Zambia: Travel with a Purpose Part 2

While most teachers take their students on field trips from time to time, imagine taking 16 high school students half way around the world to the third world country of Zambia. This was no ordinary field trip. It was a week long trip to help students experience a third world culture and learn how they could respond.

In last week’s post I shared that one of our main tasks in Zambia was doing children’s programs. However, there were other types of activities we did as we worked with the organization Reaching a Generation.

During one of our days we helped provide lunch at a local school. We divided up into two teams, each going to a different school. The Reaching a Generation team provides lunch at a number of schools in the area. It’s a simple lunch, but it has big impact. I talked to the headmaster of the school my group assisted. He told us that because of the lunch program, the attendance at the school had increased. In a way the free lunch provides an incentive for children to come to school. Since education is so important for a developing country, this is seen as a vital mission.

But how do you pay for this? While one might think that donations from outside the country would do it, that’s not a reliably sustainable model. Instead the organization has tried to establish a means by which they can sustain the lunch programs locally. Near each school they planted a grove of moringa trees. The schools are expected to maintain the trees. The leaves of the trees are highly nutritious, but rather than eat them, they are working on developing a market for the oil which comes from the seeds. With this money they can purchase food for the children. We saw the grove near the school where we served. It wasn’t large but seemed to be thriving.

The meal provided is pretty simple. Corn is a basic staple in the country, and they have kind of a cornmeal mush which they cook called nshima. Along with the nshima they serve beans. The team helped make the nshima, stirring it from time to time and adding more cornmeal. Once it got thick, it was a bit challenging. Watching the women stir it who normally cook was humbling.

When it was time to serve the children, our team stepped up to the task. As beneficial as the meal was to the children, it was a little disconcerting to realize the lack of hygiene. We served the food on plastic plates with divided areas. However, there were a limited number of these plates. Apparently they often disappear. As a result, when a child was done, he or she would go over to the water pump and wash off the plate in the water and then return it. It was then used for the next child. No eating utensils were use, but apparently this is common throughout the country.

During our time at the school our kids really stepped up. They helped wash clothes with some of the ladies and worked with the children. It was great to see their initiative.

Another important aspect of the work here is drilling wells. Unfortunately their equipment was not working so we were not able to see that in action. However, we did see a number of well, and they did some maintenance work on them while we were there.

Clean water is obviously an important reason for a well, but in Zambia it goes beyond that. Without wells the children are often sent for water, and the most common source is the Zambezie River. There is a danger there, however, and that is crocodiles. Each year crocodiles kill or maim a number of children in Zambia. That is a major reason why an organization dedicated to children feels that drilling wells is important. The wells protect the children.

Another area of concern is for young women. When a girl has her first period, she is considered a woman. Unfortunately this milestone, while celebrated, often marks a point in which her life changes. She might become pregnant and stop going to school. In an effort to prevent this, the organization established a place for girls to separate from their families and communities so they could develop different values. They live in a group home for six months where they are trained to believe in themselves. They want to empower the girls to become strong, educated leaders.

We visited the group home, and our girls sat down one to one with them and shared their lives. It was fun to see them talk together and share common experiences that teenagers have. The week after we left Zambia, the organization was opening a second group home, and the country’s vice president, a woman, was coming to speak at the opening. It was an important moment for the Reaching a Generation organization.

The final element of our work again involved the children. At the children’s meetings I mentioned in the previous post, the children could earn coins for attending, learning verses, bringing a friend, etc. Then every few weeks the organization comes around with a store for the children to buy items using their coins. The idea is that rather than just give things away as charity, the kids earn the opportunity to buy what they need. At the end of our week, it was store time.

The store comes in a little trailer. Along with the trailer comes boxes and bags of used clothing. A number of the girls on our team lamented that had they known, they could have brought some of their outgrown clothes. Along with the clothes were some basic necessities such as soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.

This turned out to be a difficult task for the team. The children didn’t come alone, they had their moms with them who often had their own ideas about what their children should get. Too often the bags of clothing we had did not have the article of clothing the kids wanted. Skirts for little girls disappeared quickly. It was actually frustrating to look through the bags of clothing and see how much was really useless clothing for the place and culture. This was a challenging day for the team members, but they arose to the occasion, and did a great job.

Although we mainly worked with the children, we learned much about this area by observing life around us. One of the things that surprised me was that the people lived in huts made of mud and dung with thatched roofs. I had expected block built homes, but the huts seem to still be the main housing forms in the countryside.

Another cultural element I noted was the physical contact I saw among males. I first noted this at our kids program at a school. The older boys were quite physical with each other, draping their arms over each other and leaning against each other. I mentioned this to Ryan as we were driving back to camp, and he said it’s not unusual for men to hold hands.

That information came in handy that afternoon. We had visited a family where an elderly gentleman was obviously the key figure. As we were leaving I made a point to say good-by to him. I shook his hand, but instead of letting go, he held onto mine and said he would walk with me back to the truck. We walked back hand in hand. It seemed a bit odd, but I knew it was culturally OK so I was able to deal with it. Travel does open up your world to different perspectives of social interaction.

After a very busy week, we left Zambia on Sunday getting up very early for our long trek back to Livingstone. We arrived with enough time to do some souvenir shopping at the local market which the students really enjoyed. They loved their bargains. Then we retraced our flights arriving in Seattle Monday midday.

This trip had a big impact on a number of students. It gave them a different perspective of the world. While we may have helped in a very small way the people of Zambia, it was the lives of our students that were changed the most, and that will last a lifetime.