Educate you, Educate me has arrived!

Educate you, Educate me has arrived! The first week was full of adventure, greetings and meetings which have made Zambia feel like home to the newest group of IDEALS students.

The team could not contain their enthusiasm and before unpacking ran across the street to play a game of football with the local children. The following day all attended the national Go Sisters tournament and watched as girls from around Zambia participated in Netball, Football, Volleyball and Basketball.

The beginning of week one was the perfect induction which allowed everyone to meet their new colleagues and see their placements. The team jumped on the back of a large truck and were shown around Lusaka and the various sites that Sport in Action and EduSport had placed them in. The students also experienced lunch Zambian style; nshima with BBQ chicken…which was delicious! David also delved into an assortment of bodily parts once belonging to the chicken including liver, intestine and claw!

Toxy, a peer leader from Chawama, introduced some of the team to Crystal on Friday at the local clinic. This allowed them to spend a day at the centre and get involved in the day to day work there. Becky was keen to visit the child nutrition area which led to Matt and Marc seeing more than they’d bargained for when they witnessed a woman in labour in the maternity ward! Darren, Kelly and I took a tour around the hospital and then helped with the physiotherapy of patients who had had a stroke. The last duty of the day involved putting a plaster on the leg of a little girl who had fractured her leg. All this before lunch! Then it was back of to placement for the afternoon’s sports activities.

The weekend was spent at the magnificent Lake Kariba. It is the largest lake in Africa and Zimbabwe can been seen across the vast stretch of water. After an attempt at free diving the team hopped aboard a speed boat and rode across the beautiful lake. The sunset was stunning and the night that followed was just as dazzling! The next day, before returning to Lusaka, team leader Hayley showed us the splendour that is the dam and we crossed it together and entered into Zimbabwe! It was the largest dam in the world when built but now stands second to one in China. The group were happy to hear that the drop from the bungee was greater than the frightening height they witnessed on top of that Dam!

The team returned to the house for an early night and recharged their batteries for the next full week ahead.