Meet the Team - Jenny Hall

Initial Thoughts:
I sort of fell into it. I wanted to do something with my summer which was a bit different and, at the same time, something a little less academic. It was important for me to look at life through a different aspect, do a bit of travelling. It wouldn’t burn my boats in any way since I’d been lucky with my first year both financially, and academically. I was determined, however, that I wouldn’t do something just for kicks. The PZ project just caught my eye in the memos of the University in that it seemed something different from the usual university business. Even if I wasn’t sporty this gave me the opportunity to meet new people and see a different side to the world. It gave me the opportunity for a sort of belated gap year which wasn’t something I could afford at that time.

Impressions of Lusaka/Zambia:
I didn’t have too many expectations but I was wary of the traditional image of Africa with deserts, bush, thatched huts, large animals etc. However the first impression I had of Lusaka stayed with me, as simply sprawling chaos. It just seemed to be a chaotic jungle of urban environment that didn’t seem to connect with each other in my mind at all. It’s all over the place! Only today I found a modern, expensive shopping precinct (which I find difficult to equate with Africa) right next door to a really poor area that I’ve been working in for five weeks…it’s impossible to tell what’s right behind you. This city is a sharp contrast between very nice estates and poverty stricken areas; fancy suburb estates with a rubbish tip right over the back wall.

Impressions of the Value of the Project:
It’s introduced me to some challenging concepts. It really gets you thinking about things. For example, I was involved with one of the SIA projects – a really caring project which took street children in for rehabilitation. It gave the impression of a real love for the children. However I also saw one of the children being punished for running away and I found that really hard especially since he was, to me, obviously under nourished and very probably ill at the time. I was aware of my own naivety but I know I’d rather be naïve and try than sit and watch it happen. At the time I was really strong in my protests and my anguish at what I thought was a betrayal of what this really good project was meant to stand for and I felt a bit shocked and embarrassed at having to do that. However, I suppose, in retrospect my reaction did work well for it forced the project to justify its actions and assess if they were taking the right approach. The result has been a possible review of how they do things and so I suppose that’s a sort of success. I think they were quite surprised that we took it that way. Nevertheless, all in all, a real culture shock for me.

I’ve loved being here but it also starts you thinking about how important it is to come to Africa. Part of me, to be honest, now says we also have to think about the fact that there’s so many problems at home in inner city rather than here. I worry that we’re in Zambia to get an exotic twist to it…we’re here because, in financial terms, health terms etc., we can be here.

Nevertheless, in certain aspects we are really needed here – passing on our experiences to peer leaders to boost their confidences to give a fresh perspective, fresh ideas, etc. And there are some project schools that really depend on us and have a long lasting effect for our being here – e.g. Cheboyla and Mutendere. However it’s been important to also be honest and note that there’s some really well established teams in some schools which means we can’t do much in them and we have to be careful not to waste our time focusing on them when there’s a better need along the road.

In terms of University backing, there’s a lot to be learned and it’s a great opportunity, but although I think the University should support it – it shouldn’t fund it. It has the staff, and structure, that’s needed to facilitate things, set them up. The university can offer the training, the preparation, but there isn’t a justification for it to fund it – the students should do that for themselves. The University’s priorities have to be back at home.

Impressions of the Team:
PZ It’s a bit like the big brother house. People should be recruited for the specific placements. There’s a load of potential to get brilliant people to do this, so recruitment has to be maximised. It would be good if, in future, we could combine our training with the Wallace group to speed up the focus when we arrive. We will need time to adjust and use our skills when we arrive, but the better prepared for that, the better.

I was lucky with the teachers in my school and I managed to work out a routine without the SIA team coming into consideration. The clash in cultures can mean it take some time for people to maximise their relationship with SIA. SIA are fantastic people with their hearts in the right place, but if you want something done, take it into your own hands and make it happen – that’s my advice. However – and this is important – we need SIA for their local expertise. Without them we couldn’t do what we’re doing now.