My New Site - Chilemba

After a 2-month training period, consisting of 4-hour morning language sessions followed by 3-4-hour technical sessions, we were sent to the bush and told to make it happen. As part of the Peace Corps agreement and in exchange for the work the Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) are completing, the village is asked to construct a thatch-roofed mud-brick hut, a “kinzanza” or outdoor kitchen, a bathing shelter for moonlit bucket baths, and a “chimbusu” or pit latrine. Every PCV has a different site with unique people and circumstances, making for great conversation at get togethers, but all volunteers are expected to have those things.

When I arrived at site, about 2 months ago, my hut was near completion, but not yet ready. So they moved me into the village school. In wasn’t too bad, but after a month of sleeping on a concrete floor, being startled awake by clanging of the rusted tire rim hung from a tree to substitute a bell, and enduring the constant stares and overexcited screams of 45 children, I was ready to have my own place. When I saw the work not really making any progress and fearing the Peace Corps would place me in another site due to the rather low motivation of many villagers, I began to push (as hard as one can in a developing country) headmen and people that have been helpful and considerate since arrival. Some of the work included a cement floor, liming the walls to begin the war against termites, and installing some kind of ceiling board to prevent breathing in thatch dust while you sleep that can cause allergic reactions.

Mr. Allen Chilemu, a teacher who was kind enough to prepare meals and baths while I was at the school, began some vigilant yet tactful negotiations with village headmen. We finally came up with a scheme to get the floor installed. I still am not sure of the details but it is not my place to understand all of the subtleties of village agreements. Then I set to work finding lime and some kind of plastic to line the ceiling. Fortunately, the road near my village is being paved with tar and gravel, so lime was available if you can find a willing comrade and you’re not afraid to put a couple of your ethics aside. I won’t go into details, but it was a good introduction into the workings of Africa. As for plastic sheets, I used empty lime sacks and after washing them in the river and cutting them to somewhat equal sizes, I began nailing them to the inside of my ceiling. So after a month and a few days living in the school, I was in my own hut cooking my own food and preparing my own bath water.