Handover and exploring Harare

Once we had settled in the hostel we only had a few hours before the previous cycle of volunteers arrived on their way back to the UK. It was really great to get the chance to spend some time with them and to hear their stories about Mutare, where I will be based, their projects and working with their partner organisations. They were so positive and enthusiastic about their experiences, both the good and the not so good, and were so sad to leave. This can only be a good sign for those of us following in their footsteps.

Although the volunteers only spent a night in Mutare, the team leaders have 7 days here to do hand over notes, de brief and to talk to us about their experiences. Even though I am going to be working on a new project with a new partner, it has been really reassuring to talk to the previous team leaders about their experiences, to ask them all the stupid questions that I had and to learn from the things that went well and not so well for them. I am really grateful to them for the amount of time they have given to explaining how things work and answering all our questions.

Having a couple of quiet days post arrival in country has allowed me to spend some time reviewing all the documents Progressio have provided me. One of the really exciting things about this cycle of volunteers is that we are going to get the opportunity to study for the CMI level 5 exam in professional consultancy, which will be a great learning opportunity and a great addition to the CVs of the volunteers who pass the exam at the end. It is a little daunting as I have to facilitate the learning sessions on this, so I have been reading up on the syllabus and the activities I need to run. This has been a good distraction as I still don’t know much about my project!!

During the quiet days we have had a bit of time to explore Harare by ourselves. It is a really interesting city, and many people appear to be pretty well off, as you might expect in the middle of the capital city. There are lots of shopping malls with a variety of shops which wouldn’t look out of place in the UK. There are a fair few stalls on the street selling everything from fruit and veg to clothes to mobile phones. And the supermarkets are really well stocked, with very similar produce to 

that you would find in Tesco or Sainsbury’s.

We also had a wander through a park in the center of Harare

(I think this is a representation of Victoria falls)

And we saw a parade:

And we visited a cathedral

I knew that I was coming to Zimbabwe in their winter, but the weather has still been a bit of a shock. It is lovely and warm during the day (and I think I have even managed to get a little bit of colour) but by 3.30pm it is cooling off and once the sun sets it gets pretty chilly. On the recommendation of previous volunteers we have ventured to two flea markets where we have been able to buy extra jumpers and fleeces to keep warm in the evenings. It does seem a bit strange to be buying fleeces and jumpers in the heat of the day, but we definitely are appreciating them in the cold evenings!

My favourite bit of the market was definitely the craft area, and I expect the space I clear in my bag by using up the suncream and insect repellent will be easily filled with African crafts for Chrismas presents!