I was in Africa for the past eight and a half months. I left a few days ago, and as I reflect on this experience I am convinced that it was the most amazing time of my life. It seems I did so much, saw so much and most importantly, I was able to learn so very much. So, as a final blog in this series, here is a list of the top 10 things I learned while in Africa:

1. Africans are amazing people. I was only there for a short while but I was able to make a ton of friends. It seems most Africans by nature are extremely friendly, welcoming and helpful people. I think this is what I will miss the most — the warm and good-natured Africans.

2. Living in most of Africa is very safe. People are always concerned about westerners who travel or live in that part of the world. They shouldn’t be. Most of Africa is almost as safe as any other place… in fact I am convinced that living in Chicago could be much more dangerous than living in Harare

3. Africa is beautiful. Some of the most amazing sights I have seen in my life have been there. The magnificent Victoria Falls thundering with all its might as it sprays water a mile away. Huge yet completely harmless whale sharks, swimming peacefully near the coast of Mozambique. Stones, the size of cars, in odd shapes balancing perfectly on top of each other, sprinkled throughout the countryside of Zimbabwe. Large, maze-like structures built entirely with stones and no mortar forming the main settlement of an old Shona kingdom. A family of elephants crossing the road undisturbed near Lake Kariba. Even zebras at a park in Zambia lovingly embraced in a hug…

4. People in Africa don’t need much to be happy. In fact, some of the happiest people I’ve met have been there. Many families in the countryside live with nothing but a plot of land and a small mud hut. Yet they manage just fine and appear to have very strong family bond and incredible relationships, much better than what I normally see in modern-day America.

5. There is a lot of talent in Africa and there is so much potential. Just in Zimbabwe, I’ve met some wonderful musicians, other amazing artists, and even great web developers. I will miss the lively drumming of Blessing Chimanga, the guitar of Andy Brown, the fun performances of chikwata 263, and talking Drupal with the young Chiko Mukwenha (and learning from him). I am truly excited about these people. The potential is so encouraging and their drive for success is inspiring.

6. “There’s no hurry in Africa, we’re always hours ahead of London!” A friend of mine from work would always tell me that. It’s no secret that many things in the developing world take time … and usually, a long time. Bureaucracy could get frustrating at times for someone used to the efficient business processes in the US. At the end of the day however, because of this more relaxed and laid-back lifestyle, people appear to lead lives with much less stress than ours in the West.

7. Africa has huge business potential. In fact, I think this is where we as individuals and our governments should be investing a lot more of our time. Some of the fastest growing economies in the world currently are in Africa. This potential is not to be underestimated, especially during a global economic crisis. It appears investing in Africa could be much more rewarding, both in terms of financial gains but also as development assistance, than almost any other place on earth nowadays.

8. World media often gives wrong perception. What I thought of Zimbabwe from reading the international media before going into the country was that it was a dangerous place, where if given the chance, no one in their right mind would like to live. After spending just a few days in the country I was able to start forming my own perception of things … and it was completely different than what I had read. Completely.

9. People don’t want you to feel sorry for them. Most Africans I’ve met are very proud of their culture and heritage. They are aware of what the international media tends to focus on when covering Africa and most don’t enjoy being grouped together into one sad, dark story of misery. Africa is much larger than the US and Europe combined. It’s a big place with many different kinds of people leading very different lives. Grouping them into one is unfair and completely inaccurate. If we want to help we must understand the different groups of people and their unique struggles.

10. If working in Africa, exploring on your own is critical. Many foreigners that I met there, live and work in a protective bubble, unable to truly experience and appreciate the real Africa. It’s great that organizations are concerned about their people’s safety but in my opinion the dangers are ofter strongly exaggerated. I am convinced that foreigners would be much more effective in their work and would grow to enjoy the place much more if they could bring themselves closer to the lives of the local population, or even their local counterparts. Safety comes with getting to know the locals. I’ve constantly experienced my local friends’ concern for my well-being.

