Can hardly believe that we have been here 30 days already.
We are back in Lusaka with renewed energy following 3days away in Livingstone acting as tourists. A lot of the team plucked up the courage to bungi jump off the Victoria Falls bridge & the sights of the Gorge were stunning! Getting soaked on Knife edge bridge gave us a brief reminder of the Scottish rain.
We are packing as much as we can into the next few weeks in the city, before going to our rural placements. We are visiting the villages we will be staying in for the first time this week & are excited to see what lies in store.
The chidren seem happy to see us back in the schools and we have had some very positive feedback from staff members, so we hope to build upon the skills and messages we have taught so far. Unfortunately, none of us have mastered the local languages (mainly Nyanja/Bemba in Lusaka) yet, but we are picking up basic phrases & learning plenty of traditional songs and games.
The two adult HIV support groups we are attending for counseling and sports sessions are in full swing now & going well, with some of the more recent activities including relaxation techniques, yoga-based stretching and music therapy.
Awaiting the return of Kieran & his football team for a full report on the East Africa Cup....
All the best
PZ 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Pairing up & Placements
(Day 14)
So far so good. We have all started our placements, at various schools and community groups.
The Sport In Action peer leaders and site coordinators have been incredibly welcoming and helpful, teaching u some of the local traditional games and songs to help us interact with the children. The counseling students led a workshop on Saturday with a group of 30 peer leaders, who are young people who volunteer with Sport in Action. We discussed active listening, confidentiality, building trust and relating to the children. It went well and we will be having follow up sessions every other Saturday. The peer leaders are between the ages of 13 and 20 and have been selected for their natural leadership skills, both on the sports field and off. We were very impressed with their maturity and passion as well as their eagerness to learn and share.
Each counseling student has been partnered with a sports student for the duration of the project. Stacey and Jenny are working at Mtendere Community School, in one of the most impoverished areas of the city. Stacey is helping to coach netball,whilst Jenny is leading classroom-based sessions on life skills for a kids club.
Nathan and Mel are working at Chibolya, with mix of football, PE sessions and counseling providing individual support and class activities. The majority of children are single or double orphans, with an HIV rate of approx 60% within the area. Kieran and Isla are also at one school, Munali, where Kieran's football team is training for a Fifa tournament (East Africa Cup U13)at the end of the month in Tanzania.There is a healthy rivalry between the boys' football/ rugby teams. Isla has been working to integrate messages into the PE lessons, using games and sport as a less formal way to present key health and skills education.
Lauren and Kevin are splitting their time between a special needs PE programme and Badminton classes with deaf students at Munali. Lauren is picking up sign language fast. Working with a range of abilities is challenging, but the children are enjoying the relief that sport provides them from their daily life.
Jenna and Fiona have been at Chaisa Basic School taking tag rugby sessions, as well as PE at Lusakasa. They also join Ceri and Ali one morning a week, with Fi and Ali joining up to take a large rugby coaching session and the two counselors teaching a range of ages life skills such as; communication, teamwork, drug/alcohol abuse, HIV/AIDS info, overall health/hygine, peer pressure, etc. Ceri and Mel also supported Jenny in some counselling sessions at the Kids Club where timetables allow.
The rest of the week, Ceri and Ali are working at Burma and Emmasdale Basic Schools. Burma is one of the largest schools, with approx 1700 children. At Burma, PE and counselling sessions are often intergrated to build trust and create a fun learning environment. Emmasdale will play Chaisa at rugby later in the summer, so Fi and Ali are training their teams for a competitive match.
A few students have also found time to visit local adult HIV/AIDS support groups. They run fitness and well-being sessions, as well as providing a chance for women affected by the disease to discuss their issues. Although we are assigned to one/two schools each on a regular basis, we are all helping each other out and seeking out more opportunities when our timetables allow.
We took a break to visit the British High Commissioner this week, who was very welcoming and provided a useful insight into current development programs and issues in the country. We have also been lucky to tour the new Zambian Olympic Youth Development Centre. The team have made good contacts within local communities, including invites to join both the Lusaka Rugby Club and Polo Club for training and socials. We are also enjoying mixing with the Wallace Group, from a mix of UK universities including Stirling, Bath, Northumbria, Loughborough, Durham and UWIC (Cardiff).
