Get Involved at the 2012 PLWHIV/AIDS Forum - Participer à la Tribune des PVVIH/sida 2012

Living with HIV? The Canadian AIDS Society wants you to join forces with us to make AIDS history.

How can you help? Each year, we gather people living with HIV/AIDS from across the country at the People Living with HIV/AIDS Forum. This year, the event will be held at the Delta Chelsea in Toronto from June 13 to 16, in partnership with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation and CATIE. It’s your chance to tell us about the challenges you face and to suggest actions that need to be taken to address HIV/AIDS in Canada. Whether it’s a lack of adequate local medical services to deal with HIV or the need for increased HIV education and prevention for youth, we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Start today by filling out a scholarship form (link to: http://www.cdnaids.ca/2011-canadian-aids-agm-and-society-people-living-with-hivaids-forum) for the event.

Participate this year and let Canadians know that HIV is still an important issue in this country!

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Vous vivez avec le VIH? La Société canadienne du sida vous demande de joindre vos forces aux siennes, afin que le sida finisse par devenir une chose du passé.

Comment pouvez-vous aider? Chaque année, nous rassemblons des personnes vivant avec le VIH/sida de partout au pays, à la Tribune des personnes vivant avec le VIH/sida. Cette année, l’événement aura lieu à l’hôtel Delta Chelsea à Toronto du 13 au 16 juin, en partenariat avec le Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida, le Groupe de travail canadien sur le VIH et la réinsertion sociale et CATIE. C’est une occasion de nous raconter les défis auxquels vous faites face et de suggérer des actions pour répondre au VIH/sida au Canada. Que ce soit le manque de services médicaux locaux pour traiter le VIH, ou le besoin d’accroître l’éducation et la prévention reliées au VIH pour les jeunes, nous avons hâte d’entendre ce que vous avez à dire.

Commencez dès aujourd’hui en remplissant un formulaire de demande de bourse (link to: http://www.cdnaids.ca/2011-tribune-des-pvvihsida-et-la.g.a.-de-la-scs) pour l’événement.

Participez cette année et faites savoir aux Canadiens et Canadiennes que le VIH est encore un enjeu important, dans ce pays!

Migration

Wildebeest migration in Liuwa Plain (care of African-parks.org)

After a long, hectic few weeks I am looking forward to setting off early Saturday with friends for Liuwa Plains National Park in Western Province to catch the annuel blue wildebeest migration.

We will be camping for seven days, relaxing, going on safari and seeing game. It will be a welcome once again to get out of Lusaka for a chunk of time to recollect my thoughts and take a break from work.

As November is coming to a close, I need to start thinking about potential winter travel plans. Due to a lack of finances, I am not sure what to do, where to go and what to expect but I definitely do not want to miss out and have to stay in Zambia while everyone else is away. If only there was I way I could legally get fast cash.

I'm also finally getting back into writing stories for the Monitor after a bit of a hiatus. My work plan has also hanged, for the fourth time (yes, really) and is still not completely functional. It has to do with accompanying reporters in the field which is not happening so my duties will now include writing a human rights column each week, finally doing some training via human rights workshops and analyzing the paper for human rights stories. Here's hoping, as I've got three months left of my contract and want to make the most of it.

School is out so my students at Golden Gates have their exam. Starting January I'll get a new crop and I have also decided to start contributing to an entertainment and lifestyle online mag in Zed called BH magazine (http://www.bhmagazine.com) to help get it kickstarted even though it's already impressive for a country like Zambia.

Well I'm off to the wilderness, so will report back once I return to "civilization."

Wide open spaces

Taking my first breath of fresh air in Siavonga this past weekend was a relief - it felt so good to be out of crowded, dusty and noisy Lusaka and be able to look left and rigth and see greenery instead of adverts on wall fences with barbed-wire.

Backtracking a bit before I get too carried away; we boarded the bus in Lusaka and took off on the three-hour journey through mountains, up and over hills and through lush greenspaces that I had yet to feast my eyes on in Zed. As the sun began to set, I was disappointed that we had not yet arrived in Siavonga, which is well-known for its spectacular sunrises over Lake Kariba, the second largest man-made lake in Africa.

