine it from what you have seen on television anyway: huts build from straw or rubbish, thin kids playing, people wandering along the streets carrying heavy weights on their heads, people crammed on the back of lorries for lack of public transport and fuel... But that is only one side. there is also the middle and the upper class, the infrastructure from before the economic crisis, all the beauty of the country and the optimism of the people.

Loads of love - keep writing me.

yours Kathi