The days are tiring but rewarding and despite a few hospital visits, everyone is ok & enjoying the experience. Stacey has perfected her bartering skills at the markets, whilst Nathan has organized a team PZ World Cup sweepstake. We sadly say goodbye to Steven Stewart this weekend, but Rob Warren is filling his shoes (and we look forward to his turn on the cooking rota, as a trained chef!). Ashley has been working hard researching for her PHD, meeting some very important people along the way, including a UN official on one of the famous blue buses...She is also providing us all with a plentiful supply of tea in the house!
All the best to everyone back at home
We will be in touch again soon (internet allowing). We are currently unable to upload photos and video here but will try to remedy that asap - so watch this space.
The PZ Team
Visiting our placements on the back of the truck.
Wooden scaffolding
So far so good. We have all started our placements, at various schools and community groups.
The Sport In Action peer leaders and site coordinators have been incredibly welcoming and helpful, teaching u some of the local traditional games and songs to help us interact with the children. The counseling students led a workshop on Saturday with a group of 30 peer leaders, who are young people who volunteer with Sport in Action. We discussed active listening, confidentiality, building trust and relating to the children. It went well and we will be having follow up sessions every other Saturday. The peer leaders are between the ages of 13 and 20 and have been selected for their natural leadership skills, both on the sports field and off. We were very impressed with their maturity and passion as well as their eagerness to learn and share.
Each counseling student has been partnered with a sports student for the duration of the project. Stacey and Jenny are working at Mtendere Community School, in one of the most impoverished areas of the city. Stacey is helping to coach netball,whilst Jenny is leading classroom-based sessions on life skills for a kids club.
Nathan and Mel are working at Chibolya, with mix of football, PE sessions and counseling providing individual support and class activities. The majority of children are single or double orphans, with an HIV rate of approx 60% within the area. Kieran and Isla are also at one school, Munali, where Kieran's football team is training for a Fifa tournament (East Africa Cup U13)at the end of the month in Tanzania.There is a healthy rivalry between the boys' football/ rugby teams. Isla has been working to integrate messages into the PE lessons, using games and sport as a less formal way to present key health and skills education.
Lauren and Kevin are splitting their time between a special needs PE programme and Badminton classes with deaf students at Munali. Lauren is picking up sign language fast. Working with a range of abilities is challenging, but the children are enjoying the relief that sport provides them from their daily life.
Jenna and Fiona have been at Chaisa Basic School taking tag rugby sessions, as well as PE at Lusakasa. They also join Ceri and Ali one morning a week, with Fi and Ali joining up to take a large rugby coaching session and the two counselors teaching a range of ages life skills such as; communication, teamwork, drug/alcohol abuse, HIV/AIDS info, overall health/hygine, peer pressure, etc. Ceri and Mel also supported Jenny in some counselling sessions at the Kids Club where timetables allow.
The rest of the week, Ceri and Ali are working at Burma and Emmasdale Basic Schools. Burma is one of the largest schools, with approx 1700 children. At Burma, PE and counselling sessions are often intergrated to build trust and create a fun learning environment. Emmasdale will play Chaisa at rugby later in the summer, so Fi and Ali are training their teams for a competitive match.
A few students have also found time to visit local adult HIV/AIDS support groups. They run fitness and well-being sessions, as well as providing a chance for women affected by the disease to discuss their issues. Although we are assigned to one/two schools each on a regular basis, we are all helping each other out and seeking out more opportunities when our timetables allow.
We took a break to visit the British High Commissioner this week, who was very welcoming and provided a useful insight into current development programs and issues in the country. We have also been lucky to tour the new Zambian Olympic Youth Development Centre. The team have made good contacts within local communities, including invites to join both the Lusaka Rugby Club and Polo Club for training and socials. We are also enjoying mixing with the Wallace Group, from a mix of UK universities including Stirling, Bath, Northumbria, Loughborough, Durham and UWIC (Cardiff).
