The Journey Continues

The past ten days has flown by as there has been so much to see and do. It is only now, with my case half unpacked, that I have really had time to reflect on the huge achievement of the students from Roding Valley and most of all Mrs Bentley. Without their tireless commitment to the cause that Beyond Ourselves represents none of what we have achieved in the last week and a half would have been possible.

Yet this is only the beginning of our journey.  Just before we left Greater Joy School for the final time, Garret, the project manager for the work we were doing on the school said to me that it was what we did when we returned to the UK that would make the biggest difference to the community at Greater Joy. The students have brought far more than souvenirs from Kitwe market home with them. They have bought back an understanding  and appreciation of a culture beyond there own. They will forever remember the excitement that their work brought to the students at Greater Joy. Not just the painting and decorating but the teaching and play time with children who are unlikely to ever fly nearly seven thousand miles to see what our lives are like.

It is that cultural exchange that I am sure will allow our students to take the lead in supporting developing communities across Africa in the future. In school we are always talking about the importance of education. Yet we often forget that the education we take for granted in the UK is a distant dream in the developing world. Charities like Beyond Ourselves are beginning to change this but there is still much more that can be done.

I hope that this blog will become the first chapter in a much longer story that our students can write about supporting education in Zambia and across Africa. Although our trip has come to an end their journeys are only just beginning.

If you would like to find out more about the work Beyond Ourselves is doing or sponsor a child's education click the link below:

Beyond Ourselves

We are home!

The end of our adventure

We are all home safe and sound and a little exhausted from the journey, nethertheless we all have the mammoth task of unpacking ahead of us. Already I am missing being in Zambia with everyone and would have loved to stay longer, it will be strange not having to rush to get ready in the mornings, and I think we will all miss the friendly children and staff at Greater Joy. Only now looking back on our time in Zambia have I realised how much we have managed to do, we painted a whole school, five class rooms, ceilings, walls, blackboards and the outside in a few days, as well as teaching the children and experiencing the culture of Zambia. I think the trip has changed me and has definitely made me appreciate all that I have, it has also made me realise that I would love to work in similar projects in the future and would love to go back to Greater Joy. I would like to thank everyone involved from the students on the trip, the teachers, all of the staff at the school, everyone at Beyond Ourselves and everyone who helped us raise the money. I would recomend the trip to anyone, despite the hard work I had a truly amazing time, thank you for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Paige

Final thoughts

So today our journey home begins. We have a 6 hour drive back to Lusaka where we will stay overnight before an early flight tomorrow morning. On the way down we are stopping for lunch at Nsobe game park and are hoping to see some local animals and have time to reflect on our time here.

People often ask if it would be better to send the money rather than the cost of this visit. The answer is no. The young people on this trip will take their experiences into many spheres of influence as they walk into their futures and will never be quite the same again. Last night we were entertained by the bishop of Zambia and the staff of Greater Joy school. They spoke of the impact the young people had and their joy in seeing the school painted after the project began 4 years ago. Money can not buy the relationships that were built here this week and I believe these young people will go on to be part of transforming communities whoever their paths take them. They have seen what can be achieved with a common heart, vision and commitment.  

What can I say???

Am I going to miss Zambia, the kids, teachers, community, the laughs, jokes, banta, secrets and the occasional tears? Yes, yes I am and I think we all are! Although we were only here for a total of 10 days,  every single person made some type of attachment to someone or something and yes it will be hard to let go.
                                               
Today, we all went to Greater Joy as usual, took some lessons and did some last minute painting. Thanks to all 4 teachers and Jodie, we managed to get the back wall painted!!! At 2pm we decided to take some pictures of the blackboard with personal messages from the Roding kids(I'm sure you'll see the pictures very soon, if you haven't already). After taking a final photo with all the kids, we left teary-eyed from the school, got back to the guest house, freshened up and then made our way down to the Bishop of Zambia's house for dinner. We came back at 8:45pm, did some last minute packing and we are all now looking forward to see what tomorrow brings us all!

Manpreet
xxx

Mmmm... Caterpillars. Wait what?

Lunch today was interesting to say the least, crunchy caterpillars with onions went down surprisingly well. However I don't think it'll be a usual in the Fellerman household. The food in general in Zambia has been nothing short of amazing, wasn't expected by me at all. Nevertheless seeing the chickens being carried into the makeshift kitchen by the neck alive and kicking has taken some getting used to!

The school is looking great. All the classrooms have been lashed with two coats of paint as well as the outside and now all is left is windows, doors and blackboards. I'm very proud of what we have achieved.

