The Unga People: The Only Zambians With English Surnames

By Paul Shalala in Lunga

Chief Kasoma Lunga (l) of the Unga people and Ms Kabanshi

They are the Unga speaking people of the Bangweulu swamps.

They speak Bemba language but it is uniquely different from the Bemba spoken in Muchinga and Northern Provinces.

This may be due to their isolation from the rest of the Bemba speaking people.

When you move around the main islands in Lunga such as Kasoma Lunga,
Nsamba, Bwalya Mponda and Kalima Nkonde, one notices something unique
which no other part of the country has.

In all the islands, Kasoma Lunga is the area where most people use English names as surnames.

Apart from Nigeria and Liberia where English surnames are prominent due to the presence of families emanating from freed slaves from the western hemisphere, Zambia may become a third country on the continent to embrace English surnames.

People here have first names in English and surnames in English.

Others have first names in Bemba and surnames in English.

Even under five cards for children show how people here cherish
English names for their surnames.

A further investigation into the history behind this practice shows
that people in Lunga adopt the first names of their father as their
new surname.

This has led to many people having surnames such as James, Johns
White, Maurice and Jefferson.

But how did this practice start?

Some old residents of Lunga recall that when Europeans came to Lunga,
several adults were employed by these white men.

"I got my Willy surname from my father. Willy is actually his first name and I adopted it as my surname. The practice is everywhere here in Kasoma Lunga," said Jessica Willy, a local resident.

Local men started adopting English names from their masters and later
this became part of the culture of the Unga people of Lunga.

"These English names came from Europeans. They are the ones who came to build most of these structures you see here. They gave us names and we are happy to have adopted them," said John Benson, a 67 year old resident.

Unique as it may sound, the people of Lunga are trendsetters.

They are unique and their names are unique but they storm form an
integral part of Zambia.

Myths Surrounding Male Circumcision, Family Planning In Lunga

By Paul Shalala in Lunga

Ms Kabanshi speaking in church - Pictures by Osward Halupepe

It is an area which is isolated from the rest of the country due to its location.

Access to Lunga District in Luapula Province is either by boat or by air.

This is because the islands which make up Lunga are completely surrounded by Lake Bangweulu.

And this isolation has somehow led to a situation were residents resist change.

People here are against modern ways of life and even taking pregnant women to a health center for delivery is a big gamble.

In October, a consortium of civil society organisations involved in sexual reproductive health issues together with experts from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Community Development camped for a month in Lunga to offer health services.

Among the organisations in the consortium were Marie Stopes International and Society for Family Health (SFH).

Marie Stopes was in the area to conduct male circumcisions but only one person showed up and almost all men shunned the service due to superstitions.

Many people in the area suspect male circumcision to be satanic or part of a business venture.

“We do not have circumcision in our culture here. So its foreign. We heir when forskins are cut, they are used to make sausage and some people have said circumcision is being used by Satanists,” said Chanda Leo, a local resident.

This rejection of male circumcision was confirmed even by the civil society organisations who only managed to circumcise one person who himself came under the cover of darkness to avoid public shame.

Luapula Member of Parliament Emerine Kabanshi recently embarked on a difficult task of convincing people in her constituency to adopt modern sexual reproductive services as opposed to traditional methods.

Ms Kabanshi toured her constituency to sensitise people on male circumcision and family planning and she saw for herself how her motherland is still resisting latest health interventions.

She flew to all the major islands and met chiefs, pupils and local residents and explained why male circumcision is being promoted as a way of fighting HIV and AIDS.

Ms Kabanshi talking to Chief Kasoma Lunga about circumcision

Ms Kabanshi, who is also Community Development Minister, wore a male circumcision t-shirt during her tour to raise awareness about the need for men to consider what is commonly referred to as MC.

Her first port of call was the Kasoma Lunga Catholic Church were she took advantage of mass on a Sunday and ‘evangelised’ to hundreds of congregants over health issues.

Later she visited Chief Bwalya Mponda who told her there was more need for sensitisation over health issues.

“My people are rejecting male circumcision because they do not know its benefits. Ba Minister please intensify the sensitisations so that people can be clear,” he said.

At Bwalya Mponda Primary School, Ms Kabanshi addressed dozens who pupils who kept murmuring as she spelt out the importance of male circumcision.

She earlier flew to Kasoma Lunga island where she launched Sexual And Reproductive Health for All Initiative (SARAI) which is aimed at encouraging the use of family planning methods by both teenage and adult mothers.