Nevertheless, we arrived at Eagles Rest lodge and after much confusion over accomodations (canoe race competitors were camping and press were supposed to be on a houseboat next to a hippo) we finally got sorted and feasted on a fish barbecue before retiring for the race the next morning.

Salim et moi

Early Saturday morning the lot of us gathered for a buffet breakfast and to receive the clues for the canoe race and listen to instructions. We boarded the boat to ferry us to the starting line and along came a speed boat with the owners of Lake Kariba Inns with the two most wonderful dogs - a wiener dog named Thomas and a half boxer/half bulldog named Wilfred. I claimed my space on the speed boat which would be my transport for the next three hours and I was in utter bliss being surrounded by good company (including the dogs of course) from various Zambian media outlets, plenty of Mosi and being able to feel the breeze in face on the water.

The competitors all gathered in one long line and the horn blew. They raced down to the canoes (there is a term for this type of starting line but I forget it), chaos ensued but people eventually organized themselves into teams of three. Unfortunately four lucky teams had to be placed in rafts which was a huge disadvantage as their speed would be reduced immensely on the water.

The competitors battling or rather paddling it out on Lake Kariba

For the next three hours, we motored around monitoring who was winning, checking out the teams running to find their clues along the route and just having some laughs. The Lake Kariba Inns team was the eventual winner, completing the race in just a little over an hour and too bad, but the rafters finished last. A for effort, though!

Thomas (left) and Wilfred getting in on the action

The rest of Saturday was relaxing, we checked in to Kariba Inn which was beautiful - the nicest hotel in Siavonga with an incredible view. After another fish barbecue, some swimming and napping, the party began. The DJ blasted disco and r&b oldies and goodies mixed with Zam jams and the crowd erupted into a giant dancing movement both in and out of the pool.

Pool dancing at night

After another huge buffet-style breakfast the next morning, we retired, exhausted (hey I can't even complain...I didn't race) to the bus and began the journey home, which was long because we kept stopping for a bunch of rowdy Zambians in the back to get more beer - funny, they were the ones whose boat capsized ten minutes after the race began because they were chugging Mosi and cheap white wine since you couldn't have booze while racing.

The view from Kariba Inns

Siavonga mini-break and election mania

The past week has been rather celebratory. Zambians went wild when they found out Obama got elected and I had an "election breakfast" with some friends at an Irish pub at around 6:30 a.m. our time to watch the president-elect give his speech in Chicago. It was a pretty amazing experience being so far away from home with other Americans (and Canadians) and witnessing this together. Hey, people in Kenya are even naming their babies after the new pres.

Elections in Zambia are also finished. It has been quite a ride - nearly three months of constant bickering between parties, potential corruption and more drama but in the end I believe the election was relatively free and fair...well as free and fair as Zambia could possibly get. The MMD party, the current ruling party prior to 30 October got re-elected and former vice-president Rupiah Banda is now the President. Michael Sata, the Patriotic Front leader lost by only a few tens of thousands of votes which has made things a bit tense lately as he is certainly not happy with the outcome - the way the results from the consitituencies were announced, Sata had a huge overriding lead until Saturday evening when we found out the final results as Banda edged closer, eventually taking over in the first place.

Last week I attended the final political rally for the United Party for National Democracy, with its leader Hakainde Hichilema (nicknamed H.H.) giving his pep speech to thousands of supporters. It was unreal to be standing on the platform nearly in H.H.'s breathing space snapping photos of the massive crowd, donning UPND chitenge, holding flags and signs of support. Everytime H.H. shouted "Zambia" the crowd would raise their fists in the air showing solidarity and then begin chanting political songs of support. Even Petersen, one of Zed's top music artists write now penned a tune for the leader (obviously after being a paid a decent salary for it, I'm sure).

Thousands of UPND supporters in Kanyama

H.H. speaking to supporters at the rally

As luck and good timing would have it, I am heading off to Siavonga along the beautiful Lake Kariba for the weekend.

This is no pleasure trip - I am going on a bus packed with Zambia media houses to cover the second annual Canoe Jamboree, an "Amazing Race style" event that will take place Saturday morning.

