Zambia today

Over the past year, the situation in Zambia has become critical. It is one of the world's poorest countries with almost 86 per cent of its 10.3 million people living below the poverty line.
A complex mix of climatic, economic and social issues has left millions of people without adequate food and water. Sharply reduced crop yields and cereal harvests due to prolonged dry spells have affected over half of Zambia's provinces, leaving an estimated 2.3 million people in need of emergency aid.
However the humanitarian crisis goes well beyond the food crisis:

• An estimated 13 per cent of all Zambian children are orphaned as a result of HIV.
• Approximately 13 per cent of under-five deaths are a direct result of HIV/AIDS.
• About 32,000 infants are born HIV-positive each year.
• Infant mortality and under-five mortality rates have worsened steadily over the past decade.
• Malaria, diarrhoea, and acute lower respiratory infections (ARI) have remained the most common childhood killers.
• Children often head households with the burden of "breadwinning" for younger siblings as the extended family fails.
• "Streetism" (children living and working on the streets) and abuse among children and young people is increasing.
• Decline in the education sector.

Taken from:

http://www.unicef.org/emerg/southernafrica/index_zambia.html

"My" project

So finaly after all the messages I have sent I will write something more about the project I am working on, because it might be interesting for you:)
Today was my day i guess, cause lots of thing got finalized:)

Child Sponsorship Programme is the project I am currently working on. In february I got the opportunity to start cooperation with new partner in Zambia - Solwezi Diocese. The aim of the project is to finance volnurable children´s education so they have better future and they can finance themselves their children´s education. Last four month I have been mainly communicationg with our volunteer in Solwezi Ales Vacek and then also with director of development programmes in the diocese. In May I had the pleasure to welcome father Kizito in Prague, who is in charge of the programme in Zambia and we discussed all the details. Now he is back in Zambia and today lots of things happened:)

In the morning I got a letter(well...first letter adressed to me since I have started working for the Caritas Prague:)) and I found 9 beautifull pictures taken in Solwezi by Ales Vacek. Alll this kids you see on the pictures are the ones I will be looking for sponsors for them. On the pictures you can also see them repairing their school during their holidays.

Ales is teaching them english and helping me set up the office in Solwezi and generally start the program. He also sent me some letters that children wrote on his english lectures...really sweet.

Then in the afternoon I got briliant news from Ales and father Kizito and that news basicaly means that most probably by the end of next week(latest end of june) the whole office will be set up - furniture, PC, notebooks) which is needed for our communication. And then later in the afternoon we got email from our ambasador who is in charge of Zambia that he visited the place and he is very happy about the fact that our Caritas Prague starts that project there and he will organize an exhibition about czech culture on the date of offcial opening of the Caritas Prague office in diocese!!!!!!!

The last picture is taken inside the school which mainly orphaned children attend or street children. Children themselves help repairing the school.

You can also see that they do not wear school uniform, which is almost obligatory in Zambia, because it used to be british colony. From september onwards hopefully thanks to our project all of them will have the uniform, shoes, notebooks and all needed to have a good education. We also applied for more teachers to the school, so they have good education. Ales Vacek will organize lots of free time activities for them like extra english lessons and art craft.

There are lots of plans that we have and I really hope that I will manage to fullfill them all. It is so different to AIESEC work and I must admit that I really love the job. It is not easy, but i love the feeling that my job makes other people happy and that they will have better life.

I will keep you posted about the project for sure, cause that is now part of my life. From july onwards I should be doing campaign in media and start getting sponsors for them.

For more information in czech:

http://www.charita-adopce.cz/adopce/index.php3?od=adopce7&ur=12

and about Zambia:

www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/zambia

www.zambiatourism.com

www.zambia.co.zm

http://www.times.co.zm/
http://www.postzambia.com/
cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zambie

What is going on in Czech Republic:)

Seems that Civic Democrats are winning by 3%. Two biggest parties got over 30% of all votes and about 64% citizens came in last two days to vote in our parliamentary elections.

Here is something more from BBC:

Czechs vote in close-run election

Czechs have voted in what is expected to be the most closely contested parliamentary election in the country's recent history.

The ruling centre-left Social Democrats are facing a stiff challenge from the centre-right Civic Democrats during the two-day poll, which ended on Saturday.

Health care, pensions and taxes have dominated the campaign.

But it has been also marked by the unprecedented level of scandals and on one occasion even a physical clash.

Voters are electing 200 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament.

The election is expected to be a close contest between the Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and Mirek Topolanek's Civic Democrats.

The Social Democrats have dominated the government for the past eight years, steering the Czech Republic into the EU in 2004.