Max   

Team Zambia

This trip has been absolutely amazing. I can't quite put in to words how incredible this past week or so has been but I'll try anyway!

Everyone on the trip will agree that we've all changed a lot since we've been here. It's been challenging, emotionally and physically, but we've come out stronger, knowing we've changed these children's lives forever. Personally, I've found my time here inspiring and eye opening. It's made me realise how lucky I am to have had such an excellent education at Roding Valley and how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to continue my education at Sixth Form. Although I've always been ambitious, this trip has made me realise that I really am capable of achieving my dreams if I work hard enough.

Team Zambia is indestructible, we've all become a lot closer over the last week and we've had so much fun. When resting in the hotel all we've been doing is planning for the next day and relaxing! After a long day's work in the scorching African sun, it's lovely to relax with such chilled, funny people. 

We've mainly spent the last few days painting the school, but today spent some time bonding with the students. It's been exhausting but so satisfying. There's no better feeling than looking at your work and thinking "wow, we did it". At the start of the first day painting, we could never have expected us to do as much work as we did, so I'm very proud of Team Zambia!

It's been one massive adventure and I'm so grateful for all the donations and support we have had. It's really changed my outlook on life and has undoubtedly shaped me as a person, for that I can't thank you enough. 

Hope everyone at home is alright, we'll be home safely soon! 

Jess xx

Mask making

Teaching time

Presenting creative writing

Self portraits

Lots more painting

After another day of painting I think I need a rest. I'm also so proud of what exactly we have achieved at the school. We have turned a barren, grey looking building into a colourful centre of education. Visiting the community in which the children live made me even prouder of what we have achieved here in Zambia, because we all know just how much this means to the children attending Greater Joy School.

I have also been humbled by the warm welcome we have received here in Zambia. The church visit was more than pleasant and the visit to peoples' homes in the community welcoming. Kitwe is a great place and the trip to the market was a great experience. It's been a very funny few days and in conclusion I'm having a really fantastic trip; as is everyone on the trip to Greater Joy School.

Sam

Making a difference

If anyone told me three days ago we would be where we are with painting the School of Greater Joy, I would have thought them to be overly optimistic. Unbelievably, we have painted five classrooms and the whole of the outside. The amount of paint we have used could have sunk a Battleship but we think this has been a much better use of it!
We have scraped plaster, covered ceilings, painted walls and worked like Trojans. The ceilings were absolute killers of neck muscles! There are a lot of tired students who have been determined not to fall behind with their demanding tasks. They are all tired but happy because they feel they have come to do something that will make a difference and,as far as they are concerned, nothing is going to stop that from happening. They have done superbly well and coming from me, who doesn't dish out praise very easily, that is praise indeed.
Mr Goodall

We came, we saw, we painted

It has been a very busy day and all of the students have really been put to the test but we are almost there. Personally i feel very proud of our students, who today took on key leadership roles in managing the painting work.

This evening they face the challenge of planning tomorrow's teaching activities. I am sure they will rise to yet another challenge.

Mr Cocker

The start of the blackboard!

The outside colour begins

Another day in Africa

This morning we are back to more decorating. Classroom 5 from scratch, 4 needs a second coat, outside needs a second coat of primer and the windows need to be glossed. The pupils now understand how hard ceilings are having done 4 classrooms! They continue to blow me away. Their passion, commitment, thoughtfulness and care for  one another have led to many moments when I have melted on the inside and sometimes on the outside too ( needed a quick hide behind the car!).  Proud doesn't begin to scratch the surface. Beautiful young people. 

Hard work and inspiration

Yesterday morning we attended to church for a few hours which was absolutely amazng! the voices were angelic and it was quite extraodinary. The service was like none i had ever experienced before. Jodie took the service which was so inspirational we were fired up and ready for the rest of the days work.

 After te service we went to house visit where some of the pupils lived. That was interesting because the living space was about the size of most people's front room, yet the space occupied 9 people and is used for cooking and sleeping. 

After that we did another 3.5 hours of painting. The ceiling occupied a lot of our time which was absolutely knackering but we were inspired by the service in the morning and therefore gritted our teeth and got on with it. 

Today was a full workout. From 8-4 we lavashed layer after layer of paint onto the walls and ceiling until our hands were raw and the majority of our skin was primer. 

Larry.

Just a brief summary...

The Market: It was filled with everything and anything you could imagine - fake Rolex's, fake sunglasses, fake phones and fake iPads, but it wasn't all bootleg gear! It was full of truly amazing home-made crafts which as soon as they saw us coming knew they could charge an arm and a leg for but nothing a good bartering couldn't sort out.