This is my last blog in the “Z for Zimbabwe” series. Thanks for reading and take care.

-Tzviatko Chiderov, ONE member

Recently, National AIDS Council (NAC) hosted an event to hand over antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and funds to orphaned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. The drugs, worth $4.5 million, were financed entirely by the people of Zimbabwe, through the AIDS levy — a tax that all employed Zimbabweans pay. This makes it possible for every HIV-positive person in the country, regardless of their social status and financial abilities, to receive the drugs that keep them alive for free.

Additionally, funds in the amount of $270,000 were contributed to ensuring that orphans and vulnerable children throughout the country receive proper basic education. School in Zimbabwe, like most other places in the region, is not free.

Children are required to pay school fees and buy uniforms, in addition to supplies such as stationery and pens. These required expenses prevent many families, especially in rural areas, from being able to send their children to school. The money NAC donated will provide direct assistance with those costs to some of the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe, ensuring they have a fair chance at obtaining basic education.

Also recently, NAC hosted a conference for employers from the mining and transportation industries, to stress the importance of implementing HIV and AIDS policies and eliminating discrimination in the workplace against people living with HIV.

This conference was designed to coincide with one of the largest business events in the country — the annual Mine Entra in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe — to ensure that it sparks discussions on the topic among all employers attending the event. Implementing HIV and AIDS workplace policies was also presented as a great business decision because it reduces employee absenteeism and recruitment costs especially in the targeted industries of mining and transportation.

It has been very interesting attending and participating in events organized by NAC. The presentations and discussions make it clear that the national response to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe is a complex process, which must engage everyone in the country, including multiple sectors and industries, in order to be successful.

I recently attended a media workshop for journalists and editors in Zimbabwe. It was organized by the National AIDS Council (NAC) and the objective was to educate and inform the media in order to accurately report on HIV and AIDS related issues. The attendees were encouraged to play an active role in the country’s response to the pandemic by seeking out opportunities to raise awareness and educate Zimbabweans on issues related to prevention, treatment and care.

It was a busy few days with a packed schedule. NAC leadership provided an overview of the organization and presented on financing the national response to HIV and AIDS. There were also speeches by media leaders, members of parliament and people living with HIV.

The financing discussions began with the AIDS levy, which is a tax that all employed Zimbabweans pay. It goes directly to NAC and it helps fund antiretroviral medication and distribution, as well as other related programs. Another major source of financing is the Global Fund, which is an international financing institution that invests in the fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The application process was discussed in great detail, mostly fueled by Zimbabwe’s recent unsuccessful application for Round 10 funding.

There was a lively presentation by a person living with HIV. His speech was inspiring and surprisingly cheerful and entertaining. He spoke about experiencing a difficult period of depression and illness in response to his diagnosis. But he discussed his resilience and ability to take control of the virus and make positive contributions to society. His words and his story are living proof that being infected does not necessarily end your life. It is possible to live positively and happily.

Next, a member of parliament spoke about the government’s role in responding to HIV and AIDS. There is a committee in the Zimbabwean parliament which ensures that HIV and AIDS related issues remain a priority for policymakers.

There was also a condom demonstration session to show proper use. The female condom demonstration was especially interesting because most people, including myself, were not well-educated on the use of female condoms.

I really enjoy attending these types of events as they garner support and participation in the fight against HIV and AIDS. At this event I was reminded that given the necessary information everyone can and should participate in this ongoing struggle.

I am impressed and inspired by NAC’s work to provide the media with the tools necessary to reach all parts of the country with a consistent, truthful and powerful message.

First of all, Happy Africa Day! A couple of weeks ago I attended the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. It is the most exciting event of the year for the city of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Locals, as well as visitors and business people from across southern Africa, come together every year for this one-week affair. It features an eclectic collection of products, services, awareness campaigns and activities of all sorts.

