On Labour Day, Wednesday 1st May 2013, the VSO ICS volunteer team visited the Choma Children's Nest Orphanage, an orphanage in North East Choma, in order to donate some food and supplies. The orphanage receives no external funding from any organisations and so relies on donations from well wishers and volunteers such as ourselves, for clothing and food in order to maintain a pleasant environment for the 42 children living in the orphanage.
A number of the volunteers has also visited the previous Saturday and has seen the state of the orphanage and how badly they needed support. This was a very moving experience for me, especially when considering the difference between both emotional support and material wealth with regards to these children and myself at home in the UK. The experience had genuinely touched me and encouraged me to support the orphanage, and so was all of pressing for the donation of food and supplies on the Wednesday. Each member of the team donated 20 Kwacha of their 95 Kwacha weekly living allowance and a committee of people was crafted. These were myself, Francesca, Jess, and Muchindu, who were placed in charge for budgeting and purchasing the food on the Wednesday morning with the money we had collected.
On the morning of the 1st, Muchindu was sadly unwell and so unable to attend and so Jess, Fran, and I met in front of Barclay's Bank in central Choma at 8:30. We visited Tujite Wholesales and spar in order to purchase 35kg of rice, 10kg of sugar, 2kg of dried milk, 3 bags of sweets and 5 bars of soap for 375 Kwacha. We then took a taxi to the orphanage where we met the rest of the team just before 10:00. We then proceeded to enter the orphanage and placed all of the food on a table outside. t was evident from the reaction of Rapheal, the director of orphanage, and Grace, the lady who takes the main responsibility of caring for the children that the donation was very much appreciated as it would provide a number of meals for the children that would differ from the usual meal of Nshima and vegetables. This gave me great satisfaction knowing that by giving such a small contribution each we had been able to make such a difference, even if only for a short period of time. This feeling was evidently echoed throughout the group.
The team proceeded to the garden of the orphanage to engage in a number of games with the children. These included parachute games, using their swing, climbing frame and slide, playing football, carrying them on our back and on our shoulders, and swinging them around by their arms and legs. These activities took place for around two hours until all of the volunteers were thoroughly exhausted, As we were all wearing our red VSO-ICS t-shirts, many videos and photos were taken that will allow us to attempt to raise money for the orphanage s=during the 'Action at home' aspect of the VSO program: This is were we continue to volunteer either in our host community or from our own city of residence. After we had helped the staff at the orphanage dish up the food that we had provided, it was decided that we should say our good-byes, as we were all exhausted and had been there for nearly 3 hours.
Upon reflection, this experience has given me a renewed vigour (even from the previous Saturday) to make a difference for the children at this orphanage. Many of the volunteers have evidently developed emotional attachments to many of the children and have created a sense of family between the team and the children. The team all want to continue working with this orphanage as we have all been so emotionally affected and now feel we are also a part of this orphanage's struggle for survival.
Monday, 6 May 2013
PPAZ GCD
On the 3rd of May we had volunteers from Planned Parenthood
Association of Zambia (PPAZ) who took us through the following
sessions – gender equality, safe sex, teenage pregnancy, HIV and
STI’s.
We learnt a lot about how HIV is transmitted and some of the
preventatives against it. We also learnt about different types of
STI’s and how they are contracted.
Special guests gave us an insight into how they lead a HIV positive
life, sharing with us the difficulties they face and how they
struggled to come to terms with the revelation. Denial caused one man
to become within an inch of death.
It was a useful session and comforting to know that more people are
now aware of the importance of safe sex.
By Judy Phiri
Youth Friendly Corner Day and Talent Show
Following the success of the joint Youth Friendly Corner session
between Rail Surgery and Prisons Clinic we felt that the noticeable
impact of Youth Participation and involvement presented a golden
opportunity to leave our mark on Choma!
The independent structure and self-contained structure of the YFC’s
were discussed and we came to the conclusion that the lack of
communication between these groups contributed to declining member
numbers and interest. Considering the benefits of YFCs we passionately
felt that it was our duty to do something about it and empower youths
with the realization that they have a voice.
Spending 2 months in Choma, we became aware that one of the biggest
hindrances for youth motivation had simply been “something to do”.
There are no recreational facilities, no decent hang-outs and no
entertainment – unless it’s sadly wrapped up in alcohol and drugs.
Volunteers got together and discussed this issue – How could we
motivate young people to listen and learn about the services available
to them? How could they become aware of the opportunities that may
arise from such services? And how could they realize that involvement
would be a positive investment for their future?
Our answer? We needed to provide exactly what they were being deprived
of - “something to do”.
