Today I had the privilege of meeting with Christine, the YWCA District Paralegal Officer/supervisor.

She generously agreed to meet with me so I could learn about what programming is happening in this part of Zambia regarding family violence. We had a great chat and she was happy to share. The amazing thing is that almost all the direct services are provided by trained volunteers.

They have an active men’s program that intervenes in both the city and rural areas

Now Dale is at his conference and I am relaxing in the shade. We head homeward tomorrow.

One of the difficulties of travel is jet lag. The further afield I go, the more difficulty I have adjusting to the time change. A more recent reality is the realization that I am very allergic to sand flea bites. I have been very mindful about applying Off on a regular basis, but missed once while on a boat trip. We unexpectedly stopped for tea on an island. The fleas had a bigger meal than I did. That was several days ago and the meds I brought knowing this might occur seemed to be working. I regretted not having Benadryl but it is illegal to bring it in due to the Zambian government’s efforts to stop methamphetamine production.

I got a bit of sunburn the day before yesterday and had an intense histamine reaction. The welts multiplied overnight and became painful. So, I decided to check out the resort clinic. The small medic space is designed primarily for the staff and were in the middle of transitioning to a new office space. The boxes of supplies said a lot. There were HIV testing kits and syphilis treatment kits in good supply.

The nurse gave me a shot of steroids and three days of antihistamines which have now started to provide relief. The drowsiness of the meds is not a bother as I found a very shady poolside lounger upon which to “read/snooze”, one of favourite things to do.

Dale’s conference began today and he is presenting as I post. We met many of the AU legislative drafting tutors last night.

The setting was beautiful and the company was engaging.