Really by this date I should be writing something on this blog along the lines of almost time to pack my bags for returning back to the UK or I am off for a few months travelling, given that my two year placement with VSO will come to an end by February 2012. However, it looks like I will be in Zambia for a while yet, not in Mazabuka but instead in Lusaka.
For a number of months another VSO volunteer and myself have been working on a project proposal to help enable a better understanding of who is doing what on HIV and AIDS in Zambia, where the different organisations are working, the types of activities they are engaged in and how much of the actual activity is taking place. Now none of this is rocket science, yet a simple and coherent system for collecting and analysing this sort of information does not exist at the moment. The answers are not going to solve the problems faced by the country in terms of HIV and AIDS but if we do not have this basic information in the first place then Zambia is struggling to even get to first base.
Hopefully come January the funding for the project will be in place for the first phase of the work and we can get started. It will be a new challenge for me, working at the national level in Zambia but also providing training and support to people in districts like Mazabuka. I will write and explain more about the project (if you are interested) when we finally start. For now I am off on holiday with a few friends to explore the hills of Swaziland and relax on the beaches of Mozambique, which I am hoping will be as good as it sounds.
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