However, it is unlikely that any party will get an outright majority, analysts say.

Czech politics is rarely exciting, but this year voters have watched in amazement as rival politicians traded vile allegations and even punches, the BBC's Rob Cameron in Prague reports.

Last month, a punch-up between the health minister, David Rath, and a former Civic Democrat deputy leader, Miroslav Macek, was shown on television and later made its way round the world.

Our correspondent says the verbal clashes, too, have been unprecedented.

Earlier this week, the head of a police unit claimed that senior Social Democrats - including Mr Paroubek - had interfered in investigations into organised crime.

Mr Paroubek has dismissed the claims as a Civic Democrat smear campaign.

Observers predicted a low turnout and a strong protest vote for the Communists and the Green Party, our correspondent says.

Preliminary results are expected late on Saturday.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/5039672.stm

Published: 2006/06/03 12:38:30 GMT

Kid´s day

P1010139
Originally uploaded by dankina.

Few days back getting this email I thought I will be studying and not doing any crazy things...buuut....it turned out to be a great relax from all my exams.
If you think that you cannot do any tracking in Prague...you are wrong...what about climbing Vitkov hill:):)
Listening to Hanka´s lecture about Vitkov Hill and then searching for an empty pub, ending up with "smazeny syr" in our hands on Vaclavske namesti, and drinking beer in a pub chatting chatting about the new university system....what a night!!!!

And this is the invitation email:

"Přátelé, kamarádi,

Jistě se vám vryla do paměti myšlenka dětskodenní noci a od té doby nežijete ničím jiným. Přesto, pokud ještě o projektu oslavy dětskodenní noci nic nevíte, koukněte na konec tohoto mailu, kde se dozvíte podrobnosti o celé akci, včetně jejich cílů, nástrojů, prostředků, mise, vize, poslání, osvícení a požehnání.

Oproti původnímu plánu došlo ke změně termínu. Ač duší stále dětmi, tělem již dospělí si přiznejme, že dvě pařby ve dvou dnech by byly výkonem příliš ambiciozním, natož pro aiesekáře. Proto budeme slavit, zítra, tj. ve čtvrtek 1.6.!!!

Program oslavy dětskodenní noci je postaven na 3 pilířích z nichž alespoň 1 je alkohol. Mezi dalšími uvedu několik zběsilých jízd na bobové dráze či návštěvu vrchu Vítkov, pakliže tam trefíme. Odměnou nám tam bude společná fotografie pod největší jezdeckou sochou na světě (to vážně), Jana Žižky, a několik her bitches-bitches. Hana H přislíbila kulturně historický referát. Akci zakončíme posezením v hospůdce.

Sraz je zítra, tj čtvrtek v 18:00 na Palmovce před pobočkou Komerční banky.
Odtud pojedeme autobusem do stanice Kelerka, kde je bobová dráha (www.bobovadraha.cz).

Akce se koná za každého počasí. V případě nepříznivého počasí se uskuteční zejména poslední část programu. Účast na akci je na vlastní nebezpečí. Pojištění si účastníci zajistí sami. Náklady na účast si účastníci hradí z vlastních zdrojů. Stipendia je možné poskytnout studentům magisterského studijního programu, kterým ještě nebylo 18 let. Ostatním účastníkům nebudou stipendia poskytována. Organizátor nepřebírá odpovědnost za účastníky a jejich chování. V případě, že se účastník nebude moci zúčastnit celého programu, může kontaktovat organizátora na čísle 777 630 462, který mu na požádání sdělí lokalitu, ve které se skupina v daném okamžiku nachází. Náhrada zmeškaných zážitků není možná.


Nenechte si ujít jedinečnou příležitost a pojďme společně oslavit naše mládí!

"Možno jediná noc v roku, kedy budem moct být legálně infantilná." Lýdia Miňová, vedoucí katedry prognostiky a dlouhodobého plánovaní, VŠE.

"Také jsem kdysi hrával bitches-bitches..." Kofi Annan, generální tajemník OSN.

"Kacíř!" Benedikt XVI., papež.


Pavel Kacíř"

Maria visiting Prague

Prague, May 2006 137
Originally uploaded by Maria10.

Nice tradition of visiting Prague once each year:)
We had a wonderfull weekend together...looooots of catching up, lots of laugh, gossips, beer, seeing many old friends....just a perfect weekend apart from the weather:)...but thanks to the rain we stayed at home doing basicaly nothing...hehe...or sleeping like Miaria(now she will kill me reading this). What a nice reason to come to Prague, ej?to have a nice one hour nap on sunday afternoon:):):)