Being Here

One of the things that is great about being in Zambia is to see a nation that is run by the native people. A nation that has been at peace since it's beginning. It has been a safe haven for it's eight neighbors when there was need. The economy is not very strong. The kwacha started out equal to the U.S. Dollar but has slid to almost five thousand for one dollar. The country has resources in semi-prescious stones, no diamonds in an abundance worth mining. Zambia is rich in copper which is the countries major export.

Wages are low. I am told a day labor works for ten thousand Kwacha a day. I was told that the stipend I receive each month, is the equivalent of what a worker at Hungary Lion takes home in a month. Hungary Lion is the closest thing to McDonald s here in Zambia.

Domestic workers, gardeners, and private security get a bag of meal to take home to their families and lunch each week. They are given money for family emergencies like a death in their families. They might ask for a vehicle to transport a sick family member to a doctor or hospital. If you employ a Zambian, you accept a contract left behind from the colonial period. You sort of are required to treat them like step children you love.

The Friary employs an number of local people. The friars pay a living wage and they to are ask to provide lunch and all the extras of the step child contract. The Friars don't mind as long as it is immediate family, but sometimes the definition of family is stretched by western standards. There are many times when it looks to me like the Friars are being taken advantage of. At those times I tell myself that I have only been in country for five months. The friars many times five years if they are not upset I should not be upset.