Street Children and Shawarma

Still in Solwezi and desperately needing a nap! My group and I spent hours last night preparing a Mexican feast and then played a improvised game of Scattergories. This week has been a nice break from the training routine and an opportunity to spend more quality time with the friends we’ll be depending on for in-country support through the next two years.

For lunch we’ve begun a ritual of getting shawarma and chips from a fabulous take away place near the Peace Corps house after language training and then traveling up to a little ice cream shop for a soft serve break. I find it difficult, however, as a moderately chubby American woman to eat my shwarma and swirled cone blissfully when hungry street kids are standing 20 feet away from our table begging. I learned on our first site visit that some of the street kids sniff their own urine and feces in an attempt to get high and stave off their hunger pangs. There are no easy answers in how to respond to the great need of these kids—some of them are as young as six or seven—and I internally wrestle with my moral obligation to give them help.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery story to get items for dinner and discovered that our town has a shortage of eggs. So leaving my friend in the store to fend for herself in the Zambian queues (most Zambians completely ignore line protocol), I went out to the road stand to get a few eggs for breakfast pancakes. I saw the street kids that have taken to following us around Solwezi and asked them in my abysmal Ki Kaonde, “Make kwepi?” (Where are the eggs?) So the kids then nominated themselves as my egg scavengers. They were able to locate a stand in the food market with eggs when it would have taken me hours. At one point, a woman from one of the shops yelled at them to leave the Muzungu lady alone, but I was able to let her know that they were with me. I paid them in sweeties for their services, but I know that this did not fill their bellies. They asked me for ice cream and I denied it because the need does not end with my assistance. I believe this will be a personal struggle for the duration of my time in Africa, but I am getting some comfort, albeit very small comfort, in that the work I will do in education hopefully brings sustainable assistance to the children in the Northwest province.

I’m enjoying my access to electricity and the internet this week! I hope to post with a few anecdotes and thoughts until I return back to training this weekend. I experienced the miracles of the internet yesterday when I sent my folks an email to let them know that I would have my phone on this week and they called me five minutes later. Technology is fabulous.

Mushale Bulongo. Remain Well.
Stacey J.