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
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