1600 km above me there are tens of thousand of people on the run from the bloodshed in North Kivu. WFP Zambia where I am doing an internship with TNT’s global experience programme, is trying to feed its northern neighbour. The situation is dire, we have to act now. The problem is availability of food in the region.

Dit weekend krijgt het Purchase for Progress project, waar ik tijdens het komende half jaar aan zal gaan werken, een gezicht. We gaan de bush in, op zoek naar de kleine boer. Zij zijn degenen die WFP probeert te helpen door meer direct van hun te kopen.

This weekend the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) Race was held in Lusaka, Zambia. As starry-eyed idealists me and my intern buddy veron are present. We signed up for the ‘health walk’. But the actual race is about the MDG-run. Yesterday night late the idea of participating in a maize-suit to represent WFP was born. Veron would make the suit, I would run in it.

During my intern in Zambia for the coming six months I will be helping in the development of a new WFP project: Purchase for Progress. This initiative is taking WFP local procurement programma just one step further by empowering small farmers to market their products. Here is a short introduction on what Purchase for Progress is about.

After a 28-hour flight I set foot on Zambian soil. When I step out of airplane the heat strikes me. A fresh breeze and a gold Zambian sun triggers a smile. Good to be in Africa:) For the coming six months I will be doing an TNT-sponsored intern here at WFP Zambia.