Zambia 2013, Day 5 – Safe Haven Exchange

June 29, 2013.       This morning, we went to an open-air market, which occurs the last Saturday of every month. Most of the stalls had things like bracelets, bags, figurines and the occasional instrument. A lot of the people that ran these stalls would ask you to come and take a look, and would sometimes say things like, “Looking is free.” These people would often be willing to bargain…my two roommates managed to trade hair ties for bracelets, which is definitely not common back in the US.

After the market, we went to a sanctuary called Safe Haven for girls, which one of the widows from Chikumbuso runs out of her house. The other girls in the LearnServe group and I had the opportunity to talk to some of the teenaged girls at Safe Haven and ask them questions about almost everything—topics ranged from alcohol use in their community to what they consider to be the right age to get married or be sexually active.  We even taught them a game that increases awareness about HIV and STIs that we do in our 9^th Grade Studies class at Sidwell Friends. I found this to be one of the best parts of the trip so far. There were things that these girls shared with us that we all seemed to agree with but the things we agreed with were not what I expected. According to what these girls were saying, there is a hook-up culture in their community not completely unlike one in the United States. Also, it was interesting to hear their point of view on things that I did not agree with…their feelings towards homosexuality are very different from mine, and I guess getting another perspective on the topic, from somebody of a different culture, was absolutely worth listening to. I think it was an important experience for all of us. I wanted to go on this trip to see a different part of the world and to see a different culture, and I think I’m starting to get that experience.

Camilla C., Sidwell Friends School