SARAI is a multi-donor funded project which is reaching to the heart of rural Zambia to help fight bad health traditions and introduce health practices that will save lives.

In Lunga, girls get married as early as 12 years and the use of family planning is not common.

Using what they call Focus Groups, a SARAI team sensitised mothers on the usage of family planning to save the mother’s life and also space children.

“Our aim is to see to it that mothers have time to rest after delivering, we want them to also space their children and reduce deaths,” said Dr Cheswa Vwalika, SARAI Chief of Party.

In one of the focus groups, a teenage mother explained how she was married at the age of 13 and she immediately used family planning as she was still young but that ended up bringing problems in her new marriage.

“After much talk, I told my grandmother about it and she told me to stop taking family planning. That’s how I started giving birth. I had five children in seven years before I was divorced,” she said.

A SARAI-branded vehicle

In the focus groups, some teenage mothers revealed that they fear to take family planning because they heard that monthly periods become severe and some husbands could divorce them for not bearing children.

SARAI is a five year project which is being implemented in Luapula, Northern and Muchinga provinces.

Another intervention being used to help change people’s mindsets is the use of Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAG) which has received overwhelming support from the islands.

40 SMAG members were last month completing their training in Kasoma Lunga and Nsamba islands on how to encourage women deliver from health centers as opposed to home deliveries which mostly result in complications and deaths.

The History Behind The Name John Chinena Market

First Lady Esther Lungu buying green paper at John Chinena

By Paul Shalala

What is in a name?

Perhaps, that is a good question to pose around an area along the Great North Road in Chibombo District.

Of course, the famed William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet, tells us that a name is nothing because it does not change anything.

But this is one area with a somewhat offensive sounding name.

It has a name which NOT everyone is comfortable to say publicly.

“We know this area as John, John Chinena…… We feel shy to pronounce it but there’s nothing we can do,” said Juliet, a marketeer at John Chinena market.

And the name of this area in many languages is connected to private parts.

Even senior government officials would rather use an English word to describe it.

“We need to diversify the economy in Central Province…… At JOHN SOMETHING we can build an agro processing plant to help farmers preserve their goods, put value addition and boost their businesses,” said Edwidge Mutale, Central Province Permanent Secretary.

John Chinena is a market on either side of the Great North Road in both Chibombo and Chisamba districts.

This area is famous for its vegetables supplied throughout the year.

Motorists on this high way usually stop over to buy maize, water melons, tomatoes and other farm products.

But where did the name John Chinena come from?

The story starts from a local bar where an old man in the 1980s used to play a local game called nsolo and would shout “Ndakulya Chinena” every time he beats his opponents.

 Victor Chinena is a grandson to the man who was nicknamed John Chinena and now explains the history behind the name.

“My grandfather was born in 1924 and he died in 1994. He was good in nsolo. Every time he wins a game he would shout ‘Ndakulya Chinena.’ People ended up giving him the nickname John Chinena,” said Victor, whose details on his National Registration Card are Victor John Chinena.

On allegations that the name sterms from the old man’s insatiable appetite for sex, Victor confirms it.

“My grandfather had 10 girlfriends who gave him 10 children. He really loved women despite his advanced age.”

The popularity of the name John Chinena in the past 30 years has grown to an extent where the name has even been adopted by a village.

North of the market is a village called John Chinena were a relative of Victor is the headman.

John Chinena is also the area where a Post Bus coach was involved in a road accident in which over 70 people died in February 2013.

The area is famous for road accident and government is in the process of constructing a trauma center at the nearby Liteta District Hospital to treat hundreds of passengers who are caught up in accidents annually.

HIV+ Priest Using Social Media To Encourage Positive Living

By Paul Shalala

Reverend Stuart Bweupe

 A 47 year old Anglican Priest, who is living with HIV has taken to social media to encourage positive living and discourage fellow clergymen from stopping HIV positive congregants from taking Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ARV) drugs.

Reverend Stuart Bweupe, the priest in charge at Kabwe North Parish, has been posting Facebook and WhatsApp messages asking people to accept their status and live peaceful lives.

He has lived with the HIV virus for eight years and says he has survived because of ARVs.

Reverend Bweupe says it is wrong for any man of God to stop people from taking the life saving drugs because they prolong life.

