This was the week I cried, full disclosure. Blubbered. Leaked salty water. And it’s not even my last project day yet.
But let’s do this in order, shall we?
Women’s Group
I think the women’s group has been my favourite project, and I hope I can run with something similar when I get to Zanzibar (42 days and counting!) African Impact support a group of local women to set up their own business with the goal of helping them to a place of independence where they can run and expand the business themselves. To give you an idea of how transformative this can be, an example:
The previous women’s group decided to run tours of their local village. We went on one with them and for 150 Kwacha (~£6) per person, we spent two hours learning everything about their home and way of life - from the local market and the economics of building mud huts and houses to the workings of the local clinic and much more. The two guides, Mary and Dorothy, were wonderful. Warm and welcoming and eager to use their (already brilliant) English skills. Okay, some quick maths: there were four of us on the tour, so K600 (or ~£24) for two hours work. Compare this to a local quarry we visited where two women and their children were cracking stones with small mallets. The women spend around six hours a day cracking stones to be sold for construction. One bag of rocks sells for K5 - or 20p.
Yep, 20p. You read that right. I can’t think of a more starkly obvious example of how impactful this work is. K150/£6 doesn’t sound like much to most, but for context i’ve never paid more than ~K300 for dinner and drinks at excellent riverfront restaurants here. £6 goes a long way. I can’t wait to check back in on the new women’s group to see what they create “for the ovaries” as one coordinator here would say.
The Girl Impact & Boys Club
Now on to the crying. In order to promote gender equality and support equal development of young people, African Impact & The African Impact Foundation jointly run an initiative called The Girl Impact. It’s a year long course where girls learn about puberty & menstruation, consent, teenage pregnancy, leadership and so on. As part of the programme they also run a Boys Club with similar topics: consent, supporting the women in their lives and community, HIV and safe sex practice etc.
Thursday was graduation day for last year’s students. We had music and dancing, I made an obstacle course and we brought cake as a special treat. Each student also traced their hand on a piece of paper and wrote the reasons why they loved Girl Impact/Boys Club. There are some future world-changers in this group, young people sensitive and mature and extremely aware of how hard they need to work to change their lives. One future Michelle Obama in the making wrote:
“When I am in Girl Impact I like to learn about abstinence meaning to avoid boys so that you can achieve something in life - I can be what I want to be.”
Tearing up yet? No? One boy, aspiring to be a lawyer, wrote:
“I love school so much because I know education is the most powerful weapon which I can use to change my life, my family and the world.”
And that’s the first time I cried. Because wow. What clarity, sincerity, insight and determination. How many 12-13 year olds in the west would say the same? I got to keep the boy’s paper and it will definitely go on a wall somewhere.
Concerning Lemon Trees
The last amazing thing that happened in my last week was getting to plant a lemon sapling at a community called Sons of Thunder. The community is essentially a multi-denominational religious commune. They have a soup kitchen (here called a Nsima Kitchen after the sticky maize dish that’s a Zambian staple). They boast a clinic with a maternity ward and two ambulances that are available 24-7 for the surrounding villages. And that’s not all: a daycare, preschool and government-funded school up to grade 8 and a maize processing facility with a self-sufficient organic farm complete the picture.
From now on, each person who volunteers for African Impact in South Africa will get a lemon tree planted at Sons of Thunder, the fruits of which will go directly to the residents.
We looked around, open mouthed, at this clean, simple and communal way of living and I was struck with an intense feeling of rightness. This, in so many ways, is how it should work. Everything shared. Everyone provided for. We got on the bus to go home, bringing half the mud and compost on our shoes and leaving wishes of sun, water and swift growth for my future lemon tree.
And that’s pretty much the end of my time in Zambia. It has been a phenomenal introduction to my new line of work, and frankly still doesn’t feel real. How could I be so lucky that I get to do this from here on out? My heart is squishy and full of gratitude.
The next instalment will be delivered from the Kruger National Park, where i’ll be spending five weeks in a very different environment. I can’t wait to see what it holds.
Well done Billbob .. love it !! xx
It's amazing to read your journal. It's like being there, and understanding how it impacts on you. Thank you. Looking forward to Kruger!