Mwapoleni Mukwai

Mwapoleni mukwai. I just said hello to you in a formal way in Bemba, which is the language spoken in the area around Kapiri. The m’s at the beginning of a word are pronounced the same way the letter m begins the word in “moo” if you were trying to drag out saying the word and sound like an actual cow. (Admit it, you’ve rolled down a window at some point in your life and moo’d at unsuspecting cows while driving by and know EXACTLY the m sound I’m talking about.)

We checked on the house as it is being revamped to make more of a regular living situation for us. For instance they are putting in a hot water heater, as well as a tank for storage so we’ll have running water all the time and not just during the morning and evening which is when the water is turned on for the city. Lots of houses have these tanks set up in their yards for that purpose. Also walked over to the MSF house and also saw their heavily guarded office. I’m not sure of all the work they are doing in the area, but I’ve seen their advertisements painted on walls in the city of Kapiri for VCT (HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing) as well as some of their stickers out in a rural clinic. I have a feeling I’ll get to know the people working there. They were kind enough to invite us over for dinner tonight but we couldn’t stay.

I still am struck over the number of people here doing aid work, all the Toyota Land Cruisers driving by with various NGO (non-governmental organization) logs on the side. With all the people doing aid work and all the money flowing into this continent, why can’t we get it right? Why is there still so much corruption and so little trickling down to the people of Africa who need it? I encourage anybody who is interested in these very questions to read “The Bottom Billion” by Paul Collier. Great book. When I read it I just wish I had a better understanding of economics so I could get more out of it, however, I still found it fascinating.

Here is a picture that I took of a family waiting outside the pediatric ward at Kapiri Mposhi Hospital. I couldn't help but notice the Harvard University sweatshirt, and once I asked to take his picture the whole family wanted in.