Zambia 2012 - What’s this all about?

London and South East Region GirlGuiding are in the process of organising a trip for 12 members to go to Zambia in July of this year. There are ten 18-26 year old members and two leaders who all got selected after completing a detailed application form and attending a couple of selection days. This blog is designed to be a record of their actions.

We will be in Zambia for just over three weeks, and for the main part, will be working in a refugee camp known as ‘Meheba’. It is a home for refugees from all states of Africa, with a current population of over 16,000. Over 5,000 of these are children. Most refugees do receive some sort of primary education, even if this is just for a year, but very few can afford secondary schooling - or even if they can, the schools are too far for them to walk to. Some children walk to up to 2 hours each way, to get to over-crowded, under-resourced classes. The charity that we will be working with is known as ‘The Book Bus’ and strives to improve this situation as much as possible.

Giving children the ability to read can ultimately change their lives. Education allows them to break the vicious cycle of poverty so that ultimately, they can earn a living from their skills and be able to provide their own children with the necessary education and healthcare. As The Book Bus say,

“books impart knowledge, fire the imagination and open up new horizons; they are also a tremendous source of enjoyment”.

Our work with ‘The Book Bus’ will consist of visiting a different one of the few schools in the camp each day, where we will work with the children, reading singing, dancing, acting, doing crafts, playing sport and other enriching activities focused around books. It promises to be a rewarding time, and I am sure that it is unlikely to be just the children who reap the benefits from these sessions!

After our time spent in Meheba, we are spending a few days sightseeing in this incredible country, where we will experience some of its wonders, and see first-hand what it is really like to live in both rural and urban Africa.

We are all very excited to be given the opportunity to go on this eye-opening journey, and are ready for all the preparation and fundraising to begin!