The days are tiring but rewarding and despite a few hospital visits, everyone is ok & enjoying the experience. Stacey has perfected her bartering skills at the markets, whilst Nathan has organized a team PZ World Cup sweepstake. We sadly say goodbye to Steven Stewart this weekend, but Rob Warren is filling his shoes (and we look forward to his turn on the cooking rota, as a trained chef!). Ashley has been working hard researching for her PHD, meeting some very important people along the way, including a UN official on one of the famous blue buses...She is also providing us all with a plentiful supply of tea in the house!
All the best to everyone back at home
We will be in touch again soon (internet allowing). We are currently unable to upload photos and video here but will try to remedy that asap - so watch this space.
The PZ Team
Visiting our placements on the back of the truck.
Wooden scaffolding
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Markets throughout Lusaka
Cultural market behind the Sport in Action office.
Market behind the Sport in Action Office.
Sunday Market at Arcades. Quilts sell for approximately K90,000 and the girls got handbags for K25,000 (about £4.00)
Sunday Market at Arcades.
Ashley and Fi taking a break
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Lusaka Rugby Day Out
Day 8 in the Project Zambia house – The Lusaka Rugby Day Out
Ali Hardie, the true athlete he is, has attached himself to the local rugby team whereby 3 times a week he trains and keeps up his fitness. Being quite affluent men the Lusaka rugby club decided to take the squad to an orphanage about 10 miles outside the city and very kindly asked the Project Zambia team to accompany them. Unfortunately, due to a Peer Leader Workshop at the Sport In Action office, the counsellors could not make it and Kieran (thanks to his inept cooking skills) had food poisoning so myself, Stacey, Ali, Lauren and Ashley headed to the rugby club to meet the guys. Clad in our spiffing Lusaka rugby shirts we headed off on a bus with around 10 others from the men’s team out to, what looked like, a tiny village with a number of small ‘bunk houses’ and two larger buildings. In the middle was a large open space with one set of goals at the end nearest the main buildings. Walking off the bus we were greeted by a bundle of young boys who we all immediately started saying our hellos and shaking their hands – the Zambian way of course! The biggest and most toughest looking rugby player known as Coach however, got straight in there and hugged every single one of the boys and made sure they knew he was there to see them.
We got stuck in straight away and got all of the boys involved in some touch rugby and rugby games. It was truly fantastic to see all the rugby boys involved with the children making sure every single one was involved. One of the boys was so wee, about 5 years old, I hoisted him on my back whilst we were playing touch so that he could keep up and get a shot of passing and catching with everyone else. Once exhausted and all rugby-ed out we headed into the main communal area where the boys received a chat about HIV/Aids from Lusaka Rugby club as well as an invite for the boys to come and train anytime. Following this we had anther chat from the staff at the orphanage and a fantastic meal of barbequed chicken and nshima (a local staple food kind of like a mix between pasta and rice) donated by the Lusaka Rugby sponsor Country Life Chicken.
Opened in November of 2009 the orphanage looks to take young boys off the street in the city of Lusaka and relocate them to their families and relatives. It was difficult to take in some of the stories we heard about the boys on the streets many of whom had either run away from family, were thrown out due to their parents entering new marriages or sadly were single or double orphans. What struck me was the story of the narcotics used by the boys who poo in plastic bags, let it sit in the sun and ferment for 3 days then breathe in the fumes. The orphanage build up a relationship with the boys over a number of weeks in the street and ask if they want to come and stay. The average stay for the boys is around three weeks where they are given both group and individual counselling to make sure they are ready to go back to their relatives. Once the families are located they are also counselled to make sure that they too are ready. Once both parties are deemed ready the boys are taken back and monitored over a couple of weeks to make sure the transition back home is successful. The orphanage however, makes it very clear to the boys they are always welcome back if they experience bad times again. It was truly fantastic to see the work done and the love, friendship and support given to these boys and the educational experiences for them including carpentry and building work to ensure they have the skills for future work.
Our trip to the orphanage was an amazing opportunity to see how relief work starts at home and the outreach within the communities in Zambia where, for ten weeks, we can be a part of it and know that the work will continue once we are gone. The Lusaka Rugby men were fantastic and had gathered a bunch of second hand clothes that they donated to the orphanage, which the boys were ecstatic to have! Who back in the UK that you know at the age of 13 would be that happy with an opportunity for one piece of second hand clothing?
