Livingstone Baby

A day out at Chobe National Park in Botswana

A week of two halves as this past week included the infamous Livingstone Trip as well as time spent on placement following the Wallace Tournament. One key highlight of my week was on Wednesday when I chose to visit Fountain of Hope with Nicole and Fiona to assist the kitchen with cooking nshima for all of the boys there, which is about 90 of them. Despite being very different to our normal day to day routine I welcomed the chance to gain an insight into another key part of one of our placement sites. The staff and volunteers at Fountain of Hope do a fantastic job daily to support, provide and look after nearly 100 children and often we don’t see all sides of this. Arriving at Fountain before 9am we were shown to the kitchen where the large pot of water was boiling and the nshima was ready to begin. Little did we know that this whole process takes about 3 hours, and required a lot of physical strength, arm action and effort. Once the nshima was cooking, we took the time to chat to the children who were around and soon found ourselves assisting with the Year 2 and 3 End of Term exams that were taking place in the dining hall. The space at Fountain is limited and therefore these children have to sit these exams whilst being distracted by the noise coming from the kitchen. It was a fantastic morning as we not only gained an insight into a behind the scenes aspect of Fountain of Hope but got to see how differently examinations are conducted in Zambia. The difference between the education systems here in Zambia and in the UK is vast but the importance is equally as great.

The Group 2 Girls

Then the time for Livingstone arrived! Having already visited this amazing place three times previously, I was so excited to witness Group 2 experience this place but also to spend some quality time together away from the house having already had some intense and busy weeks previously. The bus journey epitomised how incredible the team spirit is in this house and how we have genuinely become a family and group. The 7/8 hour journey flew by and the excitement for Livingstone was clear for all to see. Everyone just couldn’t wait to experience Victoria Falls and to treat themselves to a few different activities. The journey to Livingstone reminded me that this adventure in Zambia is made twice as special by the people I get to share it with and I am very grateful to be part of this group as we all live the dream together.

Sunset Cruise with my ZamFam

The weekend was full of different activities as everyone treated themselves to some much needed time off. The sunset cruise will always be a favourite night of mine, as the sunset itself is one of most incredible views I have ever witnessed in my life. To stand there, side by side, with Group 2 taking a moment to embrace what was in front of us was amazing... In that silence we all shared an appreciation of the view we could see and the photos themselves don’t quite do the view justice. Another highlight of the weekend for me was definitely treating myself to a day’s safari in Botswana at Chobe National Park. The idea of a safari has always been high on my agenda but I had always imagined going for a week somewhere, however after hearing the students from Group 1 rave about how amazing it was I just couldn’t say no. Chobe itself is stunningly beautiful, and I loved the chance to explore it. On the river safari we travelled down the water that separates Botswana and Namibia, and saw crocodiles, giraffes, hippos, warthogs,

Nearly within touching distance

gazelles, impala, baboons, water buffalo, fish gulls and the most amazing elephants. Yes you can always visit most of these animals in a zoo but to sit on a boat and watch a herd of elephants make their way across the river, with the older elephants protecting the young was captivating. It was nature in its finest and I was able to sit back and enjoy. On the land safari we also came ridiculously close to these amazing animals as we parked nearby a massive herd. We were all of about 5 metres away from them and the temptation to get out and stroke them was high but I just loved seeing them in their natural environment.

Livingstone Weekend was a fantastic way to not only enjoy so time off with Group 2 but to enjoy and explore another incredible part of Zambia.  The past few days have acted as a much needed time out to relax, spend some quality time together and experience one of the most phenomenal wonders of the world.

Victoria Falls