Fourth week in Zambia 🇿🇲🔆
- Martina Cervetti
- Jul 4, 2025
- 8 min read
DAY 19
Monday, April 21 – Laundry, matches, and out of gas!
This morning was all about washing clothes, tidying up the house, and cleaning… finally, we managed to sleep an extra hour! Although, as always, the music starts blasting here at 7 AM… natural alarm clock!
After lunch (a quick, makeshift meal since we discovered we ran out of gas!), we went to watch a MAPSA girls’ match. Today they were super pumped, way more fierce than last time! On our way, besides all the kids watching and waving at us, one boy spotted us and shouted, “Muzunguuuu!” For those who don’t know, our local nickname here is “Muzungu,” which means “white person.” He was smiling and pointing at us like calling us over… so sweet! He kept watching and then gave us a big “hellooooo.”
During the match, a really cute moment happened: one of the girls, tired of playing in shoes that were way too big, took them off and went barefoot. Shortly after, a boy picked up those shoes and walked all the way across the field to bring them back to the bench where we were sitting, just out of politeness.
We’re still out of gas, and it’s pouring rain outside… so tonight it’s a quick dinner with whatever raw food we can find! Still, despite the rain, today we managed to get sunburnt again… and are starting to peel! Haha, situation under control (more or less)!
DAY 20
Tuesday, April 22 – Meeting, walks, and the microwave savior
Today we had our weekly meeting with the volunteers. As usual, there was a bit of confusion about where to meet… but after a looong walk under the sun, we finally managed to gather!
During the walk, I saw an incredible sight: a little boy riding a bike without brakes! He was pedaling with one foot and somehow managing to brake with the other… the bike was like three times his size, but it looked totally normal.
The meeting was, as usual, a bit chaotic… but in the end, we managed to get some things done!
In the afternoon, we went to MAPSA to work with the girls’ football club, and I have to say it’s always super nice to spend time with them.
Thanks to some friends, we also managed to get hold of some movies… so at least some evenings we’ll have something to watch!
For dinner, since the gas is still a mirage, Karo made an omelet using the microwave!
We discovered there’s probably a leak somewhere, because it’s impossible we ran out of gas in four days without even really using it… We urgently need to find a solution, otherwise our evenings will be full of raw salads!
DAY 21
Wednesday, April 23rd – A day with groups, African checkers, and movie night
Today we met again with one of the groups we had already worked with to check on the progress of their projects.
After the meeting, we went to eat at a restaurant in Chipulukusu: the usual menu, nshima with chicken and vegetables! Here, everyone eats together from a common plate, strictly with their hands: whenever you want, you take a piece of nshima and accompany it with whatever you prefer. Such a convivial moment!
On the way to eat, we stopped to play checkers… or rather, a super fast version with slightly different rules! They call it by another name, but the idea is the same: capture the opponent’s pieces, but at lightning speed!
After lunch, we took a taxi to Kawama to meet another group. It was a long ride, since Kawama isn’t exactly around the corner, but Gift, one of the volunteers, accompanied us all the way to the club.
At the club today, the girls had a workshop to make "bonnets," a kind of hair cap used after washing to prevent frizz. Super interesting! We tried chatting a bit with them, even though some don’t speak English… but you always find a way to understand each other. Communicating and integrating with them is definitely a challenge, but once you open up a bit, they open up too and are super friendly!
On the way back, since the gas has still not arrived (already three days without it!), we bought nshima, chicken, and vegetables ready for dinner again.
Tomorrow we should finally get new gas… and maybe water as well.
For now, we are avoiding drinking tap water, but over the next months we’ll see how to handle this… either we get used to it (fingers crossed), or we’ll keep buying and refilling our nearly 19-liter big water bottle every time!
Luckily, tonight both water and electricity are working! So… movie night!
Yesterday a friend gave us quite a few movies, sorted by category: action, comedies, cartoons… and tonight, finally, Moana!
We even managed to connect the computer to the TV, so we’re enjoying the movie on the big screen!
Our dark evenings are starting to become a bit more cheerful!
DAY 22
Thursday, April 24 – Supplies, workshop, and African survival
The morning was dedicated to restocking: the stove we use for cooking had a leak, and we ran out of gas, as I mentioned before, in just two weeks without really using it much! So we had to buy both a new gas cylinder and the hose that connects the cylinder to the stove.
Finally, we can cook again!
Since we were in town, we also took the opportunity to refill our two 18.9-liter water containers… now that we have two, they should last us about a month. From now on, every time we refill them, we pay half the price. Big win!
After lunch—which we managed with leftovers from yesterday since the stove wasn’t fixed until 1:30 pm—we got ready to attend a workshop, the same as the day before but in another district: Nkwazi.
We spent the whole afternoon there, accompanied by volunteers and club youths.
Back home, we were greeted by our usual electricity party: the power goes off, comes back, then disappears again… it’s a continuous celebration! Luckily, the water was still on.
