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Inside Africa

SHOW #30

This week on Inside Africa - we focus on Zambia.
First - the power of two wheels: a look at how bicycles are transforming Zambia's countryside. Next, a camp without tents: we meet the residents of Africa's oldest refugee settlement. And from rural Zambia to the streets of Lusaka, we meet up with a hometown hero, making her mark in the boxing ring. 

REFUGEE HAVEN
Zambia shares a border with Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the DRC, and Angola. It's this simple geography, mixed with history that has made the southern African nation a haven for refugees.  The wars of independence are, of course, over, and the peace, for the most part, has returned.  Yet many of the refugees remain, because for them, Zambia has and always will be home.

QUEEN OF THE RING
It was on the streets of Lusaka that as a young girl Esther Esther Phiri struggled to survive.  Now, it's in the boxing ring that she's making her mark...big time. Here now, her story - from street kid to world champ.

VICTORIA FALLS
Its towering spray can be seen from more than 30 kilometers away. That's the spectacle of Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River, along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It's known locally as Mosi-oa-tunya or the "smoke that thunders."  Victoria Falls claims to be the largest in the world, mainly for the sheer size of the curtain of water that plunges over the edge. It's more than 1,700 meters wide, and varies in height from 90 to 108 meters. In 1989, the falls was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, helping to preserve its natural surroundings and enjoyed by tourists from around the world.

BICYCLES OF HOPE
Spend any amount of time in rural Zambia, and you'll see them everywhere: bicycles.  Simple machines, yes, but in Zambia their importance extends well beyond simple transportation.