Yesterday (June 30), LearnServe Zambia ‘09 left Lusaka to travel 3 hours south to Monze where the teachers and students will be staying on a community farm and working at the local rural school, The Malambo School… a school that is short on resources but eager to help raise its children out of poverty. For the first time in the history of the school, two graduates recently passed the national exam that will allow them to attend high school, something LearnServe Zambia plans to celebrate with the community. LearnServe Zambia will also be working with the local students and teachers in the classrooms.
Students at the Malambo School.
While during the drive to the Malambo School I had a lot of thoughts that were going through my head. The biggest thought was whether or not the kids here would have more enthusiasm than the children at Chikumbuso. Before I even arrived at the school, I got my answer and is was “yes”. The reason why I thought this was because to me all the children that we saw before we even got to the Malambo School were happy and eager to say hi just like they were at Chikumbuso. Though my mind was set for kids running all over the place having an amazing time, my thought was quickly erased as the children I saw at the school quickly hid or tried to quickly go into their classrooms. Although at first I thought it was because we were American, I realized that it was more because they were shy. As I got off the bus and got to the classroom I felt a little bit better as the students were eager to get to know my partners and I. While in the classroom as I was about to start our lesson dealing with electricity, the teacher, told me my dad, who is also on the trip with us, wanted me. I was somewhat mad because I really wanted to start this lesson and get to know the children. But, when I went and found my father, I realized that he was in front of the mural he had started last year when he was here. I realized that my name was underneath a quote that he had painted. Probably the best moment of the day was when my dad told the students and the headmaster of the school that the name underneath the quote was me. After that, everyone was eager to know me, which made me feel happy.
Ayinde, a student at School Without Walls