THIS IS LIFE

Listed as number nine on the 2012 gayest city in the United States of America, Atlanta boasts of having by far the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) event dubbed Atlanta Pride. This is an event that brings together LGBT and straight allies to festivities that include diverse events such as music and dance, information vendors including NGOs and Health Organisations as well as cultural exhibits. Atlanta pride is expected to bring 200,000 attendants. So how did I find myself at the Atlanta 2012 pride? I was minding my own business in the office when one of my workmates casually mentioned that it was National Coming Out Day. This aroused my curiosity and I laughingly asked her what the coming out was all about. She along with my other workmates patiently took time explaining to me that the day was to encourage all LGBT to come out and be proud of who they were without fear. As my jaw dropped open in realization that this was no joke, my co-workers went on to tell...

One of the biggest and most prestigious events by Zambians in the diaspora events will be held on 13 October 2012 in New York City. Over the last two years that the ceremony has been running, seventeen Zambians have been conferred with the Mwape Peer Awards. Initiated in 2010 by James and Ruth Mwape, the idea to have Peer awards was conceived by the couple who had just moved from New York to New Jersey. After establishing their website www.mwape.com which includes a section dubbed brain drain, the Mwape’s begun listing the Zambians who were in the diaspora. The idea was to establish a list of accomplished Zambians and to appear on that list one had to have a minimum of a Master’s Degree. The list later culminated into a book that was published entitled ‘Mwape Who’s who among Zambians’.  The Mwape’s went on to pioneer the first diaspora online radio show which featured Zambians from all sectors including politicians. The diaspora voice has been running for five years and ...

Town mummy! town mummy muyenda??? For many years around 4am when all is peaceful and quiet this is the Alarm that woke me up and told me it was four am. That is the price I paid for living near the bus station, it was the sound of the zealous bus conductors calling out to customers mostly the women who sold in the markets going to order their merchandise which included live chickens, vegetables and many other goods for resale. I am in the United States and yes my fellow leader Chris is always there to remind me that am in the US. Things are different here I have to walk a good 15 minutes to get to the bus station that takes me to the train station where I have to get on a train that takes me to my final destination and that is how I travel to work and around Atlanta. One thing I realize is I have lost work. I took a look at myself in the mirror and I almost couldn’t recognize myself I just said wow I cannot afford to loose weight but again all the walking I have done in the last ...

A week plus into being in Atlanta and there moments I still feel homesick and missing so many things about Zambia. Well I guess home is where the heart is as they say, however we thank God for the gift of friendships because they are able to give us some form of coping Mechanism.   My new friend Terri Gonzales has been instrumental in helping me calm down in my moments of challenge and confusion but it’s been so soothing. This is notwithstanding the fact that there has been mad love from my friends from all over the states that for some reason my phone appears to have become a switchboard too. After a week long search for housing which was a nightmare but a blessing at the same time I am finally settled in a very beautiful area in Atlanta. My bedroom has a beautiful view of pine trees that give it a sense of serenity and peace. It reminds me of the year I spent researching on traditional ceremonies in Zambia. Atlanta is a very green place there are trees everywhere and its am...

By Susan Mwape There once was Chief who lived in Kazimuli village. The chief married a very beautiful woman and people came from other villages to just look at the chiefs beautiful wife.  As part of the village entertainment every year, there used to be an annual dance competition ceremony which brought women from the village to a dancing competition. When the Chief’s wife heard about the competition she became miserable. This was because in as much as she was very beautiful she had small flat buttocks. When she looked around the village she saw that most of her friends and women in the village were fat and most of them also had big buttocks. She then realized that she did not stand a chance in competing with those women. After thinking and thinking the Chief’s wife saw a dog that they used to keep ate the palace. The dog had big buttocks so the chiefs wife decided to go and talk to it. She told the dog about the competition and explained to it how sad she was that s...

