May 2011; Changilo

This month I prepared to leave the village. I knew that my schedule for the next eleven weeks wouldn't allow time to finish everything I started and in a sense I would never have the time. Even if I had another two years in Changilo, the type of work we do in Peace Corps does not have a finite ending that I would ever be able to see. Coming to terms with leaving my community had to start now.

I held my last workshop on Appropriate Technology. Having been nominated for an extension position coordinating the Appropriate Technology program for Peace Corps Zambia, I felt that it was fitting to show my community the kind of work I would be doing over the next year. Appropriate Technology empowers rural Zambians by providing training in mechanical design, innovative problem solving, and science education. I had introduced the program to Changilo last year when we designed, built, and operated a charcoal kiln to process maize cobs and for my final workshop I invited the participants to choose a problem to address. The community chose to tackle diarrea in children.

Using problem framing techniques, participants determined that incidences of diarrea could be dramatically reduced if children were encouraged to wash their hands. The challenge was to design a technology that would encourage children to wash their hands after using a pit latrine. The community then designed a hand-washing station using design criteria and assessment tools to satisfy their chosen requirments. The hand-washing station had to be cool, fun to use, easy for children to operate, and perform its function well. Participants designed and built an improved "tippy-tap" hand washing station to test their idea and found that the device was indeed fun for children (to the point that kids on my compound routinely drain all of the water washing hands, feet, face, etc.). The station was constructed out of a few poles, rope, a brick counter weight, and an old plastic jug. The participants all declared the project a success and spent the rest of the afternoon discussing alternative designs to build hand-washing stations at their own homes.

I am all at once sad, happy, relieved, and anxious that my last workshop is over. I traveled to the homes of the farmers that I have been working with over the past two years and felt an overwhelming range of emotions as I reflected upon the impact that Peace Corps has had here. I am the second volunteer to have served in this community and I have seen that the system works. Many farmers are now teaching each other about inter-cropping, fish farming, bee keeping, and business skills through conversation, demonstration, and cooperation. Many people no longer feel helpless, do not wait for donors to give them the tools to progress, they use what they have to get what they need here and now. I'm reminded of what I said at my first meeting: "there are only two things you can depend on: God and yourself. God will bring you into this world and take you out, everything inbetween is up to you. No one will ever help you like you can help yourself." I'm not sure where the sentiment came from but It's right on.