The race consists of sponsored teams who are given clues and by canoe and on land, need to find all of the answers (in hotels, around town, etc.) within three hours. I will be following the water component so media personnel are taken out by boat to trail the canoes. After the race ends, there is a beach braii (bbq) and an awards ceremony in the evening and then after a big breakfast Sunday morning, it's time to come home. I'm staying at the Kariba Inns, apparently one of the nicest hotels in the area and we are taking a luxury coach to and from Siavonga. Can't complain about my job, once again.

But this won't be all playtime. A fellow JHR colleague and I are working on a story to pitch to a few Canadian papers about some pertinent issues regarding mining, tourism, etc. in the area that actually has Canadian involvement (don't want to give out my story idea here for obvious reasons). We will be interviewing Chiefs, hospitality and tourism workers and some activists on the mining issue as well.

Photo courtesy of Siavonga-zambia.com

Tuesday I finally made it to my first compound, right near where I stay. I will post more about that experience later as the photos tell most of the story but the experience was uplifting - it felt so nice to connect with people on a local level and the area was great, sandy roads, no wall fences, a very open feeling. Everyone said hello as my colleague fron another newspaper and I passed them and we spoke to people at a women's empowerment NGO, an orphanage and a community school. It was so interesting to learn about the issues which affect each institution, how they are being proactive in arranging to find a solution and how they work as a body within the community. I left feeling slightly more fulfilled.

Zambia Fashion Week Diaries (Saturday)

And finally the day came for the grand finale of Zambia Fashion Week.

The final noon-time show was awash with pink dresses of various shapes, styles and cuts—some of the tacky side, but all of them fabulous. Dodo Wear closed off the individual shows for the week before the glittering grand finale took place that night.

Dodo Wear

Dodo Wear

Dodo Wear

Dodo Wear

Although it was hard to pinpoint exactly where a woman could wear these frocks to a function, the imagination in each robe was certainly held in high regard. Mixtures of different textures including beads, sequins and ribbon were sewn in to each dress, many of them satin which gave off a beautiful sheen look since the deep pink colour was so intense.

And then came our evening show. All 12 designers in the show picked their ten best outfits and the three-hour long finale showed us more than 120 outfits. Alliance Française saw a packed house with standing-room only, proof that the week was a smashing success and that Zambians love their fashion and want to support their local talent.

Throughout the night, designers were congratulated for a job well done, handed flowers and our emcee for the week as well, C.R.I.$.I.$. worked the stage grabbing everyone with his energy and constant movement.

The models were also given massive rounds of applause—participating in every show, twice a day is not an easy job. We saw the crème de la crème of Zambia's supermodels, including Foster Chewe, Precious Mumbi and Mulenga Mubanga (my personal favourite), many of whose credits include the Face of Africa, Miss Zambia, etc.

Left: Model Mulenga Mubanga and friends Valerie, me and Bonnie

So Zambia Fashion Week came to a quick end. It was a great experience being able to attend each show, schmooze with other members of the press, organizers, models and designers and get a taste as to how the fashion industry works on this side of the world. It may not be a fashion destination like New York City, Paris, London or even Montreal for that matter, but Lusaka played host to Zambia's top design talent and the world can get ready to see some of these creative talent going international in the years to come.

Zambia Fashion Week Diaries (Friday)

On the second last day of Fashion Week, we saw our youngest and perhaps one of the most talented designers take the stage for the evening show, Angela Mulenga. Lunch time's show also proved to be a huge creative success with Charity Ngoma's flamboyant (and very big on the pouffe) dresses.

Charity Ngoma

Charity Ngoma

Charity Ngoma

Charity Ngoma

Charity Ngoma was perhaps the most experimental out of all the designers when it came to appliqués and close attention to detail in her outfits. Each dress had either a unique neckline, a skirt that boasted incredible shape and edge and good use of colour clashing (in a positive way as discussed before, of course).