By Susan Mwape in Kinshasa Delegates at the 5th People’s Summit castigated the new trend of coalition governments in the region. This new phenomenon is now firmly entrenched in countries such as Zimbabwe and Madagascar. The development is viewed as defeating the purpose of holding democratic elections due to the fact that it subvert the democratic choices of the people of the region. The phenomenon was first introduced in Africa in 2008 following Kenya’s disputed elections. This led to the formation of a government of national unity after more than 1000 people had lost their lives in post electoral violence. The same template was used to solve the electoral dispute in Zimbabwe and is now being finalised for Madagascar. The SADC People’s Summit deliberated on the matter at length. In a presentation made to the summit by Dewa Mavhinga of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), it was noted that the challenges in Africa are around Governance and leadership. Mavhinga noted that there app...

By Susan Mwape - In Kinshasa Over 200 people from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region converged at the Shaumba Centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for fifth Edition of the People’s Summit on 4-5 September, 2009. The Summit running under the theme “Reclaiming SADC for People’s Solidarity and Development Cooperation: Taking Ownership of our Resources for People’s Security.” The summit which was officially opened by a Director in the Ministry of Regional and International Cooperation, Sylvestre Pakabomba B Koni. In his opening remarks Koni expressed his wish to have the people of DRC involved in issues of governance. “You are the people who are extraordinary on which the government of this country depend on. You have really said it when say nothing can be done without us,” said Koni. He applauded the Civil Society for organizing the summit and participating in the development of DRC and the wider SADC region. Earlier on, Francois Butendi, Acting Executive ...

By Susan Mwape There is a place and time for everything in life. I have sat and had an optical view of different things lately and I think it’s about time I shared a scenario that keeps obstructing my optic lens. Lets talk about the workplace. This is a very professional environment that provides the employees with an atmosphere of exertion. This atmosphere is not meant to be destructed by non work factors and that is one of the reasons most are employees will employ non family members, husbands, wives, fiancées or relations generally. In instances where individuals or employees fall in love with their employers of fellow employees, a lot of unrest has been known to arise. This situation in most workplaces becomes a second class case of “incest”. Relationships eminent form the workplace start by causing great discomfort among workmates further to the discomfort caused by the new love birds. Because relationships require nurturing the two people that get into an affair get into the w...

By Susan Mwape Delegates at the ongoing Highway Africa Conference in Grahamstown South Africa, were treated to a dinner and night of pomp and glamour dubbed “ABSA African Night.” The dinner that was supported by ABSA African bank saw over 700 delegates from all over Africa enjoy themselves. Remarks made by the ABSA representatives indicate that ABSA viewed the support given to Highway Africa as a contribution towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other various ideals and initiatives of the African Renaissance. The night started on a calm upbeat note with Afro Fiesta Band playing numerous numbers for the delegates as the night progressed the calm atmosphere slowly changes with a few delegates here and there started shaking their bodies to the ongoing beats, by the time the Afro fiesta left the stage to pave way for the DJ was pumping out hot numbers all the delegates were shaking their bodies and singing along the room that had been filled with numerous delegates sitting a...

By Susan Mwape in Grahamstown The on going Highway Africa Conference taking place in Grahamstown at Rhodes University is an anual event that attracts over 500 journalists from the continent and beyond. The conference will be taking place 9-12 September 2007. With large number of Media and ICT experts from around the continent and beyond sharing information and skilss one can only begin to understand what a vast opportunity and capacity all the journalists at the conference get from all the networking and presentations and trainings. surely the organisers of the conference have a great vision of the continent, media fratenity and ICT sector. One of the Major discussions at this years conference have bordered a lot of Blogging and Journalism, these seesions have been an eye opener for a large number of delegates at the conference. During a presentation titled "Bloggers who are they talking to?" Sunday Times of South Africa Colomist Fredd Khumalo, expressed his appreciation f...