Singing and dancing is massive in Africa on a whole and with some
insightful input from Rail Surgery’s YFC overseer Chuma, he suggested
that we package our uniting/information day into a fun event such as a
Talent Show.
PERFECT!!
The team got right to work, dedicating everyday to budgets,
mobilization, pitching and idea development. The event began to grow
into not only an awareness campaign for YFC’s in Choma but also
general awareness of all other youth/health organizations that needed
a boost and shout out! The team approached and pitched the idea to
directors of organizations such as Youth Vision, Mmabana, World Vision
and DATF, inviting guest speakers to break up the show with short,
snappy chunks of info that could be directly delivered to our mass
audience. Should the information be missed, we encouraged
participating organizations to set up an information desk outside the
venue so young people could enquire further.
The day was a bustling success!! Music, cheers and laughter put fire
into the bellies of us volunteers! Information was delivered both
verbally and in a written format amongst the joys and excitement of an
event that gave Choma youths what they were missing – “Something to
do”. Of course there is always room for improvement but for a 1st time
event…we deserve a good old pat on the back!
WELL DONE TEAM 40!!!
Our Achievements on the day
- 280-300 young people in our audience
- 12 talented youths/groups performed and showed their skills
- 30 people (both male and female) were tested for HIV in a VCT area
set up outside the venue, thankfully all were negative!
- 30 males visited and discussed the option of male circumcision in a
sexual health tent also set up outside the venue.
- 7 youth/health organizations had their shout out and told our youths
what they had to offer in Choma.
- 300 leaflets regarding the YFC’s, what they are and where they are
located were distributed.
- Approximately 300 leaflets highlighting specific YFC’s with
dates/times were also distributed.
NOT BAD EH!?
By Amy Hill
between Rail Surgery and Prisons Clinic we felt that the noticeable
impact of Youth Participation and involvement presented a golden
opportunity to leave our mark on Choma!
The independent structure and self-contained structure of the YFC’s
were discussed and we came to the conclusion that the lack of
communication between these groups contributed to declining member
numbers and interest. Considering the benefits of YFCs we passionately
felt that it was our duty to do something about it and empower youths
with the realization that they have a voice.
Spending 2 months in Choma, we became aware that one of the biggest
hindrances for youth motivation had simply been “something to do”.
There are no recreational facilities, no decent hang-outs and no
entertainment – unless it’s sadly wrapped up in alcohol and drugs.
Volunteers got together and discussed this issue – How could we
motivate young people to listen and learn about the services available
to them? How could they become aware of the opportunities that may
arise from such services? And how could they realize that involvement
would be a positive investment for their future?
Our answer? We needed to provide exactly what they were being deprived
of - “something to do”.
Singing and dancing is massive in Africa on a whole and with some
insightful input from Rail Surgery’s YFC overseer Chuma, he suggested
that we package our uniting/information day into a fun event such as a
Talent Show.
PERFECT!!
The team got right to work, dedicating everyday to budgets,
mobilization, pitching and idea development. The event began to grow
into not only an awareness campaign for YFC’s in Choma but also
general awareness of all other youth/health organizations that needed
a boost and shout out! The team approached and pitched the idea to
directors of organizations such as Youth Vision, Mmabana, World Vision
and DATF, inviting guest speakers to break up the show with short,
snappy chunks of info that could be directly delivered to our mass
audience. Should the information be missed, we encouraged
participating organizations to set up an information desk outside the
venue so young people could enquire further.
The day was a bustling success!! Music, cheers and laughter put fire
into the bellies of us volunteers! Information was delivered both
verbally and in a written format amongst the joys and excitement of an
event that gave Choma youths what they were missing – “Something to
do”. Of course there is always room for improvement but for a 1st time
event…we deserve a good old pat on the back!
WELL DONE TEAM 40!!!
Our Achievements on the day
- 280-300 young people in our audience
- 12 talented youths/groups performed and showed their skills
- 30 people (both male and female) were tested for HIV in a VCT area
set up outside the venue, thankfully all were negative!
- 30 males visited and discussed the option of male circumcision in a
sexual health tent also set up outside the venue.
- 7 youth/health organizations had their shout out and told our youths
what they had to offer in Choma.
- 300 leaflets regarding the YFC’s, what they are and where they are
located were distributed.
- Approximately 300 leaflets highlighting specific YFC’s with
dates/times were also distributed.
NOT BAD EH!?
By Amy Hill
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
VOLUNTEERS FACE YFC CHALLENGE!!
Youth work, youth development, youth education! YOUTH!
YOUTH! YOUTH!
We’re loving this topic here in Choma, Zambia! For many of
us it is at the heart of our future ambitions, it’s what gets us out of bed at
6am every morning and it’s what puts a smile on our dial!
