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Hands
Around The World, a Gloucestershire-based charity whose motto is
"giving a hand, not a handout", sends short-term volunteers
to developing countries, to live and work alongside local people.
(Sue Liptrot's photos - 6 pics)
This
year, a group of five people from the Cirencester area were sent
out to Zambia, to a small town called Chisamba. My husband John
and I were two members of that group, and we spent a challenging,
but very rewarding, four weeks in Chisamba in August 2004.
Teaching
centre project
The
project was to build a teaching centre for AIDS orphans on a 10
hectare conservation farm on the outskirts of the town. The children
who will attend the centre will be aged 13-16 years and will come
from all sections of the community; due to lack of formal education,
they will need lessons in basic literacy and numeracy. Alongside
this, they will be taught about sustainable agriculture and how
to farm organically. Zambia has approximately one million AIDS orphans,
and many of these will receive little formal education; going to
school in Zambia costs money; it involves wearing a uniform and
shoes, also paying fees, even in the equivalent of "state"
schools.
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Throughout
our time in Chisamba, volunteers from the local Catholic Church
came daily to help on the project, and some days there would be
more than twenty people helping. Many were women, babies tied on
their backs, frequently only wearing flip-flops on their feet -
sometimes they worked in bare feet. We felt overdressed in our boots.
The unemployment rate there is about 80%; many of the men who volunteered
had no regular work, and yet all were committed to helping with
the project, so that it could make a difference in their community.
Many people told us that we had made a difference, just by being
there, and showing that someone from another side of the world cared
about them and their lives. Just before we left, leaders of other
churches in Chisamba became involved and were invited to send volunteers
to help; the project is for the benefit of the whole community,
not just the local Catholic Church.
Heat
and dust
By
the time we arrived, the foundations of the building were already
in place; the building timetable for the first two weeks was extremely
hectic, and the project seemed to have its own momentum - we were
all very tired after daily working many hours in the heat and dust.
But by the time we left, the rafters were in place, and the building
was well on the way to being completed.
We
were lucky enough to stay with the local Catholic priest, so we
were spared the local pit-latrines! Expecting fairly basic living
conditions, we had all taken solar camping showers; these were so
welcome at the end of a hot, dusty day on site, and of course the
African sun warmed them up nicely by late afternoon. The heat and
invasive red-brown dust which got into everything, presented us
with daily challenges -not least trying to get clothes clean by
hand-washing; the upside was the speed at which wet clothes dried!
We were always amazed at how dazzlingly white the ladies' blouses
were.
When
we saw them on Sundays; my efforts at keeping my white tee-shirt
clean were dismal. Weather forecasts were unnecessary - each day
was always hot, sunny and dry. We did hear about the floods in Britain,
and the hurricanes in the Caribbean - it seemed a million miles
away, as June - October is the dry season in Zambia.
Challenging
experience
We more
than achieved what we set out do with the teaching centre, but we
couldn't have done that much without the hard work of so many willing
volunteers, many of whom we got to know as friends during our time
there. The "concrete" aim of the project was to help erect
a building, but the spin-off was far more wide-reaching than that:
we can now appreciate a little of what life is like for many people
who have very little. And yet despite their lack of toys and playthings,
the
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children
always seemed to have a smile and be ready to practise their English;
most of them could say "Hello, how are you? I'm fine". All
the boys, and some of the girls, were very good at football (this
is the national sport), and could kick a ball harder in bare feet
than many children in England can with their trainers on. If a conventional
football is unavailable, then you make your own - by wrapping layer
upon layer of plastic bags and tying them with whatever is to hand.
It made me think how privileged most British children are.
The
whole experience was challenging and yet hugely rewarding for all
of us; we learned so much, about Zambian life and about each other,
and of course there are many people in Chisamba with whom we shall
keep in touch. If anyone wants to do more than just send money to
a developing country, then give volunteer working a try - Hands
Around The World is always looking for more volunteers.
(Sue Liptrot's photos - 6 pics)
Sue
Liptrot
This
article contains user-generated content (i.e. external contribution)
expressing a personal opinion, not the views of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Gloucestershire.
If
you would like to comment on this story get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
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Sue
Liptrot and her husband, John, spent a challenging four weeks helping
to establish a teaching centre in Zambia. She talks about her experiences
in the African country...
