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