By Susan Mwape The Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance (SAGPA) is disappointed that SADC leaders failed to walk the talk of gender equality at their just ended summit in Lusaka by not signing the Protocol on Gender and Development. According to a press release sent out by Gender Links, “as representatives of sixteen regional and national NGOs working to promote the rights of women in the region, we are at a loss as to why heads of state failed to seize the moment of the 2007 summit after the draft had successfully passed through all the preparatory stages. This included endorsement by ministers of gender; justice ministers and the Council of Ministers that generally comprises finance ministers from the region”. The Protocol was deferred to next year’s summit due to a minority of members feeling that they have not had sufficient time to study the draft, regional representatives were concerned that the action would slow down the momentum in countries that went to Lusaka ready to ta...

By Susan Mwape The Zambian Government is tabling a new NGO Bill in the current sitting of Parliament, which commenced on the 10th of July 2007, the bill is aimed at further regulating and controlling all Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, Faith Based Organisations and Community Based Organisations in Zambia. The new NGO Bill according to the Zambian Civil Society is purported to have been developed without having a broad-based policy framework in place and without any prior consultation with Civil Society and then denying Civil Society access to the Bill. Three mother bodies of civil society organizations in Zambia which include the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD), Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) and Non Governmental Coordinating committee (NGOCC) formed a technical committee whose representatives were denied audience which the Ministry of Justice, to discuss the issue. The biggest question within the Civil Society is whether Government...

By Susan Mwape Cultural and Traditional songs, dances and solidarity messages formed the opening expression of the 3rd edition of the Southern Africa Social Forum (SASF) convened at the Civil Stadium in the capital Lilongwe, Malawi. Over two thousand social activists from Southern African countries will be together at this ‘bwalo’ (gathering) from this Friday to Sunday, 13th to 15th October 2006 deliberating on the region’s social economic and social challenges. SASF is a prelude to the Africa Social Forum (ASF) and the World Social Forum (WSF) which are a people’s platform, opposed to the profit driven World Economic Forum. The First and Second editions of SASF were held in Zambia and Zimbabwe 2004 and 2005 respectively. In his welcoming speech, Collins Magalasi of the host Malawi was full of praise for the delegates saying their presence was manifestation of solidarity saying being the host Malawi’s expectation were that social forum principles of freedom of expression and freedom b...

By Susan Mwape The youth camp that is running parallel to the third Southern Africa Social Forum (SASF), this is a platform for young people to express their views and try to find solutions to problems that affect the youth in the region. The camp also seeks to analyse the impact of activities and find solutions to youth problems. During the deliberations at the camp, youths felt that having the youth camp away from Civil Stadium forum is a sign that the youth and their issues have not been taken seriously, they feel that they are marginalised. Kondwani Kanjo from Malawi gave an example from the bible, “it’s like in the bible where leapers are thrown out of the village”. He said. The youth further observed that time table of the forum hadn’t mentioned the youth, it was at this point that they youths decided to march back into camp to express their displeasure and also show that the ‘lepers’ have resurrected. Youths discussed the issue of being used by politicians to disrupt politics, t...

By Susan Mwape The 2007 World Social Forum (WSF)in Nairobi, Kenya will be a meeting point of global civil society, it will provide an opportunity for African activists and Civil Society Organisations to put on the agenda global solidarity towards the development of Africa. The world will focus its attention on Africa during this period. Preparations are underway all around Africa, and it is envisaged that the 2007 WSF will play a significant role as this will be the second time that such a massive gathering will be held in Africa after the Bamako, Mali, Polycentric in 2006. With regard to the WSF, a Regional Committee of the Southern Africa Social Forum has constantly tried to focus on how Africa can make an impact in Nairobi in January 2007. Zambia conceived the idea of a caravan going to Kenya for the WSF. It was envisaged that the movement would be seen as a caravan towards an oasis, this being Nairobi. The caravan is planned to start from Cape Town all the way to Nairobi through Zi...

