Western Province Trip- Background

Last week, I was part of a delegation from the U.S. Embassy to a series of events and site visits in the Western Province. It was one of the things I’ve most looked forward to during my time here in Zambia, and was without question one of the most interesting, rewarding, and frustrating experiences of my life. I’m going to split the trip into this post and a post for each day of the trip to manage length, and the other posts may come later in the week (in part because I’m waiting to get photos taken by others from the public affairs office).

The trip was part of a series conducted to all regions of Zambia, mandated by Embassy leadership and led by the Public Affairs staff. The trips are intended to increase U.S. visibility and public diplomacy in the more rural areas of the country, and to learn as much as possible about the actual conditions and challenges faced by Zambians and U.S. programs in the field. I went as the representative of U.S. government HIV/AIDS programs from September 7th through the 12th with the main delegation, and we were joined on the 11th by the Chargé d’Affaires (Acting Ambassador) and another group who stayed until the 13th.

There had not been an organized trip to Western Province in the memory of anyone at the mission (nor folks we visited), so it’s seemingly the first of its kind in the last decade or so, at least. Similar visits have been conducted to a few other provinces/areas in the past year or so, and I believe the mission will try to get to all of the remaining provinces over the next couple years.

Zambia is divided into 9 provinces (see first map), and each province is divided into districts (second map) and then towns/villages for governing purposes. There are only a couple other cities in Zambia besides the national capital of Lusaka, and the Western Province doesn’t have any of them. Western Province is made up of 7 districts (Mongu, Kaoma, Lukulu, Sesheke, Kalabo, Senanga, and Shangombo), and the provincial capital is the town of Mongu. Western Province is almost entirely rural aside from a few small towns and villages, and is the poorest province in Zambia. It is mostly undeveloped, with only a few tar roads and mostly dirt and sand roads/paths through the floodplains and grasslands. The Zambezi river flows north-south through the province from the north before bending east and becoming the border between Zambia and Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe to the south.

Western province borders the nations of Angola to the west, and Namibia to the south and southwest. There is a significant population of Angolan refugees and their descendents living in Western Province, who came there after the Angolan civil war.

Farming and livestock are the main occupations of those in Western Province, and the rice grown around Mongu is highly regarded. There is a dual government system in the province that is unique to Zambia; there is the provincial and district government system similar to the rest of Zambia, but also a parallel traditional government headed by the king of the Lozi people (Lozi is also the most common language in the province). Land is either owned by the government or by the Lozi royal family, and the two generally co-exist peacefully, though by no means agree on everything. I’m told that there are other kings and tribes who still exert political influence in other parts of Zambia, but the Lozi kingdom is the most significant, as others don’t have comparable land holdings or organized governments.

To hold you over until I can post with photos, the trip included:

- Traveling with a Princess and meeting a King and Queen
- Being granted diplomatic immunity
- Crossing multiple rivers on barges
- Touring schools, health clinics, a library, and a farm
- Meeting a former Ambassador
- Antelopes, warthogs, monkeys, and a zebra
- Meeting (in my opinion) the future President of Zambia
- Speaking to kids about HIV/AIDS
- A 30-second radio interview
- Good souvlaki in rural Zambia, if you can believe it

Until next time...