Her venture into bridalwear left many a future wife thinking about how you can be creative and untraditional yet stick to one's tribal roots at the same time. It's not often we see colours or noticeable patterns sewn in to a wedding dress, but Ngoma's confidence in her creativity shone through as she demonstrated her dresses with long, flowing trains marked with tribal designs, neutral-toned appliqués along the bustier and loads of crinoline stuff under the skirt enough to make a debutante envious.

Angela Mulenga's follow-up that evening to Ngoma's show was greatly complimentary. Pretty satine and sparkling party dresses perfect for a formal function or a spin on the dancefloor, edgy clubwear for a woman who likes to be seen on the scene and hip casualwear demonstrated the youthful Mulenga's impressive collection.

Angela Mulenga
Angela Mulenga
Angela Mulenga

Angela Mulenga

Angela Mulenga

Certainly another favourite among the audience for Fashion Week, Mulenga's fascination with glamour and simplicity transcends through her sophisticated designs that show she is well beyond her years. At her age, she understands that fashion is more than a matter of flaunting an outfit and looking food while doing it—it's one of the primary ways a woman can express herself, no matter how old she is.

Her love of satin fabric was certainly noticeable through her smooth and shiny dresses of luscious colours, lots of calm purples, shocking reds and hot yellows showed face down the catwalk.

Mulenga doesn't stick to one theme—she decided to take on every pattern, design and colour possible and does a good job at mastering it. Including chitenge in many of her designs as well, young Zambian women were in awe when they saw the work Mulenga could do transforming a rather blah pattern into a work of art.

Zambia Fashion Week Diaries (Thursday)

Thursday's lunch hour edition of Zambia Fashion Week was chaotic yet fun and creative. Verona Gordon's collection included children and men for the first time, who adorned themselves with flamboyant chitenge outfits, each one hard to imagine someone actually wearing on a day-to-day basis but still imaginative nonetheless.

Verona Gordon

Verona Gordon

Verona Gordon

Verona Gordon

The mother-and-child matching outfits garnered several "awwws" from the heavily muzungu-populated audience but the multi-ethnic catwalk was a welcome change, showing us a little diversity in what Zambia has to offer. Despite the models looking a little less than thrilled at having to carry children (I can't imagine having do strut down a catwalk carrying a child...incredible balance these women must have), the clothes were imaginative, colourful and had interesting cuts and angles using the traditional Zambian fabric we had seen most days during Fashion Week. Overall, it was nice to see a family-friendly show and Gordon stood out from the rest of the designers by having children's outfits on parade (and muzungus in her show as well).

The evening show gave us a double whammy of fantastic eveningwear, club outfits, sophisticated casualwear and all at the same time, intended for a similar audience of extremely fashion conscious and fashion-forward young urban women. Coretta Arnold came first followed by Nada in a double presentation Thursday evening.

Coretta Arnold's designs graced the catwalk first, with ground-sweeping dresses in bright "notice me" hues (a favourite included two white numbers with multi-coloured polka dots complete with a hot red waist-belt and the second with cute green ribbon sewn throughout) and model Precious Mumbi's barely-there sensual blue top overtop white wide-leg satin trousers made heads turn and eyes widen. A favourite on the men was the blue plaid vest (worn on both our gentleman host and the male model with no shirt underneath...definitely caught the ladies' eyes and I'm sure sold out after the show).

Coretta Arnold

Coretta Arnold

Coretta Arnold

Coretta Arnold

Following Coretta Arnold, the multi-talented Nada took the stage. Decked out in a belly-dancing ensemble, the designer herself opened her set with a dance performance, signalling that her show dictated her unique style and the many sides that exist to her.

Nada

Nada

Nada

Nada

Nada's vast collection of glamorous cocktail dresses and shimmering clubwear illuminated the catwalk with the first visibly "real" collection—outfits that you would definitely see women wearing on a daily basis to the appropriate function. It seems as though Nada designs for every occasion from formal evening functions to weddings to a night out with the ladies bumping and grinding in the clubs. She plays around with a lot of black and white working with both shades simultaneously to express her serious side in a fun ensemble and then surprises us with bold shades of red and baby pink to give her looks a softer edge.

She garnered a huge round of applause not only for her large and impressive collection at the end of her set but also for her own costume and impressive dance performance. Talk about bein artistic in more than one discipline.