Just find the feeling and pass it on...

This week, students from the University of Stirling have done something inspirational, in more than one way. With the help of the charity Friends of EduSport, Sport and Education students Caitlin Thomson and Hayley Barr have organised the construction of a netball court in the compound of Kalingalinga situated in Zambia, the world’s 8th poorest country.



Hayley Barr with EduSport co-ordinator Kelvin


When part-taking in UKSport’s Zambian branch of the IDEALS (International Development Through Excellence And Leadership In Sport) programme, the two were both on placement coaching sport and educating about the dangers of the HIV/AIDS virus in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. Following such an amazing experience, they felt the need to give something back to a community that had offered them so much.


The IDEALS student's work stretches well beyond coaching

The University of Stirling have been involved with the IDEALS project since it’s birth in 2005 sending 4 students to Lusaka every year since and this year sent nursing students for the first time.

This year, it seems their work has extended well beyond coaching.

Caitlin, 3rd year student, said “The netball girls were such an inspiration to me with their enthusiasm and passion for netball. They were incredibly talented yet did not have the facilities they deserved. Because of this I was determined to provide them with the netball court”.

The compound of Kalingalinga is one of several where Zambian Non-Government Organisation EduSport operates. They believe that by bringing people together through a love of sport, they can educate young people in the dangers of unprotected sex, drug abuse and alcoholism. They also aim to empower and inspire young people to be all they can.

The funds were raised by Hayley and Caitlin who, working with the UK Charity Friends of EduSport organised the entire project.

According the Cezarin Phiri, one of the netball players at Kalingalinga, their work will have an inspirational impact.

“Since we have a court, most of the girls will get involved. Most would say it was dangerous to play on the surface before, but now more of the girls will be inspired to play”.

However, the work extends further than just a netball court. The project has brought people together from all over Kalingalinga, eager to help do their bit in the construction. Keen to share her love for a community with her family, Hayley’s father and uncle, both builders by trade, flew out to Lusaka to help co-ordinate and construct the court.




They too were keen to help out as much as possible and repaired over 50 desks at the Kalingalinga School.

Hayley’s Uncle Arthur was delighted to be able to contribute to the project and to something which meant so much to Hayley.

“Having plastered the walls which was a great team effort by everyone, we needed something to keep us out of trouble which is when the school said they needed desks repairing which we were more than happy to do”.

Stirling’s mark has been left not only on the court, but on the wall which borders the school, where Hayley and Caitlin have painted the University’s logo to ensure recognition is given where due.

Welcome to the best country in the world

Coming to Zambia as an IDEALS student is a daunting experience. Getting used to life and work placements in Zambia entails a lot of adapting, which is part of what makes it so rewarding for the participating students. Hayley Barr was a student on the IDEALS project in 2009. This year she is back as team leader, staying in Zambia for four months during the whole project. She is more than happy to be back.
“In my opinion it’s the best country in the world” says Hayley. “The people are so amazing – you just feel so welcome.”

Life in Zambia certainly takes some time to get used to. At first, the students were all taken aback. Hayley recognises this reaction from when she first arrived in Zambia.
“It is a little bit of a shock – the harsh life that we are protected from at home. Here you are very exposed to it and I think that’s quite hard to get used to” says Hayley.
Things we take for granted, like following a schedule, is far from guaranteed in Zambia. Planning can be a bit of a challenge for the IDEALS students. You never know if you are going to get five or fifty children for a session, and you never know if you will have access to the space or equipment that you plan on using. For Hayley, this is part of what makes it a useful experience. When back in Britain, you have a new perspective on things.
“It makes you more flexible and adaptable. You realise that it’s not a matter of life or death that everything goes as planned” says Hayley.
Time management is another issue where few Zambians would agree with Britons. When it is disrespectful to be late for a meeting in Britain, in Zambia you simply turn up when you turn up. People even walk slower than we are used to, perhaps because they are not always rushing to be on time.
“It’s a very relaxed way to live” says Hayley.

Working as an outsider can be difficult in many ways. The students all find their peer leaders very inspiring. With the amount of work they put into the project, it is common to ask yourself what you can provide in such a short time. Hayley describes how it’s easily seen as a bad thing that students get so much attention from the children, simply because they are different from their regular teachers.
“I think that’s a good thing because it creates an interest around the activities. We provide that for them while we’re here, and they can carry on with the work better after we leave” says Hayley.
Coming back as a team leader, Hayley has the opportunity to observe the project from outside. She appreciates the organisation a lot more this year, while she also sees the impact the students have in the community. She believes the students can affect and inspire the peer leaders in many ways.
“The project promotes education for the peer leaders because they see us students and want to be like us” says Hayley.

With three weeks to go for the first group of students, Hayley thinks they will start reflecting on their roles in the project over the next couple of weeks. She describes how going back to the UK was a bit of a culture shock after living such a different life for six weeks. The team leaders have prepared a reflection session to help the students deal with their impressions before leaving Zambia. Seeing so much poverty and deprivation, it is easy to question how much of an impact one project can have. But Hayley firmly believes that this one is changing lives.
“For some of the kids who come here, it is the only thing that makes them want to get up in the morning” says Hayley. “To be able to do that for someone is just amazing.”

“Here I am now – surviving”

“Here I am now – surviving”

Written by Boel Marcks von Würtemberg

Jay Jackson Paul Kaunda does not like his surname. While a family name represents love and unity for most people, for Jackson it is merely a reminder of past wrongs committed towards him by his own family. But forgiveness is far from beyond him: Jackson dreams of starting an organisation that encourages families to forgive and forget. Unlimited Love International is the project Jackson has created in order to help others who are in a situation as bad as his own once was.