I attended the fair with my current employer, the National AIDS Council (NAC). Our exhibit was fairly large, containing informational booths on prevention, treatment, care, nutrition, it even had an interactive advocacy and awareness section for the Zimbabwe Young People’s Network on HIV and AIDS. One of the things the young people’s network volunteers were doing was showing educational movies on HIV and AIDS to younger kids and leading them into discussions afterward.

It was interesting and encouraging to see so many different organizations with the common goal of fighting HIV and AIDS in the country being actively represented and working together in collaboration. I went around most of the booths and interviewed some of the people working there (see video above).

There was also a booth for the Ministry of Health staffed by a specialist on vaccines. I spoke with him a bit about some of the current issues and challenges related to vaccines in Zimbabwe. See the video below:

As you can see, although vaccines may be available for free to all children, this does not automatically solve the problem. There are complex issues involving culture, religion and awareness that need to be addressed before universal vaccine coverage can be achieved. We should continue to work towards that and ensure that in a 21st century world, every child receives all necessary vaccines to stay and grow healthy.

I’m happy I got the chance to see the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and among other things experience the encouraging and powerful display of health care efforts, which continue to improve the country’s well-being.

Living in Africa for four months now, I can honestly say that it has been the most amazing experience of my life. Its natural beauty never ceases to amaze me. Wild animals roam freely in their natural habitat, and the landscape is breathtaking. However, my life in Africa is not what you may think.

Many people think that everyone in Africa lives in a mud hut and walks barefoot on a dirt road two hours every day to fetch water. While this is true for many rural areas, things in the bigger cities are much different. While some regions are as poor, congested and dangerous as it gets, some of the suburbs here are as posh as Beverly Hills. I currently live in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

The city of Harare has a well-developed infrastructure and there are many nice cafes and restaurants, busy shopping malls and shiny banks. However, there are parts of Zimbabwe that I have visited where I’ve had to take bucket showers and use candles for light at night.

I get to interact with tons of people in Zimbabwe -– on the streets, in my neighborhood, at cafes, restaurants and at work. My second night in Harare, I went out to see a band and have a drink at a popular cafe. When they noticed I was alone, a group of people my age invited me to join them at their table. We had a great conversation that night and they continue to be some of my best friends here.

Before coming to Africa, I was living at an apartment in the Chicago suburbs, and I didn’t even know my neighbors — but things here, on the other hand, are much more social. I have a great relationship with my neighbors, who constantly give me helpful tips on all kinds of things. In fact, just the other day I was invited over to watch a soccer game — my neighbor knew I had no TV and that I like FC Barcelona.

In general, things in Harare are pretty normal. Yet, underneath the surface of the normalcy of daily life here lies the shadow of the AIDS pandemic and the awkward intensity of political dissatisfaction.

During my time in Africa, I’ve met some of the nicest and happiest people, yet they are the ones who seem to have suffered the most: taxi drivers who work tirelessly through all hours of the day and night just so they can provide food for their families and pay their children’s school fees; kids playing soccer carefree inside the walls of their orphanage; rural school teachers making do with nothing but a room and a blackboard – all with positive outlooks on the future and smiles on their faces. I find myself constantly amazed by the positivity and overwhelming spirit that I am surrounded with here.

Although Zimbabwe has its problems, it’s an easy place to like. I’m proud to call this my new home.

There’s good news in the fight against AIDS in Zimbabwe. According to a study published this week in the US journal PLoS Medicine, there has been a drastic drop in HIV infection rates in Zimbabwe. The key factor in this reduction is due to education efforts and the behavioral change of urban men. The study says that in the past decade, rates of HIV infection dropped from 29 percent to 16 percent–-the largest fall in HIV prevalence seen anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

Simon Gregson of the Imperial College School of Public Health explains why it was so crucial to identify the specific reasons for the sharp decline: “Very few countries around the world have seen reductions in HIV infection, and of all African nations Zimbabwe was thought least likely to see such a turnaround. This is why there was such an urgent need to understand its direct and underlying causes.” Apparently in Zimbabwe, attitude changes due to the exposure of mass media campaigns are what caused the positive change. When individuals were educated on AIDS deaths, it resulted in a fear of contracting the virus.

