A Letter Between GSGC Volunteers Reveals Southern Africa

New Jersey resident and retired electrical engineer/building project manager, Bruce Klein, is putting his skills to work for GSGC in a powerful way. GSGC has long wanted to create a meeting/safe space to support GSGC activities and to serve members and alumnae of girls clubs it sponsors in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Livingstone, Zambia. Bruce is lending his expertise, and working closely with GSGC’s program director Smokey Dube, to bring this vision a reality.

Just six months after Bruce and his wife Ellen completed their first trip to Africa, Global Sojourns’ award-winning Safari, Culture and Philanthropy, Bruce was back in Africa looking at building options and getting a crash course on working in Southern Africa.  Below is a letter he sent to another volunteer who has been raising money for the meeting/safe space. This will give you a true sense of the challenges of working in Southern Africa.

Hi Emily,

I just got back from Zimbabwe and want to update you on all that happened.

I brought a few things along with me.  The book “Bad Girls Throughout History.”  Smokey  thought it would be a great book for the girls.  I also brought along two copies of the Project Management Book of Knowledge – definitely not a light read.  My thought is we might have the opportunity to train a couple of the alumna girls on how to be project managers.  I brought other gifts for Smokey’s family and must admit I was embarrassed by how grateful everyone was. We take so much for granted in the US.

Throughout the week connectivity was pretty terrible.  There were riots in Harare and Bulawayo on Monday, and to prevent the violence from spreading the government shut down the Internet.  It was peaceful in Vic Falls, but the stores and banks closed on as a precaution.  The Internet would come on, then disappear again.  Social media sites remained blocked all week.

I am so glad Smokey is getting an assistant; every day he deals with all kinds of planned and unplanned stuff, and he has to work with semi-functional infrastructure.  Lots of things that take only a few minutes for us to do in the States take hours to do in Zimbabwe.  Getting money into and out of the bank, uploading and downloading files, getting documents from the authorities, getting from point A to point B.  It would drive me nuts if I had to deal with all the inconveniences that are a normal part of life here.

In Zambia, I spent time with Auntie Agnes and Auntie Gloria, and I met Kat, the young woman featured in the February GSGC newsletter. She’s at university to become a lawyer but was home on holiday.  I also saw the neighborhood where she lives – I’m amazed that such an intelligent, hopeful young woman can come from such poverty, rather than being beaten down by it. That no doubt speaks to the work GSGC is doing here.

I also met with Nyika; he has developed GSGC first boys club. Since he built a clubhouse for the boys on his property outside Vic Falls, I pumped him for information about building techniques, contractors, architects, building codes, construction suppliers, etc., etc.  It was very useful for me since I had been completely unable to learn anything remotely from the US. 

The building the GSGC is going to rent for the meeting/safe space is very close to Smokey’s house.  I was concerned that there is a beer hall nearby, but Smokey said it is owned by neighborhood women, and mostly the older people go there.  He knows the women, and at his urging they have started to shut down earlier at night to reduce disturbance to the neighborhood.

Speaking of the beer hall, I went to a lot of local places this time that I didn’t see when Ellen and I were here as tourists last year.  What I learned is that we Americans have to recalibrate our impression of things when we’re in Africa.  Cafes and markets that we would think are pretty sketchy are actually fine places and perfectly safe.  The lack of money and materials just forces Africans to do with a lot less.  It was a helpful realization.

Back to the building, it has a large-ish room in the front that will work just fine for a meeting space for visitors, etc.  It also has a decent-size room off to the side of the large room that will work very well as the GSGC office.  There is a separate part of the building that is a house; that’s where the girls will be able to get together – it’s nice with a small yard on two levels.

When you come in early March, Smokey is wondering is if you’d like to work on the center with  some of the girls for part of a day.  I imagine it would be painting.  Smokey mentioned that you’re close to the girls from Auntie Procedure’s clubs and that you got to meet some of the girls from Auntie Sfe’s clubs.  It might fun to all take part in the beautification.

Also, Smokey wants the center to have a “cool vibe” that will really make the girls want to go there.  I’ve suggested a quick and inexpensive way to decorate the outside of the building would be to install some shade sails.  They’re light and compact (before they’re opened).  If this comes to pass, would you be willing to take 3 or 4 of them over in your luggage?

And last but not least, while I was in Zimbabwe I finally read, “I Will Always Write Back.”  What a sweet and loving book!  I’m glad you sent it, and I really enjoyed reading it.

So, there’s the update.  Say “Hello” to your parents for me.  I hope you’re acing everything at school, that you’re not buried under snow, and that you’re doing well!  By the way, speaking of buried under snow, it was -1^oF when I got to JFK airport.  Now there was shock!

Bruce