OK, I lied. I said the last blog would be my last but I mean it this time! The reason for the final post is twofold: firstly, I have been asked so many times since I got home, ‘how was it?’, or words to that effect, that I feel I should try to find a way to express how it was in writing; and secondly, more importantly to me at least, is that I have been trying to understand how I feel about the experience, not least so I can better answer the aforementioned question. It has not been easy to sum this up when asked so here are my reflective thoughts, so far at least, on the last couple of months, as well as a few thank you’s for those who made it possible.
I am sure we have all heard of friends and loved ones in our lives having life changing experiences; well, this was not a life changing experience for me. I am sure we have also heard of other friends falling in love with Africa; well, I have not fallen in love with Africa, not least because the very notion seems frankly ridiculous to me – since when did anyone fall in love with Europe?! (Other than a few francophile plutocrats who should have known better.)
I did fall in love with the Zambian bush, with its hugely diverse flora and fauna and spectacular topography, not least the remarkable, humbling and awe inspiring Victoria Falls – more, to me at least, than just some water passing over a bit of rock, as one of my colleagues this summer postulated. I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone a visit to help restore the constitution and the faith that mankind hasn’t yet blighted vast tracts of land on our only planet. I will also always recall fondly the people I have been lucky enough to work and live with in the last two months, especially Sammy, Stephen, Joe, Ashlea and George; they have brightened up my days, made me laugh, worked hard and taught me lots: thank you.
I also had a great time teaching a few classes at the Fountain of Hope school and orphanage; teaching a class of approximately fifty children for ninety minutes, with a significant range of English language and concentration abilities, about my hitherto far from specialist subject, ‘Textiles and Fabrics’, with a couple of minutes notice and less than a page of instruction, will live with me a long time and always help give me perspective with my teaching career. Witnessing the UK students on the IDEALS programme grow into their coaching and mentoring responsibilities during their placements was also a pleasure, not that I can take any credit for that.
The cynic in me wonders how big an impact we are actually having in terms of development, admittedly a complicated concept and one I am sure is the subject of much debate. I believe we do have a big impact on the children that we work with, helping them with their knowledge and skills as well as, more significantly, with their self-esteem; I cannot quite imagine how life-affirming it is for a child who has been living on the streets for years, most likely afflicted with the drug of choice in the Lusakan markets, a form a aeroplane fuel known as ‘sticka’, to be able to have a shower, be given a clean set of clothes, to be fed, to be given a roof over their head and a bed to sleep in, and even just to be hugged. Once more, witnessing that transformation on my final day in the city will live with me forever.
But could the impact be greater? Could the money be more wisely invested? Do those returning to the UK from their experiences make a lasting difference to the lives of the people that they once worked so closely with? Maybe is the best answer I can come up with, not least because development is such a complicated concept that I am not sure I, or anyone else for that matter, has the vision, omnipotence, integrity and compassion to manipulate development for the general good, whatever that is. Just think about it from the Zambian government’s perspective: with limited budgets and infrastructure, what do you invest in first? Roads perhaps to facilitate commerce; or electricity to do likewise, both populist measures assisting with re-election strategies.
If I were President of Zambia, a notion that requires more than a small leap in the imagination I admit, the best idea I can come up with is that I would focus first and foremost on rooting out all forms of corruption, everywhere and anywhere it appears: ministers, companies, the police, the media, etc. Although it is far from an easy challenge to change a patronage model where the long term benefits are as difficult to understand as the notion of development itself, and contrast so sharply with the ephemeral incentives to behave otherwise, I believe that a focus on corruption would have the single biggest impact on life in Zambia. It would inspire trust, encourage investment and set an example, both locally and more widely, a form of political utopia beyond any political system I have yet witnessed unfortunately.
I am certainly not suggesting giving up and I hope the general course of travel is correct; I am sure Sport in Action is a well run body making a difference in the lives of thousands of children across Zambia. So that brings me back to things I do know and how I feel. And how I sum up the last two months… I have learnt a lot, about life in Zambia and about myself, developing a better understanding of happiness and of poverty, meeting some fantastic people and seeing some inspiring sights, as well as a few haunting ones. I have neither changed nor fallen in love but I have developed, personally at least. Travel is of course the curse of all ignorance and therefore I am now a little less ignorant than I was before. With a long road still ahead I hope, wherever that may lead.
Finally, in addition to those I have thanked already, I would just like to say thank you to The Perfect Day Foundation and to Durham University, to Laura Williamson and Peter Warburton in particular, as well as to the Vodafone Foundation and Steph Branston, without which my drive to reduce ignorance would not have been possible this summer!
Posted in 2013
Scholey.com 