Home Visits: Really did hit home with many of us about the reality of the situation for the large majority of Zambia, simply the quality of the water, the amount of people living under one room, the building materials and their lack of simple living essentials. But yet the happiness they have for what they do own is far greater than anyone back home.

Church: Visiting the church was nothing like I was expecting, it was alive with jaw dropping singing and pure enthusiasm for what they believe in, an experience I will never forget.

Painting: Has killed me. Edging, rolling, edging, rolling and guess what? more edging and rolling. However the  faces on the children and seeing their sheer delight kept me going despite the aching muscles.

Max
          

Paige's blog

Today was our first full day decorating, we were all exhausted after a few half days decorating but were eager to get going. Our tactic was to get one classroom out of the way and then split into groups. It was encouraging to see the cheery faces of curious children lining the doorways and windows as we painted, it encouraged us to keep going and reminded us why we are here. At the moment we have , completed the majority of the classrooms and primed the outside. We have another full day ahead of us tomorrow and hope to complete it before we leave. So far, one of my favourite moments would be stepping off of the coach at greater joy for the first time and seeing all of the children's faces light up, they didn't hesitate to speak to us. We have had an amazing time so far and look forward to the rest of our trip.

Paige

An Emotional Storm!

After being constantly pestered by Ms Bentley and Cocker, I finally decided to write my first post. Here it goes:
Had a long and very exhausting journey to Kitwe; was travelling for a total of 25 hours. The real adventure started on Friday, when, after having slept through 3 alarms (Jess, Paige's and mine) we went to Greater Joy on time and met all the children. My heart sank when I realised how much it meant to the kids, the teachers and Angelina and Ospeck, for us to come and visit them. Mr G's ice-breaker, which he has tried on all of his students, helped ease the tension, between us, straight away. The day, included us splitting into groups and taking part in a number of activities, such as arts&crafts, sports and lessons. We realised a bit too late how much of a monster the glitter was going to be, what with the kids grabbing any little speck they could and rubbing it on their face.

Anyway, Saturday had a whole range of emotions for us to overcome. We started by going to the market, we were 'advised' on the bus journey there, that it was common for everyone to barter, especially as the shopkeepers try to seize the opportunity of ripping the foreigners off!!! It was at the market that I realised, I am probably the best at bartering, having bought a canvas painting for K5 when others were paying K50, and getting a deal of 2 hats for K8, when the starting price was K15 for 1 hat. :) After visiting the market, we went back to Greater Joy, to start our mission of painting the whole school. Although we only did hard labour for a mere 3 hours, we all needed that hot shower and lavish dinner when we got back to our Lodge.

Sunday, once again, brought another wave of surprises. In the morning, we went to the Church Service. Being the first one I have ever attended, I received a pleasant surprise as soon as I got off the bus, what with the beautiful singing and the warm welcome we received by Angelina and Ospeck. Once the Service finished we all made our way to some of the houses close by. Once again,  my heart sank when I saw what conditions these people were having to live in. At this point,  I realised how ignorant I had been, always complaining that I want the next new thing! These kids were making car toys out of bottles and bottle tops. It's not possible to describe the emotions that each member of the family experienced when we gave them the things we had brought for them. Beyond Ourselves, has helped the children and the local community by enabling students to come and help out with the school as well bring a smile on the faces of all families who receive gifts. Sometimes visits from people, give these families more joy, than receiving a few Kwatcha's every now and again. After this, we made our way back to Greater Joy, got changed into our painting clothes and went back to our mission we had started the day before. 

Monday, was simply hard labour for 7 hours! We managed to complete 4/5 classrooms and prime the outside. 

Today, we finished off the main painting job. All classrooms have been completed and so have the outside walls. We just need to touch up on certain areas and gloss the windows.  Tomorrow whilst most people are taking lessons, 3/4 people will be completingethe final touches! We are all so glad that the next to impossible mission we had started on Saturday has nearly been completed and now we can't wait for the look on the faces of the kids that go to Greater Joy! 

Lesson planning still going on, as well as many jokes and laughs! 

Manpreet

Off to work

The cool kids

The painful primer!

A Brilliant Church Experience

Yesterday morning we went to the Greater Joy church for their morning service. I used to go to church when I was young and it was a reasonably boring experience. However, as soon as we entered the Greater Joy church, we were welcomed by the warm harmonious singing of the choir. I enjoy music greatly and listen to a variety of different music but never in my life have I experienced the love and passion that was created from this music. It was sensational. Also something which amazed me was the friendliness and welcoming from the congregation, every person there welcomed us with a huge smile and an open heart and was more than happy to shake our hands. 