By Susan Mwape Cultural and Traditional songs, dances and solidarity messages formed the opening expression of the 3rd edition of the Southern Africa Social Forum (SASF) convened at the Civil Stadium in the capital Lilongwe, Malawi. Over two thousand social activists from Southern African countries will be together at this ‘bwalo’ (gathering) from this Friday to Sunday, 13th to 15th October 2006 deliberating on the region’s social economic and social challenges. SASF is a prelude to the Africa Social Forum (ASF) and the World Social Forum (WSF) which are a people’s platform, opposed to the profit driven World Economic Forum. The First and Second editions of SASF were held in Zambia and Zimbabwe 2004 and 2005 respectively. In his welcoming speech, Collins Magalasi of the host Malawi was full of praise for the delegates saying their presence was manifestation of solidarity saying being the host Malawi’s expectation were that social forum principles of freedom of expression and freedom b...

By Susan Mwape In as much as society likes to view women as the introverts in society, women are far much stronger than they exhibit. Realistically women are the very pillar of society they carry a lot of burdens and shoulder a lot in their lifetimes. Most often women feel that society only comes to them when in desperation. Zambia will on 28th September 2006, be holding the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government elections, so much activity has been taking place in terms of political campaigning ever since Mr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa SC the President of the Republic of Zambia announced the election date. All political parties aspiring for office have since embarked on political campaigns and most of them have been seeking the assistance of women in their campaigns. Women have been going around singing songs in support of certain parties and often times the political parties have what in Zambia is known as Chitenge material (Wrap) which women wear as a traditional outfit, they ...

By Susan Mwape Despite having 750,000 square kilometers, Zambia still faces a number of issues on land disparities. Land is an important factor in the development of any country; it is a resource for investment, income generation, food production, source of power and most of all shelter. Most Zambians are insecure on their land because they do not own it; most times they are evicted and even denied of access to land because of the bureaucratic systems placed in land administration. Land is considered to be for the elite because of unfair land allocation especially to the poor. In order to access land one needs to be very persistent failure to which one may be unable to access land. In other cases political affiliation places one at an advantage because it becomes easier to access land. Land is easily allocated to foreigners and yet citizens have sleepless nights to access land, despite the importance of land in the development of Zambia a major concern is that of lack of issue based ca...

By Susan Mwape The Southern Africa People’s Solidarity Network (SAPSN) of Zimbabwe convened a Peoples summit in Maseru, Lesotho. The summit running under the theme “reclaiming SADC for People’s Development” attracted over 400 people Lesotho and SADC member countries. The people’s summit was convened to coincide with the SADC Heads of States summit. This is a clear indication that the SADC leadership community has not lived up to the aspirations of the sub- region. In line with the theme of the people’s summit, Lesotho had three SADC meetings running concurrently. Participants of the people’s summit felt they were in the right place to deliberate issues that had to do with SADC and among the major questions raised was that of knowing whose benefit SADC was of. A representative of the Development of Peace Education (DPE) based Lesotho which helped organize the people’s summit in his opening remarks said SADC was being reclaimed because they want to change SADC to represent the people n...

By Susan Mwape Over 400 people from Southern African are attending the SADC People’s Summit running under the theme “Reclaiming SADC for the People’s Development”, have vowed not to leave Maseru until they have reclaimed SADC. The people’s summit started on 16th August 2006, is scheduled to end on 17th August 2006 in Maseru Lesotho. Assessing the prevailing condition in the region participants at the summit have vowed not to leave Maseru until they have reclaimed their SADC. They realized that SADC has constantly been used, abused and misused for the benefit of the elite. Participants of the people’s summit feel SADC must be reclaimed because it is not serving the interests of the people such as farmers, vulnerable children, youths who have been pushed to the periphery of socio-economic life because unemployment is still high and yet there is still need for decent jobs in the SADC. The participants at the summit realize that they are the true SADC and therefore have demanded that SADC ...