Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murder and Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka
- Downloads：9651
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-02-18 17:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Chris Lockhart
- ISBN：1335425748
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
For readers of
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
and
Nothing to Envy
， this is a breathtaking real-life story of four street children in contemporary Zambia whose lives are drawn together and forever altered by the mysterious murder of a fellow street child。
Based on years of investigative reporting and unprecedented fieldwork， Walking the Bowl immerses readers in the daily lives of four unforgettable characters: Lusabilo， a determined waste picker; Kapula， a burned-out brothel worker; Moonga， a former rock crusher turned beggar; and Timo， an ambitious gang leader。 These children navigate the violent and poverty-stricken underworld of Lusaka， one of Africa’s fastest growing cities。
When the dead body of a ten-year-old boy is discovered under a heap of garbage in Lusaka’s largest landfill， a murder investigation quickly heats up due to the influence of the victim’s mother and her far-reaching political connections。 The children’s lives become more closely intertwined as each child engages in a desperate bid for survival against forces they could never have imagined。
Gripping and fast-paced， the book exposes the perilous aspects of street life through the eyes of the children who survive， endure and dream there， and what emerges is an ultimately hopeful story about human kindness and how one small good deed， passed on to others， can make a difference in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds。
Based on years of investigative reporting and unprecedented fieldwork， Walking the Bowl immerses readers in the daily lives of four unforgettable characters: Lusabilo， a determined waste picker; Kapula， a burned-out brothel worker; Moonga， a former rock crusher turned beggar; and Timo， an ambitious gang leader。 These children navigate the violent and poverty-stricken underworld of Lusaka， one of Africa’s fastest growing cities。
When the dead body of a ten-year-old boy is discovered under a heap of garbage in Lusaka’s largest landfill， a murder investigation quickly heats up due to the influence of the victim’s mother and her far-reaching political connections。 The children’s lives become more closely intertwined as each child engages in a desperate bid for survival against forces they could never have imagined。
Gripping and fast-paced， the book exposes the perilous aspects of street life through the eyes of the children who survive， endure and dream there， and what emerges is an ultimately hopeful story about human kindness and how one small good deed， passed on to others， can make a difference in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds。
Reviews
Bookclubbish
，
CategoriesMurder， Developing & Emerging Countries， Poverty & Homelessness
Amelia Wall Warner
，
A remarkable story respectfully told。 Heartbreaking and heartwarming- truly unforgettable。
Critter
，
This is a great book that provides a look into the lives of street children in Lusaka。 It is a narrative nonfiction， so its formatting is a bit different from other works of nonfiction。 The story it tells is one that is both heartbreaking and provides some hope。 This book has come from years of fieldwork that was assembled in this book in a great fashion to tell the story of the street children。 I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic。I would like to thank Hanover Sq This is a great book that provides a look into the lives of street children in Lusaka。 It is a narrative nonfiction， so its formatting is a bit different from other works of nonfiction。 The story it tells is one that is both heartbreaking and provides some hope。 This book has come from years of fieldwork that was assembled in this book in a great fashion to tell the story of the street children。 I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic。I would like to thank Hanover Sqaure Press for providing me with an ARC。 。。。more
Stacey
，
Walking The Bowl is a powerful book that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page。 It is beautifully written， with a raw and gripping narrative of nonfiction that will make your heartache with apathy and hope。 I loved this book！！ Authors， Chris Lockhart， a medical anthropologist from the University of California， San Francisco and UC Berkley and Daniel Mulilo Chama， formerly a street child of Lusaka， Zambia， now an outreach worker， masterfully craft a heart wrenching novel th Walking The Bowl is a powerful book that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page。 It is beautifully written， with a raw and gripping narrative of nonfiction that will make your heartache with apathy and hope。 I loved this book！！ Authors， Chris Lockhart， a medical anthropologist from the University of California， San Francisco and UC Berkley and Daniel Mulilo Chama， formerly a street child of Lusaka， Zambia， now an outreach worker， masterfully craft a heart wrenching novel that documents the growing crisis of street children in the capital city of Lusaka， located in South-Central Africa。 Walking The Bowl is a complete immersion into Lusaka’s street culture by following four children forced to survive on the streets。 Timo， 17， has been on the street for 10 years。 He decides to better his social position within the Gaza Strip Boys gang， by offering his services to the drug baron of his township。 