‘I wish I was a woman today!’, told me one of our teachers laughing while we were just about to leave.

In the days before the race, as it is now cool to say, there was HYPE, super HYPE even though the majority of them does not even know what the word means. Along the road the women were asking for confirmation on the race, on the prizes and on the lunch … As a matter of fact, taking into consideration participation, fun, sportsmanship and joy this was one of the best editions; more than 400 participants who were amused more than they were fierce, colored and electrified the valley of Mukwamba Village like the light beam of an optic fiber which will reach this village maybe in 50 years.

Boss Lady … this is the shirt that Clare decided to wear during the Women’s Race. Boss Lady … 28 years old, but she is not really sure … She is from Southern Province and stopped going to school in third grade, when you ask her why she replies “Khaya” – I don’t know – shrugging with a resigned smile … at some point her parents stopped sending her to school … “Khaya” … She speaks only Tonga, but always laughs and smiles, she is interested in many things … I think she would have been a brilliant student.

#choosetochallenge!

(it is the official hashtag of International Women’s Day 2021)

Even this year in Mukwamba Village the race is female! It is for mothers, daughters and grandmothers. And at times even great-grandmothers, like the three over 80 who closed the arrivals at the top of the very steep final up-hill that ends at the gate of the school. Many generations of women, like provincial sport clubs, have been meeting one another for the past seven years at the Chakwela Makumbi School, taking a day of well-deserved rest from the many daily difficulties.

#choosetochallenge! It is to participate!

‘I have really enjoyed!’ told me Ruth, a slim athlete of 46 years, already a grandmother, already a mother but never an athlete before than today.

More than 300 women at a sport event in Zambia, moreover in the bush, were never before seen. Three categories: Under 12, Under 30 and Over 30. Many known faces like Dorothy Shawa and Ruth Kapempe, champions in many Never Give Up and now too young mothers, maybe spurred on by the exceptional Esther Mweswa a fantastic second in the under 30 after giving birth in the last few months. She has won a mattress where she will rest and cuddle her baby boy. Many new faces especially among the Over 30 like Winnie Lukomba from Kabwesa, first, Lainess Lishosho, second, and Jean Zingani excellent third. Continue reading →

I am sure I must have said it already a thousands times, but the Mungu-Kabweza is my
favourite race! Once you have passed the second gate it is like stepping into a new world.

What  I like the most is the people. A Coach from Kafue Town once told to never trust people from Kabweza: ‘they are all witches’, it is enough about 10 km to transform someone you do not know into something scary and to stay away from. Superstition, ignorance, fear are a dangerous mix and not only in Africa! Continue reading →