Kalimba Reptile Park, Lusaka, Zambia

With the world focusing on the activities following the presidential “elections” in Iran, I wonder how many people will take time to read this post. I certainly spend pretty close to 100% of my “free” and “not so free” time following events as they unfold. However, given that people from over 25 countries around the world have stopped by to read this blog, I decided to take a few minutes to write a post.

Last Saturday we visited the Kalimba Reptile Park aka Crocodile Farm, which is about half an hour outside of Lusaka. We had a chance to get very close to some of the world’s most feared predators. We were lucky that one of the employees volunteered to give us a tour. John (rightly) figured out that this group of “muzungus” - Translated this means “white people”; Here we fall under this group - would be willing to tip well for a good experience. Either that, or we arrived at a very good time, as I noticed that several groups behind us did not have a guide.

John started by letting us – Ketsia and me (Azadeh suddenly disappeared ;) - handle a Brown House Snake. Following that, we enjoyed playing with a Chameleon, before getting to the highlight of the day: Handling a Python, the largest African snake. The snake was very heavy, and its skin was surprisingly soft. When we were done playing with the Python, we moved on to see the following snakes as well: Black Mamba, Green Mamba, Boomslang, Puff Adder, Gaboon Adder, Black Necked Spitting Cobra, Mozambique Spitting Cobra, and Forest Cobra. John tried to feed a small chick to the Gaboon Adders, but all three of them passed on the meal, and had mercy on the little creature – at least at the time. In a separate part of the park, we also saw two other, less known but still poisonous snakes (sorry, I didn’t note down the names). Given that the Adders did not seem to be hungry, and John was determined to show us a snake “in action” he aggravated one of the snakes with a stick, until it struck.

After seeing, and learning about snakes, we saw giant lizards (the same kind we saw in Livingstone, but we got a better look this time around), and tortoises, before getting to the crocodiles. The crocs were divided into three age groups. The “Minis” – cute,… well… kind of…, I got to hold one of them, the “Mediums” – These are the unfortunate animals that turn into burgers and handbags, and the “Giants” – these are kept for reproduction.

Before visiting this farm, I was a very big opponent of “luxuries” such as hand bags, wallets and shoes made of animal skin. I am still not comfortable with the idea, but am I being a hypocrite? How is this crocodile farm different from a cow farm or a chicken farm? I certainly enjoy a good beef burger, and I also enjoy chicken tikka masala. Should I become a vegetarian now or should I think it’s OK to buy crocodile hand bags? John quoted the skin of a croc to be sold at about 800 pin, local lingo for 800,000 Kwacha, which with today’s exchange rate equals about $160.

Although it was truly amazing just to see the “Giants” inches away, John once again, took the extra step. He bravely grabbed a stick, and poked one of the giants, which in turn vocally expressed its displeasure, and then even snapped at us. SCARY! Even from behind a fence. I was surprised that the croc did not have many teeth, but we were told that it doesn’t really need teeth, as it has enough force in its jaws to tear any victim apart.

We finished the day, by enjoying crocodile burgers, which to me tasted like chicken burgers, with way too much garlic. I’m not sure if I would choose crocodile again, if beef was available, but now I can check another item off my list of things to do.

If, after enjoying the pictures below, you’d like to read about a (much) more serious topic, please visit Azadeh’s blog at: www.Azadehstravels.blogspot.com.

Playing with the Brown House Snake




Python

Sam, John and a Python

Looking into the eyes of a Black Mamba

Green Mamba

Spitting Cobra

Puff Adder - Responsible for most snake bite deaths in Africa

John showing us a Gaboon Adder

Predator & Lunch

Proof that Azadeh WAS there and that she DID touch a reptile!!

Crocodile Military Formation

Snapping at us - SCARY!

Croc Burger

Project Concern International, Lusaka, Zambia

It’s about time for me to write about the main reason we are here in Zambia, isn’t it?

Background

It started about two years ago, when Azadeh and I made a decision to donate our skills, education, experiences and, most importantly, our time to be of service to people in need. We started networking during a Baha’i Social and Economic Development conference in Orlando, Florida in December 2007.

Azadeh and I specifically looked for an opportunity that allowed us to work together (at the same place), but utilize our respective backgrounds of law and finance & strategy. PCI seemed to be able to offer us just that. Soon after our initial contact, we made up our mind. It was tough to agree to the terms of not getting a single dime for anything – no relocation, no housing,… What was even tougher than not getting any financial support, was to forego our steady paychecks. Azadeh gave up her job as a (fourth year) IP attorney at a major IP firm, and I gave up my job as a director of finance.

Project Concern International - PCI

Project Concern International's mission is to prevent disease, improve community health, and promote sustainable development.

The following is my “personal view”: I consider PCI to be similar to a venture capitalist – with the major difference of not looking for financial ROI. From what I see, PCI invests donors’ money (main donor is the US Government) in local “partner organizations”, that in turn work directly with the final beneficiaries. While investing in these partners, PCI tries to help them become independent (of PCI and the funds they offer). The idea is to identify good partners, help them operate properly, build their capacity and encourage them to become independent, so PCI can move on to help other potential partners.