Jackson was born in Chingola in northern Zambia. His father was a copper miner, and he passed away in a mine accident when Jackson was five years old. After his death Jackson and his mother were left with nothing.

“My father’s relatives took everything – the money, the house – everything,” says Jackson.

They moved to his mother’s sister in Ndola, but life was not much better there. Jackson’s aunt, who worked as a stone crusher, could not afford to feed the whole family. Jackson could not go to school, but had to beg for money in the streets. He managed to make enough money for his mother to start a small business selling vegetables on the market. By that time, Jackson tried to go back to his father’s relatives in Chingola.

“My mother wanted me to go to school so she said go to your uncle and maybe he can put you in school,” says Jackson.

But his uncle did nothing, and Jackson was left to the streets of Chingola at age seven. This is where he started his life on the streets. Years passed and Jackson stayed on the streets – first in Chingola, eventually in Kabwe, and finally in Lusaka. It was a rough life for a little boy.

“I used to fight a lot then, because nobody cared for me. I just thought I will never be somebody, I will never get anywhere,” says Jackson.

In Lusaka he made friends, especially one man who took a special interest in Jackson. He gave Jackson money and a place to stay. Eventually, Jackson understood that the man and his friends were robbers. They took Jackson with them to rob a house in Kabulonga.

“He told me ‘Jackson, be a man!’ but I was a boy,” says Jackson.

That’s when he decided that this life was not for him. Ever since he was left alone, his aim in life had been to go back to Chingola to kill his uncle, but when his new friends offered to do it for him, he decided that revenge was not what he wanted. So he ran away, back to the streets of Lusaka. This is when he met the people from Fountain of Hope. The social workers came to the streets and asked the children if they wanted to go to school. For Jackson, this was when he started dreaming about getting an education.

“So I decided to go with them. My friends said ‘No, no, these guys are Satanists’ but I wanted to go to school,” says Jackson.

But it was not easy to leave the streets. Jackson, now in his early teens, had become addicted to sniffing petrol, so he kept running away from the school and back to the streets. The social workers used to come after him, but one day they didn’t come, and that’s when he made up his mind. He became determined to stay in school and stopped running away. Since then he has lived at Fountain of Hope, and next year he will have completed his education. This, however, is mainly due to fortunate circumstances. Normally, street children are only allowed to stay for a few months. After that they are meant to get integrated back into society, which usually means going back to the streets.

“I knew what I wanted so I kept going back when they threw me out,” says Jackson.

Last year, he was very close to ending up on the streets again. He had gone to Ndola to visit his family, only to find out that his mother had died from aids. He did meet his aunt and his little sister, who is now ten years old. His aunt wanted him to move back there, but Jackson was determined to get an education, so he went back to Lusaka. At the prospect of being thrown out from Fountain, he was desperate. One Friday afternoon, Jackson went to the director of the school and pleaded to let him stay. The answer was still no. That would have been the end of Jackson’s education, but the director died in a car accident that very same weekend.

“When I found out I cried and blamed myself, thinking ‘did I cause this?’. But then I thought that maybe God did it for me,” says Jackson.

When he came back to school the Monday after the accident the staff let him stay, thinking that he had come to an agreement with the late director. But they still come after him at times, telling him he’s not supposed to be there. By next year when he finishes school, he will definitely have to leave. Jackson does not know where he will go when that day comes. But he does know what he wants.

Jackson has a project called Unlimited Love International. He wants to start an organisation that will help children off the streets. Many of Jackson’s friends lived on the streets because they had been thrown out of their homes by their families. The idea of Unlimited Love International is to act as a mediator in such cases, and bring the families back together. He also wants to open up an orphanage for children who don’t have families to be reunited with, particularly aids orphans. He plans to do this in his home town Chingola. When he has enough money, Jackson wants to buy a house for him and his sister. He dreams about being able to put her through school and university. And he is determined to get what he wants one day.

“Here I am now – surviving. But I have a dream, and I know that it will happen.”

Student volunteers preparing for Zambia

All students and staff in involved in IDEALS Zambia 2010 met up in Durham last weekend. During a few sunny days at Collingwood College, everyone on the project got a chance to learn more about Zambia and the organisations involved, play Zambian games and get to know each other.

The induction started off with information sessions from UK Sport, EduSport and Sport In Action to provide a deeper understanding of the IDEALS project and its aims. The volunteers also participated in team building activities where they were given a chance to discuss their own aims and objectives within the group. Workshops included facts and figures about HIV/AIDS, and creating a group slogan and logo.

– I will have so much more to say about the project now, when we do fund raisers and things, said Joe Dale from University of Bath.

The sport practicals provided a clearer image of what the placement in Zambia is going to be like. Rob Vickers and Jon Boyle held sessions similar to the ones the volunteers will hold in Zambia, giving examples on how to use equipment and how to encourage the children. The coaching sessions, as well as parachute games and Zambian dances, highlighted how easy it can be to entertain and educate.

– You can have a lot of fun with nothing, said Tony Gillespie from University of Stirling.

The weekend also entailed a lot of socialising for the teams, including a night at the bowling arcade in Newcastle and a conference dinner at Collingwood College. This gave the volunteers a chance to bond within the group, as well as getting to know team leaders, staff and the visiting Zambians.

– I didn't expect it to be like this. I thought it would be a lot of training and not as much socialising, said Grace McCatty from University of Bath.

The volunteers will meet again at Heathrow airport on their way to Zambia. After this weekend, expectations are higher than ever before. The teams are convinced they will share a life changing experience together.

– I think it will highlight values in life, like the fact that relationships are more important than material things, said Olivia Robinson from UWIC.

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Boel Marcks von Würtemberg

University of Stirling