But despite the change in male attitude and behavior, many women, especially those who engage in transactional sex in order to survive and support their families or who cannot decline intercourse with their HIV-infected husbands, continue to suffer simply because they don’t have the same option.

Fortunately, there are organizations and support groups addressing this crucial problem for Africa’s women. The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa and the International Women’s Health Coalition, for example, both seek to advocate on behalf of women, children and families in the fight against HIV/AIDS, while promoting services and programs aimed at reducing the exposure of women to HIV.

By providing support and educating women on the disease, these organizations are hoping to erase the stigma and discrimination attached with HIV/AIDS. We hope that these education efforts for both men and women will continue to decrease the number of HIV infections.

Hit by a serious inflation rate in 2008, many Zimbabweans turned to the barter system to get by. Although the economy has somewhat stabilized, cash remains so scarce that the Chidamoyo Christian Hospital still lets its patients barter. According to the New York Times, studies have found that fees are a major barrier to medical care in rural areas, so trading goods like peanuts helps “plug in some of the holes.”

Although the Chidamoyo Christian Hospital is underfunded, the staff is resourceful and judicious about how they use their supplies — helping to save money and keep the establishment running. By working with the locals and adapting to their needs, the hospital has found a way to keep health care accessible for all people. Kudos, Chidamoyo Christian Hospital, and keep up the good work!

Read the full story on New York Times’ website and be sure to watch the video above.

“We are different parties; we go at each other at party level. Yes. But let it not be said that we are dysfunctional, (that) we are at war. No,” said Mugabe, 86, defending an attack he made on Tsvangirai at a party conference over the weekend.

“This inclusive government will not collapse. We will make sure that it does not collapse,” said Tsvangirai, adding that there was a “camaraderie” with his former political enemy.

Over the weekend, Mugabe told his supporters that he was tired of working with Tsvangirai and wanted elections next year.

But after meeting with Tsvangirai and Mutambara, Mugabe said that the coalition had given Zimbabweans “a sense of togetherness.”

Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai said Zimbabweans would go to elections once a referendum for a new constitution has been held.

All those involved were from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party. Tsvangirai has no power over ministers from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party in a unity government forged last year as a compromise after disputed national elections in 2008.

The Tsvangirai politician who shared the police ministry with a ZANU-PF official was shuffled to the housing ministry and the previous housing minister was dismissed. The ministers of energy, women and youth also were dismissed.

Tsvangirai told reporters the slow pace of restoring law and order, rehabilitating power infrastructure and achieving democratic reforms in general led to “a loss of confidence in the new administration among the electorate.”

“As a result, I have decided on a number of changes needed to strengthen the performance of the MDC in government and outside government,” he said of the first shuffle since he took office in February last year.

Mugabe rarely fires his ministers, most of them longtime ZANU-PF loyalists. Several ZANU-PF politicians have survived corruption allegations over the three decades Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe.

New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch said on Monday that Zimbabwe has broken its promise to halt physical abuse of diamond miners and should have its international certification frozen.

The call came in a new report issued by the group to coincide with a meeting in Tel Aviv of partners in the Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme, created to prevent the sale of “blood diamonds”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Zimbabwe should be suspended from the group as it had reneged on a promise made last year to improve conditions at its Marange diamond fields. Such a move would bar the country’s exports of the gems.

Accreditation of Marange’s production was suspended last November but is likely to be reinstated at the Tel Aviv conference.

Several humanitarian groups oppose such a move, arguing instead that the whole country should be disbarred until conditions at Marange are improved.

“Human Rights Watch has received new reports that soldiers in Marange are engaging in forced labor, torture, beatings, and harassment,” the report said.

The group said its findings were based on more than 30 interviews of people from the Marange district, government officials and staff of other rights groups, some as recently as last month.