LearnServe Zambia 2016, Day 2: Sliding By On So Little

Sunday, Jue 26 – It was a new day here in Zambia. I thought that today was not going to be as exciting as yesterday because we were just going on a bus ride to Green Pop, the summer-camp-type service project that we are doing. However, I could not have been more wrong. I was able to see what life was like outside of the city. What really struck me was that there were always people wherever you were, whether in a small town or on the side of the road. I saw people biking alongside speeding cars, kids playing just a few feet away from the road, people were selling charcoal everywhere. People can find a way to live anywhere, I realized today.

I was talking to Josh, and he said that the one stereotype of Africa that he expected to be wrong was that tons of people lived in small, grass or brick huts, but there were tons of them. It was crazy to see how different the standard of living is here verses in the US. The people in the huts had made a life for themselves. They had gardens that they worked on; some had cars, most had bikes. The Zambians seem to be sliding by on so little, they can survive on almost nothing it seems. We always need a little extra from our basic needs in the US. But because of that we can have luxuries like air conditioning in all homes, constant electricity, running water, etc.

This trip is going really well. I am having a great time. Zambia is unlike anything I have ever known.

Peace and Love,

Harris M., Washington Latin Public Charter School