THIS IS LIFE

The social media for advocacy workshop organised by GIZ in Lusaka Zambia has kicked off today. The workshop scheduled to take place for two days at Cresta Golfview in lusaka has brought together CIvil Society Organisation representative from various sectors. In his welcome remarks, GIZ Legal Advisor Jens Poessel said GIZ was piloting the workshop for Their CSO partners in Lusaka. He explained that his organization had observed that most proposals that were submitted for funding had similar approaches around advocacy such as workshops.  Poessel emphasized that the tools appeared limited to the people that had the opportunity to participate in them and it was with this background in mind that GIZ decided to address the issue so that their partners could begin to look at sustainable, far reaching and cost effective means of transferring knowledge and reaching their targets.  The workshop is expected to provide tools to the participants and enable them to use modern web 2.0 advoca...

 Susan Mwape    After an endless hype on the much anticipated comedy show in Lusaka featuring MNET Comedian Pablo and Kansiime Anne from Uganda, there was no way that I would miss the show. Firstly the Host of the show Chibwe Katebe never disappoints and I knew that this would be a show worth going to. Secondly, having encountered the works of Anne Kansiime online via minibuzz I just had to watch the lady who silenced a man who thought he could get away with being rudely whistling a woman without clearly knowing what he wanted.  I rushed to Mulungushi hoping to get there by 19 hours as indicated on the Tickets but Alas the great East road was jammed with cars all heading to mulungushi International Conference Centre, how could this have been strange when the show was sold out, anyways I slowly creeped into mulungushi with my friend, struggled to find the parking space and as soon as we parked on the side of the road we practically ran out of the car so a...

By Susan Mwape  So I had the opportunity of going to what we call in my part of the world a “Chezela”. This is simply a word derived from the term ku cheza which means to chat so chezela means an endless chat that occurs over night into the wee hours of the morning. In Zambia where I come from the moment you hear people saying am going to a chezela, it is synonymous with a series of events that occur overnight by and among women initiating a young lady in a rite of passage. Often this lady would be in the process of getting married and after undergoing a series of counseling sessions, ranging from wellbeing, healthcare, motherhood and home management by a team of women led by one called Bana Chimbusa. The Chezela is the epitome of all that she learns but brings in a diverse group of women of different ethnic groups who each share what they know with the bride to be. It is usually a joyful celebration that marks the end of her initiation into married life. It is cha...

By Susan Mwape  When did you last enjoy the feel of ripe mango juice oozing down your chin or just savor the smell of pumpkin leaves cooking? I guess sitting at home on a Sunday and experiencing these feelings made me realize that it’s the simple pleasures in life that make all the difference. I spent a beautiful Sunday slowly cooking some village chicken until it turned a golden brown. The aroma had many of my neighbors coming by to ask if lunch was ready. This in itself put a smile on my face as I realized how when I was a young gal I always wondered how my grandmother always managed to knock me out with heavenly smells of chicken cooked without cooking oil. Infact, it started when I was peeling chibwabwa (pumpkin leaves) and she just said Susan you are wasting relish. I just said grandma am tired I have been peeling these vegetables for a long time and am tired. As if she didn’t hear my complaint she set aside her glass of juice to show me how they clean chibwabwa whil...

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...