Zambian Culture- etiquette, customs, laws, etc Cancel Title is required

A lot of us seem to have similar questions and concerns regarding the way things are done in Zambia, so I thought we should have a forum for the content to be shared and hopefully not spread out all of the website.

My questions started with the following:

I was wondering if you could put me in touch with someone who's familiar with Zambia? I have some questions in regards to what is appropriate in their culture, like:

1. Do girls wear pants/shorts?

2. Are girls encouraged to work?

3. When sponsoring a child in an orphanage what kinds of things can I provide above and beyond my sponsorship that won't leave him resented by the other children?

4. Are there any words/things that are "taboo" in their country?

I apologize if these questions appear ignorant. I've read a lot about the different areas of Africa and customs, most of which are out in rural settings, none of it really covers city living.

I shortly received a wonderful response from Jennifer of the following:

I'm waiting to hear back from the regional representative and will forward his answers as soon as I receive them, but in the interim I've asked one of our writers to provide a few answers based on his extensive experience in the region. His corresponding answers are below:

1. In my experience, the children wear whatever they are given.
2. I've met children of all ages and both genders who are working.
3. Books are a great idea because they don't have many available and they can be shared and will last. Games might be another choice, but small pieces will/could be easily lost.
4. Mostly related to visits: From my perspective you should act/speak like you would around any child anywhere. Wearing shorts for adults from other countries is typically not something recommended. And touching children on the head or shoulders is a definite no-no (unless you're meeting Maasai children in Kenya). Further, visitors should not ask to have children sit on the lap, hold the child's hand while walking or talking, or hug/kiss the children.

Thank you Jennifer and CI for supplying us with this information! I will be sure to post the information as forwarded by the local representatives and look forward to sharing further information.

This is a great idea to compile this in one spot! I hope others have some things to add, as well!

Regarding clothing, according to Lonely Planet in their "Zambia and Malawi" book, "it is illegal to wear camouflage clothing".

And here are some common phrases in different dialects there:

BEMBA:

Hello: "Muli Shani."

How are you?: "Uli shani?" (informal); "Muli shani!" (polite)

My name is...: "Ishina lyandi ni ne..."

Goodbye: "Shalap." (informal); "Shalenipo mukwai." (polite)

NYANJA:

Hello: "Bwanji."

How are you?: "Uli bwanji?" (informal); "Muli bwanji!" (polite)

My name is...: "Dzina ianga ndine..."

Goodbye: "Pitani bwino/salani bwino."

TONGA:

Hello: "Wabonwa/Wapona." (informal); "Mwabonwa/Mwpona." (polite)

How are you?: "Muli buti?"

My name is...: "Izyina iyangu ndime..."

Goodbye: "Muchale kabotu."

LOZI:

Hello: "Eeni, sha." (general greeting); "Lumela." (informal); "Mu lumeleng' sha." (polite)

My name is...: "K'i na..."

Oh yes, language too! Of my two kids, Loveness speaks Bemba and Gift speaks Nyanja. It will be fun to be able to say hello in their native tongue.

There were a lot more phrases in the book but I found these the most useful!

Of my kids, I have down that Jones, Ruth and the twins speak both Nyanja and Bemba. Joseph speaks Nyanja, and my new girl Violet speaks Bemba.

Are all the children able to read in English? Just wondering as far as sending books is concerned.

Also, has anyone found any of thse language CD places or books that teach Nyanja?

From what I have read, not all of the children know English as of yet, though it is the goal. I have been told by the reps at CI that they love books regardless. I sent each of my kids, ages 11 and 12, a small paperback with lots of pictures, for example: kids national geopgraphic about sharks to the boy and a disney tinkerbell to the girl.

I have not yet looked for any Zambian language learning tools, though I think cvalda might have a suggestion.

Melissa,

I googled "Zambia" and found that our CIA has some interesting facts and figures. See link

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html

for more.

Some of the stats are interesting to note: >65 years of age, the ratio of men/women drops about 40%. Looks like women tend to live longer. Infant mortality at almost 10% - unbelievable in today's world. Average life expectancy around 38 years. 15% of the population with AIDS. School life expectancy (total years) = 7.

Other iinteresting stat - Zambia GDP = $18.5B. US spending on war in Afghanistan $6.7B/month or $80.5B/yr.

Just reading some of the CNN headlines today and thought the comparisons interesting and thought provoking.

Wendy

Wendy,

Thank you so much for continuing to stay informed and share with me (us). Most of the figures seem accurate to me based on previous Zambian information that I have viewed, however, the HIV/Aids number seems low. I understand it to be around 23% urban and 10% rural, based on WHO stats from:

http://apps.who.int/globalatlas/predefinedReports/EFS2008/short/EFSCountryProfiles2008_ZM.pdf

Also, here are some stats from:

http://www.who.int/countries/zmb/en/

Total population: 11,696,000

Gross national income per capita (PPP international $): 1,140

Life expectancy at birth m/f (years): 42/43

Healthy life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2003): 35/35

Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births): 182

Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population): 644/597

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2006): 62

Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2006): 5.2

Figures are for 2006 unless indicated.

I haven't been able to pinpoint any stats from the ZNAN site:

http://www.znan.org.zm/

Aha,

So these websites don't all have the same information. Similar, but not the same.

Interesting. Still a similar story regardless.

Wendy

(LOL) Wendy - I'm just happy that all of these sites report similar stats because if they were all over the board we wouldn't know what to make of it!