LearnServe International

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The school yard at Chikumbuso

Today we went to Chikumbuso, a community center and school in a poor neighborhood of Lusaka, possessing a whiffle ball bat, several whiffle balls, and a bouncy ball. At our first station with my partner Natalie, we explained the basic rules of kickball and let the kids do what they do best—play! They needed little encouragement to get started and took kickball by storm, cheering on their teammates and playing a game completely new to them while having the time of their lives. Watching these kids, who live in acute poverty, “lose” themselves in the game of kickball was nothing short of beautiful. I feel that American society and culture often focuses on material possessions and the need to acquire more and more seemingly unnecessary items. Watching these kids experience pure, unadulterated happiness amidst all their hardships in life made so many of the things I worry about seem completely irrelevant. Maybe there is something to be said for the simplicity and happiness of a child’s life. The most fun I had all day was when I abandoned the game of kickball in favor of a game I now call “Follow Andrew”, in which the kids in my group mirror all my actions and noises. While they may have enjoyed kickball immensely, the smiles and laughs I received from the children on “Team Cow” moo-ing and pretending to wake up and go to sleep were unforgettable. It is ironic that I had to play with poverty stricken Zambian kids, kids who eat one meal a day and wear the same clothes for many days at a time, to realize that there is ABSOLUTELY NO correlation between material possessions and happiness. By looking at the faces of Team Cow playing my game, I felt that there was no material item I could have used with/given to them that would have brought them more happiness and joy than simply spending time playing with them.

Andrew plays with kids at Chikumbuso

Furthermore, I walked away from today’s experiences with the realization that there is something unique about a child. As the children were playing “Follow Andrew,” it did not matter where they lived or what they had or anything like that. For me, and for these kids, it was just living in the moment and enjoying the opportunity to play a fun game. Having worked with American kids of the same age, I realized that kids in Zambia and kids in America are one and the same. While American kids may be “better off” because of their socioeconomic status and have far more opportunities compared to their Zambian counterparts, the simple, yet truly beautiful happiness they experience is the same. When they are playing, or just being kids, everything else seems irrelevant. What could be more important than having fun and being happy playing a game with your new friends? Despite being seventeen and having lost much of my ability to be truly happy in the moment regardless of my surroundings, for these precious few minutes I felt like I had been transported back in time to my childhood when I was completely unaware of many of the challenges facing our world and just enjoyed playing. I hope that when I return from my trip that I will be able to recreate this amazing experience I had with these kids, and that I will somehow manage to maintain a fraction of the innocent happiness that only children experience.

Andrew, a student at Sidwell Friends School

Building Bicycles

OH MY GOODNESS. Hello, hello! Today we had an exciting day. We spent the day at World Bicycle Relief (WBR), splitting up into 9 groups and building 2 bicycles each for a total of 18 bicycles that will be donated to the community. Who would have thought that a bicycle, something that I take for granted back home, could make such a difference in the lives of Zambians? I never imagined building a bike could be so hard and I gained a new-found respect for not only the people who build them but the whole program itself. One of the more impressive parts was the amount of thought WBR puts into the design of these bikes, otherwise known as 60 lb workhorses, because of how sturdy and durable they are. The staff that helped us build the bikes was amazing – they showed such care and knowledge and clearly understand the importance of what they are doing for the community.

After building the bikes, we got to ride them around and, oh my goodness! These bikes are not the 10 speed bikes we have in the U.S. These are heavy bikes that come in a one-size-fits-all with no gear shifts or hand brakes because that type of equipment tends to break down too easily. These bikes are being made for the long haul and last 5 to 6 times longer than the average bike here in Zambia. We got to give each other rides around the compound which proved more challenging to some of us (ie, the smaller ones) than others.

Traditional dancing

But, we all had a good laugh and came together at the end of the day to celebrate a hard day’s work at the house of the WBR Director here in Zambia with a night full of dinner and DANCING. The entertainment for the evening was a group of African dancers who performed dances from all across Zambia. It was truly amazing. At one point, they grabbed Rachel and Andrew, two of the students, and brought them up to dance. They did a great job in the spotlight, imitating the dance moves as best as they could. It provided us all with some more laughs for sure before we were all pulled up to practice some African dance moves of our own.

The crew after building 18 bicycles

WBR has always donated its bicycles to healthcare workers in their struggle to combat HIV/AIDS but they have recently hit their goal of distributing 26,000 bicycles over the past four years. So, tomorrow, we will truly be part of history as WBR launches its first program with the Ministry of Education – we will witness a distribution ceremony in which WBR will give the first 60 bicycles to teachers and students to help them overcome the distance that separates them from their schools. Some children and teachers have to walk to a school that can easily be 4-5 miles away. They don’t get to rely on buses or cars like we do at home. The fact that their schooling is worth a 2 to 2.5 hour walk each day made me re-evaluate my own education and what I would be willing to sacrifice for it. It is amazing the things we have learned here so far, about Zambia as well as ourselves, in just 4 days.

Natalie (and Gaby Grebski), a student (and teacher) at Sidwell Friends School

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I just received a call from Elizabeth Drew [leader of LSZ ‘09]. The 2009 Zambia Team arrived in Zambia safely earlier today. Everyone is in good spirits, though the travelers are exhausted after a very long trip. The team was treated to a city tour this afternoon and everyone is enjoying dinner as I write.

Elizabeth will call with another update in a few days. She indicated that there is internet connection though it is very unstable as they lose power quite frequently. When there is power interruption, the internet connection does not get reset until the next day.

Phoebe, a student participant’s parent

At the reception (Photo: Chris Barclay)

LearnServe Zambia ‘09 has departed! For Rachel, a student at Hyde Public Charter School, this is her first plane flight. She sent this txt before they closed the cabin doors:

OMG! OMG! I am siked! I am nervouz! The butterfliez R tearing my stomach apart! ps. my head itches! Lo!!

LOv3 n H@Ppn!z

Please follow the team’s progress over the next two weeks. To be notified when the blog gets updated, use the subscription options in the sidebar to the right.