A Zack Morris Wannabe and a Science Nerd

Zambia is a beautiful country and a wonderful place to live. Let me start with that.

Still, it is a developing country and, as a result, life within it can be filled with frustration after frustration. Corrupt government leaders, underperforming schools, lack of infrastructure, it all adds up to one big headache.

But every now and then I see something that makes me hopeful for the future. Just recently two particular cases have stood out in my mind.

First, there’s Eric. Eric is a bright young chap who lives just down the road from Namumu. He is around 10 and is a student at the Namumu Community School. In fact, his father is the hippo-slaying Zambia Wildlife Official I mentioned in a blog way back.

A few weeks ago, while on a supply run to Lusaka for Namumu’s carpentry workshop, I ran into Eric’s father in the city. He was carrying two giant bags packed with candy and Jiggies, flavored corn chips that are very popular among the children of the region.

I laughed and asked him if he was trying to fatten up his family. No, he told me, the bags were not for the family. They were for Eric.

Apparently, a few months ago Eric did some work for a neighbor, clearing away a large area for planting, and was paid K10,000 (around US$2.00). Instead of immediately blowing that money on toys/candy/some other useless junk, Eric took the K10,000 and decided to start his own little business venture. Keep in mind, this is a 10 year old.

He started small, buying just one bag of candy. Then, like a little African Zack Morris, Eric sold the candy amongst his friends from school, turning a small profit. He then took his earnings and reinvested it all, buying even more candy and a few packs of Jiggies, again selling them to his friends.

The cycle continued and now, a few months later, as his father travels to Lusaka to pick up his monthly paycheck he buys candy in bulk and transports it back for Eric to sell.

It’s oh so common in this world, and especially in Zambia, for people to live beyond their means, living off credit and on the verge of financial disaster. It’s nice to know that kids like Eric are around and are thinking ahead and showing an entrepreneurial flair. I think that boy has a bright future.

Then there’s Saliya, age 12, who lives in the house just next door to me (with Junior the Pooper). Saliya is also very bright and just the other day demonstrated to me that the schools around here are actually teaching a thing or two.

Most days, when I finish work at a reasonable hour, I wander over to my home and sit around on the front porch or in the back yard, reading or chatting or watching the sunset behind the nearby Baobab tree. Recently, Saliya, who also happens to be one of my loyal readers, has taken to firing question after question at me on topics ranging from US History to World Geography to Science to Medicine. She has a very active mind.

Actually, I’m not really sure if she doesn’t know the answers and wants to hear them from me or if she does know the answers and wants to test me. Either way, she keeps them coming.

The other day we had a chat about the positions of the planets, rotation vs. revolution and the history of the universe (you know, the light and casual conversations that everyone has in the late afternoons after work).

Much to my surprise, Saliya had a pretty good grasp on all of it. She then proceeded to tell me all about energy, and about the differences between, gravitational, potential and kinetic energy (which I already knew about because I was a physics teacher…no big deal).

It made me happy to see that there are some sharp kids around here, even if Saliya is beginning to border on becoming a geeky science nerd. Actually, Zambia could use more geeky science nerds, so that would be ok.

If you have any messages of encouragement for Eric or Saliya, let me know and I’ll send them along.