Here in Zambia, PCI is split into three major projects:

• Belong –Works mainly with schools and programs that help orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs)
• Africa KidSAFE (AKS) – Mainly works with partners that work with street children
• Department of Defense (DoD) – Mainly works with the department of defense – I found it a little “interesting” that PCI works with the Zambian Defense Force, but it turns out that members of ZDF have a very significant rate of HIV/AIDS.
  

Are you getting used to acronyms yet? PCI, OVCs, AKS, DOD, ZDF,… I feel like I’m learning a foreign language…

Our Roles

Azadeh works for PCI’s Regional Office, which oversees operations in several African countries, and I work on the finance team of PCI Zambia.

The main project both of us are currently working on is called I-Star. We are customizing a capacity building program that will help partners increase their capacities in several fields.

In addition, Azadeh is mainly involved with projects about children’s rights and women’s rights, and I am mainly involved with monitoring and improving partners’ financial management. I also help out the local finance and management teams where/when possible, but I consider myself to be a “Partner Consultant.”

The Beneficiaries

Every partner visit is a truly humbling and rewarding experience. It is amazing to see kids that posses almost nothing in a material sense, smile, be happy and be “kids”. Of course, from their point of view, they live “normal” lives, because many of them don’t know any other lifestyle. It’s me that is “different”, because I have seen kids live “different” lives – kids that play x-box live, kids that (over)eat junk food, kids that live in mansions,… Here the kids seem perfectly happy playing football (“soccer”) and basketball with bare feet and on dirt grounds with round objects that barely resemble balls. My most memorable scene is watching two boys (they must have been about 5) play football using bottle tops as players, cut plastic bottles as goals, and a piece of (inedible) fruit as a ball. They were having a very good time playing and commentating on their game. With respect to food, these kids often get (up to) one hot meal per day, and are happy to get a (as in one) piece of chicken/meat every now and then.

Although the paragraph above may make you think of these kids living in poverty and in poor conditions, let’s keep in mind that the kids I see are the “lucky” kids that have someone caring about them, and looking after them, whether it is in the form of housing, education, social wellbeing or health. There are many, many kids that are much worse off.

As a semi-related side note, there are three types of schools here – community, government and private. Many kids cannot afford the estimated $10 or less per semester that it takes to attend community schools. Don’t be surprised if one of these days you get an email from me asking for your support in raising funds to enable some children to go to school!

All things considered, I am happy about coming to Zambia! I feel that I am sacrificing considerably from a material perspective (which is the main downside about being here, but in a way I think that is healthy too), but more importantly, I feel that I am making a very small difference in the world, and I am certainly learning a lot. I have made new friends, I am experiencing a new culture, and I am learning valuable lessons.... and I won’t panic if I won’t have running water or electricity 24/7.

Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zambia

So we made it to the Victoria Falls, the 7th natural wonder of the world – What an experience!

It all started with us almost running out of gas. The low gas light was on for an eternity (about an hour or so), causing excessive panic in the driver (me), which in turn caused me to drive between 60 and 80 km/h over dirt roads and (huge) pot-hole filled roads, which was not good for the car. Luckily we made it to Livingstone safe and sound, and things went uphill from there.

The falls were simply amazing, as you can see from the pictures below. However, the Victoria Falls aren’t the only attraction in Livingstone. In one full day, and two “quarter days”, we managed to experience quite a bit. Although not all 7 of us took part in all activities, between us we managed to:

• Become multi–trillionaires – I must say, it feels GREAT! Azadeh and I now officially have a net worth of several hundred trillion dollars. The only downside is that it’s Zimbabwean Dollars, and not US Dollars.
• Cross the border (line) to Zimbabwe
• Go white water rafting – Those of “us” who went, were sore for some time afterwards, but (from what I hear) had a great experience
• Go on a game drive (safari) – Azadeh and I received a very special treatment: A private safari, just the two of us and the driver/guide. I am a little disappointed about not seeing any hippos, but we did see the following: giraffes, zebras, impalas, buffalo, monkeys, ward hogs, and at the end, a giant lizard
• Witness a beautiful sunset at the Royal Livingstone (the best hotel around) – Although the scenery was stunning, I was more interested in snapping pictures of monkeys stealing potato chips off of the table of hotel guests. The waiters kept bringing chips, and the monkeys kept stealing them. It was great.
• Ride on the back of elephants: This was yet another highlight of the trip. Bop kept on moving off the trail and slaughtered (parts of) trees to snack on while showing us around.
• Enjoy the best shower in Zambia – Our hotel had a huge shower head, and the water pressure was the strongest I have experienced in Zambia. It truly was an amazing shower experience!
  

Although the list above may seem like we did a lot, we haven’t done several of Livingstone’s main attractions, such as: bungee jumping, microlighting, kayaking, cruising (boat cruises), going on helicopter rides, walking with lions, and much more… Hopefully we’ll do some of those next time…

This is a ONE way street

Vendors on the side of the street - selling anything from Tomatoes to drums

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Beautiful scenery on the way

All sorts of animals on the side of the road

Dirt Road on the way to Livingstone

The mist of the falls is visible from miles away

The falls






A bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe


There is a crazy person at the end of the white rope


Ideal for white water rafting

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Hopping back and forth between Zambia and Zimbabwe

A "private safari"

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Buffalo - We drove around to get closer, but the pics didn't turn out too well













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Thats right - monkeys running around in the middle of the street

As a side note, note the pot hole

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The gang

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Thief in action

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Thief enjoying his stolen goods