Gonzaga University Psychology Program in Africa

Thanks to my wonderful husband, Brett, who is much more computer-savvy than I, we now have photos on-line (click the link in the previous post and enjoy!). And now, for some reason, we can’t post pictures directly so click the links provided within the post to see the pictures.

I thought I’d share a few more highlights of my experience. As I mentioned earlier, the first few days were spent getting oriented, watching the chimps, and getting to know some of the families. On our first Sunday, we were invited to Sylvia’s (Sheila Siddle’s daughter) for a “Braii” (BBQ). Sylvia lives at “the farm” — on Chimfunshi, but about 11KM from the education center. For our trip, we all piled into the back of a large truck (I made all of our students sit off the edge once we started rolling . We enjoyed seeing Sylvia’s place — a very picturesque spot right on the Kafue river (complete with a sign saying to watch out for rhinos and crocs!). Some of the students walked out to the “football field” to watch and/or participate in a soccer game with the local people (amazing players).

Tuesday was our first trip into town (Chingola) for shopping. Julia, Brittni, and Ali came along with Emily (Mark’s graduate assistant, who would be hosting them in Muchinchi). Laura, Jessica and I joined Lennae (another of Mark’s experienced students and the one building the school) for supply shopping, lunch (at a fabulous “pie shop” — puff-pastry filled with cheese for the equivalent of $1), a vist to the internet cafe, and a bit of shopping of our own. Our transportation to town and back was the cantor (a large truck covered with a wire mesh cage). The trip in was very crowded — about 19 of us in the back (our groups as well as a number of the local families). Laura sat in a crate and held a small boy on her lap. The return trip was less crowded with people but the truck was piled high with supplies. Laura and Jessica sat on top of bags of fruits and veggies (the market left-overs that Sheila buys for the chimps) — they reported an “unforgettable experience” to the rest of our students upon return!

Thursday was my birthday and my last day there. A couple of years ago (when I turned 40), I decided that I would do something new on each birthday to come and, boy, did I get to do something new on this birthday – a bush walk with the young chimps! After watching the chimps, it was absolutely wonderful to get to go in with the little ones up at the “orphanage” (Sheila’s house, where any new orphaned chimps are cared for). A small group of us went into the enclosure with a guide who is very experienced with the chimps. Once we were in, the chimps were allowed out. Alice (the largest of the group) came directly to me and got very interested in my shoe. In no time, she had unlaced it and was trying to take it off. Fortunately, I got her interested in lacing it back up and trying to tie it (which she worked on for quite a while). Once we set off on our walk, I got to carry one of the younsters. We got out to an area of trees and the youngsters all moved off to play up in the trees. Alice, Dee Dee and I investigated a bug. On our walk back, Alice wanted a piggy-back but she must weigh about what I do, so I convinced her to hold my hand instead. Watching and experiencing the chimps directly made me realize how close they are to us (very intelligent with a rich emotional life and strong family ties).

After the bush walk, I got to visit Muchinchi (Brittni, Julia, and Ali had spent their first night there and all was well with them). Together, we visited a school — just a foundation and a roof, no walls, which makes school during rainy weather very difficult for the kids who are fortunate enough to get to go. We also visited a developing women’s center (at present just a small grass hut) and talked with the women (through an interpreter) — we each introduced ourselves and learned about their plans to develop a chicken operation. They hope to raise funds to build a chicken coop and to buy chickens so that they can breed chickens to sell as well as to produce eggs. Emily (Mark’s student, who is living in Muchinchi this summer has established a non-profit called HANDZ to help support these projects.

Friday, I embarked on my 40plus hour journey home. I arrived safely (though quite exhausted) back in Spokane at 9pm on Saturday evening (June 23). And, although I am so glad to be home with my family, each day I imagine what our wonderful students are doing. With you, I eagerly await news from them and was glad to hear today that they are all well and enjoying their last few days at Chimfunshi before embarking on their trip to Livingstone.

p1250308.JPG Photo of Dr. Mark Bodamer — field researcher in action.

I’m sorry its taken me a few days to get back to the blog, but I thought I would share a few more reflections and some highlights of the first week.

 The first few days were spent getting oriented, talking about plans, schedules, expectations, and (very importantly) safety. Mornings began with an early group (”dawn patrol”) rising (at about 5:15!) to walk up to the project with Dr. Bodamer. Four students at a time signed-up for dawn patrol. The small group gave Dr. Bodamer a chance to talk individually with each student, and the early hour was a magical time for watching the chimps wake-up as the sun rose. Students not on dawn patrol could walk up as they wanted to (and as they woke-up), as long as they were in pairs, for safety reasons. The second morning, I walked up with the late group (we left camp at the leisurely hour of 9!), and stopped at the first enclosure (about 2 miles from camp) to watch a mother and her baby (mother-baby observations became a favorite for the students). We were allowed to stay up at the project as long as we wished to (although the later we stayed, the warmer it got), as long as we were in pairs. I enjoyed watching all of the activity around feeding time (about noon); some chimps would come into the cage areas to eat while others would stay outside or take their food up into the trees. It was pretty clear who the dominant chimps were — occassionally fights would break out. Chimps were fed a diet of mealy balls (which the students would help prepare) as well as fruits and veggies and a big stein of milk!

Most of us would head back to camp for lunch, enjoy some “down-time” sunning and reading in the beautiful 70 degree weather before heading out to the danbo to play with the children. Very quickly the children and their families embraced us and invited the girls over to have their hair braided (Brittni, Jessica, and Katrina were the first to get their hair done!). Even without speaking much Bemba, we communicated very well. (In particular, I understood very quickly that my hair was way too short to be braided — this was accompanied by much laughter on the part of the young girls who were playing with it!.

Evenings were spent with several students cooking (we organized five cook teams to rotate the cooking) and enjoying the meal and each other’s company (dining took place in an open air, but covered area in the center of camp). Most evenings ended (for me anyway) with a meeting to discuss plans and to engage in reflection. One of the first reflections was on the lows and highs of the trip so far (just two days in); most students spoke about the poverty they had seen and their understanding about how many families and children had been touched by HIV/AIDS; conversely they also spoke about how much joy the children expressed and how open they were to us. In that reflection, I was moved (again) to tears by our students — I told them how proud I was of them for embracing the opportunities we had been given and how glad I was that we were all opening our hearts up to the experience.

I’ll post more later and will add a photo gallery soon (that will illustrate much of what I am writing).