Bulawayo Zimbabwe Week 2 July 2012

The majority of my week was in the CNFA office on the computer. I revised and rewrote 3 modules that will be used for an advanced business management training course for Agrodealers in August. These dealers have already attended two one-week courses last year: one on technical training on seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and other agricultural topics and one on business management topics. The advanced modules are Cash Flow, Business and Project Planning, and Accessing Credit. A natural fit as I have written materials and books in those subjects! I also had the delightful pleasure of working with 20 young people who are enrolled in a very special program called Vanavevhu (Children of the Soil). These are orphans with responsibility for their younger siblings and grandparents as most parents have died from AIDS. Elizabeth Mhangami (Loyola University Chicago BA) came back to her home city and began the program three years ago. Each new group of 10 young people form a cohort which develops a money making project. Monday through Friday there are educational lessons as well as work on the projects at a 5-acre property. I did a 3-hour consulting on the business aspects of candle making! Go to www.vanavevhu.org for more info. Looking for a grassroots charity – this is the place to give funds. I continue to walk into Bulawayo every day and enjoy the small town feel. It is very different from Huambo Angola. Both are the second largest cities in their countries. Both are in the agricultural areas. But the differences are dramatic. Huambo Angola was one of the epicenters for the 35 year civil war. It was bombed and shot up; sidewalks are non-existent and buildings still show the scars of the conflict. Bulawayo Zimbabwe has good sidewalks (better than parts of Hillcrest in San Diego) and lovely buildings – both colonial era and new construction. Bulawayo also does not smell. Huambo’s sewer infrastructure was also a victim of the conflict. People in both places are friendly and say hello when they see an old, large white woman walking down the street! I don’t stop traffic as I once did in Ghana (late 1990’s) but I am still a curiosity. The average life expectancy for Angola and Zimbabwe is 50 years old. In the US, it is 81 years for women so I may be around for a few more years. I am leaving a small suitcase in Bulawayo as I have delivered my gifts – microwave popcorn, San Diego plates, maple syrup, dill pickles, ball caps, and red licorice. The supermarkets here are well stocked but there are some odd items that cannot be found. In San Diego, peri peri sauce is impossible! Home on Thursday the 19th!