One of the shining benefits of being placed within clinics is
the access and opportunity to make an impact on Youth Friendly Corners (YFCs). These
youth-led groups use a peer education system that allows young people to come
together and tackle issues/concerns head on in a non-judgmental environment.
Typical topics include safe sex, substance abuse and sexually transmitted
infections.
In Choma, there are currently 4 YFC’s set up; Rail Surgery,
Shampande, Choma Hospital and more recently, thanks to an awesome group of ICS
volunteers, Prisons….(WAHEYY, GO PRISONS!)
Being part of the team at Rail Surgery we were lucky enough
to take part and observe one of the most established YFC’s in the area in terms
of membership. However, we soon learnt that numbers were declining and
considering the many benefits of educating youths on such topics, we agreed
that we couldn’t let this happen…
It was time to pump a little soul into our corner and make Rail
Surgery YFC a pretty damn cool place to be!
One issue we noticed during previous sessions was the repetitive
classroom methods of facilitation...*snores*…It became glaringly obvious
that this was a golden opportunity to do something a little….different.
SO! Rail volunteers, along with a helping hand from Prisons,
took it upon themselves to bang heads, explode ideas and create a bubbling
concoction of insightful topics, fresh brains and pumping energizers that would
hopefully spark and spread enthusiasm like wild fire!
Wednesday approached fast and while we were expecting our
usual turnout of 15 faces, we jaw-dropped at the sheer sight of 35 curious
youths walking through our door…our golden opportunity had become a LIVE or DIE conundrum and as we scraped our jaws off the floor, we
nose-dived into one of our biggest challenges yet!
Despite the heat, the lack of space and the double-plus
numbers we held an amazing afternoon of heated debates, passionate discussions,
powerful presentations and of course, lots of laughter - all centered around
the issue of Gender Equality.
2 hours flew by and the blood, sweat and tears of
facilitating our biggest YFC to date was met with a round of applause, a thanks
and more importantly…enthusiastic smiles J
I for one, think we
all deserve a huge pat on the back! Well done Rail Surgery and Prisons! We aced
it guys!!!
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Greetings from Zambia
Hi Everyone, and welcome to the blog of the VSO ICS Team 40 in Zambia. We are a group of 24, 18-25 year olds, from both the UK and Zambia, who are volunteering in a town called Choma in the Southern Province of Zambia for 12 weeks, to help combat the spread of HIV and AIDS, and to educate the local citizens on their reproductive health rights.
First of all, let me explain just what the VSO ICS exactly is. It stands for Voluntary Service Overseas,
International Citizen Service. The VSO is a non-governmental organization, based in the UK, who
offers aid to any country that requires it, in all sectors, ranging from sexual health, to poverty and
natural disasters. The ICS is an organization, specifically for young people, and was set up by 6 parent organizations, one of which is the VSO. The ICS aims to offer sustainable help to developing nations, whilst creating ‘global citizens’ from both the host and the visiting nations.
So on the 1st of March 2013, 12 British Volunteers flew from Heathrow and arrived at Lusaka airport to travel to Choma and meet our Zambian Counterparts. Whilst in Zambia, the 24 of us are staying in host homes, meaning that one Zambian and one UK volunteer will be living, for 12 weeks, in the home of a local citizen. For the British volunteers, this is a huge part of the programme, as it means that it’s one hell of a lot easier to adapt to the culture, learn the language, and generally fit in, if you are living and breathing Zambian life 24/7.
Whilst here in Choma, the 24 of us have been divided between 6 different work placements, each
addressing different members of the community. If you’ve done the maths, you’ll have worked out that at each placement there are two UK volunteers and two Zambian volunteers. For four days of the week, we are working in our placements. This basically involves working in local health clinics, or giving talks to groups of young people on their reproductive health rights, and protection against the spread of HIV and AIDS. About once every two weeks, all 24 of us come together to do a Community Action Day, also known as a CAD. This essentially means that the entire group comes together and organizes a day in which we go into the community and contribute to the local development of Choma. One of the biggest problems that we have noticed whilst here is that of litter, and general lack of waste management. On our first CAD therefore, we are planning on doing a litter sweep of the main high street, and to request a budget from the council for general waste bins on the main road and in the market.
One of the issues that the volunteers, and particularly the UK volunteers, found, was that the culture in Zambia is incredibly different to that of the British Culture. Each volunteer has been given an opposite national counterpart, and so the Zambians are able to learn about British culture, and the British volunteers are able to get through daily life without mistakenly insulting half of the population of Choma.
To get involved with VSO ICS, and for more info, visit www.vso.co.uk
Follow us at @ICSTeam40Zambia, and don't forget to like us on facebook.
Written by Claire Constance
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