We made plans with the staff at the orphanage to come back and visit them a few more times during our stay and I’m really looking forward to teaching the boys some more and rugby.
Fiona
Ali Hardie, the true athlete he is, has attached himself to the local rugby team whereby 3 times a week he trains and keeps up his fitness. Being quite affluent men the Lusaka rugby club decided to take the squad to an orphanage about 10 miles outside the city and very kindly asked the Project Zambia team to accompany them. Unfortunately, due to a Peer Leader Workshop at the Sport In Action office, the counsellors could not make it and Kieran (thanks to his inept cooking skills) had food poisoning so myself, Stacey, Ali, Lauren and Ashley headed to the rugby club to meet the guys. Clad in our spiffing Lusaka rugby shirts we headed off on a bus with around 10 others from the men’s team out to, what looked like, a tiny village with a number of small ‘bunk houses’ and two larger buildings. In the middle was a large open space with one set of goals at the end nearest the main buildings. Walking off the bus we were greeted by a bundle of young boys who we all immediately started saying our hellos and shaking their hands – the Zambian way of course! The biggest and most toughest looking rugby player known as Coach however, got straight in there and hugged every single one of the boys and made sure they knew he was there to see them.
We got stuck in straight away and got all of the boys involved in some touch rugby and rugby games. It was truly fantastic to see all the rugby boys involved with the children making sure every single one was involved. One of the boys was so wee, about 5 years old, I hoisted him on my back whilst we were playing touch so that he could keep up and get a shot of passing and catching with everyone else. Once exhausted and all rugby-ed out we headed into the main communal area where the boys received a chat about HIV/Aids from Lusaka Rugby club as well as an invite for the boys to come and train anytime. Following this we had anther chat from the staff at the orphanage and a fantastic meal of barbequed chicken and nshima (a local staple food kind of like a mix between pasta and rice) donated by the Lusaka Rugby sponsor Country Life Chicken.
Opened in November of 2009 the orphanage looks to take young boys off the street in the city of Lusaka and relocate them to their families and relatives. It was difficult to take in some of the stories we heard about the boys on the streets many of whom had either run away from family, were thrown out due to their parents entering new marriages or sadly were single or double orphans. What struck me was the story of the narcotics used by the boys who poo in plastic bags, let it sit in the sun and ferment for 3 days then breathe in the fumes. The orphanage build up a relationship with the boys over a number of weeks in the street and ask if they want to come and stay. The average stay for the boys is around three weeks where they are given both group and individual counselling to make sure they are ready to go back to their relatives. Once the families are located they are also counselled to make sure that they too are ready. Once both parties are deemed ready the boys are taken back and monitored over a couple of weeks to make sure the transition back home is successful. The orphanage however, makes it very clear to the boys they are always welcome back if they experience bad times again. It was truly fantastic to see the work done and the love, friendship and support given to these boys and the educational experiences for them including carpentry and building work to ensure they have the skills for future work.
Our trip to the orphanage was an amazing opportunity to see how relief work starts at home and the outreach within the communities in Zambia where, for ten weeks, we can be a part of it and know that the work will continue once we are gone. The Lusaka Rugby men were fantastic and had gathered a bunch of second hand clothes that they donated to the orphanage, which the boys were ecstatic to have! Who back in the UK that you know at the age of 13 would be that happy with an opportunity for one piece of second hand clothing?
We made plans with the staff at the orphanage to come back and visit them a few more times during our stay and I’m really looking forward to teaching the boys some more and rugby.
Fiona
Thursday, June 3, 2010
First Day on Placement
Fi, Stephen, Stacey and Jenna join peer leader Harvest for a rugby session at Chaisa School. The session should involve about 30 kids but hundreds file out of their classrooms when they see the 'mzungus'.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Hello from Lusaka
All arrived safely at the weekend & have settled into our house, meeting the Sport In Action team & learning more about our placements. Will upate you on all our activities soon!
The PZ Team
The PZ Team
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