Moonga， an eight-year-old boy， cast out from his family， searches for a place to belong。 He finds himself adopted by a large group of boys dedicated to begging， stealing， and glue-sniffing in the bus terminal station （The Beggar Boys）。 Kapula is a HIV-positive， 16-year-old girl， who works as a prostitute in one of Lusaka’s ‘secret’ brothels。 Lusabilo is a twelve-year-old ‘waste picker’ serving as a ‘chief’ over the ‘scavenger kids’ at Lusaka’s Chunga Dump， tasked with assisting the police with solving the murder of a child （Ho-Ho-Kid） found discarded at the dump。 The street children of Lusaka create a complex varietal of sub-cultures （The Sewer Rats， Plastic Bag Boys， The Thirds）， complete with social hierarchies that consist of rules， rituals， and a multitude of superstitions。 The lives of these four children vividly intersect as the murder of the Ho-Ho-Kid is investigated。Walking The Bowl reveals these vulnerable children and the challenges they face trying to survive in a city crippled by corruption。 Lockhart and Chama created this compelling prose supported through years of research by students， social workers and academics。 They lived among the children to collect data and countless audio interviews to accurately document their lives。 Walking The Bowl is simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful。 I wanted justice for the dead child unmercifully tossed into the garbage。 I was fully invested in the future of all four children， hoping that by the end of the book they would all find lives that would allow them to recapture what is left of their childhood。 This gripping， fast-paced novel deserves your time and attention。 It is one of the best books I have read in a long time。 If you read only one book this year， you must read Walking The Bowl。 。。。more
Jill Dobbe
，
An exceptionally written piece of narrative nonfiction that takes readers into the heart and soul of what life is like for the street kids of Lusaka and elsewhere。 A meaningful， disheartening， and thought-provoking read that will stick with readers long after finishing。 A highly recommended book。Thank you Netgalley， publishers， and authors for this ARC。
Mainlinebooker
，
Often times research reports of an anthropological nature are filled with statistics and often are very dry readings of the subject。 When you engulf yourself in this novel， you can throw that thought out the window。 This is the most important eye opening and readable book that I have ever read about the plight of street children， which can be extrapolated to other street children in the world。 The hand that they were dealt is harrowing where survival by any means possible is the ultimate game。 D Often times research reports of an anthropological nature are filled with statistics and often are very dry readings of the subject。 When you engulf yourself in this novel， you can throw that thought out the window。 This is the most important eye opening and readable book that I have ever read about the plight of street children， which can be extrapolated to other street children in the world。 The hand that they were dealt is harrowing where survival by any means possible is the ultimate game。 Drug use， police corruption and brutality， murder， rape， and physical and mental abuse are a part of everyday life。 During a five year study of kids on the street in Zambia， this team have given us a gift with a narrative nonfiction study immersing the reader into these kids' daily lives。 It is extraordinary， but not for the faint of heart。 The ugliness and the pain that these children suffer is on full display。 The story begins with the discovery of a dead 10 year old found in the dumps。 Many peoples' livelihood depend on trash picking so that they can resell the items（ like plastic） to enable them a pittance to live on。 The panicky child， Lusabilo， who discovered the disfigured child is afraid that the police will predetermine that he is responsible。 As Lusabilo tries to uncover the truth other children are brought into the narrative whose lives intersect with Lusabillo and the dead child。 Their vividly woven and immersive stories just squeeze your heart while also depicting the small amounts of humanity， concern and goodness that bring a measure of faith and hope to their lives。Learning the concept of paying it forward was integral to dwelling on their aspirations for their lives。 I cannot exclaim enough about this book。 The characters were achingly alive and lit up memories for me。 While in Bangladesh I met 3 street children ages 7-12 who were living under a tiny plastic blue tarp on the street near our hotel。 I spent many hours talking with them as the eldest girl had picked up English from tourists。 Much of what we discussed were issues quite similar to the narrative in the book。 India， Thailand and other third world countries I have been fortunate to visit have the same deeply transporting stories。 I couldn't but drink deeply from this book while I hurt， hurt， hurt。Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to write an honest review。 。。。more
Karen R。
，
I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this book， and I was blown away。 The story of these children in Zambia was heartbreaking， but the writing really brought it to life。 An eye opener into the lives of street children， and hard to stop thinking about when finished。
Terzah
，
This is the best book I've read in a long time。 I'll write more about it later， but for now， I recommend it to everyone。 It's stunning。 This is the best book I've read in a long time。 I'll write more about it later， but for now， I recommend it to everyone。 It's stunning。 。。。more
Geoffrey
，