To Market

Want to get to meet people? Then wander through the local markets.

On Saturday Beth and I went in search of the famed Soweto Market in Lusaka.

A minbus ride got us in there - and we were on our own. First to the Post Office to get some stamps...a mammoth task. Thirteen counters - but none of them wanted to sell us stamps (the queues for many of them were long - mainly processing moeny tranfers I think) and we were directed to a booth where the stmpaes were availaable and photcopies could be made. she didn't have the 1800 Kwacha stamps. Fifteen minutes later we were back there - buying 1000 Kwacha stamps. Two of them were more than enough to send the postcards, but she didn't have 1800 K stamps!!!!!!

Then it was off to find the market.


We found one - and wandered through the recently built aisles with neat stalls. Along the way I bought a hat from Gift, took photos of Gift and Nixon, chatted with Wawa (who sold DVD's), got hijacked by Frances (B35 & G14 - sells CD's), and talked with a few other sellers of electrical materials. The last guys were doing it tough, but Wawa (it means 'thank you') seems to be doing OK.
We discovered that Chachacha is a neat, well ordered market that has been built by a developer and is run by the city council. There is still work to do with the centre portion of the block which is not yet finished. The debate seems to be over more market stalls or a decorative feature. We were yet to find Soweto Market!

Moving right along we crossed Freedom Way and found another market -Manule.
There we met Oscar, and his friend Oscar, as well as Lazarus and Martin.
Martin repairs electrical and electronic equipment. He is an intelligent and articulate man who completed a certificate in electronics in 2003. Where did he get his qualifications? He completed the course via correspondence from London. It was good to share with him about life in Zambia (and Africa in general).
Manule apparently means something like 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'. Manule Market is a group of rough tin sheds, cramped into a smallish space, but offering a chance for people to have a semi-permanent place from which to trade.

We emerged from Manule, still looking for Soweto Market, but found we were alongside Lusaka City Market. This vast undercover market has a different feel to Chachacha and Manule. It has a high roof that covers the area, space for mini-buses to pick up and drop passengers, and some sit down eateries near the entrance. Inside it was a bustling array of aisles and stalls. Before entering the arena we bought some fritters (the donut mixture again) and sampled some African bologne. Josephine was a little shy, but Moses (her trading neighbour) was not.

By the time we had wandered through a couple of aisles it was time to head home - and we still haven't got to Soweto Market yet.

Before catching the minibus home we walked across the overpass, and looked down along the rail liine near Kabwata. What did we see? More stalls, this time without the formal organisation that was evident in the city, but still people trying to eke out a living by honest means in a city where work is not always easy to get. If you can't work, you trade; if you can't trade you rely on your family; if they cannot support you the opitons are limited - beg, scrounge, or steal. Somehow you have to survive.

During three conversations during the day - with Martin, Moses and the electrical sellers - it was pointed out that many in Zambia live on less than a dollar a day, and more on under two dollars a day. "Please let others know that life is hard for us" they said. Anyone who spends any time talking to people on the street here would know that for so many it is a struggle to survive. It is hardest in the cities where there is no space to plant a crop and grow some food for yourself.

For anyone who is thinking about a visit to Africa - come! If it does nothing else it will open your eyes - and at the same time will put some money into the countries that you visit.

Think you've got it tough? If you have access to a computer and can read this, you're doing pretty well, and it is time to think a little more about sharing what you've got with others.