Volunteer Story – MY ZAMBIA TOP 5
Megan tells us about her experince volunteering in Zambia as part of our Swansea Siavonga Partnership program.
In July 2019, myself and 9 other students travelled to Zambia for four weeks of volunteering. We were to spend our time in Siavonga, a town in the Southern Province of Zambia, working with school children and women’s groups, alongside Zambian volunteers from the Siavonga Nutrition Group (SNG). My top 5 moments were hard to decide on because there were so many, but these kind of sum the moments up.
The first highlight for me was getting to meet the SNG volunteers properly for the first time. They had welcomed us with a meal and drinks on our first night, but the first time we met properly was when they took us out to the Kariba Dam and told us all about the history there. We got to cross over to Zimbabwe and have pictures taken with the signs. It was an amazing start to the trip and a nice way to break the ice and get to know everyone before our month of work started. Some of these volunteers have remained our friends, we still keep in touch and we love to be able to tell each other how things are with us and them.
My second trip highlight was meeting all of the women’s groups for the first time. We got to travel to their villages where we were welcomed with open arms and plenty of songs and dancing. They were always so happy and cheerful and always more than happy to answer all of our questions, allowing us to learn so much about the country we were staying in. We were also able to teach them the Hoedown Throwdown from Hannah Montana: The Movie, which we had chosen as our team song and dance. They loved being able to be involved in the dance with us and we had so much fun teaching it to them.
Another highlight was getting to spend time at the SEN Unit at Siavonga Primary School. Some of the children here were being given access to education for the first time in their lives and to see how happy they were was simply amazing. The unit was so small, and they had access to hardly any resources but the amount of love between the children and their teachers was heart-warming. They were such smart and beautiful children and getting to spend time with them , doing their work, was something I will forever cherish.
The final two highlights were more downtime highlights. The first being a sunset cruise we went on. We got the chance to take the SNG volunteers on a sunset cruise on Lake Kariba, followed by food and a bonfire on the beach at one of the hotels. They’d taught us so much about their lives and their country so being able to give them a chance to experience something they might not usually get to do was so nice and gave the group memories I know we will be able to cherish.
The final highlight of the trip was everything about Livingstone. We got to spend a few days in Livingstone before coming home and this was kind of like our “holiday” time. We got to go on a safari, a river cruise and bungee jump off Victoria Falls bridge (111 metres up!). These few days gave us chance to spend some down time with the people we had spent all this time with. We got to make some lifelong memories and experience things we might never get to do again.
The entire experience in Zambia is something I will forever cherish. It was an eye-opening trip, during which I laughed, cried and cried from so much laughter. I gained a new name (Maggie, which I have yet to lose), made some amazing friends, met some wonderful people and got to see a beautiful and amazing part of the world. I feel blessed and privileged to have been given the chance to experience everything I did, and I wouldn’t change a single second of any of it. Zambia will forever hold a special place in my heart.