The service was taken by Jodie. It was an inspirational service and made me think a lot about the importance of our own identity. What was also so good about it was the amount of energy used and also the response of the congregation. In general the Church visit was one I will never forget and was a wonderful experience.

Patrick

Mr Goodall and his boys off to a home visit

On a walk about town

Sunday best

Working hard on the edges

Sam in action

Men at work

Washing up

No time to play

Team work

In the market.

It was wonderful to see our students venture into the hubbub of the market in Kitwe. The sights and smells, the sounds and the sheer joy of being somewhere so different was great. Our students dealt with the unfamiliar notion of bartering in a way that would have any parent or teacher swell with pride. They conducted themselves superbly and even formed into groups to 'bulk buy' to get better deals! Clever stuff! Obviously I cannot possibly tell you what they bought because that would spoil the surprise wouldn't it?
On a personal note I am so impressed with the students' attitude in general that I can hardly put it into words. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not easily impressed...but I am with this group of young people.
Mr Goodall

Lots of DEET, DOOM, little kids and more Nando's sauce!

With our optimistic bedroom team name of 'Max is going to get malaria' chosen, we went about fumigating our room with DEET and the heavy duty DOOM to sooth our minds of catching malaria.

Unpacking was a chore, but surprisingly  organised (don't worry mum, the clothes are still folded!)

It was very good to get a real meal into us, but what was even better was Cocker's story of the day. A new tradition that will always make us chuckle.

After a refreshing sleep and ye good old fry up we set off to Greater Joy. Before we could even get off the bus, Mr Goodall had already done his ice breaking activity, the same one he did to us in Year 6 on my induction, and were the kids fascinated by it!

Instantly we were swamped by students, but this was nothing compared to later when Patrick was leading a group of 50 kids armed with party blowers!

Starting off with teaching a group of grade 5s was different and then very interesting when Mr Cocker put me out our comfort zone by making me teach maths. Their level of maths was very good, which was good to see.

During break I believe we set a new world record for the biggest Hokey Cokey known to man. Nearly all the students in the school took part, in what was such an amazing sight.

Doing parachute activities with the little grade 2s was very different and the language barrier was harder to break. But the children enjoyed it, especially when the football went flying off and a dozen kids chased it.

Lunch time had a knackering start when Elise started off what would be 15 minutes of intense piggy backing by 4 of us! But it was worth it  to see the kids happy faces after.

To make the day even better our accommodation had Nando's sauce...happy Fraser!

Our first day at the school was very interesting and it was just amazing how the children loved you and clinged onto you and wouldn't leave.

Kicking back in Kitwe

We awoke this morning have gained a good nights sleep, a positive attitude and a will to live. A lavish breakfast was served at 7:15 sharp (much to Jodie and Ms. Bentley's surprise) and departed for the school at  8:15. One arrival at around 8:30 we were greeted by a sea of friendly and exited faces who possessed a cute tactility that we experienced throughout the day as children hung for our arms and clutched our hands.

The first session I took part in at Greater Joy was an arts and crafts lesson led by Ms. Wright which involved helping to educate students about shapes and creating mice from cut out shapes. The session went well with the children enjoying themselves. At this point we were not aware of the monster we had created by introducing glitter to the students of Greater Joy. I, from this point moved into a sports session with Mr. Goodall which involved stumps (a game involving lots of spinning and dizziness) followed by a highly competitive game of rounders to top it off. It was the lunch that followed that I noticed that almost every child's face was covered in glitter they had managed to pocket from the arts and crafts. After lunch I helped teach maths with Mr. Cocker before moving out onto the field with some of the remaining children to play a huge game of duck duck goose.

All in all my first full day in Zambia was an unbridled success and I am looking forward to the rest of the trip.

Jack

Glitter, glitter and more glitter!!

Having slept through 3 alarms (Jess's, Paige's and mine), we all eventually awoke at 7am and dashed around to be ready in time for breakfast. A lavish breakfast was served at 7:15am sharp, much to everyone's surprise what with the 'African' time and all. We then left for Greater Joy School at 8am. Most of us were prepared to see a school that was in a terrible state, with very shy kids, however to see it completely ready to be painted by us and kids who just swarmed around all of us as soon as we got off the bus, was very shocking! Mr Goodall broke all the tension straight away by engaging them in a little game, Pat then took initiative and got all the kids running after him. The tension between us and them lasted all of 2 seconds!