Meanwhile, the clergyman, who was deserted by his wife in 2007 when he was found to be HIV positive, says he has suffered stigma even from within his church which resulted in him being stopped from presiding over mass.

A screenshot of his Facebook posts

In conservative Zambia, it is uncommon for a man of God to publicly declare their HIV status.

 He is probably the only Zambian Anglican Priest to openly declare his HIV positive status.

For Reverend Bweupe, it is a mission he aims to win.

And his mission is to make his experiences become lessons for others.

"While presiding over mass on a Sunday in 2007, I suffered a stroke in front of the church and the incident is what led to me knowing my HIV status," said Reverend Bweupe.

Despite being a man of God, his own church and congregants distanced themselves from him.

"After I was found to be HIV positive, I suffered stigma. My own church stopped me from presiding over mass. It was painful. People were talking and laughing at me."

Reverend Bweupe on his wedding day on Saturday

He did not just suffer stigma at church, even his own wife of 12 years deserted him in 2007 soon after he was found to be HIV positive.

According to Anglican rules, a clergyman cannot remarry in a given period of time.

But after waiting for authority for eight years, Reverend Bweupe has been granted the right to remarry.

On Saturday, the clergyman married Edith a Kabwe-based teacher at a colourful ceremony in the former mining town.

As he studies for his Honours Degree in Theology at Saint Johns University in Kitwe, Reverend Bweupe looks focused on helping other people overcome stigma in society.

Zambia Targets To Reduce Green House Emissions By 47%

By Paul Shalala

The Barotse Flood Plains in western Zambia

Zambia intends to spend US$50 billion to reduce green house emissions by 47% in the next 15 years.

According to the country’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, Zambia intends to raise US$35bn from external sources and the remainder from domestic sources.

An INDC is a primary means for governments to communicate internationally the steps they will take to address climate change in their respective countries under the forthcoming Paris Conference.

In the past four months, Zambia has been holding provincial meetings for technocrats to craft INDC proposals which culminated into the final document which has since been submitted to the UNFCCC.

Zambia is a party to the UNFCCC Convention and upon submission of its INDC, became the 105th country in the world to forward its document to the UNFCCC Secretariat. 

According to Ministry of Lands Public Relations Officer Diniwe Zulu, Zambia’s INDC presents mitigation and adaptation efforts based on the national circumstances and desire to become a high middle income and prosperous nation by 2030.

“The successful implementation of Zambia’s INDC will result in an estimated emission reduction of 47percent against the 2010 base line," said Zulu.

"In Mitigating the impact of climate change, Zambia intends to reduce its Carbon dioxide emissions by implementing three programs driven by the country’s climate response strategy and supported by national development policies including energy, forest ,agriculture, water, town and country planning, sanitation and transport.”

 

Zambia already suffers from the effects of climate change.

Currently, the country is suffering an unprecedented levels of loadshedding owing to reduced water levels in the Kariba Dam which has been blamed on reduce rain fall in the last rain season.

In various parts of the country, reduced rain, floods and soil erosion are common sites.

NDI, FODEP Partner To Monitor Voter Registration Exercise

A registration officer issuing out a voters' card

By Paul Shalala

The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) and the United States-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) have partnered on a US$50, 000 project to monitor the on-going mobile issuance of National Registration Cards (NRCs) and voters cards.

The two institution announced the development in Lusaka a day ago and this collaboration is not the first of its kind in the promotion of good governance in Zambia.

According to the draft strategy of the project dubbed "Go Out to Register," the campaign seeks to contribute to the increase of voter registration in 28 selected districts from nine of Zambia's 10 provinces.

Southern is the only province which will not be covered in the project.

The project will also try to promote the participation of key stakeholders to help increase turn out of eligible voters.

"Voter registration is vital to the public’s interest in establishing a government based on the people’s will and also vital to those who seek to gain public office as it is a key element for screening ineligible people out of the voting process and for identifying and credentialing eligible individuals so that they may have the opportunity to vote," said MacDonald Chipenzi, FODEP Executive Director during a press briefing.

He added: "it delights me to launch this very important projects aimed at contributing to a deepening democratization in Zambia through increased popular participation of citizens in the electoral process by contributing to the attainment of the registration of 1.7 million voters by 7th July 2016."