When we washed the dishes without electricity, we realized we weren’t alone in the kitchen: cockroaches and other little critters were running everywhere. Help! But we will survive this too, nothing can stop us! They’ve become part of us and join our daily parties!
These first days of intense activity, heat, and African life are starting to take their toll… I’m feeling quite “worn out”!
To cope, I decided to start taking magnesium and vitamins that my mom bought me before I left: you have to stay alive! Thanks, Mommmm!!!
DAY 23
Friday, April 25 – Fun Friday, electric discoveries, and ginger biscuits
Today is a holiday in Italy, but here we’re working!
This morning we went to NHQ to work on the project a bit, taking advantage of the Wi-Fi… if only it worked! Let’s not even talk about it.
On Fridays, officially, we only get two hours here. No more comments—no point wasting energy on complaints, but I’ll just say: what a crazy situation.
Finally, lunch at home! With the gas back on, we treated ourselves to some amazing tuna pasta: my stomach is still thanking me!
In the afternoon, we headed to Kawama for our first Fun Friday!
During the day, we made an important discovery: we figured out how to plug chargers into the electricity without needing adapters! Small but joyful African wins.
When we arrived in Kawama after a taxi ride, we found ourselves… in a public clinic that we had mistaken for a private hospital because it looked so nice! They took us to the maternity ward… we didn’t understand why haha (I even asked Karo if she was pregnant). As we were leaving, an ambulance arrived with a pregnant woman on board, but definitely not the kind of ambulance we’re used to—more like a small van with some medical supplies inside. I’ll try to take some photos next time and learn more about it!
We then spent the afternoon with the kids and youth of Kawama: it was wonderful! We thought to create these Fun Fridays to spend time having fun together and get to know each other better, with the clubs from various districts.
I played with the kids while Karo stayed with the older youth.
We came home completely exhausted, treated ourselves to the last ginger biscuits left (they lasted weeks… a real record! You can imagine how good they were haha), then shower, a tactical movie, and… power outage!
Good night!
DAY 24
Saturday, April 26 – Matches, stadium adventures, and urban survival
Today was all about relaxing and having fun!
The morning started with my usual workout and… I even got back into some yoga!
Later in the morning, we went to watch the MAPSA women’s team play.
Unfortunately, they lost… there’s still a lot of work to do, but we’re hopeful that with the new equipment we plan to buy, they’ll be able to train better!
Change of plans: we went to the stadium to watch the top teams here in Zambia!
We saw two matches.
Getting to the stadium was an adventure: minibuses and taxis, prices doubled just because we’re foreigners (even though we were with local friends!), and their unique way of fastening seat belts — hooking them onto the seat back lever — but we made it there.
The funniest moment was entering: we basically slipped past a gate checker without tickets and got in freely, no queues!
We were stuck under the blazing sun for four hours, while next to us some kids wore puff jackets—probably to avoid sunburn.
We cheered for ZESCO, the local team: they won 1-0!
Food vendors wandered all around the stadium, making a strange whistle, almost like a snake sound, probably to get noticed amid the chaos. And there was a lot of chaos today — an important match!
At the end, we paid 30 kwacha each (about 1 euro) to get in, though I think the price should’ve been even lower… but it’s fine: back home, a game costs 100 times as much sometimes!
Getting home? Another show!
We walked quite a bit, with lots of people staring, wondering what we were doing there. Then a random street crossing (life-risking), a minibus with 9 seats crammed with 16 people somehow, and finally a taxi.
The taxi driver? Seemed drunk. He didn’t give way at a junction, and we almost crashed into a van…
But we’re alive!
Back home: dinner in the dark (of course, the power was out again), but at least we had water!
Good night!
DAY 25
Sunday, April 27 – Wild shopping, dream chicken, and bodyguards
A relaxing morning dedicated to some cleaning, laundry, and then... three hours of shopping in town!
This time, we basically spent all the cash we had with us — but that’s okay, we consoled ourselves on the way back by catching our usual taxi, which gives us a good price... basically our personal taxi driver now!
After lunch, the big event finally happened: we ate chicken! Haha, it felt like a celebration.
Then we went to watch the men’s team from the academy we’re supporting, MAPSA.
Our usual friend wasn’t around to keep an eye on us because he was busy watching his niece play. So — amazingly — he sent two of his friends to “protect” us! Basically, we had real bodyguards haha. It was pretty funny... we technically didn’t even know exactly who they were, and Karo and I were trying to guess!
The place is pretty safe, and we definitely don’t need bodyguards, but I think our friend preferred having someone there because, as you know, anything can happen during a football match!
The game was great: they won 3 to 1!
At the end, we went back home, of course without power, but at least with water (like the last few days!).
A quick dinner with a nice omelet and then some rest, with a bit of music keeping us company.
That’s all for this week too!
See you next time!!
Marti
