Zambia, my country of birth where I spent a significant part of my childhood, got its name from the Zambezi River, the largest river flowing into the Indian Ocean. It is a landlocked country located between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 7). Zambia’s population has been steadily increasing from 7.8 Million in 1990 (City Population Zambia, 2007) to 12.9 million in 2009 (US Department of State, 2009). At the forefront of Zambia’s economy is its ability to mine for great natural resources such as emeralds, aquamarines, amethyst and tourmalines (Dickovick, 2008, p. 320). It also produces 6% of the world’s copper, making it the fourth largest producing copper nation (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 44).
Lusaka, the city I grew up in and the capital city of Zambia is one of the fastest growing cities in central Africa. Lusaka has changed dramatically from the time I left in 1990 to the time I visited it a few years ago. The changes in society, economic infrastructure and human condition have been dramatic.

Zambia has changed so much over a span of 19 years. All the activities that I remember doing with my family and friends, such as safaris and picnics at the Kafue River, on the weekends and holidays have been closed. The zoo which used to be filled with amazing wildlife, which I frequently visited, does not exist anymore. All the animals which once resided there died or escaped because they were not fed properly or looked after. The various festivals we attended on weekends at the fairgrounds do not take place anymore. However, one thing that has changed for the better is that Victoria Falls, one of the “greatest sheets of flowing water” (Dickovick, 2008, p. 317) and natural wonder of the world (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 50), has become an adventure centre of southern Africa because of the various adrenaline sports activities available. In recent times, a lot of former tourists have come to Victoria Falls to set up shops offering present tourists adventurous activities such as bungee jumping from the highest commercial bungee jump bridge in the world (once so considered but no longer so), whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing and river boarding.

In the early 90’s, Zambia was bursting with growth, especially from five small towns consisting of Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola, Luanshya and Mufulira more commonly known as “The Copperbelt” (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 13). These towns were all surrounded by copper deposits which had an enormous impact on the growth and development of the country through the mining of copper. It was copper that motivated infrastructural development in the country at that time, but upon my return to Zambia I was astonished to see how the collapse of copper prices has reduced all the foreign exchange earnings. On the other hand, the agriculture sector has improved significantly with many farms specializing in the production of wheat, soya beans, roses, sugarcane, corn, cotton, tobacco and various other vegetables and legumes. This agricultural expansion has lead to an increase in exportation, thereby resulting in a booming economy.
When I returned to Zambia two years ago, I was quite surprised at the changes that have come about in the economy. The economy has dramatically grown compared to what it was in the 90’s. However, like many countries in Africa, Zambia has been plagued with inflation. When I left, the exchange rate was $1 (US) to K380 and now has risen to K5225 (J. Doe, personal communication, July 8, 2009).

Today I see such a vast difference in the infrastructure compared to before. Lusaka is a city undergoing a facelift. A look around the city reveals new shops, including a new market and a multimillion dollar shopping mall. You also see a lot of different fast food outlets, as well as a couple of large South African supermarkets. Old buildings are being refurbished, new roads being built and extended as well as the transformation of the city’s parks.

I remember when many parts of the city and its surroundings consisted of run-down stall kind of markets more commonly known to the locals as “shopping markets”. These markets were rented for such a low price and were a place for the locals to earn a living by selling goods that they hand-made of wood, malachite or copper. However, today all these markets have been removed and replaced with modern looking buildings and a more modern style of a shopping market. The number of businesses have grown dramatically that quite a few of the residential homes that surrounded my home have been changed to offices.
Another thing I noticed when in Zambia was that about 85% of the population lived below the World Bank poverty threshold of $1 a day (Holmes & Wong, 2009, p. 41). Hence, these days you see more beggars and more crimes occurring. Back when I was in Zambia, you could roam the streets at night without being afraid for your life because the crime rate was low. However, today criminal activity has risen so much that people get killed during the day, especially when they go to the bank. Most of the homes are now equipped with electrical fences as a result of the increased incidences of burglaries. In the old days, the gates of homes were left open and no homeowner needed an electric fence to be erected because there was no need to be scared that you would be robbed or murdered in your own home. Nowadays the police recommend that people return to their homes by 8pm the latest (J. Doe, personal communication, July 8, 2009).

AIDS has also become a huge epidemic in Zambia. It has spread so drastically since the 90’s that today more than one in every seven adults is living with HIV. In 2004, the president at that time Mr. Mwanawasa declared HIV/AIDS a national emergency in Zambia (Zaccagnini, 2009). About 14% of Zambia’s 117 million people are HIV positive and about half the estimated 300,000 people in need of antiretroviral medication obtain it from government clinics and hospitals (IRIN/Plus News, 2009).
These days you see a lot more children begging on the streets due to the AIDS epidemic consuming most of these children’s parents. UNAIDS 2006 Report on the Global AIDS epidemic estimated that Zambia had about 710,000 AIDS orphans, of whom over 6% were homeless and less than 1% were housed in orphanages (Pines, Rauschhuber, & Williams, 2006).
There are many factors affecting the control of the AIDS epidemic and the reduction of poverty, but one factor that is of major significance is the amount of corruption going on within the government. In the last ten to twelve years, Zambia has received a lot of monetary aid from various countries to help control the AIDS epidemic and to help the poor (IRIN/Plus News, 2009). However, the locals never seem to be getting any of the funds.

The drastic change, especially the deterioration, in Zambia over the past decade shocked me. It was really sad to see the amount of people, especially the children, begging on the streets. I was further heartbroken at seeing the large number of children in the orphan homes due to the loss of their parents because of AIDS and/or poverty. These children live in such bad conditions because there is no money coming in from anywhere. The government also is not financially supporting any of the orphan homes. A country with an abundance of natural resources and beauty has progressed a bit but regressed a lot more. Although the land has been transformed from shacks to concrete blocks, it has been filled with suffering lives. A terrible pity!

REFERENCES:

1) Holmes, T. & Wong, W. (2009). Cultures of the World: Zambia. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.

2) Electronic references. (2009, May). US Department of State. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2359.htm.

3) Dickovick, Tyler J. (2008). The World Today Series. Africa. 43rd Edition. Harpers Ferry, WV: Stryker-Post Publications. 317-320

4) Zaccagnini, M. (2009). HIV & AIDS in Zambia. Retrieved July 6, 2009, from http://www.avert.org/aids-zambia.htm. 5) Electronic references. (2009, May 27). Global HIV/AIDS News & Analysis. IRIN/Plus News. Retrieved July 6, 2009, from http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84578.

6) Pines, E.W., Rauschhuber, M. & Williams, S. (2006). Health connections: A culturally sensitive approach to HIV/AIDS prevention programming in Zambia. California Journal of Heath Promotion, 4(4), 52-62. Retrieved July 6, 2009, from http://www.csuchico.edu/cjhp/4/4/052-062-pines.pdf.

7) Electronic references. (2007, June 17). City Population Zambia. Retrieved July 3, 2009, from http://www.citypopulation.de/Zambia.html.