MacDonald Chipenzi

This project will be implemented in Lusaka, Rufunsa, Luangwa, Chiawa, Chinsali, Nakonde, Shiwangandu,  Senanga, Sesheke, Kazungula, Kasama, Mpulungu, Mbala, Luwingu, Kafulafuta, Ndola, Kitwe, Chililabombwe, Mufulira, Kapiri Mposhi Chisamba, Chibombo, Mansa, Mwense, Lubwe and Chembe districts.

And FODEP Civic Education Chairperson Clement Zulu has expressed concern that the third and fourth phases of the voter registration exercise will be held in the rain season which can affect turn out. 

"FODEP is cognisant of the fact that much of the 1.7million targeted new voters account for youths between the age of 17 and 35 years. To this end, FODEP will engage with schools and establish school chapters at which schools would compete with each other in a manner that sends messages to encourage young people to register. FODEP will also appreciate theatre and creative art to get its message across. A total of 480 volunteers will be empowered with voter education facilitation skills in 29 districts of the 7 provinces." said Mr Zulu.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) launched the voter registration exercise on 14^th September, 2015 targeting to register 1.7 million new voters across the country by March, 2016.

The exercise is being done in four phases which will run as follows:

A voter displaying his voters' card in Luanshya

•  First phase started on 14^th September 2015 and runs for 14 days until 27^th September, 2015.
• Second Phase started on 29^th September, 2015 and ended on 11^th October, 2015. 
• Third phase from 11 October 2015 to 25 October 2015
• Fourth phase from 26 October to 11 November 2015

 In the first phase of the exercise, the ECZ announced that 301, 103 new voters were registered while thousands more had their lost or damaged voters' cards replaced.

The exercise has however been hampered in some provinces were thousands of potential first time voters can not register as they do not have NRCs.

The mobile issuance of NRCs is also been implemented in phases in the provinces. 

Triple V Campaign Launched To Discourage Apathy In 2016 Polls

By Paul Shalala

B Flow performing at a Triple V event in Kabwe

A consortium of Zambian civil society organisations has launched the Triple V Campaign to encourage young men and women to turn up in huge numbers and cast their votes during the 2016 general elections.

Triple V is a short form for My Vote, My Voice, My Victory.

The campaign, which is being spearheaded by the Zambia National Women's Lobby, Operation Young Vote, Anti-Voter Apathy Project and the Young Women in Action, will see a series of countrywide public events such as road shows and meetings to encourage more people to vote.

This campaign comes at a time when Zambia has seen some of its lowest voter turn out in parliamentary by-elections held this year.

Macky 2 sensitising the public in Chipata

The donor funded campaign has so far held public meetings in Chipata and Kabwe.

On the official launch of the campaign in Chipata on 5th September, local rapper Macky 2 mesmerised the crowds with music which was punctuated by messages of encouragement for young people to vote.

 "Never take everything for granted. Appreciate every opportunity that you have in life. We are here to educate you on how to involve yourselves in the governance of the country. On 14th September you should register to become a voter. You should always remember that voting is your right and vote for whoever you want. Voting is a secret," said Macky 2.

Macky 2 was later joined on stage by popular comedian Bikiloni who charmed the crowds with his mouth watering jokes.

Bikiloni in action in Chipata

In his trademark Nyanja jokes, Bikiloni occasionally picked members of the crowd and asked them questions while hammering home the message.

And on 3rd October, the Triple V Campaign shifted to Kabwe where Comet Grounds in Africa's second largest slum Makululu was brough to a standstill.

Fresh from a three months stint as a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow in the US, B Flow sensitised the public on the need for them to register as voters and turn up in huge numbers to elect their new MPs, Councillors and President next year.

B Flow, whose real name is Brian Bwembya, is a musician who focuses on social issues such as Gender Based Violence and gender equality through his #Music4Change project which US President Barack Obama even acknowledged during his Town Hall with the 2015 Mandela Fellows a month ago.

B Flow charming the crowd in Kabwe

The Triple V Campaign has enlisted a number of famous comedians, musicians and personalities to attract more people to their countrywide meetings as they sensitise the public on the need to avoid apathy in 2016.


The campaign will in the coming months hold similar sensitisations in Kitwe, Choma and Mongu before the end of this year.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia is currently registering new voters and replacing voters cards for those who lost or damaged their previous cards.

The exercise, which commenced on 14 September, is expected to end on 11 November but it will continue at District Councils countrywide until end of March 2016.

Zambia is next year scheduled to hold a general election where Members of Parliament, Councillors and a President will be elected.