COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Community Healthcare
WRITTEN BY: Andrea McDowell
PHOTOS BY: Amy Forester
Week one began with a few logistical hiccups – some people missed their flight, others were cancelled but eventually, somehow we all made our way to Zambia for a wonderful first week together.
The first day in Lusaka began with ordering breakfast. We ordered toast and were told five minutes later that they had run out of bread so they would go and buy some more from the corner store, about half an hour passed, then an hour and then after waiting an hour and half for our toast we concluded that it was not going to arrive. Seeing the comedy in it allowed us to all really brace ourselves for the fluid concept of time that the next four weeks will involve.
We continued exploring the city, which is very developed and westernised. We were able to visit the local Museum and Art Gallery of Lusaka, which informed many of us about the colonisation and development of Zambia as a democratic society. We were also able to appreciate the beautifully talented and robust pieces of artwork that were very reflective of the African country, which is so rich in its culture and national pride.
Sunday morning saw all alarms going off at 4am for a 4:30 departure. As our bags were piled onto the bus we were able to see who had struggled to pack lightly and who had not. The winner was Misty with a 25kg bag. Every single seat was taken up however we were all kindly given a window seat so we could view the serene green and hilly landscape. About three hours into the trip we pulled over to the side of the road and men were pointed to one direction while women were pointed to the other - this was out toilet stop and it was up to everyone to find a piece of grass or shrub to do their business.
We all piled back onto the bus and continued on our trip. By midday we’d arrived at Tiko Lodge where we were warmly greeted by staff. We were shown our rooms, which we were all very impressed with and later met for lunch.
Lunch was a traditional spread of maize, pumpkin leaves, chicken and fruit. This was followed by us sitting in on a board meeting, which gave us a greater insight into the organisation as a whole and how the management system worked.
We were all very tired after our big day of traveling and meetings and found ourselves in bed around 7.30pm.
After such an early night however we managed to surface quite early and helped ourselves to some delicious homemade bread and fresh fruit salad. Ebony and Lucy (from Antipodeans Abroad) arrived today to see how we were settling in and Blair, who’d been living a logistical nightmare for the past few days, was finally united with the group.
We all explored Tiko together under the guidance of one of the locals named Musa who showed us the different farming projects, classrooms and community centre.
On Wednesday we all had our thinking caps on from the get go. While some went to work to learn more about vermiculture, others did lesson plans, testing scaffolds and some arts and crafts in preparation for the kids. Blair and Emily (the two teaching students in the group) went to sit in on the local schools staff meeting, which they found very informative.
That night the group split into two. Rhoda, Anna, Lucy, Ebony, Blair and Andrea all headed off on a cart that was pulled by two cows to a local village about half an hour away where they met with the locals, had some dinner and watched a traditional Zambian dance. Funnily enough it started pouring down rain and the group got back to the Tiko Lodge soaking wet.
Emily, Amy, Bianca, Adam and Misty spent the night with Elke, hearing about her inspirational stories and how she has been able to get to where she is today.
The week continued with everyone continuing to bond and get to know each other and share plans, ideas and goals for the coming weeks. We are a group of nine with a wide range of personalities and people from all over Australia and of course one representative from New Zealand so we all had plenty of stories and experiences to share with each other. The group is working well as a team as many of us have been pushed outside our comfort zones with the occasional mice sighting, gastro bug and leaking roof or uncertainty about the food that is placed before us. The weekend will see us all venturing to South Uganda National Park where we will spend one night and one day on Safari.
Next week will mark the beginning of the school year here at Tikondale so it will be very busy, as over 600 students will fill the fields and yards. The health students will start exploring St Francis Hospital and there is no doubt that we will all continue to have many good, exciting and adventurous times.
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