Jack, Pat, Jess and I were in Miss Wright's arts & crafts group, so had the advantage to realise straight away how much they loved all the resources that Sarah had brought along with her (30+Kg  :O). It was when the second group came in that Sarah started to think again about bringing the glitter out! We had kids plastering themselves with glitter, simply as it was something they had not yet come across. The glitter just took control of all Arts & Crafts sessions from then on. I wonder what the parents must have thought to see their kids come home with glitter all over them. 

Larry's first blog

DEET.

Hi everyone everythings all good here, the weather is beautiful; 27 degrees is a welcome gift when you have just been on a crowded plane for 11 hours.

 The flight in general was not to bad, i managed to get 3 about three hours sleep. The BA breakfast gave me some serious abdominal agony right before the 7 hour bus ride which was not to good but with tender loving medication and some great chips at the half way stop i was cured. 

The town house beds were a welcome sight when we arrived and a good 9 hour sleep followed. 

Today no one hesitated to get involved with the kids and it was a brilliant experience that i will never forget. The best parts of the day was about 200 kids chasing us around the grounds and doing all the activities we take for granted - with all the kids. Dont worry we took plenty of photos so you will get to see what i mean 

All in all it was a really good day that i wont ever forget

 

Decorating tomorrow!

Glittergate!!

Glittergate!

I shouldn't of said that...

Little Zzz's since the killer journey to Zambia. Things I discovered/highlights on my journey here and our stay: Jack eats slow, really slow. Laurence falls asleep in strange positions. Mr. Cocker really does have a dark side. Fraser has the strangest yet funniest laugh I've ever heard. Don't ever say "I've gotta' blow this up on the plane" when referring to a pillow in airport security. And much more. The first day at the school was nothing short of amazing, I now know what being a celebrity is like. My favourite moments: Patrick leading the whole school in an onwards charge around the building, The children going bat-*bleep*-crazy over glitter and googily eyes. Me getting bundled to the ground by 20+ children simple because they just love us so much. Finally getting the gossip from teachers has been nothing short of hilarious. On top of all that its only day 2. 

-Max F

Anarchy in Africa!

Great start to the trip today with our first visit to the school. Scenes resembling Obama leaving the White House occurred as we approached the children. Swarms of excited children charged towards us and before we knew it we had two on each limb! The students are great and we had lots of fun playing football, rounders and the occasional "everyone chase Sam" as Sam stood, completely baffled, as 200 screaming children started running towards him. I'll never forget his face.

Highlight of the day: seeing the surprise and pure fascination on the faces of the children when presented with glue and glitter. It makes you realise how much we have.

Challenge: Not being able to give presents to individual students was hard, especially when they asked for something to remember us by.

I have learnt that Fraser is more excited by Nando's sauce than anything and even Nando's sauce can't tempt Jack to eat a whole portion of food.

We're all alive anyway and I'll leave you with the quote of the day from Max "I could have Mr. Cocker next to my bed to send me to sleep"

Jess

A great first day!

So proud of the pupils today! Won't steal their thunder as they will blog later but very proud of them all!!

Travelling, Termites and Torment

Those three words pretty much sum up the first day. 24 Hours of non stop travelling is taking its toll on us now, giving Mr Cocker plenty of chances to take photos of us sleeping and then to torment us with them! Let the games begin!

The flight was bearable, however with only 3 hours sleep I was not happy...until breakfast was served at 4am!

The minibus ride is not that of a comfortable one, but we are all just intrigued by the different environments we are travelling through as it is such an eye opening experience. Plus I have never seen such bug termite mounds! 

Our midway stop could not have been more welcomed though! The chance to stretch and eat was jumped upon, and oh were the chips amazing! To add the cherry on top they had Nando's sauce!!!

The last part of the journey has been less comfortable: sweltering sun, bumpy roads and sheer tiredness are eating away at me...but no bugs yet :)

Can't wait to see what the rest of the trip bares.

Fraser

We have arrived!

We are all safely at the guest house. Time for a showered and a rest before dinner.

The students will upload their posts later this evening.

Heathrow

And we are off!

The journey begins as we head for the M25. Lots of trusting and emotional parents left behind at the school. Remember no news is good news.

Hey, 9 days to go!  Much to do but the excitment is mounting for Team Zambia!

The start of the journey

There are only three and a half weeks before students and staff from Roding Valley High School travel to Kitwe in Zambia to visit the Greater Joy School as part of our 'Beyond Roding Valley' project with charity Beyond Ourselves.  We will be working with the charity in the school both in educational activities and working on improving the school building.

The students have been working hard fund raising for our visit which has been a huge achievement considering they are revising for and sitting their GCSE exams as I type.

This blog will allow you to track our progress over the coming weeks and see how our journey progresses.

Find out more about Beyond Ourselves